There are so many factors when it comes to aging well.

The basics of course, food, rest and movement.

Today, I’ll be talking about movement.

Playing off of my “use to” (I’ve been corrected that it should be “used to” )~ blog, it’s really been made clear to me that there is a LOT to consider if one wants to age gracefully.

Next time you go somewhere where there are a lot of people, watch them. Watch how they move, how they stand, how they sit, how they get back up.

A sure sign of aging is inflexibility and lack of mobility.

When I trained with my teacher originally, we were inside. We were doing a lot of movement on the floor ~ yoga, bodyweight moves, ground engagement, etc. I was proud of the fact that I could get up off the floor very gracefully, using no hands while others younger than I struggled. Then we moved outside where we were doing qigong. We rarely got on the ground.

During that time, I was walking/running the hills around my home so, thinking I was getting in some really good movement.. and basically, IF I want to compare myself to others, I was. BUT…

I was missing weight-bearing exercises and floor movement.

I found that out when we began using kettlebells and iron clubs and also, doing ground engagement.

Now, I “used to” train with free weights for up to 6 hours a day. The problem with free weights and machines is, they isolate the muscle thereby making them really non-functional. No one lifts things that way in reality.

Case in point. My training partner was about 5′2″ and built like a fire hydrant. All muscle. He went to work for his father one day and the next he was sore and humbled. He couldn’t do half the work the thin, muscular guys who knew how to use their whole body did because he only knew how to use his arms.

That’s why I like kettlebells. If one is trained properly in their use, they use EVERY part of the body for the lift. I’ve seen many use them as they would free weights though, lifting with just arms instead of leg drive.

Personally, I feel if someone is going to do just one type of exercise/movement, some form of hatha yoga would fulfill pretty much everything in the title here. Add some walking to get outdoors and breath some fresh air, hiking up and down hills and you’re in business.

The only thing I would caution against in doing yoga is, I’ve seen many get to the point of flacidity instead of flexibility.

For those who want to play with various items as I do, Indian clubs are truly fun. They offer a wide range of upper body movements to open up the whole chest and back/shoulder area. One also needs co-ordination to perfect them.

After getting Indian clubs down, iron clubs provide even more fun. Similar to kb’s (kettlebells), you need to use your whole body to utilize them effectively and efficiently. Just a few minutes of a good iron club workout maximizes your health benefits more than an hour of free weights will because it’s a whole body workout.

What’s interesting to me is how people still subscribe to the “workout/rest/workout/rest” day theory.

When we were children, we didn’t take a day off from play. We played until we were exhausted, then got up the next day to do it again. When did that stop? Why? Because it became “EXERCISE!”. Who wants to do that?

My suggestion, find things to do that to you are fun. For me, learning how to handle kb’s, iron clubs, my own body, is FUN!

Remember when you were a kid? Did you play sword fighting with other kids? Take two sticks and just play? Well, that’s what I’m doing now with Kali sticks.

I’m going back to my martial arts roots and learning how to stick fight. Martial arts were originally used to keep in shape then they realized they could be used to fight. For me, I figure I’ll never get into another fight and probably never be attacked but, why not learn something that could be of potential use instead of movement just for the sake of it?

O.k., I’m all over the blog with this but, it was fun and IF you get something out of it, so be it.

I’ve got more to say on the topic but I want to keep this fairly short sooo, later for now.

Remeber, live bodaciously and celebrate your potential ~

Revvell

Bodacious Living

I had just finished prepping for my UStream show and gone out for my walk when I realized I NEEDED to come back here and write this up. If I didn’t I’d have said it all in my head and forgotten it by the time I came back.

I’m realizing too that I really need to empty my voice recorders and take one with me every time I go out so I don’t have to cut my walk short. I did get in over 3000 steps before coming home though.

O.k., to the topic at hand ~ being a “Use To” person.

I go to quite a few networking meetings and meet various people and when they see what I eat they’ll ask if I’m vegetarian. When I say “yes” they’ll often say “I USE TO be”.

When I meet people who ride motorcycles, now, I’m a “USE TO” person. Before a friend died in a auto/mc collision and another lost his leg (same crash), I rode. I have to catch myself to not say I “use to” ride so they ask me, why don’t you ride anymore as I don’t want to inject them with MY stuff about riding!

What I like to hear is “I USE TO smoke, drink, do drugs but I don’t anymore!”

Instead I hear “I USE TO do daily appreciations; walk every day; exercise; eat well, etc.” I also know I’m not going to ask them why they don’t any more. It’s not my biz. I don’t want to hear their dreary excuses for why they don’t.

This came up for me recently in an online conversation with a gent who told me his girlfriend “use to” be a vegetarian ~ before she met him. Enough said.

What brought this up for me is a couple of times over the past months I’ve caught myself saying “I USE TO be able to get up off the floor easily” and “before I got married I USE TO go walking daily”.

For me, when I say “I USE TO”, I want it to be consciously attained. By that I mean “I USE TO be a meat eater (well, it’s been 24 years now); I USE TO procrastinate on getting in my daily play; I USE TO be angry; I USE TO contemplate suicide (that’s over 15 years ago)…

See what I mean? Keep the good and USE TO the not-so good. Now, I want to say I CAN get up off the floor easily; I DO get up and move daily; I AM aware of what goes in my mouth and supports MY body.

Comments?

Injoy, Revvell

Bodacious Living

Quite often I find myself throwing away produce because I forget I have it. When I purchase it, I have every intention of making smoozies with it or juicing it or SOMEthing. By the time I get it home and put it away, I often forget my intention or something else takes my attention and I never get to it.

Also as many of us have partners who tend to eat less healthy than we do OR, just keep food in the house we tend to crave, here’s a quick suggestion to cover both scenarios ~

Take sticky notes and, on any food (package) or shelf of foods containing something you prefer NOT to eat, write something on it like ~ “Do You Really Want to Eat This? Options” (depending on what you have available):

Bananas
Apples
Grapes
Green salad w/
tomatoes
cukes
marinated veggies
carrots
beets (shredded)
Olives
Orange juice (maybe you’re really thirsty and not necessarily hungry)
Coconut water
Water with lemon juice
Water

You might also want to add on the note ~

“You’ve just eaten! Are you REALLY HUNGRY?

Also, remember my program “Fit or Fat?” Ask yourself before you reach for “comfort” food out of habits or cravings.

That may give you a chance to contemplate what it is that may be eating you which turns you towards stuffing yourself with food.

Please, comment here and let me know what’s working for you!

Injoy!

Revvell

Bodacious Living

Yesterday, I had a 5-hour kettlebell class. We also had a 2-hour break after the first three hours.

After the class, my teacher (Zenkahuna on YouTube ~ you “may” see me there after the weekend when he returns from the Rancho and puts up the vids) said that he wants to do this 3 more times this year (at $250 times each) and for two hours every month he has a weekend with his students (at $100 each) equaling $1800 for the year.

Immediately my lil monkey starts gibbering in my ear that we can’t do this. Of course we can! That’s ridiculous! lol

I currently have more than enough money to do that if I don’t make another dime yet, it goes to show, old monkey mind habits die hard.

Most of my life it was hard for me to understand that, I’ve always had money. Even when I got fired from my jobs (which was often because I always thought I could run the business better than they could) I’d KNOW I’d have a job within 2 weeks (which I always did) and I ALWAYS had funds to survive in between.

I was going to say it wasn’t until I worked outside, away from the “bosses” that I actually kept jobs for longer than 3 months but, that isn’t true. I worked for one chiropractor for about 5 years until he injured (and failed to take care of) his arm and sold his practice to a very unscrupulous guy who was committing insurance fraud. Being able to do that proved to me how much I’d changed and let others run their own businesses.

Anyway, about abundance.

Yesterday, instead of driving, I got to ride with someone. It gave me a chance to let my mind wander and I was thinking about money.

Many times in the past I realized I was hanging on to my last $20. It actually WASN’T my last $20 because I ALWAYS had funds in the bank but, for me, that wasn’t there. That money was my security and I held onto it for dear life, again stopping the flow and circulation.

So, I strangled that $20 until I really needed to purchase something and, you know what? More came in! Before that, I had so much fear around giving up that $20 and then HAVING to dip into my savings that, I blocked the energy flow.

Yesterday, as I got to be the passenger, I was thinking about abundance and flow.

Think of two people and a doorway. One wants to go out (the $20 I DID have) and, another wants to come in (the abundance I wasn’t open to, although, I’d say I was). One is trying to go out while the other is coming in resulting in blockage or stagnation.

Solution, the one coming in steps aside, so the one going out can go out, then the one coming in can come in. That’s called circulation!

Consider circulating your money, not spending it. Look at the last 3 letters of the word “spend”. The circulation stops! That’s what happens when we hoard our money as well, Now, I’m not saying go out and blow it! That’s sp”end”ing, instead of circulating. What I am saying is, let go of the fear of letting it go! When you strangle it, it can’t flow. I know.

Remember, live bodaciously and always, celebrate your potential ~

Revvell

Bodacious Living

p.s. Right after I wrote this, one of my very long time clients called. He’s been coming VERY sporadically ~ maybe, once a month. Today, he called and is setting up two appointments a month. Nice way to begin the new year, eh?

Well, this isn’t the “tomorrow” I said I would write this ~ sort of “manana” time though.

The problem I’m finding with writing my blog is that I get up fairly early, do some mundane things, then get out and walk. After writing my “How I Gained Weight” blog, the next morning I walked for about 2 hours. The following morning, I walked for 90 minutes (over 8,000 steps). During that time I think about all the things I want to write about including how I eliminated weight.

The difficulty is that by the time I get home, everything I want to say has already been said (in my mind) so, nothing left for me to say. O.k., well, not nothing. I can pretty much always say SOMEthing.

So, here’s what happened.

As you may have read in my previous blog, I had put on about 30 excess pounds. Usually, when I’ve gained weight previously, I didn’t have to do much other than to move! Mostly go to the gym for about 6 weeks and voila! Done! PLUS, I’d be buffed! (I buff easily)

This time however, it was a bit more difficult for a number of reasons. One, menopause. I’ve NEVER had a weight issue I couldn’t eliminate easily yet, my head was wrapped around what others have said about it being harder to drop weight during menopause.

Two, I LOVE staying warm in bed and cuddling with himself which means I didn’t get up and out walking or doing anything else for that matter. No matter how many times I promised myself at night that I was going to do it, in the morning that didn’t happen.

Three, my computer addiction. When I DID get up, I’d turn on the computer, sit down, go through emails, facebook, twitter, RFT, etc., etc., etc. By the time I took care of that addiction it was either too hot out, too late and had to begin work OR, I’d eaten (overeaten) and just didn’t feel to train and remember, it was already hot!

Fourth (last, but not least), he’d be up and asking if I wanted to go somewhere. Uh huh! Yep!

In essence, it didn’t take much for me to be distracted from what I said I wanted to do… eliminate the excess weight!

So, what to do????

I don’t remember exactly what turned me on to it but I’d been hearing about (Emotional Freedom Technique) EFT for awhile. Even though I’ve had training in Polarity Therapy, Traditional Chinese Medicine including Taijiquan/Qigong, reflexology, etc. I kind of poopoo’d that something so basic could really make a difference (which is really funny because all the health I have is from “energy therapy” which is what EFT is.)

One night in class, I noticed that my teacher had some information on EFT that he was handing out to his students. I always figure he doesn’t waste time with something that doesn’t “work” so began using it with myself and my students. WOW!

Then I had a 4-week experimental group with 5 other overweight women who ranged from less than 50 pounds excess to well over 100 excess pounds they wished to eliminate. Each week we’d show up with new stories of how much weight we’d dropped or inches lost.

One woman told us on the first meeting that when she was stressed she’d eat a full carton of ice cream. She was using a sentence similar to … “I totally love and support myself.” She returned one week totally astounded. She said she’d never loved herself which is why she ate and overate yet during the previous week she’d felt stressed and instead of reaching for the ice cream she made some brown rice.. and overate it.

By the end of the 4 weeks, every one of us had eliminated 8-10 pounds. (I had already dropped the first 10 before beginning the study group). Not to say this will happen with EVERYone yet, it’s possible AND, just consider, if we can eliminate even 5 pounds per month consistently for a year, that’s 60 pounds!

So, EFT is one way. Another thing I included with the group were sentence completions which I’d learned many years ago during my training with my teacher. How that works is, we begin a sentence such as “One reason I keep the weight on is…” Then give 6-10 responses which may include “… I’m afraid to be seen”; “it’s too much work to eliminate it”, “I’ll have to purchase a new wardrobe”; “I wont know who I am”, “I’m afraid I’ll feel deprived”; “I don’t know what else to do when I’m feeling stressed”, etc. (All of which are addressed during my “Tap Into Your Ideal Weight” program.)

Two other things I’ve found help a lot are tapping while doing appreciations. I’ve found at the end of classes that when we do this, the women leave feeling calm and not stressed so they don’t go home ~ or out together ~ and eat late in the evening.

The final thing is visualization. Who are you when thin? What will people say? How will you look? How will you feel?

I wrote all this down for myself and am continuously adding to it. As I’m writing, I find how much of my life is interconnected and how it improves across the board.

Some of the things I worked on specifically for myself were ~ getting up and walking or training so, tapping on procrastination. I’d make a list of what I wanted to do and get it done.

Tapping on elimination of the desire for sweets. On the landing page for my program I have a picture of this overweight woman sitting with a place of chips (cookies?) beside her. The next picture is the plate behind her and she’s sneaking the chips. Been there, done that with sweets. I didn’t want the cake, I wanted the frosting! Now, cake with all that colored frosting doesn’t even look like food to me. When I go to functions I barely look at the sweets and when I do, it’s like they’re bugs under a microscope. It’s very weird and interesting. Almost as though I don’t recognize what they are as they seem to be from my distant past.

Tapping on elimination of the desire for what my husband eats including cheese and pizza. One night I was feeling very alone and he was gone so I cooked a pizza. Uh huh. I was physically done eating it by the time I was half-way through yet told myself I was going to finish it even if it made me sick. I did, it didn’t but I’ve not had enough desire to eat it again.

I eat salads! What I’ve found is, I can pretty much have the same ingredients in my salad every single day IF I have a good dressing so, 3 fresh dressings and, I have 2-3 different salads every day.

When going to a buffet, fill my plate with half of what I would normally. I can always go back for more and now, instead of going for pasta, I go for more salad!

When we go out to eat, I ask them to divide the meal and pack half of it to go. What’s good about that is, occasionally I’ll eat it as soon as I get home yet, many times I don’t because I’ve given myself time to know that I’ve been deeply satisfied with what I’d already had.

In the mornings, if I get up around 5, I get dressed (my clothes are either in the bathroom or my office so I don’t have the excuse that I didn’t want to wake him up by turning on the light) and head out.

Lately, I’ve been waking up around 3:30 so, I prepare my UStream show read all my personal emails, take care of Facebook and Twitter, might do daily appreciations THEN head out for a walk.

I’m much more consistently disciplined now that I’ve brought more focus on when, where, why, how and what I eat AND having eliminated most of the cravings, habits and eating patterns I’ve established during the past 6 years or so.

Thank you for reading all of this. It really wasn’t supposed to be this long. Guess I DO have something to say!

With that, I’ll say:

Remember, live bodaciously and always celebrate your potential!

Revvell

Things don’t really irk me much and once I write this out, it’ll be GONE! DONE! I don’t dwell anymore like I use to because life is SO grand and wonder-filled that I just don’t have time for it so, gonna put it out here and let it go!

(What I’m doing here is showing you how to live a stress-free life! So many would let something like this go on and on in their heads for DAYS! … and be binging while doing it. lol)

Anyway, I put out my blog from yesterday on a few sites I’m on and received some truly great responses. Thank you!

Today, I received a response from one person saying she was “shocked” at the price of my program! (What?? It’s too low? heh!) Well, I have to say, I’m shocked that she is shocked! (How’s that for a comeback? )

Since reading that, I’ve looked at it in various ways (this is good for you to do if you are planning programs yourself).

First, let’s start with my training. I began researching health and healing about 34 years ago. I spent 16 years in “formal” training which cost me literally thousands of dollars. I’ve got books, dvds, cds (again, investments of THOUSANDS of dollars) and articles (o.k., basically free except for the paper I printed them out on and the ink to print) which I’ve studied.

For 34 years I’ve used myself as the guinea pig in healing asthma, allergies, infections, depression, injuries, excess weight and more caused by various things including food choices, societal imprints, emotions and unawareness/consciousness.

I’ve got knowledge I’ve gained through my own study as well as knowledge gained from other people and their studies, knowledge and wisdom. I’ve got understanding from my own healings plus the hundreds of students and clients I’ve worked with. I’ve got wisdom from just staying alive for 60 plus years and the ongoing healing and health I’m experiencing.

So, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. The price of “Tap Into Your Ideal Weight“. Pretty much the price people charge for their trainings/coachings/teleclasses/webinars, etc. is arbitrary. If you ask them, I’m guessing they probably can’t tell you how they came up with their price.

Recently I paid $1995 for a program that was supposed to help me be a better marketer. I was sorely disappointed. The first few sessions were quite good. After she got past the “100% guarantee” part of the program (if you didn’t feel you were receiving your money’s worth by a certain time, you could receive your money back) the program went down-hill. It was sad. The first hour of the final 90 minutes of the program, she might just as well have been off the call. She even admitted she wasn’t only not present mentally, she was looking at her other site! The final half hour of that 90 minute session she spent upselling her next program. The “bonus” hour we received she spent ~ yes, upselling her next program.

I don’t DO that! The whole time, I am present; I am available, everyone interacts with me. At NO time do I spend time upselling my next, newest program. (I don’t HAVE one ~ well, not yet, anyway.)

Let’s break it down financially ~

The program runs 6 weeks with each call lasting approximately 90 minutes, PLUS, 2 half-hour one-on-one calls with me.

That’s a full 9 hours of semi-private interactive work/play PLUS, 1 full hour of private. That breaks down to $30 per hour. (I’ve never done this and am now thinking ~ I really need to raise my price EXCEPT! I want to make this affordable to as many people as possible!)

Add in the time I spend preparing for each session and the time I spend after, cleaning up the notes and adding in whatever I feel can make it even more informational and the hourly to me is even less.

ALSO, my engineer takes time out of HIS life to edit the audio and post it so participants can listen to it any time they feel to for FREE (to me). (Very often we’ll miss or forget something that happened that could be very relevant to one’s process so, it’s best to listen to the audio repeatedly).

*big sigh* Wow! O.k! I’m feeling better now.

On to what I REALLY wanted to write about today (which will most likely be uploaded tomorrow. Wait for it!)

Until then,

Yours in health,

Revvell

Bodacious Living

I awakened this morning contemplating weight gain. How fun is that? lol

There are a few ways and reasons I gained in the first place.

First was possibly menopause yet, I’m not sure of that one. I hadn’t gained before I got married at 55 and I’d gone into it a few years before OR, maybe I just didn’t notice which we’ll get into in a bit ~ the noticing, I mean.

One thing I’m sure of is going out and eating. Once I realized how much I’d gained since getting married (we could blame the marriage yet, that would be the surface, same as most dieters do ~ blame the food), being me, I had to really look at my habits, my new cravings and my emotional eating patterns.

What happened was, 6 years or so ago, I met a man I wanted in my life forever. I’d ALWAYS said, I saw no purpose in ever getting married and, that was true, until we met.

After knowing him for about 10 months or so, I was headed over to his home country to meet his friends and family as well as visit his country.

A few weeks before going over, he told me that he’d called the embassy about how he could come to the U.S. and stay with me. Their response “Marry her”. When he told me this, I asked “Well, do you want to?” He said “what”? Me ~ “Get married?”. I think he said something like “well, I guess so”. Anyway, he started the paperwork on his end with the outcome being we’d get married in Denmark, then go to Copenhagen where I had to file to get him over here.

So, that’s the background story ~ now, the fat part.

In all my life I’d never been in a REALY healthy relationship. Every relationship I’d been in, I gave up me to be with he meaning none of what I did was as important as what he was doing so, I’d always get involved.

This relationship began similarly. First, I dropped my healthy eating habits. I still stayed vegetarian yet, when we went out to eat, which was often, I’d eat things I normally wouldn’t and I’d overeat. If/when we go to buffets, I felt I had to eat enough to get his money’s worth. Even when full, I’d finish because I didn’t want to leave food I’d chosen, on the plate AND, I’d always have dessert. Not much but SOME!

Secondly, even when we went out to a sit-down meal and was given more than I could eat, I’d finish it because “it’s only a few bites” ~ no matter how full I was.. “it’s only a few bites”. Well, those “few bites” cost in weight gain. If we’d only gone out occasionally, there probably would not have been an issue. Since we went out often…

Thirdly, I use to get up and out walking every morning, first thing. Did not turn on the computer, did not eat, did not do anything but get up, get out and get walking! Where I lived, there was a mountain “loop” where I could go up one side, down the other. It’s about 4.5 miles. When I didn’t do that, I lived in a hilly area and could do a different walk almost every day of the week.

After getting married I loved sleeping in and cuddling with him. I vowed I’d get out and walk later. Well, “later” rarely came. In the summer it was too hot. If I didn’t get out early, I didn’t get out. We’d also moved to a “flat” area which to me, was boring so, I’d talk myself out of walking. If I wanted to train with kbs, ropes, etc. I really needed to take everything to a park. Being the lazy wench I’d become… that rarely happened.

One night in class my teacher said 4 of us, including himself were overweight. I was one. When he asked how much I thought I could lose I said “about 20 pounds”. He said “try 25″. Yikes!!!! (He was being generous. It was actually 30).

One thing I really got was how easy it is to gain and not notice! Previously it was SO easy for me to drop weight. So easy in fact that, I’d not notice until someone pointed it out to me (which is the same thing that happened with the gain). At that time, when I was emotional about something (which was often), I’d not eat, therefore, weight loss! Now, when I’m upset, I’ve developed patterns of eating and overeating; comfort and habitual eating.

If you do it slow enough, when you go clothes shopping and you’ve gone up a size, you can rationalize that it’s a different manufacturer and their sizes run small.

So, between eating out often, eating and overeating for emotional reasons, cleaning my plate and not moving ~ as I use to … weight happened.

Oh! the other thing is, as I’d mentioned, I’d not been in a really good relationship EVER! Think there might be some unconscious “protection” going on?

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about weight elimination. In the meantime, feel free to check out my program and find out how to eliminate weight, stay on a healthy food program and drop the cravings, habits and and emotional eating patterns that lead to excess weight gain and sabotage your new year’s resolutions.

Until tomorrow ~

Revvell

Bodacious Living