June 27, 2015

Something Wonderful Always Happens

Nebo Lodge, North Haven Island
After too many weekends away I am home, guarding my alone time- like a H A W K.

I'm finally getting to all the little things around the house that have been calling my name- like the pepper and cucumber plants that hadn't yet made their way into their summer home in the garden.

Uninterrupted time.

So B L I S S F U L, I can't even explain.

It doesn't take much to make me happy 
and I am so grateful for this.

This morning, as I was out for a run,  I ran past a very very old woman who, very very very slowly, was making her way down the sidewalk in the sun, without a cane. She smiled at me as I ran past. Her radiant eyes, silver hair and periwinkle sweater, breathing me in.

I ran for another block and thought, "I have to tell her how beautiful she is."

So I turned around and went back.

She replied, "Oh thank you, Oh oh thank you."
Nebo Lodge, North Haven Island

I touched her shoulder and went on my way but I so wanted to return and say:

"Can we have tea? Can you tell me about your life and how it is that you are so old, and so frail, but are still out for a walk taking the smallest baby steps I've ever seen?"

She reminded me of the 93-year-old woman on Instagram this week who explained as her photo was being taken, "If you force yourself to go outside, something wonderful always happens."

New life motto.

Perhaps she is what made me stop.


June 19, 2015

Turning the Boat Around


I’ve wanted to share a story for a while about Denise Donnarumma and her journey back to health.

Denise is 55 and we were colleagues together for ten years at Susan Bristol Inc, a traditional sportswear company in Boston.

As Denise explains, her petite frame weighed about 103 pounds in high school but over the years she became more sedentary and ballooned up to 186 lbs. with her love of fast food, carbs and sugar. As I once was, Denise was also an emotional eater.

As her story goes, she went to Weight Watchers where she would lose weight, feel good, go back to her old eating habits, gain the weight back and more, return to Weight Watchers and repeat the process.

Growing up relatively thin, she had now become the heaviest of her four siblings. Denise carried her extra weight mostly in her hips and felt uncomfortable in her own skin. She had difficulty purchasing well- fitting clothing, traveling on airplanes and enjoying sporting events because of her discomfort in the seats.

Eventually, she was diagnosed with high cholesterol and had to go on medication. Denise’s exercise efforts had not been enough to keep her at a healthy weight. Bad habits coupled with watching both her parents suffer from artery disease and her dad dying at age 75, from poor self-care, encouraged her to turn her boat around.

As she says, “I wanted to take control of my health after watching my parents not live a good quality of life in their retirement years because they didn’t follow proper diet and activity.” Her parents suffered with chronic health issues and frequent hospital stays. Denise wanted to enjoy her retirement years.

So in January 2011, she joined Core Cardio Fitness in Malden, Massachusetts. She met with a fitness coach who reviewed her fitness goals. Denise discussed her activities and eating habits. She was provided with a nutritional plan along with a weekly exercise routine to follow until she reached her goal to lose 56 lbs. Her workouts included indoor cycling, TRX (total body resistance exercise), kickboxing, Zumba, and yoga. She began to lose the weight steadily and at a healthy rate. Then Denise added running to her workout routine and completed her first 5K road race at 150 lbs. Within 9 months Denise reached her goal weight of 130 lbs., became a lifetime member of Weight Watchers and continued to compete in 5K and 10K road races finishing in the top 3 of her 50+ age group. By 2013 she was able to run and complete two half-marathons.

I was interested however to learn how her life has changed in other ways as well.

For starters, Denise said she feels better in her fifties than she ever did in her thirties. She has amazing strength and energy. She also loves the social camaraderie at Core Cardio Fitness that has helped her become a health and fitness enthusiast. Within a year of her success, Denise has become a qualified TRX instructor there. She is an inspiration to so many people as she is able to share her personal success story.

The other great news is that she is off her meds!

Thanks Denise for sharing your story. You are such an inspiration and I have loved watching your transformation back to good health.

June 14, 2015

Lately

Tent Cabin, Omega Institute
Sun kissed shoulders.

Radiant skies.

Sugar snap peas.

The warmer weather feels like a blanket of happiness.

Mister Fix-It and I returned to Omega Institute last weekend to revisit Tantra Intimacy.

It had been two years since our first course and as with its siblings, meditation and yoga, Tantra can slither away without discipline in a partnership.



Plus I wanted to address my fear of the energy found from waking up my kundalini.

Which I did.

I think.

Not 100% sure about this actually.

Anyway, I once again highly recommend Tantra to expand intimacy, spice-up a relationship and garner a natural body high. 

Just the breathing technique alone, without a partner, is a great sleep-aid.


And now I bring you Carly.

Because I can't get this song out of my mind.

And because-

These are the good old days.



June 04, 2015

To Love & Be Loved




Alex is a very creative guy and he clearly loves his mom Eva.

He has been wanting to find her a boyfriend so he took it upon himself to create this video for her in hope of finding her one.

Luckily for Eva he showed it to her before he posted it.

As Alex says, "Deep inside, we all want pretty much the same thing- to love and be loved."

But oh my god....can you imagine the task of having to sort through all the suitors who must be writing hoping to meet her?

The romantic in me can't wait to hear how this all turns out...