Welcome to RᗩᏐᗩ'S Fit Ms. Fitspiration Ƀℓṏg ❁(◠‿ ◠)❁ I am at the core of everything else I do within my professional life as a writer, blogger, facilitator, author and fit and fab keen ager is to empower, encourage and inspire change making communications. Together, with my partner in life, love David Malloy we share a lifelong calling to be part of solutions rather than passive non-involvement. From our perspective that is akin to being part of the problem.
Monday, 18 May 2015
61 YEAR OLD MAN & 90 DAY TRANSFORMATION
the HARDEST ABS EXERCISE in the WORLD!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2FLWR...
Single Leg Squad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Imf8O...How to get the perfect Abs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgHkFE...
PT-Farid Berlin
Change your Life | Farid Berlin | Motivation video
How you Can Get Abs Body Transformation
Workout program
SIXPACK SECRETS
Personal Trainer Farid Hima: Berlin Germany
Feel Free to share my videos on Facebook ;-)
My Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PtFaridBerlin...
My Twitter: https://twitter.com/Farid100Fit
Core training for ladies and gents
6-pack six pack abs abdominal ab abdominals exercise fitness fat loss weight sixpack 6pack glutes lean muscle six-pack crunches core training workout sit ups routine Important training information tutorial on abs diet programm
nutrition
concentrating on form and technique for beginners, interm
77 YEAR OLD ERNESTINE SHEPHERD...INSPIRING
Ernestine Shepherd, 77, found health and happiness through exercise. Now she wants to teach you how to do the same. More from CNN at http://www.cnn.com/
To license this and other CNN/HLN content, visit http://imagesource.cnn.com or e-mail cnn.imagesource@turner.com.
Category
News & Politics
License
Standard YouTube License
ANTI-AGING REGIME FOR 77 YEAR OLD FITNESS GURU
Ernestine Shepherd, 77, found health and happiness through exercise. Now she wants to teach you how to do the same. More from CNN at http://www.cnn.com/
To license this and other CNN/HLN content, visit http://imagesource.cnn.com or e-mail cnn.imagesource@turner.com.
Thursday, 7 May 2015
FIT-BIT SURGE...COMPLETE REVIEW
I cannot comment on other Activity Trackers because the Fit Bit Charge HR meets all my needs so I do not have anything to compare it too. My view is if something works why change it?
This is a fantastic piece of technology with a lot of online support, it is efficient, reliable and provides comprehensive information and feedback about one's body. I love it.
This article is a copy from You Tube and I have included original source info for reference and copywrite protection.
Here are some happy pics of my hubs David with me as Fit Bit Buddies.
www.facebook.com/techyagent
www.twitter.com/techyagent
www.instagram.com/techy_agent
This channel is all about reviewing and reporting on the latest mobile and wearable tech. If you have a suggestion on something we should cover, let us know in the comments below!
The Fitbit Surge is set to release early 2015. The device promises to deliver on the "super watch" fitness band category, with built in GPS, step counting, heart rate tracking, sleep tracking, and call/text notifications, among other things. I put the Surge to the test over the last 3 days, with 3 different workouts (both lifting and cardio). Check out the full hand-on review for all the details!
Tuesday, 5 May 2015
ALI MACGRAW EMBRACES HER AGE ON OPRAH'S LIFE COACH
Uploaded on Oct 19, 2011
In all of her conversations with women about aging, Oprah says she's met many who were consumed by fear of aging. Not actress Ali MacGraw. Watch part of her conversation with Oprah and find out how holding on to the past can paralyze your present.
Sign up for the online class on Oprah.com for an even more enriching experience. http://www.oprah.com/oprahslifeclass
Weeknights 8/7c on OWN!
Find OWN on TV at http://www.oprah.com/FindOWN
SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/1vqD1PN
The Emmy award-winning “Oprah’s Lifeclass” is a richly interactive worldwide social experience for millions of students who participate in inspiring conversations with Oprah Winfrey on-air, online and via social media. For each episode, Oprah is joined by a hand-picked expert, and together they interact with viewers to share principles and tools that can help people live more meaningful and fulfilling lives.
About OWN:
Oprah Winfrey Network is the first and only network named for, and inspired by, a single iconic leader. Oprah Winfrey's heart and creative instincts inform the brand -- and the magnetism of the channel.
Winfrey provides leadership in programming and attracts superstar talent to join her in primetime, building a global community of like-minded viewers and leading that community to connect on social media and beyond. OWN is a singular destination on cable. Depth with edge. Heart. Star power. Connection. And endless possibilities.
Discover OWN TV:
Find OWN on your TV!: http://bit.ly/1wJ0ugI
Our Fantastic Lineup: http://bit.ly/1qMi2jE
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Vance Johnson Reflects on His Abusive Past | Oprah's Lifeclass | Oprah Winfrey Network
http://www.youtube.com/user/OWN
Category
Entertainment
License
Standard YouTube License
CAMERON DIAZ..BEING OKAY WITH AGING GRACEFULLY
Published on Mar 13, 2014
Watch an all-new episode of Oprah Prime Sunday night at 9/8c.
Don't expect Cameron Diaz to hand out any anti-aging tips. Watch as the actress explains why she'll never apologize for accepting her body the way it is today.
Find OWN on TV at http://www.oprah.com/FindOWN
SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/1vqD1PN
“Oprah Prime” takes an in-depth look at some of the most important issues facing us today, including headline-making current events, through compelling interviews and thoughtful discussions with newsmakers, celebrities, luminaries and real-life families.
About OWN:
Oprah Winfrey Network is the first and only network named for, and inspired by, a single iconic leader. Oprah Winfrey's heart and creative instincts inform the brand -- and the magnetism of the channel.
Winfrey provides leadership in programming and attracts superstar talent to join her in primetime, building a global community of like-minded viewers and leading that community to connect on social media and beyond. OWN is a singular destination on cable. Depth with edge. Heart. Star power. Connection. And endless possibilities.
Discover OWN TV:
Find OWN on you TV!: http://bit.ly/1wJ0ugI
Our Fantastic Lineup: http://bit.ly/1qMi2jE
Connect with OWN Online:
Visit the OWN WEBSITE: http://bit.ly/1qMi2jE
Like OWN on FACEBOOK: http://on.fb.me/1AXYujp
Follow OWN on TWITTER: http://bit.ly/1sJin8Y
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First Look: Cameron Diaz on Giving Yourself Permission to Age Gracefully | Oprah Prime | Oprah Winfrey Network
http://www.youtube.com/user/OWN
INTRO TO ERNESTINE SHEPHERD--77 YEAR BODYBUILDING GOING STRONG
Watch an all-new episode of Oprah Prime Sunday night at 9/8c.
Ernestine Shepherd, known as the oldest competitive female bodybuilder, is redefining aging. Inspired by her sister's death, she originally decided to begin training at the age of 56. Watch as Oprah and Sharon Stone check out a video produced by Prevention magazine highlighting Ernestine's success as a trainer. Then, Ernestine joins Oprah via Skype™ to talk about keeping the body and mind healthy.
Find OWN on TV at http://www.oprah.com/FindOWN
SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/1vqD1PN
“Oprah Prime” takes an in-depth look at some of the most important issues facing us today, including headline-making current events, through compelling interviews and thoughtful discussions with newsmakers, celebrities, luminaries and real-life families.
About OWN:
Oprah Winfrey Network is the first and only network named for, and inspired by, a single iconic leader. Oprah Winfrey's heart and creative instincts inform the brand -- and the magnetism of the channel.
Winfrey provides leadership in programming and attracts superstar talent to join her in primetime, building a global community of like-minded viewers and leading that community to connect on social media and beyond. OWN is a singular destination on cable. Depth with edge. Heart. Star power. Connection. And endless possibilities.
Discover OWN TV:
Find OWN on you TV!: http://bit.ly/1wJ0ugI
Our Fantastic Lineup: http://bit.ly/1qMi2jE
Connect with OWN Online:
Visit the OWN WEBSITE: http://bit.ly/1qMi2jE
Like OWN on FACEBOOK: http://on.fb.me/1AXYujp
Follow OWN on TWITTER: http://bit.ly/1sJin8Y
Follow OWN on INSTAGRAM: http://bit.ly/LnqzMz
Follow OWN on PINTEREST: http://bit.ly/1u0CqR6
Meet Ernestine, the 77-Year-Old Bodybuilder | Oprah Prime | Oprah
Improving Digestion
By Raia Darsey-Malloy
Health, Fitness, Wellness Consultant
Fresh Beginnings Personal Development Co.
www.fresh-beginnings.com
When physician Donald Morse of Temple University did research with female students, he asked them to meditate for 5 minutes before eating, then also to do mental arithmetic for 5 minutes before eating. When the students meditated, they produced 22% more of an enzyme in saliva called alpha-amylase, which helps you break down carbohydrates and B vitamins in food. This suggests that if you eat in a relaxed, mindful, present state of mind, you'll absorb more nutrients, and in this way, may improve health.
You are a mind/body/spirit energy field, and it is crucial to keep the body in tune with itself through exercise and nutrition. Spend just a few days eating an organic diet of vegetables and fruits while drinking distilled water (such as reverse osmosis) and you'll be amazed at how much more spiritually healthy you feel.
Perhaps refraining from junk food, tobacco, aspartame, saturated fats, processed foods, factory raised meats, and fluoride could be something to aim for come this new year. Praying over your food actually changes the molecular structure of the food molecules to allow for better digestion.
"To receive the most subtle particles in the food, you must be fully conscious, wide awake, and full of love. If the entire system is ready to receive food in that perfect way, then the food is moved to pour out its hidden riches…when food opens itself, it gives you all that it has in the way of pure, divine energies."
-O. M. Aivanbov
"When we look at nutrition from a purely scientific point of view, there is no place for consciousness. And yet, consciousness could be one of the crucial determinants of the metabolism of food itself."
~ Deepak Chopra., M.D.
As much as we like to dedicate all of our energy on "enlightenment" and spirit well-being, remember that your body is the vessel of the soul. It is the vehicle in which your consciousness expresses itself. How can you expect to tune into spiritual energies when the bodily energies are completely disrupted? You are a mind/body/spirit energy field, and it is crucial to keep the body in tune with itself through exercise and nutrition.
Spend just a few days eating an organic diet of vegetables and fruits while drinking distilled water (such as reverse osmosis) and you'll be amazed at how much more spiritually healthy you feel. Perhaps refraining from junkfood, tobacco, aspartame, saturated fats, processed foods, factory raised meats, and flouride could be something to aim for come this new year. Praying over your food actually changes the molecular structure of the food molecules to allow for better digestion.
..
Health, Fitness, Wellness Consultant
Fresh Beginnings Personal Development Co.
www.fresh-beginnings.com
You are a mind/body/spirit energy field, and it is crucial to keep the body in tune with itself through exercise and nutrition. Spend just a few days eating an organic diet of vegetables and fruits while drinking distilled water (such as reverse osmosis) and you'll be amazed at how much more spiritually healthy you feel.
Perhaps refraining from junk food, tobacco, aspartame, saturated fats, processed foods, factory raised meats, and fluoride could be something to aim for come this new year. Praying over your food actually changes the molecular structure of the food molecules to allow for better digestion.
"To receive the most subtle particles in the food, you must be fully conscious, wide awake, and full of love. If the entire system is ready to receive food in that perfect way, then the food is moved to pour out its hidden riches…when food opens itself, it gives you all that it has in the way of pure, divine energies."
-O. M. Aivanbov
"When we look at nutrition from a purely scientific point of view, there is no place for consciousness. And yet, consciousness could be one of the crucial determinants of the metabolism of food itself."
~ Deepak Chopra., M.D.
As much as we like to dedicate all of our energy on "enlightenment" and spirit well-being, remember that your body is the vessel of the soul. It is the vehicle in which your consciousness expresses itself. How can you expect to tune into spiritual energies when the bodily energies are completely disrupted? You are a mind/body/spirit energy field, and it is crucial to keep the body in tune with itself through exercise and nutrition.
Spend just a few days eating an organic diet of vegetables and fruits while drinking distilled water (such as reverse osmosis) and you'll be amazed at how much more spiritually healthy you feel. Perhaps refraining from junkfood, tobacco, aspartame, saturated fats, processed foods, factory raised meats, and flouride could be something to aim for come this new year. Praying over your food actually changes the molecular structure of the food molecules to allow for better digestion.
..
KOOKY FOR KALE GREEN QUEEN
By Raia Darsey-Malloy
Health, Fitness, Wellness Consultant
Fresh Beginnings Personal Development Co.
www.fresh-beginnings.com
I vividly recall the first time my great cook hubs David came home with Kale as an alternative to lettuce in my salads. Since that time I have been kooky for kale. It is more flavorful, rich in nutrients, lasts longer, costs less than other green salad base. I prefer it over Romaine, leafy green lettuce or cabbage. When we did a little research on the benefits of adding Kale to the diet I was sold and it has been a staple in my "eat clean and healthy" regime ever since.
While not as well researched as some of its fellow cruciferous vegetables like broccoli or cabbage, kale is a food that you can count on for some unsurpassed health benefits, if for no other reason than its exceptional nutrient richness. In our own website food rating system, kale scored 4 "excellents," 6 "very goods," and 10 "goods"—for a total of 20 standout categories of nutrient richness! That achievement is difficult for most foods to match.
Kale can provide you with some special cholesterol-lowering benefits if you will cook it by steaming. The fiber-related components in kale do a better job of binding together with bile acids in your digestive tract when they've been steamed. When this binding process takes place, it's easier for bile acids to be excreted, and the result is a lowering of your cholesterol levels. Raw kale still has cholesterol-lowering ability—just not as much.
Kale's risk-lowering benefits for cancer have recently been extended to at least five different types of cancer. These types include cancer of the bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate. Isothiocyanates (ITCs) made from glucosinolates in kale play a primary role in achieving these risk-lowering benefits.
Kale is now recognized as providing comprehensive support for the body's detoxification system. New research has shown that the ITCs made from kale's glucosinolates can help regulate detox at a genetic level.
Researchers can now identify over 45 different flavonoids in kale. With kaempferol and quercetin heading the list, kale's flavonoids combine both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits in way that gives kale a leading dietary role with respect to avoidance of chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.
Like most of its fellow cruciferous vegetables, kale has been studied more extensively in relationship to cancer than any other health condition. This research focus makes perfect sense. Kale's nutrient richness stands out in three particular areas: (1) antioxidant nutrients, (2) anti-inflammatory nutrients, and (3) anti-cancer nutrients in the form of glucosinolates. Without sufficient intake of antioxidants, our oxygen metabolism can become compromised, and we can experience a metabolic problem called "oxidative stress."
Without sufficient intake of anti-inflammatory nutrients, regulation of our inflammatory system can become compromised, and we can experience the problem of chronic inflammation. Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation—and the combination of these metabolic problems—are risk factors for development of cancer. We've seen research studies on 5 specific types of cancer—including bladder cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, ovarian cancer, and prostate cancer—and intake of cruciferous vegetables (specifically including kale). As a group, these studies definitely show cancer preventive benefits from kale intake, and in some cases, treatment benefits as well.
Kale's cancer preventive benefits have been clearly linked to its unusual concentration of two types of antioxidants, namely, carotenoids and flavonoids. Within the carotenoids, lutein and beta-carotene are standout antioxidants in kale. Researchers have actually followed the passage of these two carotenoids in kale from the human digestive tract up into the blood stream, and they have demonstrated the ability of kale to raise blood levels of these carotenoid nutrients. That finding is important because lutein and beta-carotene are key nutrients in the protection of our body from oxidative stress and health problems related to oxidative stress. Increased risk of cataracts, atherosclerosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are three such problems. Also among these chronic health problems is cancer since our overall risk of cells becoming cancerous is partly related to oxidative stress.
Within the flavonoids, kaempferol is a spotlight antioxidant in kale, followed by a flavonoid called quercitin. But recent research has also made it clear that at least 45 different antioxidant flavonoids are provided in measurable amounts by kale. This broad spectrum of flavonoid antioxidants is likely to be a key to kale's cancer-preventive benefits and benefits that we expect to be documented for other health problems stemming from oxidative stress.
Anti-Inflammatory Health Benefits
We have yet to see research on kale's omega-3 content and inflammation, but we would expect this kind of research to show the omega-3s in kale to be an important part of kale's anti-inflammatory benefits. It only takes 100 calories of kale to provide over 350 milligrams for the most basic omega-3 fatty acid (alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA). We suspect that this amount will be plenty to show direct anti-inflammatory benefits from routine kale intake.
We also have yet to see specific research on inflammation and kale's vitamin K content. But we know that kale is a spectacular source of vitamin K (one cup of kale provides far more micrograms of vitamin K than any of our World's Healthiest foods) and we also know that vitamin K is a key nutrient for helping regulate our body's inflammatory process. Taken in combination, we expect these two facts about vitamin K to eventually get tied together in health research that shows kale to be an exceptional food for lowering our risk of chronic inflammation and associated health problems.
Health, Fitness, Wellness Consultant
Fresh Beginnings Personal Development Co.
www.fresh-beginnings.com
I vividly recall the first time my great cook hubs David came home with Kale as an alternative to lettuce in my salads. Since that time I have been kooky for kale. It is more flavorful, rich in nutrients, lasts longer, costs less than other green salad base. I prefer it over Romaine, leafy green lettuce or cabbage. When we did a little research on the benefits of adding Kale to the diet I was sold and it has been a staple in my "eat clean and healthy" regime ever since.
While not as well researched as some of its fellow cruciferous vegetables like broccoli or cabbage, kale is a food that you can count on for some unsurpassed health benefits, if for no other reason than its exceptional nutrient richness. In our own website food rating system, kale scored 4 "excellents," 6 "very goods," and 10 "goods"—for a total of 20 standout categories of nutrient richness! That achievement is difficult for most foods to match.
Kale can provide you with some special cholesterol-lowering benefits if you will cook it by steaming. The fiber-related components in kale do a better job of binding together with bile acids in your digestive tract when they've been steamed. When this binding process takes place, it's easier for bile acids to be excreted, and the result is a lowering of your cholesterol levels. Raw kale still has cholesterol-lowering ability—just not as much.
Kale's risk-lowering benefits for cancer have recently been extended to at least five different types of cancer. These types include cancer of the bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate. Isothiocyanates (ITCs) made from glucosinolates in kale play a primary role in achieving these risk-lowering benefits.
Kale is now recognized as providing comprehensive support for the body's detoxification system. New research has shown that the ITCs made from kale's glucosinolates can help regulate detox at a genetic level.
Researchers can now identify over 45 different flavonoids in kale. With kaempferol and quercetin heading the list, kale's flavonoids combine both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits in way that gives kale a leading dietary role with respect to avoidance of chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.
Like most of its fellow cruciferous vegetables, kale has been studied more extensively in relationship to cancer than any other health condition. This research focus makes perfect sense. Kale's nutrient richness stands out in three particular areas: (1) antioxidant nutrients, (2) anti-inflammatory nutrients, and (3) anti-cancer nutrients in the form of glucosinolates. Without sufficient intake of antioxidants, our oxygen metabolism can become compromised, and we can experience a metabolic problem called "oxidative stress."
Without sufficient intake of anti-inflammatory nutrients, regulation of our inflammatory system can become compromised, and we can experience the problem of chronic inflammation. Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation—and the combination of these metabolic problems—are risk factors for development of cancer. We've seen research studies on 5 specific types of cancer—including bladder cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, ovarian cancer, and prostate cancer—and intake of cruciferous vegetables (specifically including kale). As a group, these studies definitely show cancer preventive benefits from kale intake, and in some cases, treatment benefits as well.
Kale's cancer preventive benefits have been clearly linked to its unusual concentration of two types of antioxidants, namely, carotenoids and flavonoids. Within the carotenoids, lutein and beta-carotene are standout antioxidants in kale. Researchers have actually followed the passage of these two carotenoids in kale from the human digestive tract up into the blood stream, and they have demonstrated the ability of kale to raise blood levels of these carotenoid nutrients. That finding is important because lutein and beta-carotene are key nutrients in the protection of our body from oxidative stress and health problems related to oxidative stress. Increased risk of cataracts, atherosclerosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are three such problems. Also among these chronic health problems is cancer since our overall risk of cells becoming cancerous is partly related to oxidative stress.
Within the flavonoids, kaempferol is a spotlight antioxidant in kale, followed by a flavonoid called quercitin. But recent research has also made it clear that at least 45 different antioxidant flavonoids are provided in measurable amounts by kale. This broad spectrum of flavonoid antioxidants is likely to be a key to kale's cancer-preventive benefits and benefits that we expect to be documented for other health problems stemming from oxidative stress.
Anti-Inflammatory Health Benefits
We have yet to see research on kale's omega-3 content and inflammation, but we would expect this kind of research to show the omega-3s in kale to be an important part of kale's anti-inflammatory benefits. It only takes 100 calories of kale to provide over 350 milligrams for the most basic omega-3 fatty acid (alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA). We suspect that this amount will be plenty to show direct anti-inflammatory benefits from routine kale intake.
We also have yet to see specific research on inflammation and kale's vitamin K content. But we know that kale is a spectacular source of vitamin K (one cup of kale provides far more micrograms of vitamin K than any of our World's Healthiest foods) and we also know that vitamin K is a key nutrient for helping regulate our body's inflammatory process. Taken in combination, we expect these two facts about vitamin K to eventually get tied together in health research that shows kale to be an exceptional food for lowering our risk of chronic inflammation and associated health problems.
Effective Goal-Setting, Goal-Getting Tips
By Raia Darsey-Malloy
Health, Fitness, Wellness Consultant
Fresh Beginnings Personal Development Co.
www.fresh-beginnings.com
My hubs David and I are in the personal development field and we assist clients in effective goal-setting, goal-getting objectives. After years of writing, producing and presenting seminars and courses in healthy weight management there a few key tips we suggest and they are included below.
Health, Fitness, Wellness Consultant
Fresh Beginnings Personal Development Co.
www.fresh-beginnings.com
My hubs David and I are in the personal development field and we assist clients in effective goal-setting, goal-getting objectives. After years of writing, producing and presenting seminars and courses in healthy weight management there a few key tips we suggest and they are included below.
ESTABLISH ACHIEVABLE GOALS
One of the biggest mistakes I see in goal setting are those who want to run before you can walk. Progress is not rapid. It is more effective to take small, steady but impactful, baby steps. Break bigger goals down into smaller, manageable mini-goals. This also allows you to celebrate each small goal, and keep your enthusiasm high, instead of risking frustration waiting to achieve one big goal. The best part is you are no longer relying on a super high level of motivation to keep yourself committed. The more simple the goal, the less motivation it requires to achieve it.
SET YOUR GOAL AND SEE IT CLEARLY
Whether you want to lose weight, build muscle, or just feel better, you likely have a general idea of what you want to accomplish. So, what's the problem? Your goal is too general. Remember, your goals are your foundation. A weak goal is a stumbling block right out of the gate.
Instead of aiming for vague buzzwords and phrases—skinny, weight loss, muscle—envision your goals as realistically as a clip from one of your favorite films. You should be able to see everything in crisp detail. Your goal should have the power to make you feel something.
Looking to lose weight? Ask yourself the following questions:
How many pounds do you want to lose?
What is your goal physique?
What will it feel like to fit into a smaller size?
What will it feel like when your friends, family, and coworkers are left speechless by your progress?
What will you feel like in this new body?
Now, use this same visualization to picture what it will look and feel like if you don't achieve your goal.
How will it feel to avoid the swimming pool on your vacation just because you don't want to be seen in a bathing suit? Live in that moment. Use your strong desire to avoid disappointment as a source of energy to propel you forward. We're far more motivated by how we feel than by how we think. Tether your goal to that force and let it push you toward your ultimate goal.
BELIEVE IN YOUR GOAL
Hopefully you're already beginning to acknowledge the power in being able to see and feel your future success. Now, add belief to the equation.
Everything you've experienced, heard, or seen in life influences your own sense of what is and isn't possible. It's easy to let limiting thoughts hold you back. Negative self talk can leave you saying things like "That might be possible for them but not for me because of x, y, or z." You might have a trail of dieting failures behind you that have led you to assume that achieving your dream physique isn't in the cards. Shake it off and rethink what you believe is possible. You must believe in your ability to succeed before you actually succeed.
Roger Bannister, the first man to run a 4-minute mile. Before he did it in 1954, no one thought it was possible, and many had already tried and failed. After Roger achieved that milestone, another runner matched the feat just two months later, and many others followed since. After Bannister broke the barrier, it became much easier for others to think they could too. And so they did.
Many people have now run a 4-minute mile, but countless have achieved their fitness goals. Use them for inspiration. If they did, we all can. The key is to conceive, believe and achieve.
One of the biggest mistakes I see in goal setting are those who want to run before you can walk. Progress is not rapid. It is more effective to take small, steady but impactful, baby steps. Break bigger goals down into smaller, manageable mini-goals. This also allows you to celebrate each small goal, and keep your enthusiasm high, instead of risking frustration waiting to achieve one big goal. The best part is you are no longer relying on a super high level of motivation to keep yourself committed. The more simple the goal, the less motivation it requires to achieve it.
SET YOUR GOAL AND SEE IT CLEARLY
Whether you want to lose weight, build muscle, or just feel better, you likely have a general idea of what you want to accomplish. So, what's the problem? Your goal is too general. Remember, your goals are your foundation. A weak goal is a stumbling block right out of the gate.
Instead of aiming for vague buzzwords and phrases—skinny, weight loss, muscle—envision your goals as realistically as a clip from one of your favorite films. You should be able to see everything in crisp detail. Your goal should have the power to make you feel something.
Looking to lose weight? Ask yourself the following questions:
How many pounds do you want to lose?
What is your goal physique?
What will it feel like to fit into a smaller size?
What will it feel like when your friends, family, and coworkers are left speechless by your progress?
What will you feel like in this new body?
Now, use this same visualization to picture what it will look and feel like if you don't achieve your goal.
How will it feel to avoid the swimming pool on your vacation just because you don't want to be seen in a bathing suit? Live in that moment. Use your strong desire to avoid disappointment as a source of energy to propel you forward. We're far more motivated by how we feel than by how we think. Tether your goal to that force and let it push you toward your ultimate goal.
BELIEVE IN YOUR GOAL
Hopefully you're already beginning to acknowledge the power in being able to see and feel your future success. Now, add belief to the equation.
Everything you've experienced, heard, or seen in life influences your own sense of what is and isn't possible. It's easy to let limiting thoughts hold you back. Negative self talk can leave you saying things like "That might be possible for them but not for me because of x, y, or z." You might have a trail of dieting failures behind you that have led you to assume that achieving your dream physique isn't in the cards. Shake it off and rethink what you believe is possible. You must believe in your ability to succeed before you actually succeed.
Roger Bannister, the first man to run a 4-minute mile. Before he did it in 1954, no one thought it was possible, and many had already tried and failed. After Roger achieved that milestone, another runner matched the feat just two months later, and many others followed since. After Bannister broke the barrier, it became much easier for others to think they could too. And so they did.
Many people have now run a 4-minute mile, but countless have achieved their fitness goals. Use them for inspiration. If they did, we all can. The key is to conceive, believe and achieve.
APOLOGIES TO THE BODY (HEAD TRIPPER IN TRANSITION)
I apologize for hiding from you in my mind. I was a head-tripper extraordinaire, preferring the seeming safety of my thoughts to the often savage world of feeling. Although I was frequently called ‘absent-minded’, I was actually ‘absent-bodied’, living far outside the walls of the body temple. I grew up in a hateful family, and feeling into my body meant feeling into the horrible memories held in my tissues. Surviving by my wits allowed me to think my way through challenging circumstances and shielded me from pain. But my headiness came at a price- excessive analysis perpetuates emotional paralysis.
My coping strategy became my blueprint for reality, alienating me from my real life. But I want to stop watching you from afar. I want to open the gate and come back in now.
I apologize for abusing you with toxic food, over-eating, workaholism. I wanted you drained and deadened so that I couldn’t feel you. If I enlivened you, I felt my emotions more strongly and my pain emerged. If I numbed you, my memories remained buried. Yet another self-distraction technique. I am sorry for those acts of misplaced aggression. I couldn’t hold you safe because I had never been held safe. I had to first forge self-love in the fires of life.
I apologize for shaming you, loathing you, hiding you, feeling embarrassed about you. I am sorry that I judged your seeming imperfections as oddities rather than reflections of the Godself. My attitude was a direct reflection of my own self-hatred, the internalized remnants of a shamed and vilified inner world. They told me I was ugly and I believed them. Characterized as the black sheep throughout my childhood, I took that message to heart, often perpetuating the shameathon at my own expense. As I work to bring my light out from under its bushel of shame, I see the wonder that is you shining through. Such a majestic temple, a living prayer to the Godself. If we don’t honour the temple, there will be no place to pray.
I apologize for looking for my spiritual life independent from you, as though God is a disembodied construct and not a felt experience. Like a good little head-tripper, I wanted to think God, rather than feel God. And so I looked for God on the skyways of detachment, mistaking self-avoidance for enlightenment itself. I went down this path for some time, seemingly calm on the outside, but a bubbling cauldron of unresolved feelings in the deep within. In truth, the closest I ever came to an inclusive consciousness were in those moments when I surrendered to you completely, blemishes and all. It is no accident that we are here in physical form- God is IN the people. I apologize for looking for God outside the temple walls.
I apologize for weighing you down with physical and emotional armour: rigid musculature, congealed rage, shallowed breath, a hardened heart. Perfectly conditioned as a lone-wolf male warrior, I preferred solidity to fluidity, weaponry to warmth. A slave to survival, I was built to move along the path like a machine, postponing rest and pleasure for a day that seldom came. With my armour intact, nothing and no one could touch me. But I was borrowing energy from my future. I was killing myself. Even now, I am under no illusion that I will shift this way of being easily. It is deep in me, deep in my memories of overcoming. But I will try, one shedding at a time. I will try.
I apologize for subjecting you to objectified, heart-severed sexuality. You are built for intimacy that is depth-full, unifying, indistinguishable from the God-self. Anything less is a perversion of your divine nature. But I all too often wanted it shallow and Godless. I wanted no bridge between my heart and genitals, my heart and hers. Even when I was going through my ‘tantra’ phases, I was still abusing you, because I was using my genitals as a bliss seeking missile and not a bridge to the divine. I was using sexuality to escape the moment rather than to deepen in connection. I am sorry that I abused you in this way. I am committed to enheartening my sexuality. I am committed to building the heart-genital highway within.
I am grateful for the so many ways that you kept me going even when my waking consciousness was completely alienated from you. If I had been ruled by my thoughts alone, I would be long dead, bouncing as I was from one heady tree-top to another. But you never failed me, never forgot me, never lost sight of where I really lived. You kept breathing me when I acted against you, when I shamed you, when I disowned you. You kept loving me, calling me back, keeping me afloat until I could meet myself. Such devotion. Deep bows..
I am particularly grateful that you carried me through the most destructive life stages. You healed the wounds and broken bones of early life. You shielded me from violence with your fists and feet. You got me out of bed when grief was immobilizing my spirit. You pulled me out of the fires of childhood hell, even when I re-created them throughout adulthood. You warmed me up, as I knocked on thousands of doors to sell windows in Canadian winters. You kept me awake through a sleepless trial law apprenticeship. You endured 3 decades of workaholism and over-compensation, with little rest. Dearest friend, how can I best honour you?
Thank you for being my authenticity-mometer, my temple of truth. How beautifully you carried my sacred purpose until I was ready for the hand-off. You reminded me with truth-chills whenever I walked in the right direction. You tripped me up with truth-aches whenever I dared to walk in someone else’s shoes. What is so remarkable is that you never failed to communicate with me when I was living a lie. I may not have been ready to listen, but you never abandoned your faith in my possibilities. I now know that my true-path is encoded in the bones of my being. Not a temple that I visit, but one that I am.
I look forward to the day when humanity fully embraces your divinity and recognizes the unity at the heart of creation. A unified consciousness still exists outside of our habitual awareness, but it sings to us from deep within, a symphony of God-music that is calling us home. Where body, mind and spirit appear to be flowing in disparate directions, they will soon be revealed as inextricable branches of the same waterway. On the river of Essence, everything flows in the same direction —towards the ocean of wholeness.
As we move closer to a unified consciousness, may we recognize the heart of the matter- our enheartened body temple. Enlightenment is not a head trip- it’s a heart trip, gusts of God blowing through the portal of the heart, the aortic love valve merging with the love that courses through the universal vein. As it turns out, it isn’t beginner’s mind we seek. Its’ beginner’s heart- the freshness of appreciation that flows through the open heart. If we want to expand our spiritual consciousness, we have to shake our heart tree often. Opening the heart unlocks the heart of the universe, and we see what is always before us. May we be committed to shedding the armour around our heart a little more with every breath.
I am writing you by the banks of a small river, watching Canadian Geese land, resting and readying for the next leg of their journey south. I watch them, settling into a body they never left, truly here. Time to surrender, sing the birds of pray. Then, when their body is ready, they rise again, rising on the wings of their love. I hear them, calling out to each other. Surrender! they cry, as they fly God home for the winter.
One day, I won’t write you as though you are independent of my waking consciousness. One day, I will pray to you, as you. One day, I too will fly to God without leaving the temple. Until then, please continue to hold me safe.
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