Nimble Blog

Body Camp

Born in the U.S. Navy SEALs and developed by Fitness Anywhere®, Suspension Training® is a revolutionary method of leveraged bodyweight exercise. Build power, strength, flexibility, balance, mobility, and prevent injuries, all at the intensity you choose.

“Best Total Body Tool” Awarded by Men’s Health Magazine

Nimble Fitness presents

Body Camp

What: 30 minutes exercise class

When: Wednesdays at 7:45pm

Cost: $15 per class (RSVP)

It’s not too late!

There are a few spots still available.

Sign Up Today

Call 212 633-9030 / email us at info@ nimblefitness.com

Re-charge Your Body

-Keith Paine

NYlean25

25 Minutes a Class / 3 Days a Week / 6-week Program

PLUS a choice of 2 eating plans to make the most of your elevated post workout fat burning potential!

Only $225

HAVING A POWERFUL “WHY”

One of the first questions we ask in Nimble is this: what’s your why? Why do you want to be stronger, lighter or more flexible? What is motivating you to take up an exercise program? We all get inundated with so much information about how to stay healthy that it can cloud our why, which ultimately slows the process of creating life-long healthy habits. Weight loss, for example, is a crucial reason for many people to exercise, but is losing weight the true inspiration? Or is losing weight a path to feeling better and more active in your own body?

Tapping into your true motivations will help fuel your success. Here are some other motivating whys that can help cause profound transformation:

*More Energy
*Confidence
*Body/Mind connection
*Overall Preventative Health Care
*Better Sex Drive/Better Sexual Health
*Clearer Skin *Being able to do what you want to do – whether it’s climbing those stairs or climbing a mountain.

Have a powerful why and it will help you take daily action towards your goals.  Here’s the way we describe that path at Nimble Fitness:

Movement is an opportunity for profound transformation, which stimulates self-discovery and energizes the spirit. The journey it offers is made by sensing, feeling and being. It’s unique to each person.

Namaste,
Daniel

THE FIRST ANNUAL PARADISE HEALTH FAIR

Click on the flyer for complete details.

SUNDAY JANUARY 31, 2010

Human beings struggle world-wide to maintain adequate levels of health in order to live nourishing, fulfilling lives. In America alone, 800,000 people are diagnosed each year with diabetes. According to the New York State Department of Health, cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death for the state’s citizens, 10,000 people die each year from smoking, and NYC has the highest AIDS case rate compared to any other major city in the United Sates. With so many serious health issues in the community and so many huge goals to reach, Nimble Fitness recognizes the immense need for someone to actively take a stand for the community in order to effectively address these crucial issues.

We welcome you to join us and take advantage of all these great resources.

* Free cardiovascular screenings: blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol
* Free one on one nutrition counseling
* Free nutritious, organic foods
* Free personal training tips to get in shape
* Free HIV info, free condoms, and tips on safe sex
* Free and anonymous HIV testing
* Education on women’s health and men’s health
* Education on asthma
* Education on diabetes prevention
* Free hand massages and skin care treatments
* Immunization and lead poisoning information
* Resources on getting registered for health insurance
* Get the facts about Chinese Medicine: the benefits of acupuncture and herbal remedies
* Free Core Fusion Classes- Yoga/Pilates
* Get the facts about YOGA- FREE week of yoga for all BYUS NON-members
* Learn about the benefits of XS Energy Drink and try a free sample!
* Get a FREE consultation on the running shoe that’s best for you
* Learn how to be green while getting in shape
* An opportunity to donate money to extraordinary children with special needs
(check out - http://stmaryskids.org/giving/giving-to-st-marys)

Honoring Your Exercise Lifestyle

Over the holidays, I went to a gym in Atlanta, GA with my step-mother.  She felt it was time to join, in order to amp up her exercise habits.  When I showed her how to use the cardio equipment properly, she asked if the pace she had set on the machine was “terrible”.  I realized that I get asked this question quite often from both clients and students.  My response to her was, “It is absolutely not terrible.  You’re here aren’t you?”

What Really Matters
When you walk into a gym, or your personal training studio, or tie up your sneakers for an outside jog, you have just stepped into something extraordinary.  The moment you begin your work out is a time to be thankful, because you’ve given yourself the necessary time to take care of your body and mind. Whatever intensity you’re working at, you are doing something far from terrible!

How Do You Know You Are Working “Hard Enough”?
Whether you set the cardio machine at level 3, 8, 10, or 25, ask yourself if you feel challenged. Do you feel your heart pumping, muscles working, and body beginning to sweat? Answering yes to these questions is how you will know if you are working hard enough.  If you are truly taking on a challenge and reaching for goals up ahead on your horizon, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the way you are choosing to work out. Here are a few other questions I receive from clients, students, and everyone in between:

•    Is walking good enough to count as a workout?
•    Do I have to run on an incline on the treadmill to see results?
•    Is working out three times a week enough?

These are all valid questions! However, let me encourage you to answer them for yourself. Only you can truly know whether you’re working hard. Ask yourself some of the questions I mentioned earlier:

•    Am I really challenging myself, or just going through the motions?
•    Do I feel my body working and sweating?
•    Am I inspired by my own work out?

If the answers are yes, then keep up the good work and amp it up when you and your body are ready.

Be You
When it comes to exercising, we are all different.  We need different settings on the cardio machine, different sized weights, and different exercise programs.  In fact, depending on our daily energy levels and stress levels, sometimes the kind of exercise we need actually changes from day to day.

Questions You Should Ask a Trainer
You should feel that you can ask your trainer about anything exercise-related. Instead of doubting your own ability and jumping to the conclusion that your fitness level isn’t up to par or you aren’t “strong enough”, ask your trainer or an exercise specialist the following: How do I fine-tune my exercise program? How do I measure my progress and hold myself accountable?

I encourage you to honor your own initiative and your own courage–step in to your workouts and challenge yourself!

Being Healthy Means Positive Thinking

It’s amazing how easily we can fall into the trap of thinking negatively when we set out to be healthier. For example, this week I overheard my client say he was no longer going to eat bread. To him, this was “the sacrifice I have to make to loose my love handles.”  I couldn’t help notice the look of disappointment on his face as he made this statement.   At that moment I realized just how much this type of negative thinking undermines our success in achieving long-term health.

Sacrifice is defined as: the surrender or destruction of something prized for the sake of something considered as having a more pressing claim. Surrender? Destruction? I don’t know about you but that does not sound like healthy thinking to me. This kind of “sacrifice” actually sets us up for failure—if every healthy choice is a sacrifice, then we’re going to subconsciously associate it to a negative experience. The all-or-nothing scenario, where you always have to give up something to get healthy doesn’t reflect reality or long-term wellness.

At Nimble Fitness, we advise our clients to avoid focusing just on short-term goals and instead create daily health habits which, over time, will lead to permanent results. Why give up bread for 5 weeks, or even the occasional dessert, if what you really need to do is eat quality food and exercise more consistently?  These health habits allow you to enjoy the process in the present, but also later in life as that consistency begins to pay dividends to your overall health, physical appearance and well being.

I reminded my client that whole grain and wheat bread in moderation was actually good for him and that it was silly to worry about having the occasional piece of toast.  Being healthy should never be about worry or sacrifice.  Look at your daily habits from a different viewpoint and treat each day’s healthy activities for what they really are: investments.  Take each day as it comes and make decisions that you know will benefit your health, whether that means going to the gym or just skipping the french fries.  Taking this new approach to achieving life-long health will positively change the way you become fit and allow you to enjoy the journey without sacrifice.

Get Closer To Nature With Your Food

The science of nutrition has become one of our great modern paradoxes. The more we learn about nutrition in the US, it seems, the fatter and sicker we get. In some ways, the last 50 years in our country has been a huge experiment in what not to eat. Why has that happened? And what can each of us do about it?

Scientists can’t necessarily explain why natural foods work so well, but they know that they do. There are piles of evidence now that the modified “foods” that have been created by food companies in search of greater profits do not support your system and in fact can do long-term damage. When whole foods are processed, food companies trade nutrients for longer shelf life. Unfortunately, adding a few vitamins doesn’t repair the damage done by processing. For more on this subject, In Defense of Food by Michael Pollen is an excellent resource.

The good news is that you don’t have to know anything about nutritional science to eat well. Just as you don’t have to know how every part of an engine works to buy a great car, you don’t have to know every particular of nutrition to feed your body well. As author Michael Pollen says, we human beings have been remarkably successful for thousands of years at deciding what to eat, without the help of nutritionists or the FDA. Nature’s taken care of that for you! Our bodies are designed to function optimally on whole foods.

If nutritional science is complex, daily nutrition can be very simple: the closer to nature your foods are, the healthier you’ll be! Here are some Nimble rules to eat by:

*Avoid canned and prepackages foods, including frozen meals and anything made to cook in a microwave

*Eat whole foods, organic whenever possible (if there’s any ingredient that you can’t pronounce or don’t recognize, don’t eat it!)

*Avoid the “white devils”—processed white sugar, processed white salt and white flour. These foods have been stripped of their nutrients, so they just represent empty calories to your system. Choose organic raw sugar, organic sea salt and organic whole wheat flour instead.

*Make the switch to cooking with olive oil—if you don’t use it already, olive oil is a healthy and great-tasting way to prepare a huge variety of dishes.

*Embrace variety—expand your repertoire of whole foods and try different combinations of meats, seasonal fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Enjoy!

-Keith Paine

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Never Train In Pain

Healthy muscles allow us to move, but joints are the link to a life of movement with ease.  At Nimble Fitness, we take the health of joints very seriously.  Trust us, you want happy joints, especially later on in life. Joint pain can often be relieved either through proper exercise or with the right amount of rest.

Keep it simple.  If you know you should not train-don’t do it!  Don’t force yourself to exercise when your body is telling you to rest.  The other side of the equation is knowing when your joints need a break or when they just need to be warmed up.  You may start a workout and feel a joint is “stuck” or has some pain.   Sometimes doing a couple of activation warm-ups allows the pain to disappear because the joint is now in a more stable position.   A warm-up increases the joint’s range of motion, allowing the muscles to handle more stress and to move in a more functional manner.  Here are a couple of ways to approach your warm up so that you can understand whether your joint alignment is off, or whether you really need to take the day off from your training program.

1.    Try doing the opposite of the movement you are attempting.  Then go back to the original exercise you were attempting.  Often, activating the opposing muscle group opens up joint space.

2.    Use a proper progression when adding load - lighter to heavier, simple movements to complex.  There is no such thing as “too light” when warming up with weights.

3.    Nutrition!  Are you consuming too much sugar or gluten?  If your body is reacting to food intolerance then you could be dealing with inflammation that is causing you joint pain.

4.    Rest?  Are you giving yourself enough time to recover between workouts?

5.    Sleep?  Are you getting quality sleep that allows the body to heal its self?

6.    Take time to do some inner-work.  Working with Tai Chi, meditation and other relaxation techniques will help you maintain a high level of “chi” or life energy.

Never train in pain that lingers or does not subside.  If you try the things we mention and your joint pain persists then it is time to go see your doctor.

Sucker Punched By My Snack!

When you’re on the run, finding a healthy snack can be challenging. The other day, I managed to spot some trail mix hidden in a sea of candy bars and potato chips at the local deli. The bag was fairly small, labeled “Snack Size,” and contained a mix of peanuts, almonds and yogurt-covered raisins. It was a satisfactory choice considering my options. As I ate my snack, I wondered about the “snack size” labeling and what that meant. The first thing I noticed (in big bold letters) was the calories: 140. Next was the total fat, 8g, and then the sodium, 50mg. Not optimal, but manageable numbers. The carbohydrate total was 15g, of which 11g were sugar. That’s a little high, but again, manageable for a guy my size. Then something caught my eye that made me almost choke. Hidden in the second line from the top under serving size was the total servings contained in the bag, which was 3. That’s THREE, as in, “I just ate 420 calories and 24g of fat!” How could this be? The label clearly says, “snack size” on the front of the bag! I was duped.

Making the right food choices in our society, where we’re overloaded with options, is hard enough. Deceptive food labels make that choice even harder. Snack labels are advertisements, basically, with one goal: to get you, the consumer, to buy their product over the competition. The only way to really know what you are putting into your body is by reading the nutrition label, and as we’ve seen, even that can be tricky. We are ultimately responsible for our choices, of course, so the more knowledge we have when it comes to packaged foods, the better prepared we will be to make good choices.

Here are some tips to help you avoid my mistake and make a better-informed decision the next time you are looking for a snack:

1. Pay attention to the column called “%DV” or “Percent Daily Value.” Interpret it like this: Let’s say the food label for an energy bar says “60%” next to fat; that means you are getting 60% of that day’s entire recommended allowance of fat in one serving of the energy bar. And that’s only half the story. A typical energy bar is 2 or more servings. Eat that entire bar and you’ve just had 120% of your entire day’s worth of fat. That’s too much, and from a snack that took only 45 seconds to eat!

2. More important than the %DV for total fat is the amount of saturated fat. Unsaturated fats are healthier and more important for a well balanced diet. If its high in saturated fat, skip it.

3. Know your ingredients. The healthiest snacks are the simplest—they come from nature. An apple, for example, has one ingredient – apple. But there are many ingredients, found in all different kinds of snacks, which you should avoid. High Fructose Corn Syrup is an artificially produced sweetener that has no nutritional value. Other ingredients found in common snacks include sorbitol, mineral oil and carnauba wax–the same stuff used in beauty products like mascara, deodorant, and lipstick.

4. Avoid large amounts of these “bad” ingredients as much as possible: saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium and sugars. In contrast, try and maximize your total of the “good ingredients”–fiber, protein, and vitamins.

5. Not all carbohydrates are created equal. The higher in sugar and lower in fiber, the worse the carbohydrate is for you. Fruits, for example, contain simple sugars but also contain fiber, water, and vitamins, which make them a healthy choice. Muffins and candy, on the other hand, often have large amounts of added sugars and no fiber.

Antonio Sini

Stretching Tips Part II: Static Stretching

In our first stretch article [Part I], we explored the basic concepts of stretching and how it affects you. We made it clear that it’s up to you to learn your own body’s strengths and limitations, and to focus your attention on what you’re feeling when you perform a particular stretch. Use your mind and your instincts when you’re stretching muscle tissue. Know when you’ve gone far enough, and continue to build your awareness of where you need more flexibility and where you’re already open.

Today we’ll discuss the most basic and widely used form of stretching: static stretching. Static stretching is called “passive” stretching, because you use an external force, like a bench, a wall or even a partner, to cause the muscle tissue to lengthen. This type of stretching involves reaching a comfortable, lengthened position for a muscle (or group of muscles) and holding the stretch for at least 30 seconds. Static stretching is considered low-risk because it’s performed in a controlled environment, and uses (ideally) low force.

A static stretch is most effective after an exercise session, when the muscles are really warmed up and more elastic. Static stretching before exercise can actually be harmful, because the muscle tissue can become less neurally active. As we discussed in the last stretch article, active stretching, where you move slowly through an increasing range of motion, is a much more effective warm-up.

Key points for static stretching:

*Pay attention to any differences in tightness from one side of your body to the other (for example, your right hamstrings and left hamstrings) and spend more time with the tighter side.

*Pay special attention to your body’s position when you’re stretching. Often we think we’re going deeper into a muscle tissue stretch, when we’re actually just tilting the pelvis or bending the back. Make sure your spine and joints are stable before you stretch the muscle around them!

*Use your breath to relax, and you can progress to holding the stretch from 30 seconds to several minutes.

*The goal is symmetry, freedom of movement around the joint, and strength through a full range of motion.

*Also, remember that sometimes your just resetting your muscles back to their orginal resting length.

Strength When You Need It

Let me set the scene: it was the morning after I broke my arm while snowboarding at Beaver Creek with my good friends Rob and Colleen. Our plan was to ‘board two more days. Instead, I was conquering the challenges of a different mountain-overcoming a broken humerus and thumb. I soon found out that I needed to re-learn every “simple” movement that I had previously taken for granted. Every move became a torso/core exercise. Just sitting up from a pullout bed to go to the bathroom took me what felt like 10 minutes. To say that it was extremely challenging to try and move that first morning would be an understatement. I immediately realized that if I did not engage my abdominals with maximum concentration, my arm would naturally move to help me stand. And when it did, boy, did I feel those broken bones dangling about! I couldn’t help but think what people without strength would have to do just to move. I’m fairly strong but someone with less hip, leg and abdominal strength would have an impossible time with what I would now be facing–from sitting up to brushing my teeth.

From the very first day of my injury, it’s been an ongoing education. My injury has been a not-too-subtle reminder that all movement is an integrated experience. Even lifting a weight with one arm translates throughout your entire muscular-skeletal system. The mind and body must work together to allow you to move, with muscles working as movers (angonists), antagonists (muscles working in opposition of movers) stabilizers and neutralizers. Think of muscles working like lights on a dimmer. They can be at full strength (as bright as possible) or weakened (dimmed low).  A muscle’s neuromuscular strength can be affected by many variables: injury, posture, repetitive stress, nutrition and even food allergies. The bone break I experienced turned the muscles in my arm completely off for several reasons one being because using those muscles would have caused me great pain so they received limited calls to activate.

I’m sharing my story to make a point: strength matters. Strength helps you live independently, recover faster, do fun and challenging things (think white water rafting), have better posture, feel empowered and perform seemingly simple everyday tasks, like walking up a set of stairs. And strength is not just about weight training, but encompasses many things. Strength for life is about having muscle balance, body awareness and belief in yourself.

Live strong,
Daniel

Here are your keys to building strength in the gym:

*Get started with an exercise program where you have at least two days dedicated to weight training.

*Studies have shown that performing two sets of 8-12 repetitions is good for a beginner, but progressing to three sets or more will produce optimal results.

*Train under control and with a full range of motion! Get your ego out of the way and lift a weight you can handle. Start with a tempo of two seconds up(concentric) and two seconds down(eccentric).

*Change things up every 4-6 weeks. Your body adapts to the the stress you place on it, so changing your exercise variables can be as simple as changing the order of your exercises, the tempo of movement, the time you rest between sets, altering your base of support and even shifting intention.

*Allow yourself time to recover. Some people want to train, train and train some more. This is not necessarily the way to achieve better results. Give yourself 24 hours to 48 hours of recovery after intense days of training. A lighter training day can be used as a recovery day. We call these organization days in Nimble Fitness.

*Of course, if you are interested in learning more, contact me.

HOW IMPORTANT IS HYDRATION?

We tend to think of our bodies as a collection of muscle, tissue and bones, but like the earth’s surface, we’re mostly made up of water.  Water accounts for approximately 70% of your body weight.  And it serves several vital bodily functions, carrying nutrients to your cells, aiding in digestion, flushing the body of wastes, and keeping your kidneys healthy.  Water keeps your moisture-rich organs (skin, eyes, mouth, and nose) functioning well, it lubricates your muscles and cushions your joints, and it regulates your body temperature and metabolism.

Even being slightly dehydrated will affect the way your mind and body functions.  How do you know if you are dehydrated?  It’s difficult to say.  It may sound like a paradox, but it’s generally not a good idea to wait until you’re really thirsty to drink water.  By the time you become thirsty, you can already be dehydrated.  Generally speaking, if you aren’t taking a swig of water every 30 minutes throughout your day, you are probably slightly dehydrated.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that the coffee, tea or soda you drink counts toward your water intake!  Caffeine acts as a slight diuretic to your system, drawing water out of the body.  Alcohol is even worse.  Some studies refute these claims but anyone who’s suffered a hangover (a side effect of dehydration) understands the effect.  If you are drinking caffeine or alcohol, make sure you’re balancing those drinks with plenty of water.

Two liters of water per day is still a good rule of thumb for keeping well hydrated—but don’t get stuck on that amount. Its not about drinking a certain number of glasses of water per day, its about how you feel and how much hydration you need to function at your best. If you’re in a cool workplace and don’t move much during the day, a couple of liters should be fine.  If your job has you working outside, in the heat, you need more.   Although not a replacement for regular H2O, don’t be afraid to add some type of sports drink to your water if you are exercising for more than an hour.  This will help replenish minerals lost through heavy sweat.

Bottom line: be prepared.  Keep a bottle of water at work and fill it often.  Keep a bottle of water in your car and drink it on your way to your destination.  Remember the 30-minute rule- a swig of water every half hour.  Hydrated = healthy.

Staying Positive

Our family, our friends… seems like everyone is either experiencing for themselves, or knows someone who is feeling a tremendous amount of stress. Take a step back and catch your breath. Remember, worry does little more than make you anxious and miserable. It serves no purpose other than to make you obsess over negative situations and anticipate the worst. Summer is coming! The weather will be nicer, the flowers will bloom and life will go on.

Here are a few techniques to help you stay positive during these tense times.

1. Exercise! It takes your mind off things for a bit and helps relieve stress.

2. Distance yourself from negative people. Positive energy is contagious so choose your company wisely.

3. Take an inventory of your strengths, talents and assets. Keep your thoughts positive and the negative ones will not have an opportunity to cloud your mind.

4. Volunteer to help the less fortunate so you can reflect on the abundance in your own life. Have you seen Slumdog Millionare?

Nimble Myth Buster: Doing lots of crunches will give me a flat stomach.

Our answer: Not so much!
You can do crunches ‘til you’re blue in the face, but there’s actually no such thing as “spot reducing.”  You cannot get rid of fat in one area alone.

The only way to shrink that waistline is with consistent cardiovascular exercise and strength training.  Combined with the right foods,  this is the way to develop lean tissue and burn body fat.  Regular exercise and a balance of lean proteins, carbs (plenty of veggies) and healthy fats will also kick-start your metabolism, helping your body process food instead of storing it.

And all those crunches? They can end up doing more harm than good. Too much movement in any range of motion is not good for the joints, and too many crunches can make the lower spine hyper-mobile, causing back pain and other more serious problems.  Eat right, add cardiovascular activity to your exercise program, and mix up your ab routine.

Wordology

Words have power! At Nimble Fitness we share with our clients the idea of Wordology. The non-conscious often does not know the difference between what you truly want and the words and ideas you are just playing around with. All of your thoughts get filed in the oneness of the non-conscious, so we ask clients to choose words that align with their life vision. Why not? Through what we have learned in our past, we often create habits or conditions that we live by that no longer serve us. These words we say over and over carry major energy and shape our perception. For example, I had a client that often stated “Every time I walk into the gym, I believe I’m moving forward in my journey to health,” and another that would often discount the work he did if it was not of a certain duration or intensity. He would often state that he could never do enough. Which client do you think progressed faster in his program? The point I would like to make is this: Are you setting yourself up for failure or success? Make the promise to yourself to use words that support you in success and believe it! Why not? Namaste

NO MORE EXCUSES

Things ache. You’re tired all the time. Walking up the stairs leaves you out of breath. You fall sick easily. Your cholesterol is too high. You’ve gone up two sizes in the last year. You’re feeling older every day. Does this sound familiar?

Ok then …you know exercise gives you more energy, makes you stronger, helps keep your weight in control and makes you feel and look younger – then why aren’t you working out? Excuses won’t make you feel better, only action and a real commitment to live healthy now.

Here are my answers to all of your excuses. Believe me, I’ve heard them all.

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Exercise is boring.

Only if what you choose to do is boring! Find something that sparks your enthusiasm. Is there something you’ve wanted to do but just haven’t got around to? How about taking up tennis or golf, salsa-dancing or skiing? What about joining a softball league or runners club? A personal trainer can help add some fun and excitement to your workouts as well as taking group exercise classes.

I don’t have time.

There are 24 hours in everyone’s day. We all choose to spend them differently. Ask yourself what deserves the highest priority? Even if your time is largely tied up, how much can you really accomplish if you’re not feeling healthy? Even a little bit here and there makes a difference.  Walk an extra 5 blocks to work.  Do situps between TV commercials.  Remember that nothing else is more important than setting time aside to improve your health –nothing!

I don’t have the energy.

Your energy may be low because you are mentally rather than physically tired. You need to force yourself past the mental block. Exercise will actually give you a boost and INCREASE your energy levels, leaving you less tired at the end of the day. It won’t feel that way at first but take comfort in knowing that exercising gets easier every day. Once you’ve been on a regular exercise routine, you will realize how poorly you were feeling before and how great you feel now. I guarantee you’ll never want to go back.

I feel too embarrassed.

Every time you exercise, remember that you are making a positive step for yourself. You don’t need fancy clothes or a gym membership. If the thought of working out around strangers turns you off, get some exercise videos or hire a personal trainer and exercise in the comfort of your own home. Something as simple as a 30-minute walk is also a great way to build your fitness.

The gym is too far from home.

You don’t need a gym to exercise and be healthy. Follow the advice I gave for the excuse above and take up walking or exercising with videos or equipment at home. The Internet is a great resource for ideas on exercise. You can also look for a health club near your job and go before or after work. There are community centers in many areas, which offer healthy activities. Do you have access to a pool? Are there hiking trails near your home?

I don’t need to exercise.

Our bodies were designed to move. Modern technology such as cars and the Internet have made it too easy to become static. Now, more than ever, we must make time to exercise. Heart attacks, strokes and diabetes are all related to inactivity. People who exercise live longer and feel more energetic. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Take a pro-active approach now.

Exercise hurts.

Exercise should never cause you injury if you go at it the right way. Seek the advise of a fitness trainer or read up on what type of exercises are right for you. You have to slowly work up to fitness to get the most benefit. Being healthy is a lifetime commitment so take your time and do it right. I’ll say it again - It won’t feel it at first but take comfort in knowing that exercising gets easier every day. Once you’ve been on a regular exercise routine, you will realize how poorly you were feeling before and how great you feel now.

ARE YOU READY FOR YOGA?

There are 16.5 million adults in the U.S. that regularly practice Yoga, according to the Yoga Journal, and an additional 25 million that say they want to try Yoga. Yoga classes, based in Yoga asanas (physical forms), are a national phenomenon that can be found in almost any gym. There are well-established benefits from learning the asanas that have pushed its popularity: increased muscle tone and flexibility, stress reduction, and a sense of community born out of the class experience. Yoga also has a somewhat gentle reputation—a perception that Yoga is “less intense” then other workouts, and that there’s little or no downside to adding Yoga to your routine.

That gentle reputation is taking a hit, however, as more and more Americans are getting injured in Yoga classes. Those injuries cover the full range of severity–from sore backs and strained hamstrings to torn knee cartilage and sprained necks. Roger Cole PhD., a scientist and Iyengar Yoga teacher in California, names the lower back, knees and the neck as the most prone to injury in Yoga. Injuries most often come from just being too aggressive—a forward bend that goes too far aggravates the back, for example, while falls from challenging headstands and forearm balances can cause neck injuries.

The Nimble team is here to remind you that though there are significant risks associated with practicing Yoga, there are some simple recommendations that can keep your practice safe and effective, regardless of the style of instruction:

*INTENTION—take a few moments to make sure your head’s in the right place before you step on the mat. Usually, we’re to blame for our injuries. We watch the rest of the class and let our egos take over—we want to be the best in that new pose, even if we’ve never tried it before! No amount of ego is going to help you if you push your body too far.

*3 KEYS—in Anusara instruction, there are 3 basic “checks” we use for each pose: foundation, alignment and breath. If your foundation is strong, whether it’s your feet, hands, shoulders, forearms, or hips, you’ve greatly reduced your chances of falling. Alignment basically refers to the spine, pelvis and joints. Be especially mindful of these areas—your body will let you know if you’re going too far out of your natural alignment. The last is obvious: if you can’t breath in a pose, we humbly suggest you back off and start over!

*PRIVATE INSTRUCTION—most people in the U.S. experience Yoga asanas for the first time in a crowded classroom, where there’s minimal instruction and minimal space. If you’re starting out, find an experienced instructor who can take you through the basics before you head into a class. You’ll feel more confident and enjoy it a lot more.

*GO AT YOUR OWN PACE—a Yoga practice should be built around your body’s strengths and limitations—you should never try to adapt your body to a form your body’s not ready for. What’s the point? Your body will react by trying to protect itself any way it can, and the results are usually not good. Slow and steady wins the race here—and you’ll surprise yourself at how far you progress when you’re consistent and attentive to what you’re ready for on the mat. Plus you’ll really start to enjoy yourself!

Please share your Yoga experiences with us!—submit a question or comment on our community board at www.nimblefitness.com. Also, stay tuned for more Yoga info in the coming months as we break down the keys to an effective practice. For those of you who are new to us, Nimble Fitness is a health and wellness company based in New York City that offers instruction in Anusara Yoga, either privately or semi-private groups.

Volunteer Your Way to Better Health

As a member of the New York City Mountain Biking Association, I volunteer my time to build and maintaining multi-use trails throughout parks in New York City. A few weeks ago I helped with some trail maintenance at Highbridge Park in upper Manhattan. Rather than drive to Highbridge, I decided to up the ante and ride my bicycle the 28 miles from my house. This was a perfect opportunity to reduce my carbon footprint and make our planet a little greener while getting in a full day of exercise and activity. It couldn’t have been a better day too. The sun was shining and temperatures hovered around 65. My ride took just under 2 hours and I managed to put in another 3 hours of solid trail work. At the end, I was a little sore, a little scratched up and a little tired (ok, exhausted was more like it) but also really proud to have done my part to improve our city and make our planet a little greener.

Volunteering to do things like this is a great opportunity to incorporate more activity into your life. I know for me, working outdoors in the park beats sweating in some stale gym any day. Maybe the gym isn’t for you either? Don’t let that stop you from living a more active life. Seek out activities, which you find interesting and keep you active. Volunteer to spend the day playing with kids from a local youth group, participate in a sponsored charity walk or help with general park maintenance in your own community. Get out there. You’ll feel better all around.

WHY MEDITATE?

Meditation is a word that is loaded with resonance in our society. Say “meditation” and it conjures images of some enlightened yogi in a cave, levitating off the floor. Meditating seems impossible—like a dreamlike state of nirvana—so many of us reject it out of hand. We say, “I can’t do that” or “Why bother, it’s a waste of time to try.”

Why meditate? One good answer is to relieve stress. In our society, stress can be an ever-present partner, both a reaction to our environment and a response to our hectic lives. Stress affects us mentally and physiologically. The crazy thing about stress is that 90% of the stress we feel doesn’t affect us in real time–it’s about something that is going to happen or something that has already happened. It’s the reason that meditating using your breath is such an effective tool for relieving stress. Meditation is nothing more than the act of being totally present.

If meditation seems beyond your reach, I’d answer by saying that the truth is you’ve already meditated–many, many times. If you’ve ever lost yourself in a movie or a concert, you’ve done it. If you’ve ever been present at the birth of a child, a close friend’s wedding, or any other truly important event, you’ve connected to that place where there is no past, no future, and no worries–just an intense appreciation of now. It’s not something new you need to learn, it is something that you already do!

Meditation, at its essence, is simplicity itself: stop and focus on your own breath, anytime, anyplace. By simply focusing on your breath, you’re turning off your mind’s spin cycle of thoughts, worries, and errands. You’ll feel your breath start to slow down and even out. You’ll feel your breath move in your body, dropping from your shoulders down through your rib cage into your body’s power center, just below your navel. You’ll start to have new awareness of what’s happening around you. You’ll feel better! By focusing on your breath, you’re also naturally tapping into the parasympathetic part of your Autonomic Nervous System, the part that helps you rest and repair. It is always available to you. That’s meditation—that’s all!

Keith Paine

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