Down to Zero

 

I absolutely love this photo because in my book of life, it could not be more true.

Yes, you can choose to be happy! & it is good for your health! 

How can feeling good and all other things that come with being happy, not be good for your health?

Today is my last day of school.  I just found out I got a 95% combined total on both of my finals. I am so ecstatic! Is it cheesy to say I'm proud of myself? I am a queen of procrastination and in the past I have known myself to even skimp on school work that I find extremely important to me. 

It started when I was studying American Sign Language. We were assigned books to read and even though I don't like reading much I thought to myself, these are going to be so awesome to read! Yet, I found myself skimming through or spark noting them. I did not read those books.

Eventually came culinary school, where I really hardly procrastinated at all...in the beginning. Then over half way through the program I realized I didn't need to be studying as hard as I was and I cut myself a bit of slack...

Starting in culinary school to fully realizing it here at NPTI, I have come to the conclusion that I love learning! It is something that shocks me because I have never been one to be very excited about school. Yet now that I have found a couple things that I am extremely passionate about I can't help myself, I want to keep learning and educating myself. I want to know all there is to know in my profession so I can better help others. I don't think I have ever been so excited to go out and start a new job! I am so excited to start training! It really is one of my dream jobs (a job including traveling and/or photography is ideal). I am helping people better their lives, I get to work with them directly and actually get to know them, while working out and sharing my knowledge! How does it get better than that?!

I just can't explain how happy I am. I know this may not be ideal for everyone, but that's okay. Find your niche. It's not impossible & if you would like, I'm happy to help get you there.

24 weeks already?!?

Time has flown by!

I cannot believe how fast the past 6 months have come [and gone].

Not only did I grow up with my grandparents, but I have actually worked with quite a few older folk so far in my life. There are a couple common words of advice I hear regularly from the 'elderly' generation and I want to share them with you. 

These words have stuck with me and I am really starting to take them to heart. 

First off they always tell me that they wish they would've taken better care of their bodies when they were younger. This really speaks to me. If you think about it, the way the body naturally deteriorates as you age, it makes a lot of sense to gear yourself up with a solid base so to speak. Though I do want it to be very clear that, metaphorically speaking, you can teach an old dog new tricks! If you are older and living a weak or sedentary lifestyle don't be discouraged, it's easier than you think to turn yourself around.

The second thing I am most commonly told is that the older you get the faster time seems to fly and enjoy every minute of it while you can. Take your time. With this advice I believe it is most important to live your life day by day and to the fullest each day. I think it is important to stop and ask yourself that seemingly brutal question, what if I died tomorrow? Seriously, how would you feel about your life so far? Are there things you would change? Why not start making those changes now? What do you think you have to wait for?

I now have 3 days until I am done with school at the National Personal Training Institute of Portland. One written final down (feel very good about it!) & one practical final to go. I also updated my Progress tab and wrote a little summary about my goal over the course of this program.
I'll write soon about April goals, etc.

I also think I am starting an internship at a gym...I'll keep you posted on that as well.

Take care for now.

Meditation

Have you ever meditated or even considered doing it?

For me, the first time I think I ever truly meditated was in a yoga class that my gym at the time offered. Looking back now I didn't even realize I had been mediating. At the end of the yoga class the instructor had up lay back on our mats with our eyes closed, focus on deep breathing with lovely nature-type music playing softly in the room. Go to a peaceful place in your mind, forget all worries, stresses and cares you might have with you today. Let them roll off you like a drop of water. I left that yoga class feeling so freaking relaxed, calm, clear-headed, and simply blissful. At the time I was completely blown away by the kind of high you could get off of just taking a yoga class.

As years have passed I've learned quite a bit about meditation but I do not practice it regularly. Every time it is brought to attention again I want to start getting into it. 

It was brought to my attention again today, so I Googled a bit of information on it. If you didn't already know meditation can help you to be less stressed and have a new outlook on stressful situations. It can also help you get in more in touch with yourself. People don't usually listen to their bodies very often, they just simply think and act. According to this Mayo Clinic article meditation can also help you to focus on the present and reduce negative emotions. 

There are several different types of meditation that I read about in the Mayo Clinic article. (I do recommend that you read it to!) The one I realized that I do from time to time on my own is called Guided or Imagery/Visualization. I go to a place in my mind that I have just completely made up, if it does exist I would love to go there or one day I would love to create this place for myself. I go to this place in times when I just need to cool down, want to feel more relaxed/calm or even when I am having a hard time falling asleep. 

Slowly, over time, I have added things into this place; but when it all started I was sitting beneath one giant tree on top of a hill. The hill, under the tree that I was sitting on was in the middle of a giant open lusciously grassy green field. Down the hill and onward just a bit, the edge of field comes to a forest. The forest is filled with trees just like the one I am sitting under. If I were to walk through the forest in the middle of the day the sun would beam down through the trees and it would be easy to take a stroll through it. It is always sunny and warm here. Sometimes there is no noise, sometimes the birds are chirping and the wind is warmly blowing about. After awhile I added another large tree and placed a hammock between the two. I don't often lay in the hammock but it is nice every once in awhile. Today I added a single bamboo fence, maybe about six feet long, just a few feet away from the trees & hammock. The bamboo fence still sits on top of hill and beyond it, some time I will plant a little garden. But for now I am using it to be able to lay down and do any type of stretching I like with it's assistance. I also brought my cat Dina here today, where she shall stay from now on. She likes to sleep in the hammock. 

Where would you go if you could just to get away? 

What kind of place comes to mind? 

You don't have to go into great detail. You also don't have to practice this type of meditation.

I do challenge you to try doing it though. Even if it is just for a couple minutes. 

Sit down, breathe deeply, let there be light soothing music or no sound at all--so your mind does not wander. Concentrate on your breathing and positive things in your life. Let go of every single negative feeling you have been holding on to, because it's simply your choice to be holding on to it.

Let go, feel freer and continue on with your day a little more relaxed/open-minded.

Inspiration of the Day

Quote of Day

"Discipline is choosing what you want most over what you want right now."

*I found these pictures from two other favorite blogs of mine. Click the photos to go to those blogs.*

Inspiration

Everyone needs a little inspiration. Today I have been inspired by my cousin's blog: Our Lovely Life. She was talking about how she is waiting for Spring to come. Spring is a great thing, but I am waiting for summer! Just a reminder, if you haven't been keeping track summer is just a couple months away! My summer starts in May, so that is just ~10ish weeks away. Do you have plans for this summer? You must have some idea of what you want to do! Whether it is as simple as going to the beach or on a picnic, I have some suggestions to keep you inspired and hopefully also motivated.

First off, remember your resolutions! January was now three months ago but that is no excuse to steer clear of your resolutions, fitness or not. If they have changed that's fine and understandable--mine seem to change weekly--but why do you make up resolutions in the first place? To hold yourself to something of some sort? Make new ones if you need to! After January my new resolution was to have a new resolution for every month, while sticking to my original resolution for the year. I am a goal oriented person though, so making resolutions and setting goals and marking my progress really help me accomplish the things I want to.

Secondly, make a small list (physical or mental) of what you have planned to do or what you want to do this summer. Then find specific pictures to go with those things. For example, I am going to the Sasquatch Music Festival on Memorial day weekend in May, so I found the photo below of the music festival that portrays it in all it's beauty. It's in the Gorge!

 

Once you find at least one photo for each thing you want to do put them in a folder on your desktop. I titled my folder Summer Inspiration. As each event gets closer put each image as your background, or if you aren't sure what you're doing collage a few images together and post them as your background.

Right now I have the picture above as my background photo for inspiration to get my butt in gear for summer because after this festival summer will be in full throttle and who knows how much time I will be spending at the gym. My next big event is going to Vegas in July, so I compiled the picture below of the swimming pool at the hotel I am staying at!

After the Sasquatch Music Festival I am definitely going to put this as my background photo and hopefully it will keep me from eating all the delicious summer sweets and maybe even keep me in the gym or get me out on a few nice summer sun runs.

Lastly I am going to Hawaii in August with my man and his family. We will be staying in the beautiful Kauai! I have never been, but it's HAWAII! We will be spending 12 days there. So below is a beautiful picture of the bay right outside where we are staying and also a view off the front porch of the house we will be staying in:

SO, these are the things that are inspiring & motivating me to get off the couch and do some yoga, stretching, leg lifts, go for a walk, or something active in my spare time. You don't even have to put your pictures in the order you will be enjoying them. Like I said, make a collage of all the images, or just rotate them regularly. You could even put them as a background on your phone, print them out and hang a picture next to your bed, by the bathroom mirror, etc. etc. Somewhere where you will see them and be reminded daily of the things you are set out to accomplish.

I hope you find some nice inspiration in this. Enjoy the rest of your day.

Progression is Exciting

I went skating this last Friday and all the balancing techniques I have been working on in my training is 100% helping me on my skates! It is so excited and completely blows me away. I hope that one day I can help clients feel this good about something they want to accomplish!

When I first started skating, about a month ago now, I was very nervous on just a single leg, let alone on my left (I am a right handed person, meaning most everything else seems to be right-side dominant)! Skating on Friday I was blown away when I could easily and comfortably skate on a single leg. I am not longer feeling wobbly or like I am going to fall at all. I think in the last month I have only fallen twice and I fell forward both times!--this is awesome because in roller derby you do not want to fall on your butt.

I have been stretching way more often and now I am certainly going to keep up with my balance and one-legged/one-armed work-out routines. I am also adding endurance and agility into my regular workouts. I really need to push myself through the endurance training though, because it is not something I am used to at all and therefore is incredibly difficult for me.

Below is m work-out from today. Hope you have a great Monday!

10 wall ball squat and throws with a 20# ball
15 each leg single leg lunges, with back leg on a slide board (slick surface)
10 assisted pull-ups
15 assisted push-ups
10 each side wall ball side throws