Bigger and better

Bigger and Better

Purification stage

May 10, 2013

By: Gina Yoryet Roman

“During the hard times, it’s important to focus on the things you can change in that moment, instead of what you should have or could have done differently,”

Annie Thorisdottir

Many athletic competition years and events stand behind Icelander Annie Thorisdottir (Daughter of Thor. According to http://anniethorisdottir.net/who-is-annie-thorisdottir/, Annie is named after her father, Thor Magnison, who is named after his father Magnus. This is a tradition in Iceland, where a child’s last name is their father’s first name.),

such as,  2 years of ballet, 8 years of gymnastics and two years of pole vaulting. Her athletic physique, experience, determination, youth, focus, resistance, and persistence, are what led her to become World Cross Fit champion in 2011. 

I learned about Annie just a little while ago when I came across ‘The Box Mag,’ a Magazine focused to those individuals living the Cross Fit lifestyle. This was the right impulsing shot in the arm I needed to get focused and regain the incredible self-control I’ve been lacking since my long-enduring, physically painfuland mentally draining episode.

I immediately resonated with her feelings of frustration for not being able to perform at my max when and where I wished. Although my emotions were not manifested through tears, my body underwent a lot of inner and outer physical turmoil that I still haven't reached normality. 

All through the black and white, ups and downs, good and bad of that unforgettable experience that left me marked forever, I couldn’t take the last intense few weeks prior to starting physical therapy out of my mind. That time was a very important step in my athletic career that proved my strength and determination because I had laddered to a higher level ...
I had started integrating cross fit two or three times a week into my routines, two workout buddies asked me to introduce and train them to this wonderful world, which I immediately did until my knee couldn’t withstand the strain. In accordance to this, I became deaf and blind to my body’s cries, I overestimated the power of an injured body and  forced it too much.

All in all, it was an experience that I could’ve avoided. During that time I couldn’t help playing this thought over and over, “I should’ve done things differently, had I slowed down on time, all the physical and emotional pain could’ve lasted less time and I could’ve been on a much higher level right now.” Most interestingly though, that faceoff with physical burden, have taught me the following conditions: 

Pride myself of having been there and done for 12 years on a competitive level and more than half of my life as a lifestyle, don’t be so competitive anymore, slow down, embrace all the stages as they come, hold on to the good aspect and let go of the bad one, continue getting educated and learning about health and fitness and my body, reveal my passion now more than ever, let my body heal, and be patient throughout this purification stage I am still going through, but overall, prove myself that I will be back bigger and better post surgery, but overall, do something with the fitness legacy I am slowly leaving behind.  

Thereupon, I still have another couple of months to go before I can get into cross fit again, for now I will slowly integrate more strength and continue cleansing my body until the physical pain subsides. When that happens, I will challenge myself to reach a higher level and regain my incredible discipline to be bigger and better...

Annie, Thorrisdotir, World Crossfit Champion 2011

Forza fitness for ´Guerreras´

What's your number?

What’s your number?

May 8, 2013

By: Gina Yoryet Roman

During a two hour lasting chat with one of my best friends a few weeks back, I was on the verge of wetting my pants from laughing about all her men anecdotes. She mentioned the men she is/was dating in San Diego. She also pointed out, ‘What’s Your Number,’ a romantic comedy released in 2011. 

Since the day we conversed about that, ‘What’s my number’ keeps resonating within. It is not quite the same number Ally Darling (Anna Faris) wants to add up. With me, it is always asking about what my number is in different matters like this.

It is not the number of men I date,

It is more about the quality man who will hold my heart forever.

It is not the number of gifts I’ve been given during prior relationships,

It is the number of magic moments we spent together and what I’ve learned from those experiences. 

It is not the number of temporary acquaintances that come and go, 

It is the few TRUE and LOYAL lifetime friends standing by me. 

It is not the number of cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews I have, 

It is Just the 10 of us. My brothers, sisters and parents.

It is not the number of fancy, kinky and shinny stilettos in my closet,

It is the few pairs of trainers that give me the greatest sense of comfort.

It is not the number of fancy and expensive restaurants I go to, 

It is THE exquisite homemade dishes I can eat with my family by my side.

It is not the number of trips I make, 

It is the smells, the landscape, the people, the culture I can take in.

It is not the number of mistakes made,

It is more about the learning experiences and what I can hold on to.

It is not the number of days I am able to do volunteer work, 

It is about looking right a needy soul and eyes and know that I’ve helped made a difference in someone’s life but more so in mine. 

It is not about the number of anything I possess, 

It is more about the symbolic value of each object itself.

It is not the number of butterflies lying all around me, 

It is about what they symbolize.

It is not about the number of books I read,

It is more about the knowledge gained.

It is not the number of workouts I can squeeze in in a week’s time,

It is more about quality and discipline.

It is not the number of miles I drive each day, 

It is about making it back home safe and sound each night.

It is not about the number of prayers I silently say to myself,

It is more so about getting a sense of inner peace.

It is not the number of times I bend temporarily, 

It is the number of times I bounce right back.

But overall, 

It is not the number of posts I write, 

It is the number of people I can reach out to and challenge and push myself to stay disciplined and truthful to all of my passions...

Mexican proverbs

Mexican proverbs

May 8, 2013

a batalla de amor, campo de plumas
in the fight for love, a soft playing field. (lit.: in the battle of love, a field of feathers; n.b.: Mexican saying)

a boca de borracho, oídos de cantinero
pay not attention to the loud talk of a drunk. (lit.: from the mouth of a drunk, the sounds of a bar; n.b.: Mexican saying)

a buen hambre no hay mal pan
beggars can't be choosers. (lit.: for strong hunger there's no bad bread; used in Colombia)

a buen hambre no hay pan duro
beggars cant be choosers. (lit.: for strong hunger there’s no bad bread)

a buen sueño no hay mala cama
a tired person can sleep anywhere. (lit.: there is no bad bed for good sleep; n.b.: Mexican saying)

a buenas horas, mangas verdes
lock the barn door after the horse is stolen. (lit.: at good times, green sleeves)

a burro viejo, aparejo nuevo
age can only be hidden so much. (lit.: for an old donkey, a new bridle; n.b.: Mexican saying)

a caballo regalado no se le miran los dientes
don't look a gift horse in the mouth

a cada cerdo le llega su San Martin
everyone gets their just desserts; everyone gets their come-uppance. (lit.: each pig gets his Saint Martin)

a cada nidito le gusta su pajarito
a man's home is his castle. (lit.: each little bird likes his small nest; n.b.: Mexican saying)

a cada puerco le llega su San Martin
everyone gets their just desserts; everyone gets their come-uppance. (lit.: each pig gets his Saint Martin)

a cazador nuevo, perro viejo
experience counts. (lit.: an old/experienced dog for a new hunter; n.b.: Mexican saying)

a Dios rogando y con el mazo dando
God helps those who help themselves. (lit.: to God begging and with the mallet in action)

a falta de pan, buenas son tortas
any port in a storm; beggars cannot be choosers. (lit.: for lack of brean, pies are good)

a flaco perro todo son pulgas
it never rains but it pours

a gato satisfecho no le preocupa ratón
a satisfied cat does not care about a mouse. (n.b.: Mexican saying, which of course does not generally hold true for people)

a gran caballo, grandes espuelas
make the suit fit the occasion. (lit.: for a great horse, large spurs; n.b.: a Mexican saying)

a la mula y a la mujer, a palos se ha de vencer
a mule and a woman must be defeated with blows from sticks. (n.b.: a Mexican saying; probably not the best approach with women)

a la vejez, viruelas
there’s no fool like an old fool. (lit.: at old age, smallpox)

a las mujeres bonitas y a los buenos caballos los echan a perder los pendejos
beautiful women and good horses are lost by idiots. (n.b.: a Mexican saying)

a los amigos uno los escoge; los parientes son a huevo
one chooses one's friends, but family is from birth. (n.b.: a Mexican saying)

a mal tiempo, buena cara
look on the bright side. (lit.: during a bad time, a nice face)

a mucha hambre, no hay pan duro
hunger is the best sauce. (lit.: when very hungry, there is no hard/stale bread)

a oscuras y en silencio, no hay mujer sin ingenio
in the dark and quiet, all women are smart. (n.b.: a Mexican saying)

a quien cuida la peseta nunca le falta un duro
look after the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves. (lit.: he who takes care with pesetas [Spanish coin] never has any hardship)

a quien dan no escoge
beggers cannot be choosers. (lit.: he who is given [something] does not choose)

a quien madruga, Dios le ayuda
God helps those who help themselves; the early bird catches the worm. (lit.: God helps he who awakens early)

a quien tiene buenos dineros, le huelen bien hasta los pedos
those with wealth smell good right down to their farts. (n.b.: a Mexican saying)

a rey muerto, rey puesto
as soon as one goes out the window, another comes in the door. (lit.: a king dead, a king in place)

a río revuelto, ganancia de pescadores
there’s good fishing in troubled waters

abejas que tienen miel tienen aguijón
every rose has its thorns. (lit.: bees with honey have stingers; a Mexican saying)

abierto el cajón, hasta el más honrado es ladrón
deep down we are all thieves. (lit.: when the box is open, even the most honorable is a thief)

agua pasada no mueve molino
it’s no use crying over spilt milk. (lit.: water that has past by does not move mill)

aguacero a las tres, buena tarde es
a downpower at three makes for a good afternoon. (n.b.: in many regions a sudden storm is followed by clear, sunny weather; a Mexican expression)

al buen entendedor, pocas palabras (le bastan)
a word to the wise is sufficient. (lit.: to an expert, few words [are needed])

al buen pagador no le duelen prendas
a good payer will not object to leaving a deposit. (i.e.: good faith is easy for someone with good intentions)

al freír será el reír
he who laughs last laughs best. (lit.: when one fries will be when one laughs)

al hierro caliente batir de repente
strike while the iron is hot. (lit.: strike the hot iron suddenly)

al jacal viejo no le faltan goteras
the old house does not not lack for leaks. (i.e.: older people and things suffer from problems constantly; a Mexican expression)

al llegar a la vejez, se oye y mira lo que no es
when old age arrives, what isn't is still seen and heard. (n.b.: a Mexican saying)

al pescando y a la mujer, con los dedos ha de ser
when fishing or with women, one must use one's fingers. (i.e.: one must act carefully and gently; a Mexican expression)

al primer tapón, zurrapa(s)
everyone has to learn. (lit.: at the plug, dregs)

al probar se ve el mosto
the proof of the pudding is in the eating. (lit.: the grape juice is seen upon testing)

al que madruga, Dios lo ayuda
the early bird catches the worm. (lit.: he who wakes early, God helps)

al que nace barrigón es al ñudo que lo fajen
a leopard does not change its spots. (n.b.: used in Cono Sur)

al que se aleja lo olvidan y al que se muere lo entierran
out of sight, out of mind, and when dead, buried. (n.b.: a Mexican expression that reminds us that to be taken into consideration we must be present at all times)

allá van leyes, do quieren reyes
might makes right. (lit.: the laws go where the kings want; n.b.: "do" is a literary form of "donde"; a Mexican saying)

allí donde fueres haz como vieres
when in Rome, do as the Romans do. (lit.: where you may be, do as you see)

allí tampoco atan los perros con longaniza(s)it’s the same all over the world. (lit.: there they don’t tie dogs with sausages either

amor con celos, causa develos
love with jealousy causes sleepless nights. (n.b.: a Mexican aphorism)

antes se coge al embustero que al cojo
your lies will catch up with you in the end. (lit.: the liar is caught before a lame person is)

arroz que no se menea, se quema
rice that is not stirred will burn. (n.b.: a Mexican saying urging activity and involvement in life)

asno muerto, la cebada al rabo
lock the barn door after the horse has gone. (lit.: donkey dead, the barley to the tail)

aunque la mona se vista de seda, mona se queda
fine feathers don’t make fine birds. (lit.: although the [female] monkey is dressed in silk, she remains a monkey)

aunque lo que dicen no es, con que lo aseguren basta
although what they say is not so, with assurances, it is enough. (n.b.: a Mexican saying which reminds us that those in power do not admit mistakes)

A fruity dessert

A fruity dessert 

Gazpacho Moreliano

May 4, 2013

By: Gina Yoryet Roman

According to vegetarian.about.com and other sources, 

“Gazpacho is a chilled Spanish soup that is refreshing on a hot summer day. This basic recipe for cold gazpacho soup can be dressed up with some croutons or hot sauce, depending on your taste. Gazpacho and other cold soups are an excellent starter for a dinner, and also work well served with bread for a light and healthy lunch. Don't be fooled by the long ingredients list, as this gazpacho cold soup is a breeze to prepare.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber, sliced into chunks
• 4 large ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 bell pepper, any color
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 celery rib, chopped
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 sweet onion, quartered
• 3 tbsp red wine or balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• dash black pepper
• 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tsp chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Preparation:

Simply combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor, except the fresh herbs and process until smooth. Stir in the herbs, refrigerate until cool and serve with bread.”

Another version of Gazpacho 

Gazpacho Moreliano

I don’t recall ever having Gazpacho soup before, I’ve tried so many international dishes that I tend to forget. What I remember, is the exquisite Gazpacho Moreliano I was introduced to, during Easter break. 

After our late night return from Tecuman Colima, I spent the night at my friend V’s house and that’s where I first knew about this dessert. When she asked, “Would you like some Gazpacho?” I immediately assumed it was soup until I looked at it. “This is not Gazpacho!” I said. According to V, Gazpacho Moreliano is very easy and quick to make, plus all you need, is a few pesos. 

Ingredients:

1. 1 Pineapple (or half, depending on the number of people)
2. 1 jicama (depending on the size and the number of people)
3. 1 or 1/2 liter of orange juice (it can vary: mango juice, orange/mango juice
4. 1 or 2 mangoes
5. 1 cucumber
6. 100 grams of Cheese
7. Crushed pepper (this is optional)
8. Salt
9. Lime 
10. Valentina sauce

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes

Preparation:

Chop all the fruit into small chunks, put it in a deep plastic container, pour the juice and the fruit in the container. Mix it up and your delicious Gazpacho is ready! You can sprinkle cheese and put crushed pepper, lime, salt and Valentina sauce if you want, and you’re ready to go!

Yummy!

Nostra Lectio Negocium

Nostra Lectio Negotium

Our reading affair

May 3rd, 2013

By: Gina Yoryet Roman

On March 5, 2013, David Toscana, Mexican writer, born in Nuevo Leon Monterrey, wrote an appalling and shameful, yet thought-provoking article titled, Mexico: “El país que dejó de leer,” - “The Country that Stopped Reading.” Toscana’s thoroughly detailed article, narrates the ugly truth of Mexico’s reading literacy in which I can clearly see his point.

As a long-term educator, I face that reality on a day-to-day basis. That is why one of my requirements is to have my students read at least one book in each course taught. It is generally difficile to persuade a great majority of my pupils on the grounds of their attitude towards reading.  Mr. Toscano better describes that apathy in his writing, “The population is so aliterate -- not illiterate, just apathetic about reading and writing. (This spills over to Mexican-American population).”

His points are well backed up by all the evidence mentioned, nevertheless I’d have to disagree (maybe I haven’t done my homework yet) because I now see more people reading than before. At least some of my clients, people I work with, or a few friends, plus all the students at ASFG (and all the American Schools in Mexico) where reading is required. All grade levels from elementary to High School, if I am not mistaken are required to read one book a month. 

In addition to that, AMSOC in Guadalajara, and The American Legion in Ajijic, are two of the inviting libraries that encourage the community to read. Toscano states, “México, país que otro pudiera haber sido considerado como bien educado, ocupó el penúltimo puesto, de 108 países en un sondes conducido por la Unesco sobre hábitos de lectura.” Mexico took the penultimate spot, out of 108 countries, in a Unesco assessment or reading habits a few years ago.”

This is true to such degree, we come at a very far end but I am hopeful that things will change for better. One of those determining factors is, Libreria Gandhi who launched one of the best reading campaigns by far. One of my favorite billboards all over the city, is, “Menos face, más book.”  This library´s campaign, the annual FIL, Feria Internacional del Libro - International Book Fair, El día Mundial del Libro - International Book Day, held on April 22, and other events, are slowly but progressively puslling us away from the penultimate spot. 

Therefore, Mexico’s reading rate will soon look up, despite our illiterate and aliterate leader that gives our country and fellow country men a shameful name to the world. 

That ‘leader’ of ours reminds me of ‘me’ when I was a teenager. I was part of that high aliteracy percentage and a mirror of the aforementioned man until I decided to engage into a reading affair. Since I developed a love for reading, I’ve never stopped nurturing that habit. Sometimes while reading, I take a short break and think, “How could I have let so many reading years bypass me?” “Let’s do the math and calculate how many books I would’ve read by now. I need about fifty lifetimes to be able to read all the books I want. 

Things are very different nowadays. I am proud to say that I am now part of the minority group. I read every chance I get, about a million different topics, I read with and for a purpose. The first reason is because I feel incomplete without reading, and the second one, because it helps me become a better writer, plus I get to see all the wonderful works of marvelous writers. I witness how they play and make magic with their words. 

All those countless writers are the right fuel to keep me drawn to reading, that’s why. I want to continue reading all my life because “Every book is a Victory,” Pablo Neruda, Poet, and I will no longer be an aliterate. 

“A book, a book full of human touches, of shirts, a book without loneliness, with men and tools, a book is victory.”

50 most inspiring quotes about books and reading

No two persons ever read the same book.

–Edmund Wilson

There comes a time when you have to choose between turning the page and closing the book.

–Josh Jameson

Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.

–Author Unknown

Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light.

–Vera Nazarian

If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

I would never read a book if it were possible for me to talk half an hour with the man who wrote it.

–Woodrow Wilson

Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

–P.J. O’Rourke

I think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense.

–Harold Kushner

Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.

–Author Unknown

If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.

–Haruki Murakami

There is a difference between a book of two hundred pages from the very beginning, and a book of two hundred pages which is the result of an original eight hundred pages. The six hundred are there. Only you don’t see them.

–Elie Wiesel

Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.

–Maya Angelou

The most technologically efficient machine that man has ever invented is the book.

–Northrop Frye

A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.

–G.K. Chesterton

The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business.

–John Steinbeck

There is a great deal of difference between an eager man who wants to read a book and the tired man who wants a book to read.

–Gilbert K. Chesterton

A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it or offer your own version in return.

–Salman Rushdie

Are we not like two volumes of one book?

–Marceline Desbordes-Valmore

Keep reading books, but remember that a book is only a book, and you should learn to think for yourself.

–Maxim Gorky

A book is a fragile creature, it suffers the wear of time, it fears rodents, the elements and clumsy hands. so the librarian protects the books not only against mankind but also against nature and devotes his life to this war with the forces of oblivion.

–Umberto Eco

In a good book the best is between the lines.

–Swedish Proverb

There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book.

–Marcel Proust

The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.

–Oscar Wilde

Marriage is a book of which the first chapter is written in poetry and the remaining chapters in prose.

–Beverley Nichols

A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it.

–Edward P. Morgan

If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.

–Oscar Wilde

All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you: the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was.

–Ernest Hemingway

Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.

–Henry David Thoreau

Books support us in our solitude and keep us from being a burden to ourselves.

–Jeremy Collier

It is a good rule after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.

–C.S. Lewis

Make it a rule never to give a child a book you would not read yourself.

–George Bernard Shaw

Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren’t very new after all.

–Abraham Lincoln

I can’t imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once.

–C.S. Lewis

Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?

–Henry Ward Beecher

That is a good book which is opened with expectation and closed with profit.

–Amos Bronson Alcott

A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.

–William Styron

One always has a better book in one’s mind than one can manage to get onto paper.

–Michael Cunningham

I divide all readers into two classes; those who read to remember and those who read to forget.

–William Lyon Phelps

In old days books were written by men of letters and read by the public. Nowadays books are written by the public and read by nobody.

–Oscar Wilde

There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.

–Joseph Brodsky

What you don’t know would make a great book.

–Sydney Smith

You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.

–Paul Sweeney

Every reader finds himself. The writer’s work is merely a kind of optical instrument that makes it possible for the reader to discern what, without this book, he would perhaps never have seen in himself.

– Marcel Proust

No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally – and often far more – worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond.

–C.S. Lewis

Men do not understand books until they have a certain amount of life, or at any rate no man understands a deep book, until he has seen and lived at least part of its contents.

–Ezra Pound

A man may as well expect to grow stronger by always eating as wiser by always reading.

–Jeremy Collier

Books are like mirrors: if a fool looks in, you cannot expect a genius to look out.

–J.K. Rowling

The worst thing about new books is that they keep us from reading the old ones.

–Joseph Joubert

It’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.

–Judy Blume

If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it.

–Toni Morrison

A good book has no ending.

–R.D. Cumming

Nurturing a love for movement

Nurturing a love for movement

April 28, 2013

By: Gina Yoryet Roman

There were a few ideas floating in my mind just a little while ago, which made me debate on what to write about, but overall, I was struggling on how to get started. Sometimes the problem with me, is not the lack of will to give life to my ideas, but the myriad of activities and my always shifting schedule. In my life, there’s no such thing as an eight to five schedule. I can be sitting in front of my computer at 5, 6am, and teaching at 8, 9, 10pm, at noon or random times. On top of that, keeping myself updated with world events is on my daily to do list, even if I only read the headlines or if I quickly skim through one or two articles.

Health and fitness updates are something I am very attentive to, which is how I came up with this title today: ‘Nurturing a love for movement.’ In 2009 when many things were not going in my favor, I encountered a book called ‘Stand Up for Your Life,’ By Cheryl Richardson, one of the most acclaimed motivational coaches worldwide. That reading was a great boost that led me to contact her even when I was invaded by skepticism given the reason that she would NOT contact me. Little did I know that she would personally reply to my email almost instantaneously. We quickly touched base on why I had dropped her a line and in consequence to that, she scheduled an interview with me on Hayhouse Radio, Coach on call.  In her program, radio for your soul, she helps people around the globe to overcome and make the best out of any tragic event in their life. 

Today, right before I started forming this post, I opened my email, and the first message I was lured to, was Cheryl Richardson's newsletter I signed up for before my interview in 2009. ‘Learn the secret to falling in love with daily exercise,’ Topic of the week, By Cheryl Richardson.

Topic of the Week Learn the secret to falling in love with daily exercise.     Over the last couple of months I've become quite taken with daily exercise.  I know, I know, it seems a bit crazy to imagine enjoying working out, but it's happening.  Once I got back into the swing of things after a long year of travel, I quickly experienced the enormous benefits of moving my body every day.  Like any new habit, there's a natural path of development for affecting change.  Once I decided to create a daily routine, I dusted off an old newsletter I wrote about the four stages of developing the discipline to exercise every day.  As I reviewed the info, it really made a difference, and I hope it inspires you to do the one thing that will have a huge, positive impact on your health and longevity - MOVING! Let's take a look....    Stage One - Let's get this over with, shall we? At first, exercise can feel like a chore. After all, it takes effort to move your body, especially if you've been sedentary for a while. As you start to exercise, you may find yourself counting the minutes on the treadmill, or waging an inner battle with yourself about whether or not to sneak out of the gym early. When I was at this stage of the process, two things helped. The first was using the support of a partner. When I was tempted to "just skip this one workout," my sister, Kerri, my workout partner, challenged me to stick with it and follow through. The second was that I didn't allow my perfectionism (one of my top fitness obstacles) to create a negative association with exercise. For example, in the past when I'd start working out, I'd do things like raise the elevation of the treadmill too high, thinking that it would quicken my progress. This only caused my legs to feel like lead the next day. Or, I'd force myself to complete every single minute of my cardio routine even though I felt exhausted and needed a rest. Although it's important that a fitness program be progressive to build strength and endurance, allowing yourself to be driven by a perfectionist "inner task master" is setting yourself up to fail. Stage Two - I'm not thrilled, but I'll do it anyway. As you keep at it, you'll start to experience the many benefits of exercise. You'll notice that you have more energy throughout the day. Your moods level out, and you feel better about yourself (and your life). The critical voice that monitors your weight and how you look will start to quiet down. And, there's a good chance that you'll also notice a significant decrease in your appetite and stress level. As a result, you'll feel clear-headed, and more able to focus during work or while performing your daily tasks.  Although working out still feels like work during this stage, you focus more on the end result (how great you feel afterwards) than on the task at hand. Stage Three - Wow, this ain't so bad after all. Once I'd been exercising for eight weeks, I not only felt good after a workout, I started to feel good while I was doing it. My cardiovascular endurance increased, and I noticed that I could run for longer periods of time on the treadmill during my interval training (alternating running and walking to raise my heart rate). The amount of weight I could lift also increased and I started to see muscle tone. I still remember the day I stood in front of my bathroom mirror flexing my biceps and seeing definition not only in my arms, but also in my shoulders! At this stage, seeing and feeling results will fuel your desire to honor and strengthen your body. You'll love how you feel! Stage Four - Exercise is my secret weapon. When you get to this stage you realize that besides being the key to health and longevity, exercise builds self-esteem and gives you the ability to live life on your terms. You recognize that, along with building your muscles, you've developed discipline - the key to making healthy choices in all areas of your life.  At this stage you'll want to exercise. For example, when I feel overwhelmed during the day, I jump on my elliptical trainer and do a quick 20-minute workout to clear my head, burn off stress, and get focused.  When you reach the stage where exercise becomes your secret weapon, you'll be amazed at how easy it fits into your schedule. Once you develop the discipline of exercise, you'll still have days when you'd rather not go to the gym. But the difference will be that on those days, you can afford to stay home knowing that you can trust yourself to get right back on track the next day. The key to reaching stage four is to focus on taking small, progressive steps. For example, if you're at stage one, just focus on your next workout. When you feel like you've lost your motivation, use this mantra:     "IN ORDER TO GET FROM A TO Z, I ONLY NEED TO TAKE STEP B!" I've become someone who works out nearly every day.  I've made it a "joyful priority."  Since I claim that one of my top values is health, I've learned to put my commitment where my mouth is.  When health is a value, and you understand and respect the stages of development, it's easy to make the time. Ready to move?  Take the challenge below...

As you keep at it, you'll start to experience the many benefits of exercise. You'll notice that you have more energy throughout the day. Your moods level out, and you feel better about yourself (and your life). The critical voice that monitors your weight and how you look will start to quiet down. And, there's a good chance that you'll also notice a significant decrease in your appetite and stress level. As a result, you'll feel clear-headed, and more able to focus during work or while performing your daily tasks. 

Although working out still feels like work during this stage, you focus more on the end result (how great you feel afterwards) than on the task at hand.

Stage Three - Wow, this ain't so bad after all.

Once I'd been exercising for eight weeks, I not only felt good after a workout, I started to feel good while I was doing it. My cardiovascular endurance increased, and I noticed that I could run for longer periods of time on the treadmill during my interval training (alternating running and walking to raise my heart rate). The amount of weight I could lift also increased and I started to see muscle tone. I still remember the day I stood in front of my bathroom mirror flexing my biceps and seeing definition not only in my arms, but also in my shoulders! At this stage, seeing and feeling results will fuel your desire to honor and strengthen your body. You'll love how you feel!

Stage Four - Exercise is my secret weapon.

When you get to this stage you realize that besides being the key to health and longevity, exercise builds self-esteem and gives you the ability to live life on your terms. You recognize that, along with building your muscles, you've developed discipline - the key to making healthy choices in all areas of your life. 

At this stage you'll want to exercise. For example, when I feel overwhelmed during the day, I jump on my elliptical trainer and do a quick 20-minute workout to clear my head, burn off stress, and get focused. 

When you reach the stage where exercise becomes your secret weapon, you'll be amazed at how easy it fits into your schedule.

Once you develop the discipline of exercise, you'll still have days when you'd rather not go to the gym. But the difference will be that on those days, you can afford to stay home knowing that you can trust yourself to get right back on track the next day.

The key to reaching stage four is to focus on taking small, progressive steps. For example, if you're at stage one, just focus on your next workout. When you feel like you've lost your motivation, use this mantra: 

  

"IN ORDER TO GET FROM A TO Z, I ONLY NEED TO
TAKE STEP B!"

I've become someone who works out nearly every day.  I've made it a "joyful priority."  Since I claim that one of my top values is health, I've learned to put my commitment where my mouth is.  When health is a value, and you understand and respect the stages of development, it's easy to make the time.

Ready to move?  Take the challenge below...

Take Action Challenge So, what's your step B?  If you value health and have a desire to up the ante when it comes to moving your body, decide right now what your next step could be and take it.  You will love the way moving makes you feel!

I couldn’t have agreed with all her points, thus this one was the most important one: “When you reach the stage where exercise becomes your secret weapon, you'll be amazed at how easy it fits into your schedule.”

For health and fitness enthusiasts exercise becomes a need, a clean and purifying lifestyle to never forsake. An excellent adjective that couch potatoes use to describe us hyped up individuals, is, “obsessed.” Their intentions don’t mean anything because I’ve adopted the life I’ve always wanted, ever since I was sixteen and the entity I will carry on till I can no longer move. 

Even during these dark moments after coming down with a terrible pain on both knee caps will I stop nurturing my love for movement. This past week I was on the verge of tears on Tuesday because of the unbearable pain and swelling on both knees and calfs. Yesterday while at therapy, my physical therapist and now good friend of mine, told me that the pain is not related to the surgery but it could be stress, fatigue, or other overwhelming factors. I have another few therapy sessions before I see my doctor next week to see what is happening. 

Spending long hours sitting in front of the computer working can be one factor, though it won’t be an impending cause to give up my active lifestyle. I refuse to belong to the typical  description of a writer, or someone who spends a lot of time utilizing a computer - overweight or obese, someone who is always sitting around. I do fall under that classification, but I sure make up for it any chance I get by going on power walks four or five times a week or scheduling very careful weekly workout sessions. What I am trying to say, is that there is really not a secret to falling in love with exercising. All you have to do is have a lot of mental will and really want it in order to make it happen. In reality there’s no sacrifice involved in it. If you first and foremost value your health enough, you will need to learn to take care of your temple, and sooner or later physical movement will become part of your daily tasks until you can no longer live without it. 

Subsequent to reading Cheryl Richardson’s topic of the week, I won’t desist because I’ve never been one to give up regardless of my physical limitations. All I can do is pray, have faith, take each day at once, continue fighting my limitations, insist, resist, persist and don't be daunted by my fears, even through gloom and doom. 

My main focus right now, is to reach physical and emotional wellness to go on with my normal routine. There is a photo session lying ahead within a matter of weeks. In reality, I am not ready for it and I am hoping that it is postponed once again, but if it doesn’t, I will do my best despite my insecurities. I will prepare myself mentally. True, I would like to have more definition on my arms, abs and legs but I am most definitely not going to punish myself for it as I am still doing my best regardless of the pain, so everything will work out just fine. 

With this thought pounding on my head, I don’t know why women have always felt insecure with their bodies, we are never content with our natural gifts. Too thin, too beautiful, too perfect, too tall, too short, will never be good enough for us. The one to blame, is our high expecting, scrutinizing, and critical society. We always want to look like the super model on TV, yet we ignore that every single body is different. We come in different shapes and sizes, we all possess a particular shade of beauty in our own special way so we have to lay low and appreciate the simple fact of being women!