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...
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 bet you have a pessimistic friend or family member. This is a person who tends to think about the worse case scenario, or perhaps they offer a negative comment here and there. Sometimes this person is super funny and pessimism is part of their humor. They crack you up and their words are benign to your psyche. Other times, this person is bad for your health. (Not kidding!) I’ve recently distanced myself from a...
Workout with Ellen and learn how to thrive in this three-part, three-hour live and in-person workshop spotlighting the two greatest self-help tools of all time, movement & mindset. The first hour is a feel-good fusion flow workout, barefoot, low-impact and for all fitness levels. The second hour is a seated discussion with demonstration, of powerful mental strategies that direct focus and build resilience. The third and final hour finishes strong with breath work, restorative yoga...
There are two major differences between the male and female knee: 1. the female’s ligaments are softer and thinner, and 2. a female’s femur bone connects at the knee at a more pronounced slant. There are other physiological differences too, from lower bone density to higher percentage of body fat, but the two I mention above makes the female knee especially vulnerable to excessive high-impact activity and to reactive/sudden pivot-action, a.k.a., masculine training. Over the years, I...
Way back in 2000, I was living in Los Angeles and driving all over the city for work. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time in my car. My car was littered with coffee cups, takeout containers and granola bar wrappers. I think I consumed 80percent of my meals in that Jeep Cherokee! For my resolution that year, I averred: I’m not going to eat in the car. I was disgusted with myself and I thought this...
There’s a quote/affirmation that is thrown around a lot in the self-help world and it goes something like, “There’s no competition because no one else is me.” I remember hearing it long ago and liking its concept, but moving on from it without much thought. Lately however, I’ve revisited this notion, and think it’s a super valuable mindset, mainly because it’ll help prevent any sort of self-esteem weakening comparisons. Another quote/affirmation that I’ve honed in on recently is, “Happiness...
“Intrinsic” means belonging naturally, and its Latin root translates as “inward” so I like to think of intrinsic motivation as motivation from within. Intrinsic motivation is the best kind of motivation because there is no bribery, guilt, or coercion. You’re doing something because you want to do it, end of story. When I was a kid, I only cleaned my room when my Dad threatened to throw whatever was on the floor out the window. So I’d tidy...
