SUNDAY FUNDAY

Hikes are good markers for my progress. I may huff and puff on inclines but each time it gets easier. Then with time I change the level of the hikes. Hikes continue to motivate me and push me to do better.

So I keep going.

Below is my workout schedule for this week since I'm in TM preparation mentality.  Get it going!

Sweet Saturday

Be yourself and then you will find that people will love you for who you are 

and not who you are pretending to be. It sounds like an easy statement yet people are often preoccupied with being a certain way for likability.  As time progresses the true essence of their being becomes non-existent. What happens when you loose sight of your authentic self?

 

You rebuild.

 

This is what I have been doing for years now. Life's obstacles have made me go through a few cycles of who am I? I go through phases of shedding negative thoughts and blockages. Then I start to allow people in my life. I share myself openly. Then I hide and block them out. It seems like an ongoing cycle of not allowing others to meet the true me.

 

So What Now?

I recently heard a lecture on the Hay House World Summit about the Power Pose. It was the Tuesday after my vacation. In the lecture David R. Hamilton, PhD, stated people who practiced the power pose for 2 minutes a day felt better and where more open to the positive experiences life had to offer. He went as far as saying, they open themselves up to more social interactions which is important. According to studies we feel safest when we are connected to others because through evolution our body has learned safety comes in numbers. The bio-chemistry of the body evolved so that we operate better when we are connected with others and people with

 regular positive human contact live longer. 

 

Perfect Timing

 

This information came at a time when I was starting to shut down and hide after things just seemed to perfect. For example, during my vacation I met people from my hometown after thinking how much the place felt like my old hometown. A blue jay, (my sign for Gramps), kept on perching on trees and ledges, when I felt like, this is to good to be true. The blue jay reminded me to take it all in because it was true. When I thought of certain friends they would call or text, like immediately. It was all just flowing and it all seemed magical. I was ready to escape from people upon my return because when something is to good to be true...well I run. Only this time, the lecture I listened to through the "let the universe choose for you" button, it was right on. The best part was when Hamilton said something like: practice the wonder woman pose and you will notice the difference. Things and experiences will start to change in a positive way. I was shocked, it was the pose I practiced daily during my vacation and it was even captured in most of my pics. I was doing it without even knowing!!!

It was all flowing.

 

So YES, I have said it before, and YES, I will say it again.

 

I AM READY. LIFE BRING ME LOVE AND JOY.

 

I ACCEPT.

 

TRAIN HARD. SHED FAST. LIVE LONG.

 

NAMASTE.

 

 

 

Motivational Monday

I am headstrong, stubborn and smart.

Sometimes I don't know when to stop and my stubborn ways get the best of me. Other times I don't give up because I am so stubborn...I just can't. It is probably the reason why my mom always had a hard time with me. She said I was often relentless.  Still am.

You can say being headstrong and stubborn is one in the same. It could be but I view it as my trait to be willing to try... over and over again. I fall. I get up. I have my mind set on something and I will keep going with my eye on the prize.

My intelligence will sometimes get the best of me. Especially when I over think, over analyze and just stop. But it has also saved me by blocking certain memories and surviving different stages of my life. It allows me to follow my own pace and I'm in what I call my perfect place. I  always land on my feet because of some final smart move I made. I am grateful.

So why do I make these statements on a motivational Monday entry? --- well to invite you to do the same. Reflect on who you are and how far you have come. Not to stay stuck in the past but to see how far  you have come. No matter where you are in your life thank yourself for  getting you there. Give yourself some self-love and then create something new just for you.

Here's to being the best you. Namaste.

Remain Coachable

Reflections. Denver Botanic Gardens. 5/18/15

 

 

The trip to Colorado has been fun-filled, spiritual and reflective. I did not every minute like in the past. I'm just going with the flow. It's been hard at times with my total controlling ways yet in the end it always feels good, something good comes out of the day. Peaceful.

 

 Don't get me wrong, I had a general idea about what I wanted to view what I want to view but just took it day by day based on the feel of the day. HUGE for me and LOVELY too. I'm happy.

 

The Lunch I packed for our Garden of the God's Trip.

MEALS



I truly had the best time creating meals for my God Kids. They questioned my cooking and were pleasantly surprised with the taste and feel. It was a great moment when they each told me how much they liked the salad and wraps. They asked me to be sure to email them the recipes. I said I'd send them pointers when I got home. Nice to expose them to new things. I hope they also go in search of some of these recipes and foods on their own.                       

                                                     

The nitty gritty, I've had it all with moderation. I balance as much as I can and order veggies and fruit when possible. The only day I let loose was Wednesday for lunch. I had BBQ with all the fixins, cole slaw, baked beans, potato salad, French fries and corn bread. Oh my GAH, it was delicious BUT I had half portions or quarter portions of each. I ate slowly and bit every single bite DOWN! When I was mid-full I stopped. Then we walked and walked and walked until it felt all right. The next meal Salad and Chili. The portion was great. The salad tower became this full lovely salad ( A LOT OF ARUGULA!) and my heart was content. Eating clean will be key for the rest of my trip. My stomach is already feeling the effects of the "Q" so it's telling me, "hey stop that!". I'm listening. But here I go again, eating the "ouch so painful burger! Until, I took a bite and said no more. I looked down and I had eaten about a quarter. Then I reached for the salad. The best part, today was Jose's formal dinner romantic celebration. Well, we decided to opt out on the big meal and take a stroll through the Garden of the God's during this lovely clear night. Oh, and plenty of water.

Tomorrow we start with a nice fresh meal.

 

 

EXERCISE

I've maintained as active as possible. Going for walks, strolls, hikes, using the fitness rooms at the hotels. I even took a Kettle Ball class, which has me extremely sore, but it feels great! I stretch throughout my days and breathe deep to take it all in. Truly Beautiful.

 

SOUL

 

CONTENT. ESTATIC. CALM. JOYFUL. PLAYFUL. WITH MUCH MUCH FIRE. O SEA, PASSION. Thank you world.

 

Now I have to keep on going so I have to go!!

To many fulfilling days. To many fulfilling moments.

Yes Life I Remain Coachable!

Enjoy!

The view from our rom.

Sweet Saturday

Today is my husband's birthday.  We are celebrating with a trip to Colorado. We are both excited. This is a recharge moment filled with new sites, beautiful mountains and Well all those other things I wrote about in my state reports through elementary school. Lol.

Yes this will be good indeed.

Remain Coachable

Mind. Body. Soul.

I have lived with fear for far too long. Even after my TM experience and declaration. In the back of my mind I thought about "that thing". I thought about the abuse and pain I endured for most of my childhood and adolescence. Even as I blog today I am wary about having to "tippy-toe" around the subject because of the "what will they say?" convo or the "stigma" that may follow.

To be clear, I do not reveal this part of my story to remain stuck in the pain and fear. I share this in order to create a platform for all of those who struggle with some sort of pain in their life. I share so they too can take a stand for a better self because there is nothing more satisfying then rising from darkness.

In the past month my fears about my past got very real in my head. I shut-down and I was becoming ill. My Knees. My Stomach. My. Chest.
All in pain. It was starting to snowball but I noticed and took a stand. I started to read about healing, self-love and self-love. I went through the motions of every day life.  I started to balance my choices.

I was making progress. Then came my bridge; The Hay House World Summit 2015 . They released audio interviews and movies on 5/8 and I started to pay attention. Soon enough my fears were released once more. I noticed how long I was in darkness and how long it took me to get out. I allowed myself to accept and validate my winter. Soon enough it was SPRING and there was a SPRING in my step. Today I find myself singing in the rain.

My Community.

My girls. My boyz. My rocks. They are the people I interact with daily. Those who focus on self-progress and self-awareness. They post about healthy life choices; good meals, exercise and words of encouragement. They are the people I look forward to reading about and encourage me when I lay ill on my couch. They make me rise with a smile no matter how I feel. For them I am grateful.

My coach with his rants and <clear throat> lectures helps too. His last words on Tuesday gave me that extra push too. He said, "I know you do yoga" and all I thought was, "Oh my yoga!" My yoga practice had been dormant for weeks!!

Yoga

On Wednesday I woke up and just like many mornings ago...I started my day with Yoga. It was like meeting an old friend. I'm in love all over again.Three days into my morning yoga routine ... I remember how much I love it. It is the fundamental piece to my well being and weight loss. It fills my heart with self-love and gratitude. It cements my purpose to encourage, motivate and love others. It provides the clarity and intuition I desire. A great example is this very moment. Just as I contemplate "saving" or "publishing" today's post I receive three messages:

(1) The hummingbird comes to me. It reminds me to fly.
(2) The text from my girlfriend informing me she's reached a new weight loss goal. She reminds me of the impact I have on others.
(3) The song "free your mind" comes on ... I let go and allow the rest to follow!!

Here's to standing in the light.

NAMASTE.

Wonderful Wednesday

 

Eden shares her story below.

 

When I think about my childhood, I can remember loving to laugh, having lots of friends, getting good grades, wearing dresses with sneakers and playing as hard as the boys did at recess or P.E. I also remember being a lot bigger than the other kids, not being able to fit into clothes at the stores they shopped at, being teased about being overweight, never wanting to share my real weight or to get on a scale around my peers. As if being one out of a handful of black/brown students in an entire school and living in a neighborhood less “wealthy” (and much less white) than the one I was schooled in wasn’t enough to create feelings of alienation, being overweight fueled the fire. Though it’s taken several years to truly recognize and bring light to it, seeds of pain and insecurity were taking deep root in my body and in my psyche. 

 

I joined weight watchers with my mom and my neighbor when I was twelve and had a little success. When I started the ninth grade, my mother picked me up from school one day after having gone on a school camping trip and she very simply said to me, “Eden, today you are going to start a new diet, we all are, the whole family is going to do this together.” And she went on to describe the details of the diet and that she had already cleared the kitchen so we could start fresh. I welcomed the idea with no resistance and was quite relieved. At that point, I was about 5 lbs away from 200 and was fed up. In about 1 year and some change, I lost 45 lbs. I had made fat so much of an enemy that I was too afraid to deviate from my diet’s restrictions. This sparked a shift towards health consciousness and was the beginning of a journey into exploring nutrition and health a bit more. I had always been very aware of my body but I began building a different relationship to it--one that was less centered around shame and more filled with learning and understanding.

 

I played some sports in high school, and during college, I kept a somewhat inconsistent workout schedule and maintained a pretty clean diet. I took the initiative to research various nutrition and alternative healing philosophies in order to better individualize my diet. About 2 and a half years ago, I began taking workout classes and very quickly fell in love (some may call it an addiction) with my workouts. I made fitness a very central focus, going to classes every day (sometimes multiple classes a day) and if I ever had to miss a class it was a very big deal. Since the first day I started at this studio, I have not fallen off and I am the strongest I’ve ever been. But what I have learned is that working out isn’t the hardest part. Truly, the heavy lifting comes in trying every day to combat the fat little girl inside of me—the addiction, the emotional comfort of food, the insecurity, the self loathing, the negative voices.

 

I feel that my interests and the work I set out to do in life is driven by my desire to help myself and to help others who are made to feel like they are less than, like they have less than, or like they don’t belong. My passion for social justice/social change as well as for health/wellness come from a very personal place. My passion and commitment to wellness and education have allowed me the opportunity to pursue (alongside my coach, Anthony Freeman) developing a wellness lifestyle brand and community of individuals who are empowering themselves to be more optimal being. Norma is an example to all of us. We are all excited by her leadership and dedication to creating spaces for herself and her community to achieve their health goals.  

Monthly Feature - Inspiration Cycle

 

May 2015

Eden.

My Motivation.

 

When I started my journey I was intimidated by exercise.  I started by walking and joined a studio after a 40 pound loss. This is where I met Eden. She did not say much. She showed up with a game face and always worked hard. I would say the hardest. As I struggled with my crunches I pushed harder at each glimpse of Eden. I admired her strength and stamina. I would look for her to imitate her form and she took notice. She was not like other fit girls. She took the time to tell me, "do it this way". 

 

Its been almost two years since I met Eden and I am fortunate enough to have gotten to know her better. She has shared her knowledge about food and nutrition through the Freeology workshops and seminars. It was then that I learned more about Eden's journey. It added a new level of respect and admiration. I feel at ease with Eden; we can easily joke and laugh or share and develop ideas.

 

Eden, your dedication to help others in the community to reach new heights is inspirational. Your kind and caring nature has always made me feel at ease and you never made me feel incapable of doing anything. I enjoy working out at your side and look forward to our future ventures; Tough Mudder Challenge, Spartan Sprint and the creation of our exercise dance class! - haha ! Thank you Chica for being you and for always motivating the bunch! xoxo

 

--Read about Eden's journey on Wednesday, 5/6/15--

Remain Coachable

Last Sunday I hosted the Sangria Brunch for Los Game Changers. I wanted to have a mixer prior to the Bubble Run and provide everyone with the opportunity to meet without our gym attire. 

During brunch we shared about our fitness goals while eating delish low-calorie food (sangria excluded). Coach Anthony Free-Man and Yoga Instructor Laisha Herod provided details about the series they are leading. The first two series set to start are:

5K Conditioning Series (5KC) - Designed as a 12-Week Series divided into sets of 3 or 4 weeks to accommodate group hikes. This is a start-up series with an emphasis on conditioning and strengthening. There are two groups in this series. 

• Series starts on 05/10, 05/17 and 05/24
•  Part II (existing group) - 7A - 8:30A
•  Part I (new group to start their 12 week) - 8A - 9:30A
• It is $30 for the 3 session package. 

Yoga Series - Series will teach Vinsaya Fundamentals. Intent for series: strength, connection, clarity and peace. 

• Series starts 05/29 and will run for 5 consecutive Fridays.
• No class on 07/03.
• Final session is on 07/10
• 6:30-8p with instructor
• It is $70 for the 6 session package. 
• $35 due on 05/22
• $35 due on 06/12

All series packages are created in order to reserve the instructors for our designated private sessions. I attached the image of the 2015 Planner for all to view and start moving. 

contact info@kikisjourney.com for more details or to reserve your spot!

Here's to keeping active!