This is a MUST SEE

HOLY MOLY. Talk about some serious blogging neglect. I suppose I go in phases with this thing. Well, good news- I am emerging from the winter darkness and have TONS of topics to blog about, so I will begin chipping away at them as best I can. The first thing I want to share with you is this PROFOUND video from this year's TED Conference. It is Jamie Oliver (who is apparently a famous chef) talking about the importance of teaching our children about food. Check it out:

Until one is committed...

The past week or so I have been realizing again (because can never realize this too many times) just how much potential each human being has; how great the power of THOUGHT, DESIRE, and FAITH are. One of my favorite quotes of all time is from Jiminy Cricket: "When your heart is in your dreams, no request is too extreme." I have loved this quote since I was a little girl, and I have believed it too.. but since I've grown up and become an "adult" I have forgotten the powerful truth: ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. If you want something badly enough, you can have it, do it, or be it. You just have to commit to your desire and have the determination to make it happen and the faith that it will. As the famous polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said:

Until one is committed
There is hesitancy, the chance to draw back
Always ineffectiveness.

Concerning all acts of initiative (and Creation)
There is one elementary truth
The ignorance which kills countless ideas and splendid plans:

That the moment that one definitely commits ones self
Then Providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one
That would never otherwise have occurred.

A whole stream of events issues from the decision
Raising in one’s favor all manner
Of unforeseen incidents and meetings
And material substance
Which no one could have dreamt
Would have come your way.

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

I have already begun.

World Peace Day

Today is the International Day for Peace.. Did you know about this? I sure didn't. Is it really a "cease-fire" day? Was not one shot fired? Not one person killed by another in the name of war? Doubtful. Here is a documentary that was made by a man named Jeremy Gilly of Peace One Day. In it he tells his story about how he accomplished having September 21st declared as an International Day of Peace. But his journey goes far beyond that- he continued his quest to try and get governments around the world to actually CEASE FIRE.



And here's a video from Matisyahu's latest album "Light"::
It's about PEACE ONE DAY.

Inspired for LIFE.

Training has been going very well. I am still following all of Ido Portal's floreio workouts as consistently as he is posting them. When he doesn't post one I will usually do something else or go back to the beginning of his workouts and repeat them. This new variety of training has challenged me in incredible ways and I am very much enjoying it. I am able to do most of his "intermediate" skills and workouts now (I started at "beginner") but once in a while I am humbled by a new skill or combination and have to go back to beginner (like part of today's workout). I am not yet completely comfortable linking all of the moves together, but I am improving on the individual skills and linking a few together. This is hard stuff!

This is the workout I did on Monday: (it took 2 hours..)

Workout - Intermediate

Warm Up -

Mobility

A1. 5 min Joint Mobility

A2. Wrists Routine X 1 set

A3. Shoulder ROM and Stabilization routine X 1 set

A4. Ido's Squat Clinic Routine X 1 set

A5. Scapula Mobilization Routine X 1 set

B1. Handstand Body Line Wall Drill X 30 sec

B2. Handstand Straighten Into Line X 45 sec total work

Complete 2 cycles of B1-B2, resting 60 sec between exercises

(This is from the advanced workout, beginner and intermediate did not include the straighten into line drill)

Floreio
C1. QDR Rotational Push Ups -Beginner variation (hardest beginner variation) X 10-14 reps / 3 sets / 60 sec of rest
D1. Corta Capim Spin (beginner variation) X 14 reps / 3 sets / 45 sec of rest

Strength
E1. Gymnast's Extended Set / rest 180 sec / 3 sets(This consists of 4 different types of pull/chin-ups starting with hardest and working down to easiest, doing as many of each variation as you can and resting 10 seconds before moving to the next easiest.. VERY HARD)

Prehab
F1. Shoulder ROM and Stabilization routine X 1 set
F2. Scapula Mobilization Routine X 1 set
Complete 2 subsequent supersets of F1-F2 no rest

I went to Kaila's memorial last Saturday and left feeling incredibly inspired. It may seem weird to think that a memorial service can inspire you, but when it is in celebration of an amazing woman who led an incredible life- it makes sense. She started traveling the world when she was 15. She was a chef, a dancer, a photographer, a mother, and many other things. She knew many languages and had friends and communities that welcomed her all around the world. She was passionate about learning alternative medicine and healing; she was born naturally in her parents home, and she gave birth to her daughter naturally in her parents home. Most recently she was doing humanitarian work in West Africa, with her husband and little girl. They were living in a small village where she had built a well for the people who lived there, before this they had no clean water. I don't know how long they were there, but she and her husband had their wedding ceremony in the village honoring the traditional ceremony of those people. That was only in July. Hearing about her adventures and experiences connecting with people all over the world is only motivating me more to really make my own adventure happen; to make my dream a reality. She inspired people all throughout her life, and is still inspiring even though her physical presence is gone.

I made contact with a few farms in Belize where we can work for a free room and food. I spoke with one person on the phone (he lives part time in Canada and part time in Belize, smart guy) from Utz Kab Farm (Utz Kab means "Good Earth" in Mayan), and we actually committed to being there in mid-March to work on the farms for one month! Utz Kab is in San Antonio in the southern Toledo district, close to the Caribbean coast, and the other location is north of there in the central Cayo district close to the Guatemalan border. It is becoming real! Both places are all about sustainable agriculture and living.. they grow organic cacao, bananas, mangoes, oranges, coconuts (all of which we will be harvesting). We will also help build structures (cabins, fences, paths, etc.)- and there are LOTS of Mayan ruins, caves, rivers, and waterfalls close by. It is all coming together and becoming a reality, and I am so excited. The world and it's opportunities to help on a larger scale are beginning to open up. After Belize, the options are endless. I have a list of places where we can work/volunteer from farms to orphanages to guiding treks in the mountains. Next step: buying a one-way ticket to Cancun for March 1st, 2010!

Be Extraordinary.

ex·traor·di·nary-
a: going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary b: exceptional to a very marked extent

In the midst of a less than pleasant phone conversation with my mom a few weeks ago (oh, come on, we all have those kinds of conversations with our parents... right?), I took something she said a little too personally, as I usually do with her. She said something that to me implied that I was just average. She said that all throughout my life I was brilliant, I shined, I soared, but now, now I am just mediocre. Now, some of you might be saying, "Your own mother said this to you?!" but keep in mind that I am paraphrasing a bit (like I said, I took it a little too personally) AND my mom decided at some point in her adult life that being tactful, when offering feedback to her own children, is not necessary. She meant the best. She simply was trying to tell me to be extraordinary. And she's partially right, which is why I have this feeling of discontent and restlessness deep down in the pit of my stomach. I am not being as extraordinary as I can be. Which is why I am constantly day dreaming about ways to change my life. I don't mean completely change it, because most of it is wonderful, I just mean... create a better BIGGER picture for myself. This was my mom's way of saying DO THE BIG THINGS YOU WANT TO DO.

I moved to Portland just over two years ago. Before I moved here I was working as a personal trainer for two years at the Seattle Athletic Club in Seattle, my hometown. It was a great place to start out as a trainer and I have a few lasting friendships from working there. But I started to feel stagnant and I wanted to move forward. I felt moving somewhere by myself was something I needed to do (even though I had a lot of friends in Portland, which was another big reason why I moved), and I wanted to experience the fitness industry outside of my Seattle Athletic Club bubble. When I moved, I got similar jobs in Portland, but not before being unemployed for a month and a half. Needless to say I was elated to have two jobs and finally began to feel like I was settling in here. I was playing competitive Ultimate Frisbee and had a busy single girl's social life.. but I still didn't feel right. My health wasn't that great, I was eating poorly (compared to semi-high standards at the time), I was partying too much (again, high standards), and I was trying too hard to make romantic relationships happen because I was craving a real companion. Then I met Ramman.. and my whole world changed- for the better. He has contributed in HUGE ways to my evolution as an athlete and movement artist (I would have never called myself that before), my perspective of myself and my own power, and shifting my awareness of myself within this world. In other words: he has helped me open my eyes a little wider and pay attention to the periphery. I'm not implying that I would not have grown this much with out him.. he has simply helped quicken the process. As individuals, we feel empowered; together, we feel unstoppable. And so the evolution together continues.

I love helping people. And that is what I do. But I am getting tired of helping people the same way I have the last four+ years. I am quickly evolving as a personal trainer (I recently changed this title to "Movement Coach") and my theories and philosophies are leaking out where ever I go and whenever I speak.. sometimes to people who just aren't ready to hear it- but hey, who is ever really ready the first time they hear that they need to make some important changes in their life? I work in a gym, even though I don't completely believe in working OUT in a gym.. this is why I am unhappy professionally right now. Where I spend 20-30 hours a week does not directly coincide with the lifestyle I am trying to lead and teach others about. Sometimes I feel like my growth is being stunted while I'm at my job. But instead of hating every minute of being there, I am infiltrating. While I am here, I am determined to share my philosophies with as many people as possible.. I just have to do it rather quietly, as I might convince a few to quit the gym:) However, most people just smile and nod, and walk away thinking that I am way too uptight about gluten and pull ups... but maybe, just MAYBE, they took something away with them. Ultimately I want to either work for myself (hence, my and Ramman's attempt at creating Rip City Fitness) or a company (like Wildfitness or MovNat) that shares the EXACT same values and philosophies that I do. Not just some of the same ways of thinking- ALL. And to be able to spread this lifestyle (the Primal Lifestyle, that is) all over the world would be incredible.

The world is a very confusing and chaotic place and a lot of people are unhappy, unhealthy, and uneducated as to how to create a change in their own lives. This state of human beings is directly reflected in the state of the world. If more people (especially people in powerful positions) were in balance physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally... well, the world would indeed be a much better place. I am figuring out how I can continue with my personal and professional revolutionary momentum, travel the world, help people, and contribute to changing the world starting with the positive development of people of all ages; starting with each individual I come in contact with. This is how I am and will continue to be extraordinary.

Finding words to describe this::

"...Sitting and waiting for the politics to fix this, it ain't gonna happen, they all sitting on their asses..." ~Emmanuel Jal



So I am here at march on a Friday night getting some extra hours in.. keeping in mind, every day, my goal for next spring. I was dorking around on facebook when I realized that the other day I found out that I could watch TED presentations online for free, so I clicked over to www.ted.com to have a look at the plethora of interesting videos I can watch. I see a picture of a handsome African man with dreadlocks and the caption: "Emmanuel Jal: The Music of a War Child". Click. About 14 minutes into it I am choking back the tears (because, remember, I am at work) as I watch him dance around the stage and listen to him sing praises to the woman who saved him, Emma McCune. This story moved me an a thousand ways. So I want to share it with you. His story is the story of so many other African children who have had every aspect of their simple lives brutally stripped away from them. It's a story that you and I can't even IMAGINE. A story that some people don't even want to hear because they don't know what they will do with such a tragedy. Emmanuel Jal has turned his painful experiences into a powerful influence to create an educational revolution in Africa. This is the kind of revolution I want to be involved in. When I hear stories like his or of people like Emma, I am affected at a very deep level; it's so profound that it shocks me, but it's uncontrollable. I know that this is part of the reason why I want to travel. I want to see how people live in other countries, and I want to help those that are less fortunate and have less opportunity than I do. Why else would I be riveted by books like "What is the What?" and brought to tears by one man's song about an angel who rescued him?

I think what I am doing with my life right now is noble. I am not after money, driven by material possessions or status, I just want to help people reconnect with themselves through being physical and taking care of their bodies. And it's not driven by narcissism either. What I teach people is focused on helping them function better as a human being; to wake them up from the inside out. The aesthetics of training is secondary; it's not just physical.. it's mental, emotional, and spiritual. I think that if everyone in the world were to do this, to really know and respect themselves, their compassion would spread outward and eventually the world would be made BETTER. Humans are confused now. And it will not take politicians or laws or traditional life-paths to create the change we need. It will require each individual to begin with him or herself. Only when we each look inside ourselves and make a change for the better will we have the ability to reach out to one another and spread love, courage, confidence, strength, and compassion. This is what I do. AND I WANT TO DO IT IN SO MANY OTHER WAYS. In other places if that's what I am driven to do. Or at home.. the location doesn't matter, nor does the vehicle. It can be done however you want to do it, whether it's building schools in Africa, creating sustainable organic farms in Central America, or coaching little kids sports. We each just have to choose to begin.