“If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run, then yours is the world and everything in it.”

-Rudyard Kipling

Recent email question: “What are you talking about when you say, ‘zip it up’?” – Brenda

Let me preface this by saying, I have no idea who Brenda is or where she has heard me say, “zip it up.” I tell clients to “zip it up,” all the time…perhaps word is getting around. I dunno, but to answer Brenda’s question, “Zip it up” means to draw in the lower abdominal muscles, as if you are zipping up a pair of pants. Try it.See what I mean?

Now, knowing this little trick, whenever you are standing, driving a car, cooking dinner, or, gee, I don’t know, working out, simply “zip it up.” Keeping the abdominal muscles engaged throughout the day serves several purposes:

1) It brings awareness to your body’s energy center, or your Chi. Sadly, it took me awhile to realize this is what Chi Running means. Quick to learn most things, but obviously not Chi. When the body is in a proper state of balance, Chi apparently flows.

2) Engaging the lower abdominal muscles also gives added power to, well, just about anything you do. Are you a sprinter? Chances are, you draw much of your force from your core. When you brace yourself to catch a running toddler…same thing -  you engage the abdominals to stabilize the spine, brace the skeleton for the impact and distribute the force, then keep them engaged as you pick the toddler up (or, at least, you should.) Power lifters, cyclists, rock climbers, NFL football players, yada yada…they all use their core. Alas, they are “zipping it up.”

Give it a try tomorrow and let me know what you think!

I’ve taken lots of yoga classes. Lots. They have ranged from challenging, to utterly amazing, and also awfully B-O-R-I-N-G, hard, and frustrating. The difference is in the instructor. The right one will send you off feeling like a taller, tighter, more energetic (yet, strangely relaxed) version of yourself. A not-so-great instructor might send you off feeling no different than when you arrived, and since the whole point of mind-body fitness is to alter both the mental and physical state, you want to enter each class knowing that your hour won’t be wasted. Many of the best instructors are registered through Yoga Alliance.

Yoga Alliance® fulfills the duel function of registering individual yoga teachers and yoga teacher training programs who meet minimum educational standards. Studios employing Registered Yoga Teachers (RYTs) and Experienced Registered Yoga Teachers (E-RYTs) have met the minimum training standards. Studios who employ instructors meeting Yoga Alliance® standards usually note this somewhere on their website or in their marketing materials. You can also do a bit of homework on your own before you take a class.

4 Questions to ask your Yoga Instructor or Studio

1. Yoga Alliance recommends a minimum of 200 hours of training before teaching yoga. If you aren’t sure if your studio’s teachers meet this minimum requirement, ask the studio owner or director whether any of their instructors do. At least three years of regular practice is ideal prior to teaching.

2. Yoga instructors should be comfortable doing the poses. Does the instructor demonstrate all of the poses before queuing the students? Is the instructor dedicated to his/her own yoga practice? How does the instructor further his/her own knowledge and skill level

3. Classes should be small enough that the teacher can get around the room to correct form and alignment. If you have any special needs or health problems that might interfere with safe yoga practice, ask the teacher if she would be willing to show you modifications.

4. A good teacher teaches in “stages,” explaining postures and poses in detail, from the simplest version of the pose, to the most advanced, so that each student in the class can tailor the pose to match their level of training.

Note: A good teacher should be willing to bring new students up to speed, rather than leave them to fend for themselves in a class full of more experienced participants. When you attend a new class or decide to experiment with a different type of yogaM, arrive a bit early, introduce yourself to the instructor, and point out that it is your first class. In most cases, teachers are more than happy to accommodate novice yogis.

I bet that you are your own worst critic. If you spent one week paying attention to your reactions, thoughts, comments, etc., many, or maybe most of them would be negative. It is challenging when we are bombarded day in and day out with negativity. I’ve made myself more aware of it now, because I want to think positive thoughts, but when I started to pay attention to the negative messages surrounding me everyday, then also the nasty little critical voice in my own head, I realized how much negativity I allowed into my life. I’m now much more guarded about what I watch, see, hear, pay attention to, and think. It has made a huge difference in my life, and it will in yours too.

Watch what you say. If you regularly hear yourself saying, “I’m not prepared…,” “I’m not good at…,” “I’ve never been able to…,” or “I always fail at…,” then you probably won’t get far if your health or fitness goal is to achieve something that requires these qualities. Verbalizing your weaknesses, fears, doubts and negativity, either internally or out loud, sets you up for certain disappointment. You are what you think about most of the time, so think positive thoughts. Tell yourself you can do it, even if you don’t yet believe it. This is the one time it is okay to pretend – “fake it until you make it.” Self-doubt and excuses have halted the progress of many would-be achievers. Don’t let that happen to you. Believe in yourself, keep working toward your fitness and health goals, and don’t stop trying until you get there.

Take a minute to record any negative thoughts you have on any given day, then put a positive spin on each one to turn it into a gem of an affirmation.

Here is an example:

Old self-talk:  I don’t think I have enough experience to try the circuit-training class at the gym.

New self-talk: I can do anything I put my mind too. That class looks interesting, so I will try it just once and give it my best effort.

Give positive self-talk a shot. It certainly can’t hurt. And if you fail, so what, right? Think positive thoughts, and go for it!

I was delighted this morning to find the title, “Weights are for girls” in my newsfeed from Kat Does Diets. Yahoo! She gets it! Am I not always talking about the importance of strength training? Am I not always saying, “women won’t bulk up!”? Yes, I am, and it’s true. Lest you need to re-read all of the many benefits of strength training, go back to these posts and catch up – you’ll have a renewed enthusiasm for strength training.

The Benefits of Strength Training
W.O.W…Women on Weights
Strength Training 101
Add stress to your strength training

Also, be sure to check out Kat’s post…she hits the nail so many times. For example, she noted that she is standing taller (due to stronger abs and back, no doubt), “feels strong and capable,” and sculpted muscles that look sexy and strong. Kat also realized the “confidence and control” that regular strength training brings. Yes, the benefits of strength training extend beyond the muscles’ appearance – there are inward changes too. Check out Kat’s post…“Weights are for girls,” from Kat Does Diets.