Tuesday, April 13, 2010

The Veloway

Saturday made for an opportunity to visit The Veloway. Such a great little loop for rollerblades! It's a 3.1 mile loop that is mostly level w/ some slight elevation for fun. It's reserved strictly for bikers and skates, so there is no foot traffic on the track. I love the fact that it's extremely well-kept, clean and smooth. In under 30 minutes you can wrap around the track and get a great workout for the legs.

I love the bonding experience of running with my dog, Emma, everyday. We've been making running together a fun experience and our pace is quickening and as long as there aren't too many dogs around, she stays focused on her stride and the leash is loose.

Next up, a class at Flywheel Fitness. I've got friends that row in college so I've been coached on proper form and find it very mentally challenging to stay on task with my form. This should be a mentally tough workout!

Hope that each of you on your fitness journey, find something fun and new to enjoy! Keep focused on positive thoughts and enjoying every bit of the process; tough and easy go hand in hand in every good experience.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

On the Job

A couple of times a week I do health and fitness lectures for the State of Texas' Department of Public Safety. The participants include troopers, internal intel, crime lab workers, the people that make our driver's licenses, all sorts of interesting jobs, that unfortunately, put them in the same (usually sitting) position for long periods of time. So, I discuss health and fitness topics to educate and hopefully motivate some healthy movement. I love my newest lecture series, "Lowering Your Body Fat". It's a topic that often causes a lot of dispute amongst professionals and there's a lot of good information surrounding the topic to share with others. I wrote it in a frank manner with more of a "make the best use of your time" attitude. The feedback has been very good! Some days there are not words to describe how much I love my job.

The most interesting part of fitness is that there are literally thousands of ways to better your health. Different methods, applications, and reasonings behind the science. And to better perform my job, I need to know all I can about how to apply new techniques to each individual. I've got a couple of fitness quests for this week. While I'm on a break from volleyball, I'm gonna take on some fun workouts in new environments. I've got rollerblading, rowing, yoga, running group, and a kettlebell class all lined up.

I encourage you to try something fun and new this week to better your health!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Act of Kindness

I've been reading...some random reading of blogs I follow and such, but also about a Peace Summit that the Dalai Lama did in September of 2009 in Vancouver themed, "Educating the Heart" that focused on mostly good news and good works.

The Dalai Lama emphasized again and again the need for women to have greater roles in leadership in all fields because, he said, they are "biologically" more nurturing and have a greater sensitivity to suffering. He feels that our educational system is the domain in which ethics and a connection to the totality of life needs to be taught now that there is a worldwide diminishment of the role of churches and the cohesion of families, arenas which once provided more spiritual and ethical sustenance. Following up on a challenge he made in 2006, he implored the educators and scientists attending the conference to introduce emotional and social intelligence in schools and for the media to start concentrating more on "good news," stories that uplift our spirits instead of scaring us to death.

I make a conscious effort to live in that world of empathy and kindness. Why do I not see this attitude more often in my city? Don't get me wrong, Austin is a friendly city and I see kind acts often and have experienced several personally. But I also see a lack of cohesiveness and have experienced a lot of fear and insecurity of people when it comes to being good to other people and forming good relationships.

Why do we think it serves us as humans to not treat each and every person as amazing entities? Every single "stranger" has purpose in this world, someday they may even have direct purpose to you. I think if we all take the time each day to thank one person (or more!) for their act of kindness or to create our own act of kindness that we will better served.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Live from the Heart

No matter what obstacles I may encounter and no matter what life throws at me, I will always stay true to my values and live from my heart.
Listen to what others are saying without being so quick to respond. Absorb and think before speaking.

Be intentional about your choices. The choices you make stay with you for life. Live with good intentions.

Speak the truth about you. Ask for what you want and need to be happy and stay true to your deepest desires and needs.

Love everything and everyone just as they are.

Be grateful for gifts that you may not initially think of as gifts. The speeding ticket as a means to slow down...criticism to help you do a better job...an obstacle that keeps you from your original path.

Here's to a healthy and happy 2010!!