Kim's Fitness and Nutrition

I was at my women?s meeting last week and I heard something extraordinary. One woman?s therapist had suggested that when she was in a quandary about what would be the best choice to make, specifically for herself, that she take the perspective of "mother." "Fantastic," I thought, and one that many women can relate to easily. We women have a natural maternal instinct within us, one I believe to be divinely guided. Most of us are extremely good mothers and can effortlessly know what choices we would recommend for our daughters or our sons. The strategy, then, is to take that stance when it comes to those choices we need to make for ourselves. I know it sounds rudimentary, simple and seemingly the logical thing to do, but I do not think that most women treat themselves with that degree of love, tenderness and compassion. That is so sad to me and is a crying shame.

This is without a doubt my favorite time of the year, and the reason is that a strange phenomenon seems to waft over most all of humanity ... we become a little more kind. There are many happenings that are responsible for this, undoubtedly many more then we can even speculate, but just the same, it happens. It?s almost as if a magic spell is cast and we smile more, we pause to say hello more, we offer more breaks in busy traffic, we say, ?Happy Holidays,? and it feels really good to see that grateful smile and genuine reciprocal reply. I have a proposition that I would love for you to consider. Why not take a little bit of that holiday cheer and give it to YOU?

I once read a quote that went something like, ?It is not the darkness that frightens us but rather it is our light.? After reading that, I can remember thinking how much truth there is in that statement. I see that in myself as well as almost everyone else I have met. We shrink ourselves for others and diminish our accomplishments. We talk down about ourselves and are often afraid to sing our own praises for fear we will be looked down upon for boasting. We rarely shine our light as brightly as we are really capable of, and that?s usually because we are afraid of being perceived as pretentious. I believe that there is a huge difference between being your genuine self and being pretentious, and that is what I want to focus in on.

As long as mankind has walked the planet, we have been in search of the fountain of youth. And although science has invented numerous diet pills, none of them have actually been safe long term. There have been many so-called elixirs for extending life, all bogus, and a zillion gimmicks guaranteed to slim and trim us, if we use them for more than two days. Alas, nothing has proven to reign supreme as the ?magic pill.? The truth is that there is no such thing as the fountain of youth or a magic pill, and there probably never will be. The reality is that we must swallow hard and accept that our longevity, excellent health and overall well being is up to each of us as individuals and the choices we make.

It has been my personal experience, as well as the consensus among 25 yrs. of clients, that if left to chance, we will probably not make the best food choices. Having a concrete plan of action is truly the best approach I have found. Will there be times that you falter from that plan? No doubt but if you make up your mind to accept your human shortcomings and just promise yourself that you will do your very best what will happen is you will. We are not without weak moments, those times when we are fatigued, stressed or feelinf less than our chipper selves. That is typically when we are destined to make mistakes. It is human nature, and that is perfectly okay. The trick is to not beat yourself up for having those moments, but to recognize them as quickly as possible and regroup.

We are all unique, and each have personal preferences and physical requirements that need to be honored. The following will provide guidelines from which you can freely create a food program that is right for you. Often it takes trial and error, but through listening to your body, over time you will find your way.

Reflecting, I have noticed how many truly wonderful teachers have frequented my path. I am so blessed. In truth, every single person, event and thing is a teacher, if we have the sense to notice. Therein lies the work, or if you will, a worthwhile spiritual endeavor. I believe if we could live detached from our egos, (our identity with form/endless mind chatter), we would be free to then sense the ?extraordinary? in everything ... absolutely everything. More and more I am willing to chose to know that Source Energy is in charge and that there is not one person, place or thing that is brought into my experience that is not of value or importance and is perfect ... no matter what. Often I cannot see this initially. If I stay in trust and breathe and keep taking the next right step, every time without exception, it turns out to be just exactly what I needed, and it brought an outcome of gifts that were hidden at first sight. This has been my experience over and over and over again. WHEN, I chose to know ALL IS WELL NO MATTER HOW IT LOOKS, I am then in ?acceptance.?

My experience is that many of us, including myself, are usually focused on what is potentially out in our future, only to then miss the miraculousness of the here and now. We just get so caught up in our goals and upcoming events that the joy and preciousness of the moment slips between our fingers and is completely missed. What if ?heaven on earth? was just that? The realization of this amazing moment, lived fully, moment to moment, savored and relished. It would then have to be experienced as heavenly. I have decided to do my best to live my life in the state of ?present? awareness or full consciousness. I can attest to the richness and beauty that I had been unaware of, having done so. I had been eluding myself due to my unconscious focusing, relentless thoughts of the almighty future, the outcome of this or that project or the obtainment of some goal. In other words, I was postponing my joy in lieu of something somewhere out into the future that is not tangible. Nor is it real or anything I can actually enjoy until it gets here, and by then it has become the NOW. How very intriguing!