Today I Begin.

Here were are, more than halfway through the month of January and 2018 is on fire! Your goals are set, you’re committed and confidently moving forward. That’s a beautiful thing! However, with the hype around resolutions, change, goals and an incessant desire to better ourselves, theres something more subtle I want to focus on.

Keep it moving !

The word is TRANSITION

Hats off to anyone fully committed to their goal. That said, life loves to throw us challenges,those lovely things things we don’t expect and that can at first seem insurmountable, but can provide us an opportunity to expand and grow. Salute to those of you who don’t know what your goals are,  thats all good too.

Look around. If your eyes are open you see natural disasters, illness, injury, loss; challenges that don’t just occur in the gym.  These challenges often create stress, anxiety, frustration and fear. Sure we all want to focus on our greatest moments and triumphs, especially at the beginning of a new year. Underneath that though, we are all human, and not everything is going according to plan 100% of the time.

No one’s life is perfect. Health and wellness isn’t about being perfect. Sure we set goals and do our best to meet them but lets not lose sight of what it means to be human. In the midst of our lives transitions and changes will occur that will influence our decisions and sometimes seem to thwart our ambitions to move forward. The key is to keep it moving.  I think talking about this now, in January is super important because we still have an entire year ahead. Its easy to start something at the beginning. But what about starting in the middle or just plain starting over?

I remember something my Father said once. He told me, “wake up each morning and tell your yourself- ‘today I begin’”. It’s something that has never left me and that I use as a mantra and often share with my clients and students. Three simple words filled with possibility. When you begin something you don’t really know where you will end up. And keeping a sense of adventure as you move through your life is important. We watch reality television and tune into other people’s lives but I wonder why more people don’t have a sense of intrigue when it comes to their own life? I WANT to feel excited about what I am doing and hope that even at stressful times I can move through life with grace. I won’t always get it right, but that’s okay. There’s a lot to learn in the unevenness of walking through this journey.

Losing weight, getting to the gym, eating well, changing our lives, coping with with things we can’t control. Don’t we ALL want to attack each goal with an outcome of success? Sure. But in reality, we all don’t get a trophy. Pause. Think about how hard it is to lose weight AND keep it off. I know how hard it is because I help people do it. How hard it is to get the job you love or be promoted? Or find the right partner and be in a relationship? How hard is it to raise a child? ALL OF THESE are goals, and each one can provide a potential setback. How you find your way through the setbacks throughout this year is where the real GOLD is at. Its in the unexpected where we learn the art of SHIFTING and going with the flow.

What your goal is on January 1 can be completely different by months end. Where you find yourself July 1 can be a world away from where you are today.

So yes, set goals. Make them bold, realistic, attainable but also make ROOM for the unexpected because I can tell you from experience, one thing you can ALWAYS count on is change.

Peace,

Dani

Logging Off.

Taking time to relax is underrated. In fact, I’m not sure that I ever really “relax” until I unplug from all of my digital devices and take time to experience life without all the “noise” and information coming at what seems like light speed. Like you, I have a social media account, an email, text messaging, instant messaging, the ability to watch TV on my phone, and to let everyone know where I am, what I’m doing and who I’m doing it with. Like you, when I’m not working, everyone can still reach me to “be in touch”. I can scroll Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, get all my news delivered in a feed to my phone curated and neatly packaged, easy to read. I can be on my device from the moment I wake up until I fall asleep at night. I can get messages even when I’m sick and be expected to answer them. Does having all of this “information” and “access” make me any more productive?

Not really.

Truthfully,  I was productive and able to remember things on my own before the days of smart phones, Facebook and the Internet. I wrote things down, I read books, took my time, remembered phone numbers and birthday’s…all in my head. I used my big badass brain. Amazing right? Eh, not really..  Just imagine a day without Facebook reminding you what is going on in the world..

What is REALLY going on in YOUR world?

I have many people come to me stressed out, unable to sleep, not able to lose weight, eating shitty food and they say; “put me on a plan”, “help me!” They’re looking for advice, a coach, or guide and I can help, but the reality is that you need to set things in motion for yourself.. and sometimes my best advice requires clients to sit still..

I spend time on vacation every year in Mexico. While I’m away I don’t set up cell service and rely only on wifi. That means if I want to get in touch with someone, send an email or text I need to purposefully get a wifi connection. I have to walk to a cafe and sit down, order a coffee and then connect. The horror! I can’t just open my eyes, grab my phone and connect to the world. Okay, I’m being slightly sarcastic but this is to illustrate a point. The point is that I LOG OFF.. and I do it because I’ve learned the lesson of having peace of mind. When I’m working, my clients get my full attention, but when I’m not working, I’ve learned to breathe. It’s a process and it involves being in the moment and focusing on what is NOW rather than being distracted by notifications on my cell phone and future what-if’s.

On vacation , I’m reminded of how important it is to sit still and to really SEE what is in front of me.  There’s an art to being present and like most art, if you want to master your craft, you must practice. Most of the time, in daily life, I get distracted,  pulled in ten different directions and can easily lose focus if I’m not mindful. When I’m on vacation, and not constantly checking my phone or email I get to pause.  Im able to allow for the opportunity to observe and appreciate whats around me to guide me. I trust my instincts rather than a device.  Now, I know it’s called vacation for a reason and we can’t abandon responsibilities altogether; however, what if we could take the peacefulness that we experience when we LOG OFF with us into our daily lives?

I don’t see why that would be a problem.

Below are some simple tips that I use to decompress and destress my life; I’m a work in progress and there’s no hard or fast rule to what works but I consider these a good start.

1) Designate a day, once a week to be offline. No posting, no scrolling. Observe how you feel at the end of the day. Are you nervous that you missed something or did you find yourself more engaged in your day? What you are mindful of matters.

2) Pick up a book or newspaper. Instead of burying your face in your iPhone or tablet, go old school and pick up a newspaper, magazine, or a book. I personally like the tactile experience of turning a page and looking at pictures in real time. Not everything has to be in high-def and seen through a filter. Look out the window on a sunny day, go for a walk in the park, get out from behind the computer screen and experience the world as it actually IS.

3) No news is GOOD news. Seriously, I’m all for being informed and aware of what’s happening in the world but do I really need to know everything in real time on a feed, everyday 24/7? Is all that information helping me to CHANGE anything or is it just adding to my stress level and worry? Get your news, discuss it, then get over it and move on. We could spend hours reading a news story and then talking it up for another hour or two. Meanwhile, our children, family, lover, pets, ourselves… are all waiting in the wings. Priorities people.

4) Get outside. On vacation, we all spend time outdoors exploring and experiencing the world. You can do this on a regular basis at home if you are mindful enough to make the choice to step outside. I’ll be the first to say, that’s not always easy for those of us in the Northeast, especially during winter. However, getting outdoors (simple change of scenery), taking a different way to work, simply breaking up your routine can be a spark for inspiration and drastically change your mood.

5) Move… or meditate. As a personal trainer/ fitness professional I advocate for moving your body. However, what about moving your mind? Can you imagine the possibility to shift your frequency/energy by just sitting still? As a person who is highly energetic and distracted by things I find refuge in coming back to home base. Lets talk meditation for a second. Sitting still and focusing on your breath or an intention can change your world. Sound too new-age’y? It’s not. People have been meditating for thousands of years. Fact is, you don’t have to “sit” down to do it.  You can move while you meditate. The important thing is to relax, become aware of what’s happening with you and just breathe. Some many us take shallow breaths and sit with poor posture all day that focusing on just sitting up straight and taking a few deep breaths can be life changing! Being truly present is not just a gift to yourself, it also helps those around you. The more relaxed and at ease YOU are , the more productive and positive you are to the humans around you. Its a win-win!

Finding Focus, Hit Reset

How do we hold onto the things that matter when our world seems to be falling apart?

I think the answer to that lies in FOCUS and staying present; Moment by moment. That’s easier said then done when life is happening around us but LIFE is never going to conform itself to our will. Its about how we respond that really makes a difference.

I say to my clients all the time that FITNESS and HEALTH start upstairs- In your mind. “What you think about you bring about, so THINK positive!“ Again, easier said than done when life is throwing you curveballs but just like we PRACTICE a sport or practice yoga, running or weight train in the gym, we have to practice positive thinking and maintain our focus in order for our bodies to function at an optimum level.

When we let the things that happen around us take our focus away from ourselves or we give our attention to too many things at once and lose sight of what’s positive in our lives and become scattered, complacent and negative in our outlook, our bodies suffer as a result. When you lose Focus and Intention and become mentally scattered, your body will respond with pain, illness and tension.

This is why, during times of stress or difficulty it’s SO important to PAY ATTENTION to your SELF. Checking in with your feelings, journaling, meditation, and getting back to your passions in life are brilliant ways to reset scattered energy. This can be hard when life pulls you in ten different directions but it takes practice- and nothing worthwhile happens overnight! When we realize that we are in control of how we REACT to the situations that life throws at us, the sooner we can harness our power and inner strength to keep our minds and our bodies POWERFULLY POSITIVE and function at a SUPREME level of HEALTH. However, it is up to you to hit that RESET button when you have a bad day and MOVE forward rather than getting stuck in a hole.

Love AND Peace

Daniela 🙂 🙂 🙂