The Flight Attendant

You may not be aware of it, but this is National Women’s Health Week.  The purpose is simply to make women everywhere mindful of choices to be made that can make one healthier.  Choices like getting the necessary screenings and wearing a seat belt if you are not. During my many years as a fitness instructor, I have always encouraged women to exercise and to eat a healthy diet. You wouldn't believe the excuses I've  heard such as I have a full time job, two children to pick up from daycare at the end of a long day, dinner to prepare, homework to supervise and basically take care of everybody else.  I am reminded today, though, of the flight attendant or rather the emergency instructors they give before every flight.  They tell passengers that in the event of an emergency, an oxygen mask will drop from the cabin above. Parents with small children are to first put on their own mask before helping the child.  I guess if Mom passes out from lack of oxygen, she’s not much good to anyone else.

How Do You Feel?

We all know that physical exercise can have a positive effect on mood. A recent report from the Journal of Sports and Psychology confirms such. For this research, 190 university students kept daily journals with details about their daily activities including sleep, stress and more. At the end of the day, people that were more active had more pleasant- activated feelings than those not physically active. They also reported higher levels of positive feelings on days when they were even more physically active than typical.

My comment: There are so many reasons to exercise and exercise relating to a more positive mood is just one more. It’s not a cure for serious issues, but it can be very helpful. On those days when we really don’t feel like exercise, we may need it the most.

Step

I have just returned home from teaching a step class at Cordillera Ranch. After all these years, step is still my personal favorite cardio workout. Gin Miller developed the step years ago in the mid-1980s. It is still the foundation of group workouts in many clubs today.

When Gin suffered her own overuse injury from years of high impact exercise, she consulted an orthopedic doctor who sent her to a physical therapist. The therapist recommended that she step up and down on a milk crate to strengthen the muscles of her knee. Gin did not stop to get a milk crate on her way home. Her porch step was all she needed.
When boredom set in, she went inside, put her aerobic music on the stereo (remember we are in the 80s here before the iPod), opened the windows, and began her porch step therapy. The rest is history. While it took some time to get it up and running, "step" was born. Nothing else has made such an impact on group fitness.

I hear quite often in regards to step "I remember doing step classes, but I haven't done step in years". Let me share a little secret. It all comes back really fast. I have seen it happen many times. If you are one of the many who loved step once, try it again. You might rekindle an old flame!

Resource: gin miller.com blog

Linda

For the past six years on Mother's day weekend my friend Linda has delivered gift baskets to MD Anderson. The baskets are for children who are cancer patients to give to their Moms for Mother's Day. I have known Linda for many years. Our daughters played together as toddlers, took dancing lessons, and when they started kindergarten, we carpooled to the local elementary. Later in the year when I was suffering with morning sickness, she would pick Marie up for school sometimes with hair brush in hand to fix her hair when her Daddy could not. Some years ago Linda and Steve lost Renee' to Lupus and several years later their son died. So going to MD Anderson on Mother's Day weekend is really special to her. I have been a part of her trip for the past few years by making a denotion. Linda works for Mary Kay and with a $25.00 denotion she makes a $50.00 gift basket (forfeiting her profit). If you would like to be a part of this experience, you can make a denotion by sending a check for $25.00 to Linda Balas, PO Box 805, Eagle Lake, TX. 77434. Make a note on the check MD Anderson. We all have our favorite charites. I only give to a few including this one in a small way.

Life Lessons

Linda Christy Weiler shares 10 life lessons to help her students get more out of their Yoga practice with DSW Fitness. I can apply these to my own workouts of cardio, strength training and Pilates. Maybe you will find something helpful as well.

Life lesson #1. Create a good foundation.

Life lesson #2 Find a support system.

Life lesson #3. Get your priorities right. For instance, in Yoga foot and hand placement makes each pose safer and more beneficial.

Life lesson #4. Be in the moment. Be aware of the change you want to take place as you are living life. Sometimes people give up too quickly. Struggle! (My favorite!)

Life lesson #6. Learn tolerance and acceptance. As we learn to tolerate and accept what we don't like we learn about the value through the discomfort.

Life lesson #7. Restore calmness. We have a full range of healthy emotions including anger. Remember though at some point to restore calmness.

Life lesson #8. Experience and accept change as a constant. Every ending leads to a new beginning.

Life lesson #9. Let go! Detachment enriches an experience.

Life lesson #10. Live your message. What's your message?

Resourse: DSW Fitness

Ego

As I walked in to teach a step class a few weeks ago, I heard members talk about an article in the New York Times, "How Yoga Wreaks Our Bodies" by William Broad. William Broad interviewed Glenn Black, a classic Yogi teacher of over 40 years who studied in Pune,India, not about the virtues of Yoga, but the damage it can do to the body. The teacher sited several instances when Yoga participants had been injured and went on to say that yoga is not for everybody. In 2001 there were approximately 4 million yoga participants in the United States and by 2011 that number grew to almost 20 million. An additional, 16 million participants means there are a lot more Yoga studios and even more Yoga teachers. That is a lot of growth in a short period of time and one has to think about quality. Black used the word “ego” several times. Teachers and students alike suffer injuries because they have a "do it or die" attitude not listening to what is good for them. The ego gets in the way with any kind of exercise at all stages of life. I always tell my class participants “listen to your body” and “take breaks when needed”. Some listen. Most all of us can exercise safely at all points in life, but we might need to accept what Joseph Pilates said years ago. “Not every exercise is for everybody.”

Source: New York Times Jan.5, 2012 How Yoga Wreaks Your Body

Heart

In the late night hours last Saturday and in the early morning hours Sunday, Janet got a new heart. She had been waiting patiently in the hospital for weeks and finally her turn had come. The heart is a phenomenal muscle. It weighs only 9-11 ounces. The average heartbeat is about 72 beats per minute. Over the course of an average lifespan, it will beat some 3 billion times pumping blood through a 60,000 mile long system of vessels.

To the surprise of some, more women die each year from heart disease than men and more women die from heart disease than from all deaths of cancer combined. Yet some still fail to give the heart much thought. Some take it for granted until a crushing pain in the chest causes one to drop to their knees. There are other symptoms and they can vary for male and female. The American Heart Association celebrates the heart in February. By visiting the website of AHA you might find some good tips to help your heart beat and beat and beat. Exercise is one. Take care of your heart!