Get Fit for your Adventure

January 30, 2012 By Kalia Leave a Comment

Are you Ready for your Ride?

Last week brought beautiful waves, and a wind that allowed us to enjoy beautiful smooth rides. As a surfer on Maui, it was about as good as it gets.

Whatever your sport is, are you keeping yourself in condition, so that when it all lines up, you can enjoy it? I think of Life as a sport and an adventure- I know motherhood has been the wildest ride of my life so far. I keep myself in condition for it when I am physically fit to run with my kids; emotionally fit so I can hold them when they cry and hold the space for a bigger perspective on the hurts and trials that are part of life.

I want to be quick to laugh, and slow to judge;

Ready to jump into the deep end with both feet and a ‘woop-woop’

Able to be patient enough to recognize the gifts that surround us all, even when they are wrapped in struggle;

For me, the ocean helps me remember all of these things, and so much more.

This video made me think about the power of Life and Nature, and how precious and delicate our lives are – and again to remember, you’ve got to be fit and strong for the adventure of life. Hang on and Enjoy the Ride!

Filed Under: Action, Energy, Inspiration

Sweet song when you are having a moment…

January 26, 2012 By Kalia 1 Comment

I came across this song a while ago.

It made me smile and laugh….

And then I read how it was made, and I liked it even more.

Enjoy!

Then check out the background on it

<a href="http://zefrank.bandcamp.com/track/chillout">chillout by zefrank</a>

Filed Under: happiness, Stress

Multi-task much?

January 23, 2012 By Kalia Leave a Comment

As moms, as women, as entrepreneurs, our lives are filled with demands.

Phone calls to make, laundry to wash, to-do lists to do, walks to take, it goes on and on…

We think it’s useful to be doing 5 things at once. Of course we can make dinner, write an article, and answer the phone all at once; doing lunges all the while. We think we’re getting ahead, making a dent in our list, but is it really working for us, for you?

Research shows that all this multi-tasking is actually NOT the way our brains were designed to operate. Of course, because our bodies and brains are such exceptional specimens, our brains adapt to this frantic demand- sort of. The reality is that we are meant to focus on one thing at a time! “What??” you cry? How can I possibly get it all done- one-thing-at-a-time?? Well, the reality is that you will be more efficient and effective if you use your focus (your mind) like a flashlight, shining it on one task at a time. In a new book co-written by my mentor, Margaret Moore, and Harvard Neuroscientist Paul Hammerness, Organize your Mind, Organize your Life; the details of how to best use your mind are laid out.

Part of this work is learning how to focus. In our fast-paced, multi-tasking world, focusing is not something we have practiced much. According to an article the authors wrote for the Harvard Business Review, three key elements to developing focus are:

1) Get your mind out of ‘fight or flight’. You’ve got to learn how to cultivate positive emotions, while managing negative ones. If your system is always fueled by adrenaline and ‘on the lookout’ for danger, it will be very hard to focus. Bathe your system in the neurochemicals of positive emotions, and you’ll be much more able to focus.

2) Learn how to harness your awareness. We get pulled away from our focus, often without even realizing it. Developing the ability to notice that you have become distracted, and then to choose whether to stay with your focus, or to shift it, is critical.

3) Ritualize a shift in focus. This involves deliberately choosing to stop one thing, letting your mind release that, and then move onto the next. Moore and Hammerness suggest using a short walk, some stretches or deep breathing as possible ways to create a ritual shift in attention. These things can also serve to allow your brain a chance to integrate and access important information for future use. You open the door to new insights and learning here.

I have put these practices in place during my work-day, and been surprised at how effective they are. I thought multi-tasking was helping me accomplish more, but really I was spinning my wheels.

Do you multi-task? Try these tips, and let me know how they work for you!

Filed Under: Action, How-to, Learning

Are you feeling blah?

January 18, 2012 By Kalia Leave a Comment

The daily grind.

Waking up, cooking breakfast, shuffling kids, making lunches, heading out for school after a brief battle about whether or not a jacket is necessary.

Work, shopping, laundry, cooking, the list goes on…

Somewhere in there, are you squeezing in any time to feed yourself? And I don’t mean just by eating the kid’s leftovers- I mean Feed yourself; nourish your spirit, enrich your mind, honor your body – (is that laughter I hear- I can feel it bubbling up inside of me).

Because in this day of super-speed, nourishment of self is considered a luxury. Perhaps a few hours away once a year, or an evening out with the girls occasionally.

I’ve been playing with this idea of self-nourishment at a scale that mothers can attain. For me, it includes:

adding bursts of higher intensity cardio to my 20 minute walk (love those endorphins!)
taking an extra 10 minutes to make myself a beautiful lunch, and actually sit an enjoy it
planning a night a week to luxuriate in a hot bath with candles, a good book, a nice cup of tea or wine
using lotion that smells divine – this is so fast and easy- anyone can try it
Keeping a bottle of Queen Bee Honey Rose facial toner nearby, spritz as desired : )

So, if you’re caught in your daily grind, and you’re wondering why you just feel so… blaah, take a few minutes to list some fast and easy ways to nourish yourself- and then do one, every day.

I’d love to know what your favorite fast fixes are- please share them below- you just may inspire someone today

Filed Under: Action, happiness, Inspiration, Learning

Looking for a reason to shake your booty?

January 13, 2012 By Kalia Leave a Comment

Do you ever get overwhelmed by the idea of truckin’ yourself to the gym, or getting on some crazy new exercise program?
Here’s an entertaining bottom line for looking at the bottom line (pun intended)…

So… How will you spend your 30 minutes?

Filed Under: fitness, get in shape, happiness, health, wellness

What were you expecting?

December 24, 2011 By Kalia Leave a Comment

Holiday time can be funny.

Maybe not so much haha funny in the moment, but funny if you get some perspective and look at the situation with some distance.

Often you have many family members cozied up in tight quarters. You add a whole lot of sugar, with a fair amount of libations, sprinkled with the expectations of everyone there. Often there is the expectation that our buttons will be pushed, that we will eat too much, drink too much, and spend too much. Maybe we expect to get into the same arguments, with the same people, about the same things…

Expectations have a funny way of coming true. They are not usually conscious, and generally we have some really great reasons to expect what we expect. After all, that’s what has always happened in the past.

I was reading an article the other day about changing expectations, and that you just have to flip them, and expect only good things. I sort of agree. I think that when we expect good things, and actually believe in that expectation, then it’s a wonderful thing. But here’s what happens, our brain does not get on board. It can be too big of a shift.

Instead, if the thought of expecting it all to be groovy is too much, just suspend your expectations. Adopt an attitude of curiosity, and let yourself just notice what happens. If you add mindfulness, then you’ll get to notice when you start to get riled up by a comment Uncle Harry makes, and you can walk away. You can notice when you are just putting another cookie in your mouth because it’s there, and choose instead to have one piece of your absolute favorite dessert.

Let yourself be curious about what your expectations are, and then notice how you are helping to make those expectations come true. It just might change what happens.

Filed Under: Curiosity

It’s not always easy to get yourself going…

December 13, 2011 By Kalia Leave a Comment

Some days, it seems…

…that just making it through the day will be a victory.

…that it’s ridiculous to think that getting out for a walk, or a run, or a swim is worth the time and energy it will take.

…that it’s futile to even think about trying to get to bed earlier.

…that eating the first thing that comes across your path that is edible is the way to go.

I believe, those are the days that it matters the most.

Those are the days when the old habits are clinging to you, reaching for you with their little claws extended. When it feels like it will never make a difference is precisely when it makes the biggest difference to stay on course.

To decide to move your body, because it will shift your mood, your metabolism, your outlook on life…

To turn off the computer or tv, stretch your body, take a bath, lose yourself to the replenishment of sleep…

To choose those foods that nourish you, warm you, feed you in a real way, not a quick fix, sugar-junkie-fix kind of way…

When life turns on the heat, when it gets really intense, our patterns want to suck us back in- to pull us to that place of ‘comfort’. The question is…

How has that place of comfort, that old habit helped me?

If you are yearning, aching, stretching yourself to a new place, you’ve got to learn to be in the discomfort long enough for the edges to get worn smooth. The place where it’s not so easy to throw in the towel and revert back to the old habits of not moving, not sleeping well, or enough, or not nourishing yourself.

It’s a journey to get there, but a little discomfort can provide and incredible change in your life.

Are you willing to BE with it?

Filed Under: wellness

Savor it!

December 5, 2011 By Kalia Leave a Comment

This time of year can be filled with land-mines.

Not the kind you step on, but the kind you put in your mouth, (maybe you should step on them, you’d be less tempted to eat the, but I’m getting off topic…)

Everywhere we go, we are offered sweets and treats, sugar bombs in all their glory.

Sometimes we eat them because they are our favorites.

Sometimes we eat them because we feel like it would be rude not to.

Sometimes we eat them because that’s what we’ve always done- there’s no thought to it.

I’m dedicating this Monday Moment to another Simple (but not always easy) Practice- Savoring

Today we’ll apply it to Holiday treats. If you are someone who can eat anything and not be affected by it, either in your waistline or in your mood, then you’ve probably already moved on from this page.

If you tend to gain a few pounds this time of year, or notice that your mood gets a little wacky, then this post is for you. I’m not going to get all techie on you about why or how what we eat affects our weight and/or our mood, but simply offer a tool for bringing in some sanity.

When you come across a treat – ask yourself the following questions:

Is this something I really love to eat?
Will I regret it afterwards?
Am I wanting to eat this out of guilt, boredom, curtesy, or something other than pure joy?

If the answer to the first question is ‘Yes’, and the second two ‘No’, than have a bite.

Enjoy the texture and keep it in your mouth so you can really taste it, (that’s where our taste-buds are after all.)

With each bite, ask yourself the three questions above.

The fullest flavor will come from the first 1 – 3 bites. After that, our taste buds don’t have such a strong reaction. Which means, maybe all you need is a bite (or three.)

Fully savor each bite, and make a choice before you take another.

Let me know how this works for you in the comments below- ‘Like’ this post on facebook if you like it ; )

Happy Savoring!!!

Filed Under: Monday Moment

Are you a Runner? Or just want to Run…?

November 9, 2011 By Kalia Leave a Comment

On the heels of running the Hana Relay this September, (The Hana Relay is a spectacular relay race, run along a 54 mile stretch of winding road, complete with waterfalls, scenic ocean and jungle views, valleys filled with ginger in full bloom, and surrounded by people dressed up, singing, and laughing – a LOT!), I got to thinking. I used to run. I used to love to run. Correct that, I used to love the way I felt AFTER I had run. Those endorphins can become an addiction, causing people to keep running, even though their doctors tell them that they MUST STOP! It’s not unlike the heart attack patient who is told they must change their lifestyle, or they will die- Runners are told they will not be able to walk, and yet they keep running.

Okay, some of them keep running.

For me, it was after the birth of my first child that my running ended- or so I thought. I experienced a debilitating back injury that kept me from doing much of anything, let alone running. I could hardly walk, the pain was so bad. Luckily, I had an amazing Physical Therapist who taught me how to bring myself back, first to normal, and then to a place where I felt even stronger and better in my body than I had felt before I had children. This journey was part of what led me to the work I do now. It’s an incredible thing to believe you are finished, that life will never hold the same level of activity and enjoyment for you, and then to go beyond that.

As much as I had recovered from back pain, I still didn’t think I would ever run more than a mile or so. My comfort zone used to be in the 6-mile range, so it was quite a shock to not be able to go past that one mile mark.

But then, two years ago I was invited to run The Relay. The Hana Relay had been elusive for me. Interestingly enough, I connected my original back injury to 15 years earlier, training for the first Hana Relay I was going to run, I had been out in Hana, and was thrown off of a horse onto my hip. Years later, this translated into my back pain- still having never run the relay. I decided to go for it. I was feeling strong again, had been a few years out of pain, and knew how to keep my core strong enough to maintain.

Ahhh, it felt good to run again- or rather, it felt good to be done after running again. There was that feeling. The rush of endorphins, the physical streamlining that only running brought to me.

So, this is my ode to running. A man named Christopher McDougall has been studying how our bodies were meant to run. The mechanics of how our bodies are meant to run. It’s not just about ‘barefoot running’ but it’s a way of moving your body, and even a way of living a more fulfilling life. He is articulate and has an interesting point of view.

Here is a link to the history of how we got so off course with our running – would you believe that our consumer society played a part? Click here to go to the NY Times article

And here is a video connected to the article above that breaks down and shows how to re-train your body to run correctly- interestingly this comes from the 1800s – it’s called the 100-up. Click here to see the video

So, whether you feel like you were born to run, I invite you to explore your movement with a sense of playfulness, a sense of recognizing that our bodies were actually designed to move through space more than they were designed to sit at a desk or behind the wheel of a car. I know, those things are sometimes a necessity in our lives, but the couch can wait, there is a whole big world out there, just waiting to be turned into a playground. Have Fun!

Filed Under: Action, Curiosity, get in shape, How-to, Inspiration, wellness Tagged With: health, stress, video

Discover that Feeling

October 25, 2011 By Kalia Leave a Comment

There is so much clutter that takes up space in our internal world on a daily basis.

So many places to go.

So many things to do, people to respond to, things we need to do better, ways we want to be better.

In one minute we can change our internal experience, which can begin to change the perception of our life.

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change” ~Wayne Dyer

So right now, put your feet on the ground, and allow a breath to expand all the way to your belly.

Close your eyes and fill your awareness with something you are grateful for in your life, just as it is.

Allow your awareness to expand and include the sensation of how you feel. Notice where in your body you experience gratitude. Let the subtle textures of it expand within you and you breathe into it.

Open your eyes and allow this feeling to flow through you, not trying to hold onto it, but simply allowing it to BE.

What are you grateful for? Share yours Below.