To Stay Healthy, What Counts?

“Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.” — Albert Einstein Lost in a technological daze, we easily forget our basic human needs. We sit and stare at Twitter jams and traffic feeds. We forget to eat or mindlessly munch. We don’t get enough sleep. We don’t notice our aches and pains until they scream at us. When our health falters, we’re told to start counting. Carbs, calories, reps, steps. We tally � Continue reading →

Retreating to Italy: A Feast of Yoga, Hiking, and Culinary Adventures

In September, I’m heading to Italy to feast, hike, and teach yoga. Fair warning, this is no pious detox retreat. But it’s not about mindless gluttony either. The trip combines delights for the palette, the potency of skillful yoga, and beauty of the mountains for deep nourishment. We’re using a unique recipe: local chefs, bakers, and sommeliers with yoga imported from California. Alice, my close friend for over 20 years, is an award-winning chef and will lead our food adventures. � Continue reading →

What is Antifragle Fitness?

The human body strengthens from getting dirty, sweaty, and sore. We are what Nassim Nicholas Taleb calls “antifragile.” In his book, Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder, he coins this term for systems that become more robust rather than weakened or unaffected from unexpected stressors. Citing an array from examples from stock markets, health care, and education, he shuns overprotection and excessive intervention. Our first-world bubbles, Taleb warns us, shield us from physical vigor and thwart our adaptability. Instead of � Continue reading →

Dissecting a Cadaver to Examine Life

After years of studying movement, dissecting a cadaver felt like shining a flashlight around a familiar cave. A week in an anatomy lab sounded disgusting and morbid to a lot of folks in my life. Yet I knew there was a lot to learn if I got over being spooked or grossed out. Somewhere we are taught that our bodies are gross and should be shrouded so we make various attempts to conceal and contain ourselves. Yet when we die � Continue reading →

Traveling into the Unknown: Cadaver Dissection

A week away from a thrilling travel experience and I’m getting nervous. I’m not packing a suitcase or checking my passport to prepare. Instead I’m watching videos about cutting up dead bodies. Let me explain: In April I’m attending Gil Hedley’s Hands-On Human Dissection Workshop. The travel will only require a commute into San Francisco but demand an expedition deep into the human body. Gil refers to the participants as “somanuats:” explorers of our inner space. We will unveil each � Continue reading →

Learning from Iron: Kettlebell and Barbell Training

Iron teaches me so much. I pull, press, squat, and swing to interfere with iron’s strict loyalty to gravity. Under the load of kettlebells and barbells I organize my bones and gather my breathing. My grip begins with my bare feet grabbing the floor. I marshal each joint along the kinetic chain to either lever power or brace against force. If my internal pressure conquers the external load, the weight moves. But it’s only a momentary victory. I monitor the � Continue reading →

Hypokinetic Disease: An Epidemic of Sitting

We’re stuck. Confined in chairs and limited to a few dozen steps a day, we have imprisoned ourselves. Our insides are bloated, inflamed, and frazzled. Our coiled bodies trap stifled emotions, frenetic minds, and thwarted spirits. Slouched in spineless lethargy, we stare and poke at screens. Reality-based bodies suggest all our imperfections while commercials entice with mouth-watering yet toxic “food.” Numb and dazed, we forget our basic needs. As if sleep, real sustenance, movement, and fresh air are outdated vestiges. � Continue reading →

If Work Isn’t Exercise, How Do We Make Exercise Work?

When talking fitness with my dad he asks, “What about physical labor for exercise?” He relishes the demands of construction, farming, and operating a plant nursery. In the information age a job that supports physical vitality is a rare “privilege.” Although the human body is designed for rigorous work, we have engineered our way out of it. As a fitness trainer I’m paid to devise artificial labor for the desk-bound. One colleague joked that his clients should carry him around � Continue reading →

I’m a Sponsored Athlete! Really?

Last week the women’s clothing company, Athleta chose me as a 2013 Sponsored Athlete! For reals? Do they realize that I quit soccer in middle school? And during my 8th grade dance recital I leapt into the air and landed with an humiliating thump? In my Athleta application I outlined my thwarted athletic career: As a chubby girl on my rural, co-ed soccer team, puberty hit hard. Playing alongside the boys felt increasingly intimidating as my lady parts emerged. After � Continue reading →

Do New Year’s resolutions last?

Ok, I admit I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. Sign up for an exercise plan. March toward your goal. “Experts” peddle prepackaged exercise programs or quick fix diets. I wonder about change that lasts beyond the first few weeks of the year. Goals and training programs can be useful- temporarily. When suffering through the reps and begging the scale for progress, exercise is reduced to a means to an ends. What if we don’t achieve our goals? � Continue reading →

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