September 30, 2016

The Things That We Don't Know That We Don't Know


Sitting here beyond mid-life now, it's apparent to me finally what the gifts are that I was given.

Here is the question however, what gifts have we all been given that we aren't aware of because we haven't yet discovered them?

Like the things that we don't know that we don't know.

Maybe one of the best things about aging is discovering parts of ourselves that we have yet to uncover.

If we will only step out and allow ourselves to reach for them.

Perhaps I am a good pastel artist and I don't even know it because I haven't picked up a pastel since I was in grammar school.

For all of us, one of the gifts that we were given is our voice. The ability to speak the truth for ourselves. To say what it is that we are yearning for. To tell it like it is and not mask who we really are and what we want.

Our voice however takes practice as we are sometimes afraid to speak up and share our truths and opinions with others.

The energy to speak is located in our 5th chakra of self-expression.

It is where my energy gets blocked the most I know. When my voice changes pitch it is a warning that I am stressed about what it is I need to say or do.

Or not do.

Sometimes what I really need to do is stop doing.

I know you know what I'm talking about.

Sometimes we need to turn off our phones and shut out the world so we can slip away from the all the pings, and dings, and rings and see what else might happen.

Like the things that we don't even know that we don't know.

September 25, 2016

Naked Truth

This is my dear friend Chris who I have known for ages. She took this photo of herself after getting out of the shower the other day and sent it to me.

She is sixty-seven and without make-up.

Chris has always been a beauty and still very much is, especially with a smile that lights up her eyes.

Along with the photo, she sent this message:

"After decades of attention towards my genetic good fortune, baffled because my looks were no accomplishment of mine, my beauty began to change and my social value did too. It wasn't my turn anymore. I was always more important than my looks AND unprepared for life under a dimmer spotlight. Life in America as a woman was confusing on that count. Now I know the deal and recognize aging as a source of wisdom and grounding.

I've stopped lamenting about visible aging. One of my teachers also a former stunner, taught me "I was beautiful then and I'm beautiful now."

More on Chris and her inspirations on aging here. 

Also this week on Huffington Post: 14 women show off wrinkles to make a potent statement about aging.

September 15, 2016

Growing Harder



It has occurred to me in last few years that one of the keys to feeling well, healthy and staying fit is increasing and maintaining muscle mass.

After the age of 40, each year we lose 1/3 of a pound of muscle to fat.

The other truth is this:

Muscle burns 2.5 times as many calories as fat.

I know, I know...

So you can see what a slippery slope it is when we don't continue to build and maintain muscle.

When we don't build muscle, we usually put on more weight as we grow older. The worst thing is that the added weight causes all sorts of issues like knee, hip and back problems, not to mention diabetes. When we stop moving, because we are in pain or because we are unable to move, the slope unfortunately gets even slipperier.

Even at rest, muscle burns 2.5 times as many calories as fat.

There are many ways to build muscle but swimming is excellent because water is 12 times as dense as air. It's great resistance training. This makes swimming a far more effective way to tone muscles than any other cardio exercise on land.

Once we get over having to put on a bathing suit, and bear the 10 seconds it takes to adjust to the water temperature after plunging in, we can gradually add on more lengths each time we swim, until you start feeling like THIS.

Thank you to Sam at Team Sam Fitness for this week's inspiration.
( Sam is a cancer survivor and was hired along with me, to launch Nestle's new Boost product, Simply Complete.)

Thank you also to my mama for her inspiration. At 94 she is still strong enough to not sit on the toilet seat in public restrooms.

Every time she does it I'm amazed.


September 09, 2016

Putting It Down


It has been said that we have 60,000 thoughts every day.

Gosh is this true?

It has also been said that 90% of our thoughts are the same thoughts that we had the day before.

This I believe. I can see why it is beneficial to read books, seek different experiences and meet new people.

It's refreshing to change the channel in our heads and get rid of the thoughts that don't serve us. We all know the ones I'm talkin' about.

What thoughts in our daily mental chatter can we put down and lay to rest?

Kind of like a fall cleaning for the brain.

One of thoughts that I can put down is that I wish I was smarter. I wish I could talk about practically anything but I can't.

The other day I went to my first hot yoga class ever. I don't like hot weather and have resisted going, like the plague.

I thought I wouldn't like it but I loved it.

It felt like I was in a cocoon of rejuvenation- to stretch and sweat like I have never sweated before.

What a wonderful thing it is.

Thank you to Alyssa Hale for this week's inspiration.