Posts Tagged ‘body’

Wednesday Wellness: Rear View Mirror

By Tammy Parkinson | May 12th, 2010 0 Comments

Today, I was asked a question: “If in 30 years from now you were in the same shape you are today, would you be happy?”

How about, “If 20 years ago you saw the shape you are in today, would you be happy”?

I am fortunate enough to answer “yes” to both of these questions!  But, it’s not luck; it took and will continue to take work, every day, every week, every year.  The payoff is well worth it.  No question.

20 years ago I was trying hard to get in shape, but trying all the wrong ways.  I was fortunate enough to persevere and find the right way to get in shape…the healthy way and a way which would “stick” about 12 years ago.

As you ask yourself these questions, it’s obvious you can’t do anything about the past, but you can make sure that 20 and 30 years from now, you can look in the rear view mirror and be proud that you made consistent and committed decisions for your health and well being so that you are either in BETTER shape than you are today, or in the same shape as you are right here in the moment you are reading this.

If you need to make some changes, what are you waiting for?  Do you think the laws of health, fitness, weight loss and energy are going to shift differently from what science has proven over the last few centuries?

If you love where you are at today, how can you create an environment in order to maintain what you’ve worked so hard for?

We do this in our financial portfolios, but rarely do we consider our future when it comes to our bodies.  Our health is an investment few of us prioritize.

Give this some thought this week and look down the road way ahead of you, but glance in the rear view too.  See what you’ve created in this moment and decide if this is where you want to be for your future.

As you might have read somewhere….Because your body is the coolest thing you will ever own!

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Monday Mojo: Short Term Pain for Long Term Gain

By Tom Tognoli | March 29th, 2010 0 Comments

“I’m not a morning person” I can’t tell you how many times I have heard that over the years.

So often people talk about how they just can’t squeeze in the most important activities in their life because “I’m not a morning person”.  When we are young and with little or no responsibility except for ourselves…or retired and our kids are out of the house, it is easier to slip in those important activities after that first cup of Joe in the morning, at lunch, in the afternoon, in the early evening.  For me, that is not an option…and my guess is for most of your reading this that is not an option either.  We have kids, house, lunches to make, work, kids homework, little league, dinner to make, grocery shopping, wash…the list goes on and on.

Trust me, when my alarm goes off in the morning at 4:45, I am not all fired up to jump out of bed and “hit it”.   Candidly, many mornings I am telling myself “you have got to be kidding me…it feels like I just closed my eyes”.  But I know the short term pain and discipline of putting my feet on the floor and getting started with my day is easier than the long term pain of regret, disappointment and not accomplishing my goals.

Let’s face it…for many of us we have tried for years and years to squeeze in those most important activities sometime during the day, but then life gets in the way and the most important activities end up taking second fiddle to the chaos.  I am not saying you have to wake up at 4:45, but if you really want to get those most important activities done, unless you are an anomaly, you probably need to do it first thing of the day before the chaos begins, while most of the rest of the world is still sleeping.

Remember, we are our biggest asset and if we don’t make a commitment to take care of our body, mind and soul no one else will.  You can’t delegate it, you can’t run down to the store and buy it…you have to have the discipline to JUST DO IT!!!!!

We had our Intero Achievement Awards a couple of weeks ago and before I got up to give my talk this video on “The Creation of Monday Morning MOJO” was played.  I thought you would get a kick out of it.

“I am a morning person.”

mojo

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Hurry Up and Relax!

By Tammy Parkinson | September 24th, 2009 0 Comments

Last week I had made plans to take a 5 pm yoga class.  Yoga, you know, that workout which is supposed to be about mindfulness, Zen moments, body awareness, and relaxation of the mind, body and spirit.   I actually do take yoga for the physical aspects, but mostly to help keep my mind and spirit centered, to relax my soul. 

As I was driving to yoga, I got caught in some very bad traffic, after already taking off to class later than I had planned.  I was in a panic.  Have you ever walked into a yoga class late?  It’s not a good idea!  I started to get frustrated and anxious about the traffic and worried that I would disrupt the class, irritate the teacher and maybe not even get a spot to lay my mat; or worse yet have to move the whole back row over a foot so I could squeeze in. 

I had a little “self talk” and decided I had 2 choices:

1) skip yoga completely
2) go in to the class late, accept it and smile at the other students and teacher

I chose option #2.

Still, however, I was uptight and wound tight as I rolled in at 8+ minutes past the start time.    During the first 20 minutes of yoga I kept thinking about how hurried I felt and was trying to relax.   I realized my angst about being in a rush started from the moment I knew I was running a little late (before I even got into my car).  I was rushing, so I could go to a class to relax!!  Do we really need to put so much pressure on ourselves just so we can get to an environment in order to find our Zen moment? 

After the class was over, I went to the teacher and thanked him for being so gracious in letting me step into the class late (note, I had to wait outside the door until meditation was over!).  I told him I realized I was in a hurry to relax and that the mindfulness of yoga helped me consciously realize I don’t need yoga in a class ROOM to find my peace, it really should be in many moments throughout the day…especially at my most frustrating situations (like rush hour!).  

Since last week, I’ve tried to observe my behaviors centered around my harried schedule and how I can “relax” more.  This doesn’t mean I don’t take the situation (frustration) seriously; I am simply trying to take the situation more “gracefully”.

I hope in sharing this experience with you, you too can notice when and where you might be trying to be in a rush to relax and see if you can stop the rush and find the relaxation in that moment!

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