Category Archives: Exercise

Naturally Fit: Keep It Moving… So, You CAN Keep It Moving!

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“Get up off that thang!  And make yourself feel better!”  Okay, I know the lyric is really “…shake ‘til you feel better.”  Either way, studies are proving that James Brown had it right.  Sitting is BAD for you! And I mean bad; not, you know, like bad means good.  Sitting apparently is awful for you.

Just do a Google search on “sitting is bad” and everyone from Huff Post to ABC to the Washington Post etc. will tell you all about it.  Sitting has even been called, “the new smoking.” I heard about it on Leonard Lopate.  The gist is you need to move! We are not built to spend nine hours a day in front of a computer or tv.  When we sit around, we’re not burning fat and our circulation gets sluggish.  This creates all sorts of problems that can shorten our lives, like obesity, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, increased blood pressure, high cholesterol levels etc. etc., etc.!

“Cynthia, I go to the gym 5 days a work. This isn’t a problem for me,” you say. Congrats on the commitment you’ve made to exercise.  Unfortunately, it’s not enough.  Prolonged daily sitting is still risky even if you do exercise regularly. When we sit our muscles get stiff and shorten and circulation slows down.  One hour of daily exercise isn’t going to compensate for 9 to 13 hours of being sedentary.

“I can’t quit my job or make my commute shorter, Cynthia! What am I supposed to do?” Oh, don’t I know it!  You CAN move your muscles every 15 minutes or so. Make it a habit to get up and walk around. Go for a lap around the block or just around the building.  Can’t spare the time? Walk to the bathroom and back.  Can’t get away from office at all? Just get up, stretch, walk in place… stand, just stand up and wiggle a little! The point is to move your body.

I found a few videos on youtube.com that I’ve found helpful to keep moving at work. They take just a couple of minutes. Here’s one to check out by Denise Austin. She has a bunch of these targeting different parts of the body.

Denise Austin Total Body Toning Office Workout

The benefits are not just physical either. Getting up and moving is also helpful for mental capacity. People who make the effort to move throughout the day have reported feeling more creative and having greater mental clarity. And that should make everyone at work happy!

How do you keep it moving at work? I would love to hear from you.

Love and Blessings to All,

 

Cynthia

 

Please follow me on Twitter.  Also, please LIKE my Facebook Page.

justdragonfly

 

Exercise: Do I really need to set a freakin’ goal?

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I have a strange relationship with exercise.  I love it while I am doing it and it does me a lot of good physically, mentally and emotionally but I have struggled with a self-defeating habit of trying to get out of it.

Honestly, I don’t believe it is anything deeper than the fact that the free spirit inside me never wants to live the same day twice.  I already devote 40+ hours a week to working for someone else, at least 12 hours a week commuting to work for someone else, then there is cleaning and laundry, studying… having to be disciplined about one more thing can make ya want to run off and live in the woods Thoreau-style.  Except I want to stay fit physically, mentally and emotionally.  So, I am committed now to a daily yoga practice and walking the dogs most days (you know, weather permitting.)

I have been doing pretty well and have been pleased with the results thus far.  Then while I was the yoga mat recently, I got an idea!  I have a vision board hanging above the TV. So when I need to focus on something to keep my balance while practicing, I stare at something on my board.  I saw a photo of a woman who looks a bit like me in ustrasana or full camel pose.  I put it on my board to represent flexibility in general, not just in yoga or my physical body.  I found myself thinking that it might be fun to see if I could do it before the end of the year.

It is such a beautiful pose because it corrects most people’s natural (or unnatural depending on your perspective) tendency to curl into themselves in a protective or childlike way.  I tend to slouch with rigid, rounded shoulders.  I have noticed that the tightness in my neck, back and shoulders has been turning into creaks and crackles.  I want to avoid any kind of chronic backache or arthritis and working towards this pose just might be the ticket.

So, we’ll see how it goes.  It does feel more freeing to know I am working toward something that is opening me up and healing my body, mind and spirit rather than just dogmatically going through a routine.  Maybe I will post a photo of myself in this pose before the end of the year.

How do you stay motivated to exercise?  Please leave a comment or drop me a note.  I would love to hear from you.

Love and blessings to all,

Cynthia

Please follow me on Twitter.  Also, please LIKE my Facebook Page.

Back on The Mat: Inspiration for everyone!

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I have a confession to make: as much as I love yoga and have gained many benefits from it over the years, my practice has been well…spotty.  Some months I have practiced every day; other years I have averaged once a month.  I’ve always been perplexed by my own faltering commitment, given how much better my life works when I do it.

Instead of devoting any more time to figure it out, back in January I decided to just have a daily practice again.  Then one day when I was tired and busy, I wanted to skip.  Like magic Arthur Boorman showed up in my life to inspire me.  You can bet after I watched this video, I got my ass on that mat:

Click here to watch Arthur’s video right now! You will be inspired!

I practiced every day after that until I fell.  I found I really missed yoga during my convalescence. I found myself thinking about Arthur Boorman and what he had achieved quite often.  I realized that if he could accomplish what he has, then I would not allow my injuries to become future excuses to avoid a daily practice.  So, I am pleased to report that I am now back on the mat again every day and it feels great!

Jack Canfield, mentioned in a lecture I was listening to earlier this week that, “it takes about 30 days of intensive focus to move a new habit or belief into your life.”  Similarly, (…and on the same day…freaky!) I saw another youtube video that Diamond Dallas Page put up, featuring a man named Slim.

Click here to watch Slim’s Video

Slim and his wife Laura started a website called http://www.thenextfortydays.com to share Slim’s experience. They explain their idea like this:

“The Next Forty Days is an idea. It is a notion that everyone can take a step, however small, to make life just a little bit better. The process is simple – define a goal, make a sacrifice, stay encouraged and enjoy a victory.  This is an opportunity for you to do something you’ve always said you would. It’s a chance to start making better food decisions. Maybe it’s finally time to quit smoking. Even in reading these words, something may have already come into your mind. Whatever the goal, The Next Forty Days will help you get there.  Is there any better time than right now? A year from now, you’ll wish you’d started today. The Next Forty Days is the beginning of the rest of your life. So decide a goal, take the pledge and make life better!”

I hope you have found Arthur’s and Slim’s stories to be as inspirational as I have.  Would you like to transform your life?  What habit or belief are you ready to establish?  Can you commit to practice it for the next 30 to 40 days to make it happen?  I would love to hear from you!

Love and Blessings to all,

Cynthia

Please follow me on Twitter.  Also, please LIKE my Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/naturallyhealthyhappy