Every form of martial art, whether it’s karate of jujitsu, integrates. It integrates the muscles of the body, and it integrates body and mind. I’ve always admired martial artistry and it’s, without a doubt, mindful movement, but with a fighting spirit thrown into the mix. Fusion Kick is this month’s new workout, now streaming on Let’s Move! I’ve wanted to offer a 30minute, modern, non-hyper tae bo-type class for a long time, and Phoenix is seriously the most perfect instructor for...
I still get a lot of attention for having grey hair. Pretty much every single day, a woman comes up to me when I’m out and about to tell me, “Oh, I love your hair…wish I was brave enough to do that.” Well, we all know why it is considered “brave” to not dye one’s hair when it’s grey and you’re female. Because grey hair tells the world, “I’m aging.” There’s an unwritten rule that says we...
I wake up early. I love hot beverages and have an aversion to air conditioning. I’m obsessed with dogs and trees. In fact, as a child, I drew the same thing over and over again – a dog walking through a landscape of tall green trees! I bring this up as a reminder for you to work with what you are. You have built-in preferences, inclinations and personality traits, many of which are non-negotiable. For me, going to a 5am workout is nice, but...
There are so many subtle things we can do to help ourselves look good, feel great and shine bright, so many action steps we can take for empowered wellness. One that I’ve been borderline obsessed about lately is stretching throughout the day. I think between stress, cold weather, and lots of sitting around, our bodies lose space. Here’s what a lack of space in the body looks like: 1. feeling and looking shorter and stockier, 2. pain when...
A man carrying a long ladder walked between me and my students midway through the very first aerobics class I ever taught at age 18. It was awkward to say the least! Since then, so many unplanned, quirky things have occurred during my classes, from power outages to chipmunks scurrying over people’s bodies while they were lying in shavasana. When I was working for Club Med in the nineties, someone sat down on their mat...
There are several health and fitness related questions I get asked repeatedly. Some of them, I’ve been asked about since day one of being a fit pro. Some of them, have popped up only recently. Here they are along with a quick answer: Is there an energy bar you recommend?I’m not a fan of 99.9percent of them. I try to avoid packaged food, and energy bars are packaged food. However, if I have to pick...
Did you know there’s a chain of gyms called Fitness For Life? (I think it’s the best name ever…says it all!) Well, fitness is for life, for a good, capable, high quality life. Mud doesn’t stop me from taking my two labrador retrievers on a hike. Sometimes I think it should, as the clean up required post-hike is urgent, physically demanding, a little gross, time consuming, and not fun! At any rate, here’s how it typically goes: I get the...
I’d like for you to do one of two things: 1. imagine balancing a book on your head, or 2. grab an actual book and place it on your head. If you can, do it right now and then walk around for a minute or two, or go from sitting to standing a couple of times, all while maintaining the position of the book. Notice anything? What you probably notice is your head is micro-aligning...
I want to go way back to the day I met Pilates. It was in the mid-nineties and at the time I was fully invested in the workout world, teaching aerobics classes. These classes were all standing, lots of jumping, double knotting sneakers, and moving fast, like a tiger was chasing you. Pilates Mat couldn’t have been more opposite. First off, in Pilates we left our shoes at the door. This was revolutionary to me....
I just listened to a podcast discussion between a celebrity stylist and a magazine editor. The topic was beauty tips. The entire 90minute show was spent discussing skincare creams and potions, eye masks and exfoliants. Beauty, according to these two women, seems to be all about maintaining youthful skin with products. Look, I like a good serum as much as the next person, and it’s true what they say – hydrated and nourished skin looks and feels...
