Sunday, February 5, 2012 @ 10am

Join us the morning of Superbowl Sunday and come sweat for a good cause!

Nimble Fitness TRX Instructor Barb Ehlers is racing to the top of the Empire State Building to raise awareness and funding for Multiple Myeloma research.   This special TRX class is a fundraiser for that event.  Come get a fantastic total-body workout before the big game (go GIANTS!).  All proceeds go to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

$15 is the minimum-asking donation.
Please bring cash or a check payable to Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

Space is limited! Register for this class HERE or contact us.

If you would like to make a donation and show your support please click HERE

Introducing Barb Ehlers, our newest Nimble team member. Barb is not only TRX certified, she has also been a personal trainer for nearly 10 years and Pilates mat instructor for over 5 years! She fully embraces Joseph H. Pilates’ principles of body awareness and thorough physical development. Barb incorporates these principles as well as her own techniques into her TRX classes. She teaches her students to connect to their bodies in class, and to apply the feeling of strength and length into their daily lives.

Barb teaches our new TRX Plus CORE class on Tuesdays at 7:00pm as well as our 11:00am Saturday class. SIGN UP NOW

Barb also has an AMAZING food blog you absolutely must check out. SEE IT HERE

If you have one goal in 2012, one resolution that you make to help you get in the best shape of your life, start with this: “I want to be happy.”  Forget everything else for a moment. Forget going to the gym five days a week; forget about the foods you plan to give up or your plan to quit drinking for six months. Simply tell yourself, “My resolution this year is to be happy.”

Being happy is the key to better health and wellbeing.  Don’t get me wrong–getting into great shape requires some sweat and sacrifice–but before we think about exercise routines or food plans, we have to ask, “Are all the aspects of my life in alignment with my happiness?”  Physical, emotional and mental health are all deeply connected.   For instance, how can someone achieve true physical health if they work in an extremely stressful environment?   The same is true of personal relationships. You simply can’t ignore these other aspects of life if you want to be truly fit.

I ask you to take a moment to reflect on the following areas, which can make a positive difference in your happiness and health:

• Relationships. Be honest and sincere when you communicate with the people close to you–your spouse, friends, co-workers and family members.  You’ll be much happier if you address and overcome your fears, frustrations and anger rather than bottling those emotions up inside.  If you have trouble communicating with someone close to you, then maybe counseling or some professional help would have a positive influence.

• Work. Your work environment can be a huge influence on your happiness.  If you spend a large part of the day at your job, examine whether there is satisfaction and balance in what you do.  It doesn’t have to be the perfect job, but if your work environment is so stressful that you dread going, it is going to adversely affect your health and how you treat those around you.

• Friends. Are you surrounded by problems, or people that make you happy?  A happy emotional state can be infectious. Just being near happy people can put you in a better mood. Children, for example, can be especially carefree and happy.  Limit your time with needy friends and create more time with your kids, nieces or nephews.  Try and ensure the people around you share your goals of health and happiness.

• Exercise! Besides the fact that exercise has been shown to release endorphins and other body chemicals that give you a feeling of happiness, exercise helps you to feel more satisfied with the way you look and will boost your morale.  This in turn will help you stay more present, and more determined in your pursuit for a happy and fulfilling life.

Take each day as it comes and start to make decisions that you know will benefit your happiness.  This new approach to achieving life-long health will positively change the way you become fit and allow you reach your fitness goals for 2012 and many more years to come.

Cultivating energy starts with our relationship to the food and fluids we consume. What, how and when we eat affects our digestion, which in turn affects how much nutrition we receive from our food and how well we metabolize it. Every cell in our body regenerates from what we consume–there is no substitute for quality nutrition and a positive relationship with food. Examine how you feel after you eat. Do you have a nice sense of well-being and satisfaction? Do you feel solid energy for the next 4 or 5 hours? Conversely, does the food you’re eating make you sleepy, leave you craving sugar or disrupt your digestion? If it does, than it’s clear that your eating habits need to change. Releasing body fat and eating well is not as challenging as people make it–what is truly challenging for people is creating the habits to support positive, conscious, healthy food choices. Take action now and use food to get a leaner, younger body.

Take the start of this year to become more aware of what you are eating, how you are eating and when you are eating and then assess the effect your food is having on you. Remember, food is our medicine!

Namaste,
Daniel

Check out these short and informative video clips the boys at Nimble Fitness filmed for About.com

Build a Work Out Regimen
We’re here at Nimble Fitness for About.com. … Also here at Nimble, we tend to focus on building a strong core and healthy joints before you start to think about … http://video.about.com/exercise/How-to-Build-a-Work-Out-Regimen.htm

Weight Gain and Exercise Video
Hello, my name is Antonio Sini with Nimble Fitness here in New York City with About.com, and today we’re going to talk about the basics of weight gain and … http://video.about.com/exercise/Weight-Gain-and-Exercise.htm

How to Protect Your Knees During Lower Body Exercises Video
Hi, this is Keith from Nimble Fitness for About.com, and we’re going to talk about ways to protect your knees during lower-body exercises … http://video.about.com/exercise/How-to-Protect-Your-Knees-During-Lower-Body-Exercises.htm

How to Protect Your Back During Exercise Video
Hi I’m Daniel Lucas from Nimble Fitness in New York City, and this is for About. com. I’m going to talk to you about how to protect your back during exercise … http://video.about.com/exercise/How-to-Protect-Your-Back-During-Exercise.htm

How to Burn Fat While Lifting Weights Video
Hello, my name is Antonio Sini with Nimble Fitness here in New York City with About.com, and today we’re going to show you how to burn fat while lifting … http://video.about.com/exercise/How-to-Burn-Fat-While-Lifting-Weights.htm

Estimate Your Basal Metabolic Rate
Hello, my name is Antonio Sini with Nimble Fitness here in New York City with About.com, and today we’re going to talk about Basal Metabolic Rate … http://video.about.com/exercise/How-to-Estimate-Your-Basal-Metabolic-Rate.htm

Exercise – How to Estimate Calories Burned While Working Out Video
Hello, my name is Antonio Sini with Nimble Fitness here in New York City with About.com, and today we’re going to talk about how to estimate how many … http://video.about.com/exercise/How-to-Estimate-Calories-Burned-While-Working-Out.htm

Tips for Exercising in the Morning Video
Hi this is Keith. We’re here at Nimble Fitness in New York City for About.com. Today we’re going to demonstrate some exercises you can do in the morning … http://video.about.com/exercise/Tips-for-Exercising-in-the-Morning.htm

I love a good power nap.  There have been many long days at the studio where I wouldn’t have survived without one.  Research has shown that a daily nap can promote physical well-being, improve your mood and your memory, sharpen your senses and revitalize your energy. By deliberately putting time aside for a “power nap”, you will be much more productive the rest of the day.  A 15 to 20 minute nap is all you need–the key is not to fall into the deeper stages of sleep in the afternoon.  Even if you don’t fully fall asleep, you’ll still reap benefits from the relaxation time.

Here are some quick tips for that perfect siesta:

• Schedule your nap during the second half of your day, usually between 1pm and 5pm.
• Avoid caffeine 4 hours before a nap. Also avoid eating at least 2 hours before your nap.
• Nap regularly and keep your time consistent so you nap at the same time every day.
• Find a quiet space and turn off your phone. Let others know not to disturb you.
• Help your body relax by taking a few deep breaths. Clear your mind by focusing on your breaths.
• If light bothers you, wear a sleep mask or place a towel over your eyes. A dark room will work best.
• Have a glass of water when you wake up and walk around for 5 minutes to stimulate your nervous system.

As I stated, a good nap should last no more than 15-20 minutes. You may think this is nothing but, believe me, its all you need. You’ll feel your heart rate increase when you wake up and you may even start to sweat as your metabolism fires back. After a few minutes and big glass of water you’ll feel good as new!

Season’s Greetings & Happy New Year!

Michelle Obama champions healthy living for families across the nation, and the #1 online health destination –Everydayhealth.com– has captured exclusive behind the scenes recipes, tips and confessions from the first lady herself.

We think you will enjoy checking out this one-of-a-kind package from Michelle Obama entitled “Eat Like the White House Eats“.

Do you know what “home” feels like for your body?

I’m talking about the place where you feel structurally in alignment.  Where you move with poise and feel relaxed. Whether we’re feeling “at home” or not often comes down to what we have done, or what he haven’t done, prior to being aware that we are out of alignment.  Being able to feel our bodies, and having checks and balances so that we can catch small disruptions in our joints or tissue, can save us from creating further dysfunction.

Here is a simple assessment that I got from my friend Sue Hitzman, creator of the MELT method. I love it and have used it on myself during my marathon training and with almost every client I have ever worked with.  It’s called a body scan, and it’s also great for starting a lying meditation.

After you assess yourself, you can perform any movement you wish and now you have a way to simply assess how it affected your body. For example, if you are performing a power move but your technique is off, you may feel a hip positioned differently then before. Remember everything changes when under load, so you can use this technique to see how the quality of your movement changes while in motion. Re-assess often! You’re simply using it to have an easy way get in your body and feel how your workouts are affecting how your body presents itself to the floor when simply lying relaxed. (For more information, contact Daniel and the Nimble Fitness team at info@nimblefitness.com).

Namaste,
Daniel

de·tach·ment

Noun:

1. Indifference to other people or one’s surroundings; the state of being aloof
2. The condition of being disengaged or separated, disconnection

I’ve always struggled with the idea of detachment. Perhaps it has something to do with the way the word is actually defined by English dictionaries: aloof, disengaged, disconnected. Not the slightest bit appealing by those terms! To me, the meaning of detachment was simply not dealing with your emotions. If I pretended I wasn’t afraid, for example, if I acted detached from it, fear would eventually just disappear. Like a lot of people, I would say things like “everything happens for a reason” or “they’re in a better place now” in an effort to feel better and overcome hurt, pain and fear. In fact, trying to be detached often made me more confused about what I did feel, which inevitably led me down the path of frustration and anger.

It wasn’t until I began my yoga teaching certification that I started to learn that detachment wasn’t simply a word but a path, a conscious way of living. I sat patiently in front of a newly ordained Buddhist monk as she sat perfectly cross-legged on her mat, with her flowing monk robes and her newly shaven head, waiting for her to share secrets of enlightenment with me. She shared a lot of beautiful things with my class that day, but I couldn’t help feeling a sense of disappointment as I folded up my mat. While the talk was inspiring, it left me with the idea that the concepts and experiences she spoke of were completely out of my reach. I could barely get through an entire Vinyasa flow class, didn’t know a lick of Sanskrit, and wasn’t about to shave my head! A part of me, in an effort to avoid any more disappointment, simply gave up on the notion of detachment. Yet the idea of being able to channel your thoughts and emotions in a way that allows you to be free from them seemed like something that would serve a great many of us.

Jump forward with me to the present, where I recently read an article in a magazine that changed everything for me. It explained that detachment is not the act of trying to deny emotion; there is no need to punish yourself for the things you feel. Instead, the article said, we should acknowledge our feelings. Only when we have truly acknowledged what we feel, can we let that feeling go. It seems so darn simple and NATURAL when it’s put like that! So, I tried it. When I feel afraid, I acknowledge my fear by stating “I’m afraid.” It’s incredible how immediately pressure and tension evaporate. It becomes easier to tap into centered thoughts and to find my breath. Calm returns and I move forward. The fact is, sometimes difficult, confusing, bad things happen in this life. It’s in those moments that our practice of detachment and acceptance is truly challenged. So what do we do when things feel totally out of control? Let me introduce you to another definition of detachment.

Isvara Prandihana

1. Detachment
2. Total surrender to a higher power

Yes, it’s Sanskrit, but bear with me for a second. In the Yoga Sutra (kind of like the yoga Bible) written by Patanjali, he offers several meanings for Isvara Prandihana. The first concept of detachment concerns making the best effort you can in the face of any obstacle, but not being attached to the outcome. The second meaning refers to surrender, complete surrender to a higher power. In other words, releasing our attachment to control. This idea of total surrender does not in any way mean that you’ve become passive about your circumstances, but rather more trusting in the natural order of things. Life and death, health and sickness, love and heartbreak are all a part of it. It doesn’t mean that “everything will work out for the best,” but that regardless of the outcome, even if it’s hard or painful, you will face it with deep acceptance.

In the most trying of times, I’ve found a great tool for detachment has been reconnecting to my Inner Resource. An Inner Resource can be any quality or image that you associate with a force greater than yourself. This could be a person, a symbol, something in nature, or a quality such as compassion or joy. Whatever you choose, it should be energetically positive and something that resonates with you. Once this image or quality is clear, take time to sit and breath. As you inhale, imagine absorbing your Inner Resource and filling yourself up with that image. Then, as you exhale, imagine that feeling emanating throughout your entire body and outward. Repeat your breath as few or as many times as needed. Maybe even add a gentle sun salutation to it. Afterward, sit quietly for a moment and breathe comfortably.

As you move forward, remember that this resource is always with you and is always there to support you. Remember that your feelings and emotions are real and completely natural. Know that the first step in moving past your obstacles and the feelings that accompany them is acknowledging what you feel and accepting your circumstances as well as all possible outcomes. Most importantly, remember to breath.