Nimble Blog

How strong is your FOUNDATION?

Sitting on my couch on a Sunday in February, I wept. Not because I worked 160 hours in the last two weeks, or that a flood ruined our new bamboo studio floor. I was watching images of Haiti on the morning show and they hit me hard, like they probably hit most of you.

These images made me think about many things; one thing that resonated with me and connects to our health was how important it is to have a strong foundation. The energy of a strong foundation resonates from one’s inner self and vibrates outward. This vibration is married to your values & beliefs, your friends & family, life cycles (sleep/food/movement), your soul and the health of your body’s system.

Our society is looking for the fountain of youth around every corner. In so many cases, people simply have a weak foundation to their health. If you’re getting stronger and more flexible, more organized structurally, gaining power and letting go of limiting ego thoughts, then you are continually building a strong foundation. Yes! There is much more I could add to this. Everyone is different, but we can all use the same building blocks for success.

Build your foundation and witness the new strength, power and flow of your mind, body and spirit.

Namaste,
Daniel

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

Quiet Your Mind With The Zen Swing

In the Nimble Guide to Feeling Great in last month’s newsletter, I discussed having a dialogue with your soul, which can be a liberating and life-changing experience. (review here) Receiving information from the soul can take many forms, from unconditional love, to God, to universal energy. To be able to speak effectively to your soul, however, it is necessary to first quiet your mind. This takes some practice, but there are many movements and breath techniques that tap in to your body’s natural ability to relax. For example, check out the Zen Swing—it is a relaxing, natural way to calm your system and rebuild your chi, your natural life energy.

Keys to the Zen Swing:

1. Keep a long spine.

2. Use your hip as a hinge. (i.e.-don’t tuck your butt under and roll your lower spine.)

3. Let your arms completely relax as they swing side to side.

4. Keep your eyes forward.

5. *Find a smooth and even breathing pattern. Inhale as your arms go up and exhale as your arms go down.

6. If your spine doesn’t feel like its moving freely, relax, breath and release the tension with the movement.

7. Go for 5, 10 or even 15 minutes.

A little practice will go a long way-enjoy!

You become the food you eat.

Lets keep it real simple today… The food you eat is what your body becomes.

Namaste
Daniel

Team!

Working as a team in any business takes dedication, practice and trust. Integrity is at the core of an effective team. Here at Nimble Fitness, it feels like every client, trainer and partner is part of our team. Our clients understand that they can communicate anything with us. And sometimes it’s not about the easy stuff but real issues that may need immediate action. This level of accountability is exactly what is taking Nimble Fitness to the next level. Keith, Antonio and myself are dedicated to exploring the mastermind abilities of a trusted team, and excited every day to see where that takes us.

peace
dlov

Conversation with my Uncle bob (black belt in Aikido)

“Mind leads the body.”
-Uncle Bob

Do it first in your mind and then it’s done. In Zen archery the idea is that the arrow has already hit the target. The key is total relaxation! The more relaxed you are the more you are in tune with the universe. These were the words used by my Uncle Bob and I love it! It’s the separation of attachments no different than the journey of letting go of ego. Uncle Bob knows more than he leads on and the best part has been being witness to his journey of letting go. Martial arts and Aikido in particular have been a vital piece of his life education. I received several lessons over our reunion weekend on energy, movement and life. Bob helped me figure out strategies for a client that is recovering from a stroke, raised my awareness to where strength of movement originates and allowed me to not be perfect at the movements he was sharing. I woke up that first morning with a mantra that stated, “I live in the present moment and have gratitude for being able to share such valuable time with my family.” I believe this raised my awareness to spending time with every family member allowing us to connect on a deeper level. I had a vision that morning in bed and lived it a second throughout the day besides a few text messages to a friend in Paris. ( lol -it happens!) I love my family!

Namaste,
Daniel

Holistic Coaching Journey

I’m off to Toronto for a six day Holistic Health Coaching Seminar and I can’t help but ask myself if I’m doing the things to live my healthiest. My little voice is saying NO; you could shop at the farmers market more, eat more vegetables and cultivate more chi through meditation/movement.
I have a smile on my face as I gaze at NYCs skyline and take a moment to feel the joy in my heart. I ask myself where this joy comes from? The answer comes immediately and with strong energy. It states that it comes from the appreciation you have for all the wonderful, intelligent, compassionate clients, friends and family in your life. I’m have a feeling this will be a great week of education and life that I can then share with you.

dlov

Recharge with Nature

Whenever I mention the Laws of Nature, people assume I want to talk about physics or actual laws. (I bet you didn’t know that in Alaska it is illegal to feed alcoholic beverages to a moose?) All joking aside, what I’m actually trying to convey is simply that the natural energy of the earth, the mountains, trees, rivers and lakes, is therapeutic and good for our souls.

In this chronically overstressed society, we often forget how organically connected we are to the planet. Spending time outdoors, away from our cell phones and automobiles, is a great way to clear the mind of clutter and reconnect with our inner selves.

This summer, take time for yourself. Go visit the great outdoors and let nature recharge your soul.

Daniel Lucas

IT’S ALL CONNECTED!

I often find myself wondering just how energetically connected everything in our universe really is. When thinking about the human body its seems as thought almost everything has some kind of effect on us. Over the years the links between stress, food, emotions and posture, and how they all affect one’s health, have become clear.

The energy produced and shared from each of these separate entities is expressed through our muscular system. Because of this connectedness, our quality of life and overall health can be affected when the stress on any one of these areas is too great for our system to handle. A good example of this is how we can easily feel physically drained, feeling weak and fatigued, after a long and stressful day at the office.  Whether your job demands little activity other than making business calls and sitting at a computer or requires you to lug around a heavy bag loaded with your laptop and anything else your day requires your physical body is being stressed. Let’s not forget the effect of mental stress on our systems.  If we do nothing about it, we eventually develop real physical symptoms in the form of postural imbalances, chronic back pain and even hypertension.

You probably already know of a multitude of common stress factors but there are many you may not think of as stress inducing, for example, food. Food delivers nutrients to our cells, but at the same time depending on its quality and quantity, can leave us feeling bad. Toxins in the foods we eat are stored within our muscles, creating stress throughout our system. The environment we live in is another factor. Toxic air travels through our lungs, into our bloodstream and eventually to our muscles. Emotions, especially ones rooted in deep-seeded thoughts, are another major stress factor. Our emotions carry energy and, when in states of heighten intensity, travel through or should  i say into our body. These negative emotions can easily be rooted in the muscular system, leaving us tense and unhealthy.   Often our body holds itself in a specific posture that represents this emotional holding.

The point here is to get you thinking about how you’re connected to everything and how all those factors are translated through the body. Your muscular system acts like a brain. It stores information. This information will either facilitate your journey to better health or block you from achieving it. Make a conscience decision to look at every aspect of your life when considering your health.  With meditation, movement and nutrition you can release old patterns and find new strength.  Take action and live healthy now. namaste Daniel

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

Pins Pulled!

Hello! It’s week five and the 3 inch pins were pulled out of my thumb today–literally pulled out with pliers. After a couple of weeks, the body starts to reject the 3 inch long metal pins that are used to guide the broken metacarpal bones which was shattered into four pieces, back together. Yep! I started my rehab right there in the doctors’ office, and anyone that knows me would tell you they expect nothing less. I started by washing the funk off of my hand and cleaning off the initials of my doctor. It felt like I was looking at an autographed ball that a professional athlete signed after reaching a career milestone. Was this a milestone for my doctor? His 1000th pin stuck into a human hand? D

Daniel Lucas the pins pulled. from Nimble Fitness on Vimeo.

No more pain killers!

It’s been four weeks since I crashed at Bear Creek and honestly it’s been quite a journey. Many things have changed in my life in these past few weeks. For the most part, all of the changes have been good. I’m taking this time to slow down and meditate several times a day. I believe everything that happens in one’s life becomes a guiding force to realize your dreams. It’s just what is and how you perceive it.! The quicker you’re one with the experience, the quicker you’re aligned with source/life energy. Source being god, nature or what ever you call the flow of life. A place without worries or fear. Yesterday was my first day off of the painkillers I was taking and I was worried I may feel pain. The truth is I did feel pain but knowing it was going to pass and using my mind to allow it to happen was the key. It’s great to have your very own super computer! Love your mind.. D

We all need help sometimes.

If you ask any of my close friends and clients, I like being in control. It just so happens that on a snowboard control can be a bit challenging sometimes, especially when you get fatigued and are riding on ice. My broken arm and thumb have put me at the mercy of loving friends and family and I greatly appreciate all the help I’m receiving. This video clip captures the first attempt to remove the devices holding my bones together and clean my funky skin. Yeh Mon!

Cleaning the break. from Nimble Fitness on Vimeo.

My rehab begins

It’s been two weeks since I face planted at Beaver Creek, and my rehab up to this point has been rest, food and meditation. Meditation is training for your brain and I’m utilizing imagery, meridian tracing, asking, allowing and mantra. I will be uploading audio files for the guided meditation I’m doing and video clips of exercises that are helping me recover. I will blog my workouts and as soon I can get a picture of my arm pre-physical rehab you will be the first to see it. Peace, Daniel

Down but not down!

It’s been a week since my life path took an unexpected or possibly not so unexpected turn with me missing the landing while launching off a 20 foot cliff in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Ok, so it was a green run and all I was doing was standing up to stretch my legs while excellerating on an icey section where I should of been staying focused. I believe we create our reality and that there are no accidents, so when meditating on why Budda/Jesus/Universe tossed me aggressively onto my left arm breaking the the thumb and humerus, the answer was simple. It was time to slow down and connect to a deeper consciousness. A chance to adapt, change and create as always.  While coming out of meditation the thougth that I live to inspire was swirling around my mind so naturaly I came to the conclusion that it’s time to live more enthusiasm as before. The injury has slowed me down physically and the pain meds have confused my thoughts at times but my focus of spirit and commitment for every Nimble client, friend and family member grows by the minute. I have allowed my self to receive help from friends and family and I greatly appreciate all of it. It is no mystery to me that your life is only as good as the people you surround yourself with, which means I’m living my dream life. peace dlov

Do You Speak To Your Soul?

By Daniel Lucas

Do you take the time to listen from within yourself for answers? Communicating with our soul is best achieved with a quiet mind. In order to hear the soul our minds need to be clear so that we can receive the answers, which often come in a much gentler way than the strong thoughts of the ego. For example: when you feel the answer to an important question without thinking about it. You just know in your heart it’s true. Quiet time, rest and meditation are vital to having this healthy connection.

Set aside time to allow yourself to stop thinking from the outside and you will have a greater opportunity to hear a deeper truth. Think of it this way: It’s not about working out, it’s about working in, meaning meditation, Tai Chi, a walk in nature or anything that you find empties your mind.

Namaste.

Daniel