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 →

Finding the Reset Button

Ah, the holidaze. Torqued schedules, buffets of indulgence, and hunting for the ideal sparkly accessories. As a Leo lady, I relish the full social calendar but need my reset workout more than ever. Beyond the din of festivities, the superego insists on punishing cardiovascular atonement. Yet as I settle into practice, a calm emerges. I submerge into down dog and crawl through standing poses. Squat. Vinyasa. Lunge. Handstand for an upside down. Backbend for an inside out. Lay down. Breathe. � Continue reading →

The Image of Fitness: Can You Exercise to Achieve the Perfect Body?

My social media feed regularly spouts pornographic images of, chiseled bodies called “Fitspo”. Short for “fit inspiration,” the photos sometimes include messages about discipline, pushing your limits, and empowerment. So why do these images irritate me? Apparently, fitness boils down to looking good in a bikini. The epitome of the female body shifts with each historical era and the muscled physique appears to be a current ideal. The commercialized homogeneity imposes a rigid definition of beauty and contorts our self � Continue reading →

Is the Fitness Industry Tearing You Apart?

As we begin personal training sessions many clients request, “I want to tone my arms, abs, or lower body.” Female clients often refer to their “muffin top,” “flabby belly,” or “thunder thighs.” Where did we learn to fragment and insult ourselves like this? Fitness magazines characterize the body with “trouble zones” and sell workouts to “sculpt” your booty or belly. Spot reduction, or fat loss to individual areas of the body, has been repeatedly debunked. Yet ThighMaster and Ab-lounger infomercials constantly � Continue reading →

How Do We Move Beyond Obesity Panic?

Last week I tuned into HBO’s Weight of the Nation and combed through many of it’s critics. Like a horror movie trailer, the familiar alarms shrieked: Fat people! They are everywhere! They are getting bigger! Fat is attacking the children! We are all going to die! The series opens with the Body Mass Index- an oversimplified and flawed measure of health. A high BMI implies inevitable doom while the skinny folks are supposedly safe. Never mind the unhealthy string beans � Continue reading →

What Do Calories Count?

Last week I trained a client who recently lost a substantial amount of weight. She called on me for active recovery from the intense exercising. We opened tight shoulders, mobilized locked up hips, and reactivated her core. I wove the pieces together with standing yoga poses and a deep relaxation. She moaned with “delight” as we released and realigned her achy parts. I relish theses moments when my work provides immediate relief. Then she asked, “How many calories did we � Continue reading →

The Dark Side of Detoxing

Last week my Facebook newsfeed flooded with updates about detoxing. “Cleanse day three, lost 2 lbs., drinking a kale smoothie, and feeling great!” I admit it: The detox stuff makes me cringe. What makes us feel so filthy that we need to be cleansing? Are we packaging traditional, restrictive, and short-term dieting in New Age jargon? In my graduate studies in Holistic Health Education I once tried a detox program during a nutrition course. I juiced vegetables twice a day, � Continue reading →

Category Archives: Weight Loss