Everything in life takes work.  Relationships, careers, keeping a comfortable home, having a fit and healthy body, raising children, and eating healthy, just to name a few.  What if the work we are required to do in life was effortless?   I am often reminding my clients to release tension while executing exercises.  Effortless work requires a sense of letting go, which inspires the simple act of being in the present moment.

Are you looking for a more balanced and in-the-moment workout?  Try to connect with the idea of working effortlessly next time you walk into your fitness class, personal training session, or gym, by remembering these 5 tips:

1. Find Your Perfect Match

Who can think twice about attending something they love?  Being passionate and joyful about movement is the key for effortlessly working up a sweat, feeling your heart beating, and journeying into a stronger body.  If you’ve found your ideal class, personal trainer, workout partner, or gym, then cherish it.  If you are feeling uninspired by your workout choices, think about searching around to find your perfect movement match.

2. Set Your Intention

Take a moment to connect in with the reason you are working out.  Is there a particular goal you are trying to achieve?  Let that goal and that intention carry you through your workout.

3. Talk To Yourself

Maybe not out loud but connect into what exactly you are doing.  Are you standing and doing a bicep curl?  Before initiating the exercise, connect your mind and body by drafting out what exactly is going on.

Bicep curl:
- Feet are rooted into the ground.
- Shoulders are directly over hips.
- Navel is reaching toward your spine for core stabilization.
- Bending at the elbow, hands are bringing your weight to your shoulder.
- Arms then extend completely.
- Shoulders remain dropped, head and neck relaxed.
- Breath is moving.

The body wants to work efficiently.  This dialogue will help clear any extra tension or unnecessary movement.

4. Open Your Heart

In this world, we are all hunched over at our desks, commuting to work, caring for children, etc.  During your workout, focus on keeping your heart literally and physically open.  This will help broaden the chest, which inspires correct posture; for example, instead of running on the treadmill with your head leading the way, lead with your heart.  Feel the difference in your posture, stride, and energy.

This also may bring up some emotions. Leading with the heart opens up the heart chakra, making us more vulnerable than we may be comfortable with.  If you find yourself asking what you are opening your heart to besides better posture, remember the intention you set for yourself at the beginning of your workout.

5. Let Go

Do you find you are forcing your body into a particular exercise, pose, or even meditation?  Instead of using brute force and willpower, remain mindful and try trusting your body.  Let go of expectations to allow your movements to energize and revive you as opposed to depleting and draining you.

Challenge yourself however; simply be fully present in your own body.  You may find your body is stronger than you think it is!

-Charlotte Blake

1: Look back to move forward. We often learn more from what we see as our failures than our successes–those times we didn’t feel successful often turn out to be very valuable in our overall growth. Questions you could ask yourself about the past year are: Did you exercise as often as you wanted to? Were you working towards goals, or just kind of winging it? Did you make your health a first priority, or was it an afterthought? Is your home and work environment set up for success? By considering where you fell short, you’re also giving yourself the road map for success in the future.

2: Set your positive intention. Intention is everything. Visualize positively what you want to accomplish this year—it will make all the difference in terms of the quality of what you do and your decisions. If you focus on failure in anything that you do–getting married, changing your eating habits, making an important presentation—failure is usually what you’ll get. A little bit of time and effort spent seeing yourself making healthy choices every day will make it that much easier to keep your commitments to yourself.

3: Create your own health blueprint. And keep it simple! Focus on these 3 aspects: food choices, movement, and quality rest. Think long term but act on a daily basis. Take a week and test yourself—concentrate on making healthy choices in eating, movement, and rest for seven days–and see how you feel and how those choices affect everything you do.

4: Expand your awareness—connect with others. Take an active interest in your health and activities that interest you (examples—cooking class, running clubs, volleyball leagues, ski clubs, hiking groups, yoga classes). You’re not alone! There’s guaranteed to be other people interested in what you like—and they can provide inspiration and motivation as you move forward on your path to a healthier lifestyle.

5: Live it. Making your health a priority on a daily basis is really about making every aspect of your life better, whether it’s your work, your social life, your sleep or your relationships. Consistently taking care of yourself is not selfish—it’s making your ability to achieve success and take care of your loved ones that much greater.

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

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

]]> http://www.nimblefitness.com/body-camp/feed http://www.nimblefitness.com/re-charge-your-body http://www.nimblefitness.com/re-charge-your-body#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:20:57 +0000 admin http://www.nimblefitness.com/?p=3714 Today, I’d like to talk briefly about the subtle art of re-charging.  Its easy, especially in New York City, to adopt a kind of “crash & burn” mentality about work – you just push yourself during the week, and collapse and recover on the weekends. Your body system gets into a kind of rhythm with that, but what you don’t realize is how much stress you’re experiencing as you do it.What if you made re-charging a daily occurrence instead of a weekend or holiday burn-out? How about staying ahead of the curve with your energy instead of behind?


This is about taking care of yourself first, what author Stephen Covey calls the most important habit of successful people — “sharpening the saw.”/Its about taking that one hour a day to re-charge your body and your energy, making the other 23 hours more effective, more enjoyable, and more rewarding. It’s about enabling you to be better at what you do. Better at teaching or leading others, if that’s what you do, or better at taking care of others, especially if you’re a parent.

Some suggestions for re-charging:

*Steady, silent breathing with your eyes closed. Visualize yourself relaxing, this can be done anywhere, anytime.

*Get out of your chair and move! –whether that’s moving against resistance, on a treadmill,  taking the stairs or just a walk around the park. We’re designed to move, not sit!

*Slip on some headphones and listen to your favorite record. Discipline yourself to just listen – it stimulates parasympathetic rest & recovery.

*Develop your own strategy and schedule for re-charging, every day.

-Keith Paine

Amanda Winters - Founder of the A+ Plan

Caffeine is a familiar drug, included in coffee, soda, chocolate, painkillers and other items. Today I’m specifically writing about caffeine in coffee, since so many Americans are addicted to this drink.

Every day, many Americans are going through this cycle:
Fatigue →Caffeine → Anxiety → Depression → Not sleeping well →Fatigue → Desire for more caffeine

Does this describe you? While some people can have six cups of coffee and seem fine, others will shake and exhibit mood changes with one cup. Studies have shown that as few as two cups of coffee per day can produce anxiety, insomnia, irritability, and dizziness. Even as much as a 6-oz serving (and you know you get at least 12-oz at a time!) can cause a reduction of brain function, recall and analysis. About the same amount of caffeine also depletes your body of calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, sodium, and chloride. Students think they do better in school when they have coffee? Employees think they do better at work with coffee in their system? Athletes think they do better after a few cups of coffee or sports drinks with caffeine? Think again.

Drugs like caffeine manipulate your body into thinking you need them, and then you end up desiring them every day. Coffee seems like a great choice, giving you energy and focus with great taste. But it’s not just stimulants you’re getting; it’s stress on your body. Caffeine stresses your adrenal glands, which are meant to help your body in emergencies, thus causing your body to work much harder than it has to. It also gives your body low blood sugar, mood and energy swings, fatigue, depression, and malnutrition. Caffeine can also cause sleep impairment, even if you’ve only had one cup in the morning.

Stop the cycle! Do you have diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure or high cholesterol, a family history of Alzheimer’s disease, or are elderly? You have been identified as being a “very high-risk population” if you use caffeine. Alcoholics, children, pregnant women, insomniacs and those stricken with depression and/or anxiety attacks also have to be especially careful of the amount of caffeine they consume. With guidance, these people can learn how much their individual bodies can consume and be healthy.

This article is simply stating that we have to really monitor how much caffeine we allow into our bodies. This is a reminder to please be careful of your intake!

-Amanda Winters

Amanda is a health and fitness contributor for Nimble Fitness and the creator of the A+ Plan. Formed in 2003 to help motivate, inspire and help people achieve their goals, the A+ Plan has continued to expand its services and products to have something for everyone. Amanda Winters, founder of the A+ Plan, works with all ages of men, women and children nationwide, working via phone and Internet for those outside of the NY area. She has a B.S from the Fashion Institute of Technology and certification as a Holistic Health Counselor from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. With a lifetime of experience in food intolerance and fashion styling, and a passion for helping people look and feel their best through nutrition, psychology and fashion, Amanda is quite the unique expert. Find out more at www.aplusplan.com.

Only $225

Program starts April 6th, 2010 (new date).  Space is limited so don’t delay.

Charlotte Blake

1. Breathe
While breastfeeding, while your baby naps, or perhaps while bathing your baby, take five long and deep breaths. Inhale through your nose for 5 seconds, hold for 2 seconds, and exhale through your mouth for 5 seconds. Each time, inhale a little deeper and exhale more freely. Don’t be afraid to make sounds while exhaling or try fluttering your lips. It’ll feel good!

2. Stretch
Stretching releases stress and rejuvenates the body. Here are three stretch options:

* When sitting with your baby on the floor, straddle your legs and take a moment to reach one arm overhead toward the opposite leg or simply fold your upper body forward toward the floor.
* While standing, rest your right arm on a table or counter with your right hip a few inches away from the table. Reach your left arm overhead and lean to the right. Try to focus on lengthening both sides of your body, focusing on stretching the left side. Repeat on the opposite side.
* Downward facing dog. You know you love it and new moms NEED it. Start on hands and knees, plant your hands and feet into the floor and send your hips up toward the sky. Feel your back body stretching out and releasing tension. If this hurts your wrists too much, be gentle. The hormone, Relaxin is still apparent in a new mom’s body and may still be affecting joints. (New Mom Yogi/Pilates Bonus! End your down-dog with a child’s pose.)

3. Be a lady who lunches
Find a new mom group in your neighborhood so you can be social with other women in your community while indulging in a healthy luncheon out! Not sure how to find a new mom group? Search for the Yahoo Group that caters to new moms in your neighborhood.

4. Nap when your baby naps
Truly allow yourself to do this. If available to you, hire someone to help clean your apartment or house one to three times a week, just for the first few months. With this service, you can focus on getting the sleep YOU need.

5. Go for a walk
We’ve had some lovely blue sky days this winter. Bundle yourself and your sweet baby and venture out! It can be daunting to pack the stroller and diaper bag BUT, we encourage you to take that walk and honor the hour or two you are giving yourself to be in nature and fresh air.

By giving yourself a “New Mom Me Moment” you will be a happier mother and, as a result, your baby will be a happier baby. We hope you incorporate these tips into your life for a more balanced YOU.

Find your fitness related “new mom ‘me’ moment” by joining Charlotte in our Mama Moves class!

Keith Paine

Ahh…Valentine’s Day. A celebration of love. A chance to spend cash on stuff that nobody needs, and often a cause of heartache. Love is tricky – both for those who are in a relationship and those who want to be in one.

If attachment breeds suffering, as the Buddha taught, then what should we do about love, the greatest attachment of all? Are we born to suffer if we don’t find a lover? We all long for the security of being with a person who’ll love us back. Our egos are satisfied when we feel loved. In our society, we’ve become attuned to acquiring things and judging our success by those things: money, a high-status job, a house. We can become attached to the idea of love in the same way, measuring our status as a person by our love lives. We’re flying high when our relationships go well, suffering when they fail.

Is it possible to experience love without attachment? Well…that depends on how we experience love. If we think of love as something that we have to get, than it can just as easily be lost, and we’ll suffer as a result. If instead we think of love as a way of being, the rules change. Love becomes active, not passive. Love becomes a daily experience, not something we have to find in someone else.

If this concept sounds kind of unrealistic, I believe it is much easier in practice. Whether it’s giving time to your kids or giving a donation to Haiti, we act with love all the time! Americans happen to be an incredibly generous people, especially when inspired by loss or need. Turn that same generosity towards yourself and those closest to you – in other words, act with love instead of searching for love- and you’ll be shocked at how much of it you get in return.

Here are some tips from Nimble Fitness on how to give your feet some love and create a solid foundation for your heart-healthy cardiovascular program.

1. Pay attention to your posture—standing and walking with proper balance and a “stacked” torso (where your shoulders, rib cage and pelvis align over each other) will help your feet support your body weight the way they’re meant to.

2. Get a foot massage, reflexology treatment, or just use a tennis ball to loosen up the fascia on the bottom of your feet.

3. Organized exercise! Develop an integrated training program that draws from several styles of movement, so your feet have a variety of challenges to develop strength and balance.

4. Wear shoes that fit well and give you the support you need. Enough said! Your shoes should fit around your feet, not vice versa.