Why is it so hard to get an organic apple? Why do I have to pay so much for clean water? Why is gym class only one time per week for my child? I don’t think the “powers that be” care about us. I really don’t. I think there are many very caring and loving people in the world, but I think the FDAs and the AMAs and the USDAs are corrupted and have put dollars...
Remember when fitness studios had classes called High-Impact Aerobics and Low-Impact Aerobics? Also, did you know there was (and is) NIA which stands for Non-Impact Aerobics? I’m bringing the topic of impact up today because “impact” doesn’t get mentioned much anymore. I guess it’s a bit overlooked, but mostly, what has happened I think, is impact level is now getting clumped in under the intensity level umbrella. The problem with this is 99percent of the time, is it assumed that high impact is higher intensity. But is it? ...
“A boat in the harbor is safe, but in time its bottomwill rot out.” – H. Jackson Brown The older I get the more spiritual I feel about the human body. I mean, just wow…what a divinely designed masterpiece, right? We’re lucky to have a body and even when a part of it is injured or out of whack, it’s important to remember there are millions of other parts in perfect flow. An especially vulnerable part of the body is our knees....
There’s what I call “the fire tower trail” in the next town over that I’ve been very much into lately. I park my car and hike a steady incline that’s in a wooded area, for about 10minutes. I then arrive at this tall metal structure that consists of 10 sets of 12 steep stairs, circling up and up. When I get to the top, there’s a panorama view and I can see for miles and...
Every form of martial art, whether it’s karate of jujitsu, integrates. It integrates the muscles of the body, and it integrates body and mind. I’ve always admired martial artistry and it’s, without a doubt, mindful movement, but with a fighting spirit thrown into the mix. Fusion Kick is this month’s new workout, now streaming on Let’s Move! I’ve wanted to offer a 30minute, modern, non-hyper tae bo-type class for a long time, and Phoenix is seriously the most perfect instructor for...
I still get a lot of attention for having grey hair. Pretty much every single day, a woman comes up to me when I’m out and about to tell me, “Oh, I love your hair…wish I was brave enough to do that.” Well, we all know why it is considered “brave” to not dye one’s hair when it’s grey and you’re female. Because grey hair tells the world, “I’m aging.” There’s an unwritten rule that says we...
I wake up early. I love hot beverages and have an aversion to air conditioning. I’m obsessed with dogs and trees. In fact, as a child, I drew the same thing over and over again – a dog walking through a landscape of tall green trees! I bring this up as a reminder for you to work with what you are. You have built-in preferences, inclinations and personality traits, many of which are non-negotiable. For me, going to a 5am workout is nice, but...
There are so many subtle things we can do to help ourselves look good, feel great and shine bright, so many action steps we can take for empowered wellness. One that I’ve been borderline obsessed about lately is stretching throughout the day. I think between stress, cold weather, and lots of sitting around, our bodies lose space. Here’s what a lack of space in the body looks like: 1. feeling and looking shorter and stockier, 2. pain when...
A man carrying a long ladder walked between me and my students midway through the very first aerobics class I ever taught at age 18. It was awkward to say the least! Since then, so many unplanned, quirky things have occurred during my classes, from power outages to chipmunks scurrying over people’s bodies while they were lying in shavasana. When I was working for Club Med in the nineties, someone sat down on their mat...
There are several health and fitness related questions I get asked repeatedly. Some of them, I’ve been asked about since day one of being a fit pro. Some of them, have popped up only recently. Here they are along with a quick answer: Is there an energy bar you recommend?I’m not a fan of 99.9percent of them. I try to avoid packaged food, and energy bars are packaged food. However, if I have to pick...
