I’m at a workshop in Sedona, Arizona, this week, so I’m sharing a few of my favorite blogs. While this was first posted on Swim. Bike. Run. 3NDURANCE on March 21, I just recently read this blog on Julie Moss’ incredible finish at the Ironman Kona in 1982 Here she is near the finish of one of the most grueling endurance events in the world. With a short lead, Julie could no longer run after swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running 26 miles, so she tried walking. Her legs buckled. So she tried to stand and walk again. Her legs buckled yet another time. So she did the only thing that she was able . . . she crawled to the finish line even after being passed at the very end! She showed amazing fortitude in the face of a struggle. I strongly encourage you to read Julie’s account of the race here. What is it that motivates you to keep moving forward?
Lighten Up!
While traveling, I thought I would share one of my favorite posts that you might not have read. Has anyone ever told you to lighten up? Probably they meant that you were being too intense emotionally, or were taking a situation too seriously. Being problem-focused breeds seriousness. The world—or maybe your life—has serious problems that should be taken seriously by serious people to find serious solutions. How can you laugh when a situation is so serious? How does being serious feel? Typically, being serious generates destructive catabolic emotions such as anger, frustration, overwhelment, and even fear. Take a moment to think about what all that seriousness is doing to your body. When we’re focused on all the things that are “wrong” we actually get in the way of how our body functions by dipping into catabolic energy. Catabolic emotions release the stress hormone cortisol, adrenaline, and other chemicals that literally can cannibalize our bodies. They break down our immune system, stress our hearts, and impact our muscles. Over time, this catabolic energy can cause everything from painful trigger points in our shoulders to inflammation to heart attacks. It can even impact our metabolism and other weight-related systems making it easier to gain and harder to release weight. When we “lighten up” emotionally by allowing ourselves to relax, smile, laugh, and enjoy our life we are literally making it easier for our bodies to “lighten up.” When we lighten up emotionally, we are allowing our body to work for us down to the cellular level. Choosing a more constructive anabolic reaction releases endorphins and body supporting hormones that help our bodies heal, rebuild, and flow with physical energy. People often feel that their emotions are out […]
Painful Lessons: What I Learned from a Bulging Disc
While traveling for the next few days, I thought I would share the inspiring words of some other fabulous coaches. Today’s blog is from my friend and fellow coach, Jodie Rodenbaugh. As a certified personal trainer who lives and breathes wellness, it’s both frustrating and exciting to deal with the pain of an injured back. Frustrating for the obvious pain and helplessness, but exciting to have the opportunity to feel what numerous others go through when dealing with back injuries so I can empathize a little easier. For more than two months, I was at the mercy of my body—a victim of sorts. I’m used to working out hard and fast five days a week and consider myself to be pretty strong. I’m not the patient who sits all day and has no core strength and stability, but I am the patient who didn’t listen to her body when it was trying to tell her she had to pause and pay attention. The first eight weeks I went to a chiropractor and a massage therapist three times a week with no improvement. So I decided it was time to find someone else and by the miracles of the Universe, the instant I made that decision, a man showed up on Facebook and lo and behold he was a chiropractor! He got to the root cause in the first visit and by the second visit I was not only seeing hope, but also getting a glimpse of feeling myself again. The physical cause—my muscle imbalances were pushing my hips out of alignment until they couldn’t support one another. What a relief this was to me! I now have a cause and when we have a cause […]
Living Life By Choosing a Woo to the ‘Who’
While meeting a deadline, attending a workshop, and traveling over the next few days, I thought I would share the inspiring words of some other fabulous coaches. Today’s blog is from my friend, mentor and coach, Jennifer Barley. Every day I feel like I am living a bit more authentically—the true me. I am recognizing patterns that don’t serve me as well as the patterns that do serve me well. I am letting go of putting pressure on myself to do more, be more, and show the world more. I am having fun finding out who I am. Exploring the various sides of me. Understanding myself more and more. Questioning thoughts. Thinking about answers. Continuing to shake up my ‘Who’. I have found that I do really well when I take the time to slow down. I think back on my prior ‘Who’—always rushing from one thing to the next, working all the time, my mind constantly racing and not slowing down—only to be exhausted at the end of the day. I was always going a thousand miles a minute. My new ‘Who’ is about ease. Not resisting. Not defending. Not going against the flow. Approaching my day with ease. Enhancing my work by leveraging the things that I am doing. Being grateful for the ease that has been created in my life. I can still get wound for sound—and it is with ease that I remind myself to breathe. I am working on eliminating my “shoulds” in life and working on the “want tos.” I am working on straightforward conversations. I am working on not changing Who I want to be. I am feeling a true Woo-Who! Jennifer Barley is a Professional Certified Life […]
3 Benefits of Exercise You Might Have Forgotten About
While I am at an all-day training today, I thought I would share this great blog on the benefits of exercise. Posted on April 28, 2012 by catherinecaressa Exercise is good for us and we all know it. However, sometimes knowing is not enough to actually get us up off our feet! Here are 3 benefits of exercise that might provide a bit more motivation to get moving. 1. It boosts your energy: When we’re tired, the last thing we want to do is work out. Sometimes going to the gym seems like a chore and we often find ourselves making excuses to avoid going. What I always tell myself when I’m in that state is, “Catherine, remember how good you will feel after!” I don’t think I’ve ever exercised and felt bad afterwards. Sure, I may have felt sore after a work out, but that shows me I’m being productive and makes me feel good. Studies suggest that exercise fights fatigue, so even if it is just hopping on the bike for 20 minutes or going for a 30 minute walk, exercise can give you that extra boost you need to go about your day! You’ll feel re-energized, refocused, and in a better mood, like this girl: 2. It makes you smarter: This Canadian study found that women ages 70-80 with mild cognitive impairment improved their attention, problem-solving, and decision making brain functions by doing resistance training twice a week. Moreover, another study showed that adults ages 55-80 who completed 40 minutes of aerobic exercise 3 times a week increased the size of their hippocampus, the area of the brain involved in memory forming and spacial reasoning. You’re not just working your […]
Goal Setting Tips and Daily Motivation
I’ve been looking for an opportunity to share this fabulous blog, and a full schedule today is just the reason I needed. Enjoy! Written by Kristin Barton Cuthriell, M.Ed, MSW, LCSW People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing, that’s why we recommend it daily. –Zig Zigler What can you do to daily motivate yourself? When I was in college, my friends and I sat and watched Oprah Winfrey wheel a wagon of fat out onto the stage of her television show to illustrate how much weight she had lost. It was at that moment that my girlfriends and I became more determined than ever to get healthy. The kitchen, in the small apartment that we shared, was stocked full of chips, salsa, cheese, and, of course, oodles of noodles, the inexpensive staple that kept many college students alive. Read more Goal Setting Tips and Daily Motivation.
Reblog: Stressed Out?
We all know that stress has an impact on our health, relationships, and general wellbeing, but what is stress and what, if anything, can we do about it? As I’m headed out of town for the weekend, I wanted to share a recent blog that Leadership and Parent Coach Diane Dempster wrote for the Impact ADHD Parenting Community that shares some great information on what stress is, how it impacts us, and how to manage it. The other day, while I was preparing the presentation for an upcoming event, I began to notice an interesting and familiar phenomenon. I started to get a little anxious! Before I knew it, I was over-thinking, over-trying and over-doing. Ultimately, I got to the last minute before my deadline and sti… http://impactadhd.com/coach-blog/stressed-out Photo by Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Stay Connected!