You know, I think what I want most for you is awareness.

When I begin to work with someone on getting fit I will start with lists.  I want lists of what you eat, how you eat, when you eat…

What I want to know is simply, “are you aware?”

I eat without thinking more often than I care to admit.  It’s easy to do this.  It’s HARD to pay attention to what I choose as fuel.  The lie is that it’s so often much more satisfying to eat fast food and junk food than properly fueling my body.  It feels true but we all know that the cost of this eating is high, much higher than the cost of having a personal trainer.

The other thing I want you to know is that you cannot out run a bad diet.  Make the changes you need to make, long term, life changes.

Make your goal in looking at your diet one that is reasonable….set short term goals: limit sweets in a given day, eat more vegetables, drink more water…these are small steps to a long term goal.  Make your long term goal with fitness in mind, not clothing size.

I’m not going to tell you that you can never again eat a piece of candy. I love candy…a whole lot.  Choose well for your body overall and I promise you will find that “sometimes” treat much more satisfying.  It will take time but it will happen.

Think today about how you move…when you move…how often you move.

What “actions” speak most of your life?

I go up and down the stairs… A LOT… in a given day. (I think this is why I despise the Stairmaster at the gym…bleh.)

I pick up small children and carry them around.

I do the laundry….yes, every day and honestly I question how that is even possible.

I run after the kids. Literally. I often am running after them.

I clean my house.

I stretch…everyday and many times a day. Each time I stretch I really do find a place of rest, reflection and meditation…even if the stretch is only a moment or two.

While I do not do a structured workout every single day of the week I try to get one in at least 3-4x.

How do you move in a given day? Reflect upon that today. How can you move more? How can you gain strength for those movements?

Let’s say this, let’s make this fitness agreement you and I: We’re not going to try to become someone else in our quest to be fit…we’re going to try to support the person we are already and become the best possible version of that person, yes?

Do workouts that support the children you carry, the laundry you do, the long drives and carpooling, the stress of modern life…becoming fit is about supporting you, taking care of you. Choose something today that feels as though it fits that goal.

We are in the planning stages for our next Instructor Training Workshop.  If you’d like information on this workshop or would like to bring a workshop to YOUR area then please contact us via email

angelacarlson@doxasoma.com

We’d love to accommodate you in any way we can!

The next workshop for Level 1 training will take place in March or April 2010 in Chicago.  We would still very much like to do a Winter Retreat here in Nashville when conditions are right.  We’ll keep you up to date on that!!

The Archer

The Archer

Psalm 18

34 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You give me your shield of victory,
and your right hand sustains me;
you stoop down to make me great.

From Reclining Dove hinge forward at the hips slightly and bend back leg (right) Grasp bent right leg with right arm, bend at elbow and open at the chest. Reach forward wtih left hand deepening the chest stretch. Breathe…maintain balance keeping abdominals tight. Position of balance and flexibility.

On a physical level pay particular attention to your lower back.  Be sure to bring body slightly forward so that lower back is not comprimised.

On a spiritual level imagine yourself not only as Archer but also as the arrow and the bow. This is a position of focus and strength.  Keep your breathing even as you contemplate the words of Psalm 18.

how many burdens do you pick up each morning as you awake?

sit down, make a list of the burdens you choose each day, the burdens that are chosen for you, the burdens you have no idea how you got but continue to carry anyway…

now, tomorrow morning I’d like you to do something for me, for yourself really…I’d like you to offer them up, each one.

Begin in prayer position, breathe in “In my heart, in my words, in my thoughts…” breathe out, “in all of these I praise you, Lord” as you circle the hands around.

Next, consider your list…move into Throne, draw arms forward to lift the burdens

bend at the elbows

feel the weight of those burdens

lift them up to God

feel yourself being raised up as the burdens are lifted

Do this for each burden, do this several times for EACH burden if it feels particularly heavy…each morning…lift it up.  It makes you stronger to share this load with your Creator.

I’ve always considered the connections between our bodies and our lives. It’s just part of how I’m wired I suppose. It’s what makes me mrs metaphor.

In my work with developing DoxaSoma I often will tell people that their “core” area, the abs, glutes, lats, all the muscles that wrap around you and keep you upright if those muscles are strong, their core is in the body what the community is in life.

If our “core” is strong (in both aspects) then no matter what is thrown at us we will be able to move through it, we will be able to stand. If it is not strong we will fold and fall to the floor. This is the way we move in our bodies, this is the way we move in the community.

I was thinking today about the process of “failure” though. When we’re strength training we find the failure point and back away from it to find out how far to go. A muscle that is asked too much WILL fail if we go too far, too fast. There must be time to build and time to heal from the work we do. We aim toward working hard enough to fatigue but not fail. When the muscle rests it knits itself back together, stronger.

What happens in the muscle though is fascinating. If we push the muscle fibers to fatigue and then give them time to heal they come back stronger, not just in the fiber but in the WORKING too…the next time I ask that muscle to lift that same weight it’s not just the same group of fibers that respond. The muscle remembers and it “recruits” new fibers to come alongside. The muscle fibers begin to work better together, for the good, to lift the weight and then to become stronger.

Muscles will fail, people will fail…if placed in isolation and given too much weight…but in community, with rest and healing and wisdom…we are building strength and endurance, we work together and then become stronger. We are the muscles, we are the core.

It’s a good design and an apt metaphor.

The practice of the burning of incense during times of worship has a place in many faiths over the course of history.  The Christian faith is no exception.   In verses such as this one the burning of incense was meant to be a physical representation of the prayer’s of the people; the smoke ascends with a sweet fragrance to the Heavens and leaves behind fragrance as well, a reminder of God’s presence.

In the New Testament there are references to this practice as well.  A couple of examples of this:

“And the whole multitude of people were praying outside at the hour of incense.” (Luke 1: l0)

“An angel came and stood at the altar, with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden Altar before the Throne of God; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the Saints from the hand of the angel before God.” (Revelations 8: 3-4)

Spend time not only pondering and practicing this position but perhaps even expand your physical understanding of God’s presence.  Use ALL of your senses to be aware of Him, to lift up your prayers to him.

be at peace today

-angela

Join us this FALL/WINTER (dates tbd) for our first workshop here!

Visit the website for expanded information on the sessions and the schedule. We’ve changed our training workshop to be able to accommodate those of you who wish to attend but do not intend to pursue certification as an instructor.

Some of the sessions we’ll be offering:

Understanding the DoxaSoma Body
In this session we will explore Basic Anatomy and Physiology so that we can better understand the remarkable creation of the human body. We will cover the principles of strength training (how muscle is built) and flexibility training (how muscle flexibility is gained)

Building a DoxaSoma Practice (Deep Stretch)
In this session we will spend time examining the deep stretches DoxaSoma classes and individual practices can offer that is vital to muscle balance and recovery as well as stress relief.

Building a DoxaSoma Practice (Basic Positions)
In this session we explore “transitional” movements in DoxaSoma, moving positions, rest positions and arm positioning. We will also cover the basic guidelines for safe movement in DoxaSoma practice.

Building a DoxaSoma Practice (Core Work)
In this session we will cover mainly the Mat Positions for DoxaSoma so that you can gain a deeper understanding of your “core” and build your class (or individual practice) in that area.

Building a DoxaSoma Practice (Balance Work)
In this session we will cover mainly Standing positions for DoxaSoma so that you can gain a deeper understanding of the role of “balance training” in your practice or in your class setting.

Please visit the website for more detailed information on this training!!  Look forward to seeing you there!

Do you know what I love about Facebook?  I get to “meet” new friends I may never have met before.  This is how I met my real life friend Amanda Keane who now works with At His Feet Ministries.  Amanda Keane is actually real life friends with Kristina Collins who runs At His Feet Ministries.  Sadly, I am still only a FB friend of Kristina but I hope to get the honor of meeting her in person to rectify that!

If you’ve never heard of At His Feet and you are a lover of DoxaSoma then you really need to spend some time getting to know Kristina Collins.  I think it’d be an excellent fit.

pun intended.

Check them out.

At His Feet Ministries

Lessons in Gardening

I’ve never been much of a green thumb. I did grow and tend a fern of some sort when I was a kid. I was really quite proud of that as I remember back now. Since we live in the middle o’ nowhere with lots of green space around us I thought this year that I’d finally get my act together and at least TRY gardening.

I asked advice. I got a list from several good friends. I scoped it out. I procrastinated….erm…..a lot. I finally got ’round to planting some things in containers and in the yard around the porch in early June I think. The tomatoes died first. Poor tomatoes. It was like they never had a chance. As soon as I got a small bit of fruit on one Miles got excited and pulled it off to show me. Oy. It never really recovered and eventually it just gave up the ghost.

The herbs did well although I’m pretty sure I saw them giving me dirty looks now and again. The sunflowers my daughter grew from seed are AWESOME and taking over the world, which is absolutely fine by me. The rosemary bush is thriving and offering lovely scents even as I walk past it. Very kind, indeed.

The lavender, however, ah me. It came to me in sad condition. It was big but looked a bit dicey. I bought it because of it’s size. I had a big pot for the deck I needed a big plant and I love lavender. I spent a lot of time talking to it, watering it, pruning away the dead stuff. It was starting to look a little bit alright really and then…I took a an out town trip. I forgot to leave word for someone to water the plants. Um. Oops.

When I got home after several bone dry Tennessee days followed by a torrential downpour I found that most of the plants had done fairly well. The lavender did not fare so well. It was dark and stormy when I got home but I still peered out the window to check and even in the dark and rain I could see it suffering. The next morning I spend some time mourning the poor shriveled brown thing. I had intended to toss it right away and put something else in there as quickly as possible because someone told me once that dead plants convey a bad vibe to a place. I went to do the deed and I found I just couldn’t let it go.

I started to pick away the deadest parts and made an agreement with myself that I’d remove as much as I could, wait a few days and if there was new growth I’d keep it. So that’s what I did. It looked pretty scraggly that first day. I thought this must be plant hospice, just waiting for the last breath and then the burial. A strange thing, though, today. New green leaves showed up. At first I nearly missed them. I picked away more dead areas so that I could see them better and the closer I looked the more green I could see. I feel cautiously optimistic now I suppose. I’ll give it a little more time because to be honest, I don’t know that I have anything to lose by giving it time and attention. I kept telling it today that it COULD come back and it could be strong. (Ok, yes, I talk like this to both people and to plants, sue me.)

After all this today I see how this whole thing has mirrored my life this last few weeks. Things have been hard with the people side of my life too. There has been some disease, some destruction, some dry days and then near hurricane. I’ve felt so ready to toss it away and start something new. Community is hard. It just is. And so today after tending my sick plant I was reminded of just how much tending relationships need. They are not self watering, they are not machine made, they’re organic and need attention and care. This was a good lesson today.
DoxaSoma….fitness for the mind, body and spirit
www.doxasoma.com