Good Bye Jack...

Below is a blog I posted in April 2010 on Jack LaLanne. He passed away earlier this month at the age of 96. What an awesome life and inspiration. He brought so much insight (so long ago) to the exercise and fitness community. Here's some wonderful advice from Jack.

FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2010

Old Ideas are Good Ideas

Are any of you old enough to remember Jack LaLanne? My mother watched him and exercised with him in the morning when I was growing up. That was many, many decades ago.

He is the "Godfather of Fitness". He really helped to empower women (see the video in the link) and is still impacting people's lives today with his juicers, etc.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Jack-LaLanne-The-Godfather-of-Fitness

Mr. LaLanne had a list of "10 Things To Do To Have a Happier and Healthier Life". Guess what? These 10 things are being "discovered" by people today! He's been telling people about this list for decades and people are just now discovering the power of these 10 things.... crazy.

Well - here is what Jack recommends.....

1) Exercise

2) Good Nutrition

3) Positive Thinking

4) Good Habits

5) Good Grooming

6) Smile (to everyone)

7) Watch your posture

8) Help Others

9) Relax (as in meditate....)

10) Have Faith

So, if you're looking to have a happier, healthier life, you may want to look at some of these "old ideas" that people are just now discovering!

Namaste and be well....

New Year... New Yoga

I love practicing yoga. Each practice I have - I try to treat it as though it is the first practice I have ever had. I close my eyes as much as possible and visualize my body in the asanas while I focus on my breath. Each Downward Facing Dog is my first. Each Warrior I or Warrior II is my first. Each Sun Salutation is my first. By doing this, I allow myself to come into each practice without any expectations. If I start my day feeling like I am ready to kick butt, then get to practice and feel my knee isn't quite right or my arms are tired, or I am just more out-of-it than I thought, I like that I had no expectations on myself and I can just surrender to my practice and let it be the way it is.

I think this is a very important way for us to approach not only our yoga practice, but also our meditation practice. I teach this to all my students of both that when we just surrender ourselves to whatever our practice is, without expectations, we will have a much calmer and more peaceful practice, which is why we are taking the time to do this in the first place.

Keep the momentum of the New Year, but honor your body and treat each practice as New!