1. The focus is on health, energy, vitality and strength rather than on weight loss, dress size and looking like someone else.
2. They don’t ignore hunger. Hunger is a signal that it is time to eat, but not overeat. Skipping meals is out. Breakfast is always IN!
3. Exercise is a must, a sustained fixture that never gets bumped for a sedentary activity. There is always time for exercise.
4. The lean person eats intelligently, not mindlessly. This means hunger and energy needs are the cues for eating, rather than some passive activity like sitting at the computer, watching TV, or socializing.
5. Sipping water throughout the day is a must.
6. Lean people do not skimp on sleep. They plan their schedule in advance to guarantee 7-8 hours of sleep a night.
7. The lean person thinks in terms of experiencing the taste of a high calorie, fattening food, rather than experiencing the quantity of this food. Experiencing the taste and texture trumps devouring the quantity, hence that urge for chocolate is satisfied with small squares of chocolate, rather than a triple decker wedge of cake.
8. Exercise always includes strength training and flexibility training.
Thanks for visiting and Happy Training!! Kathie 
photo/flickr.com/zoza8
“…You learned to smile, even in your liver?”
“Even in my liver Ketut. Big smile in my liver.”
“Good this smile will make you beautiful woman. This will give you power to be very pretty! You can use this power to get what you want in life. Pretty power!”….This was taken from page 241 Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Ketut Kiyer says “To meditate you only must smile” “It’s that easy” That’s it.
“ Smile with face, smile with mind and good energy will come to you and clean away dirty energy. Even smile in your liver. You can call the good energy with a smile.” Ketut Kiyer
How beautiful is that? Smiling will clean away dirty energy. You can call good energy anytime with an internal or external smile.
You have to read the book Eat Pray Love, or now, see the movie with Julia Roberts to learn about this. But this very discussion led me to write this blog post about the Smile Meditation.
The Smile Meditation is super powerful! It can heal you of any and all disease (mental and physical). It can teach you gratitude. It can teach you love. And it will definately make you happy. Try it.
Deepak Chopra observed “Your brain produces a chemical that relays news of your happiness to all 52 million of your body cells – who rejoice and join in.” Smiling in your body creates this news of happiness and does your body so much good! This is the greatest therapy in the world. And it is absolutely FREE! It is healing. Guess what? It is youth reviving! Did I mention it is FREE? Yes it will revitalize your youth and make you very pretty! A powerful kind of pretty.
Below is The Smile Meditation in detail with its credit. It is taken from Mantik Chia’s books listed at the bottom. Enjoy and most of all – Smile from your liver!!! Kathie
Preparation For The Inner Smile
- Wait at least an hour after eating to begin the practice.
- Choose a quiet spot. Later on (as you become more experienced) you will be able to practice almost anywhere with any noise.
- Dress warmly enough not to be chilled.
- Sit comfortably near the edge of your chair with your feet flat on the floor. Keep your back straight, but not stiff. Stay relaxed, and clasp your hands together in your lap, left palm on bottom, right palm on top.
- Close your eyes and become aware of the soles of your feet. Feel their connection to the ground and the energy of the earth.
- Create a source of smiling energy up to three feet in front of you. This can be an image of your own smiling face, or of someone or something you love and respect, or any memory of a time in which you felt deeply at peace, perhaps feeling sunshine, being by the ocean, or walking in a forest.
- Become aware of the midpoint between your eyebrows through which you will draw this abundant smiling energy in front of and around you. Let your forehead relax, and allow the Third Eye to open. As the smiling energy accumulates at the mid-eyebrow, it will eventually overflow into your body.
Smiling Down The Organs – The Front Line
Allow the smiling energy to flow down from the mid-eyebrow through your face, relaxing the cheeks, nose, mouth, and all the facial muscles. Let it flow down through your neck. You can roll your head slowly and gently from side to side as you do this.
- The Thymus Gland. Let the smiling energy flow down to your thymus gland, which is located behind the upper part of your sternum, and picture it glowing with vibrant health. Feel the thymus gland become warm as it begins to vibrate and expand like a flower blossoming.
- The Heart. Feel the stream of relaxation flow down into your heart. People who are nervous or who anger quickly often experience pain and tense feelings in and about the heart. Extending the smile relieves stored tension and enables a new kind of functioning to take place. Spend as much here as you need to feel the heart relax and expand with loving energy. This expansion will feel like a flower blossoming. Fill your heart with love. Let your heart be your “sweetheart.”
- The Lungs. Radiate the love in your heart to your lungs. Feel your lungs soften and breathe with new ease. feel the air inside lighten up as it enters and leaves the lungs. Feel their moist spongy quality as you relax and fill your lungs with energy.
- The Liver. Now smile into your liver on the right side, just below the rib cage. If your liver is hard, if it is difficult to feel, soften it with your smile. Smile it back to life, rejuvenate it with your love.
- The Pancreas. Let the smiling energy now flow across the abdomen to the pancreas, which is located within the left lower rib cage. Thank it for its work, and see that it is healthy and functioning smoothly.
- The Spleen. Continuing around to the left, smile into the spleen. Don’t worry if you don’t know exactly where it is. If you smile in that direction you will gradually get in touch with it. If you need to, return to the source of smiling energy in front of you, and let it flow through the mid-eyebrow and down to the area of the spleen. As smiling, loving energy builds up in the spleen, let it flow into the kidneys.
- The Kidneys. Direct the smile to your two kidneys, in your lower back just below the rib cage on either side of the spine. The adrenal glands sit on top of them. Smile at your adrenals, and they may send you a burst of adrenalin. The kidney is the lower transformer of the veins and arteries. Smile to the kidneys and fill them with love. Like the heart, this will increase the flow of chi circulating through the body.
- Next, send the smiling energy into the urinary bladder, urethra, genitals, and perineum.
Smiling Down The Digestive System – The Middle Line
Smile once more in your eyes. Smile down into your mouth and swish your tongue around to collect saliva. When your mouth is filled with saliva, put the tip of your tongue to your palate, tighten your neck muscles, and swallow hard and quickly, making a gulping sound as you do. With your inner smile follow the saliva down your esophagus, through your internal tract and to your navel. Smile away the nervous energy in your stomach, and you will eat better food and find it easier to digest. Relax the smiling energy into your small intestine, large intestine, and rectum.
Smiling Down The Spine – The Back Line
- Bring your attention back to the source of smiling energy; collect the power of the smile in the third eye (mid-eyebrows).
- Draw the smiling energy about three to four inches (7.5 to 10 cm) to the pituitary gland, and feel it blossom. Smile into the thalamus gland, and into the pineal gland at the crown.
- Project the smiling energy back and forth through the left brain, then through the right brain, and back again. This will balance the left and right brain.
- Move the inner smiling energy down to the mid-brain and down the inside of your spinal column. Make sure your posture is straight with shoulders slightly rounded forward. Descend one vertebra at a time, smiling onto each until you have reached the coccyx. You should experience a feeling of great ease, warmth, and comfort in each vertebra. With the lumbar, coccyx, and pubic areas are relaxed power is released an flows more easily up the back. Back pain can be prevented or relieved by smiling into the spine.
Smiling Down The Entire Length Of Your Body
- Start at the eyes again. Direct the Inner Smile’s eyesight. Quickly smile down the Front Line. Follow the smiling down the Middle Line and then the Back Line. When you are more experienced, smile down all three lines simultaneously.
- Now, feel the energy descend down the entire length of your body, like a waterfall – a waterfall of smiles, joy and love. Feel your whole body being loved and appreciated. Be Happy!
Collecting The Smiling Energy At The Navel
- It’s very important to end by storing the smiling energy in the navel. Most ill effects of meditation are caused by excess energy in the head or heart. The navel area can safely handle the increased energy.
- To collect the smile’s energy, concentrate in your navel area, about one and a half inches inside your body. Then, mentally move that energy in an outward spiral 36 times; don’t go above the diaphragm or beneath the pubic bone. Women start the spiral counterclockwise, men start clockwise. Next, reverse the direction and bring it back into the navel, circling it 24 times. Use your finger as a guide the first few times. The energy is now safely stored in your navel, available to you whenever you need it and for whatever part of your body needs it. You have now completed the Inner Smile.
Credit to the Source
- The above content is the basic “Inner Smile” practice, taken from several of Mantak Chia’s books: Awaken Healing Energy Through the Tao, pp.21-28; Taoist Ways to Transform Stress into Vitality, pp.40-58; and Awaken Healing Light of the Tao, pp.88-103. For more detail, and also to see how this meditation relates to other, more advanced, techniques, consult these books.
Smile, Kathie :)
Like this post? You might also like:
Meditation is a Must Only 8 Minutes Per Day!
All Kathie’s Life Coaching Posts Click Here!
photo/flickr.com/optikal
I have found a new piece of cardio equipment and I am in love! The Precor AMT 100i Elliptical. This is my new favorite in the gym. This is a cross between an elliptical trainer and a stair master. There is absolutely no impact on the joints. You can combine upper and lower body work outs for a maximum cardio, calorie burning exercise exerperience.
The top features of this equipment are:
- Precor claims it is the most AMAZING piece of cardio equipment ever. I happen to agree!
- User defined motion, the machine adapts to your movement. You get a different workout every single time.
Precor Elliptical Review
A new Precor elliptical machine favorite is the Precor AMT 100i Elliptical. It is considered the ultimate Precor experience. Unlike past Precor machines, the Precor AMT 100i is the perfect Precor elliptical machine. It provides a stride between “0-27” and can adapt to each user’s stride preference. Instead of having to use a stepper to gain the climbing experience, the user can mix and match stepping and striding all in one machine. The Precor AMT 100i allows running, walking, climbing all in one machine with several intensity preferences.
With the dual action arms of the Precor AMT 100i Elliptical, the user is able to have a total body workout without having to use another machine. The dual action arms allow the usage of the upper and lower body muscles to interact with one another to create a real life running, walking and climbing experience. The Precor AMT 100i Elliptical is the perfect Precor elliptical machine that is also across trainer that combines three workouts into one machine and allows you to combine both cardio and strength training. With the Precor AMT 100i Elliptical, the user can also get a crash course in learning their body muscles and how they respond to different movements with the stride dual capability.
Precor 100 AMT Elliptical Features:
- Adaptive Motion: Freedom of choice. This is what makes the AMT so unique. By allowing you to alter your motion at the slightest whim of your imagination, no two workouts have to feel the same. This keeps your mind engaged and your body torn between wanting to experiment with new movements and needing a second to catch your breath.
- Stride Dial: Evolve each of your workouts with the knowledge that every time you observe the AMT’s stride dial you’ll be getting a crash course in learning about the muscles of your body and how they respond to different movements.
I have to admit, this is my favorite workout!! But I will stick to the gym for getting this work out because this equipment’s price is a good $7k! Yikes!! But if you have it shell out then by all means buy it by clicking on the link below. I thank you!! Kathie
Product Review: Sof Sole – The Sole of Performance
It is a fact! The insole of your shoe wears out before your shoe. You do not need to replace your shoe but you do need to replace your insole often. And I have found the perfect insole replacement! It is from a company called SofSole.
SofSole is a company that knows the foot!! They sell everything from insoles to socks. This company sent me soles and socks to try and here is my product review. I can tell you this; I am SOLD on their products. AMAZING is the word I use to describe them!
First of all, let me describe the socks. Wow! These socks were so soft. I wear them all the time. As a Fitness Trainer I wear sock often and I consider myself an expert on socks. Heck, I am an expert on fitness apparel in general seeing how fitness gear is my main attire! These socks provide a comfort beyond belief. They provide support and even a breathing comfort. They were cool, even in Houston’s scorching heat!
The socks SofSole sent me to try were called the Anti-Friction socks. Here is what SofSole says about the sock: “The Anti-Friction sock is designed to inherently limit motion of the sock on the foot. Selective bottom cushioning feels like a cushion sock with the low profile design of a sock liner. Integrated arch support and seamless toes make the Anti-Friction the most comfortable sock ever.” Yes it is! I say!
Now for the insole! Be sure to replace your insole frequently. This is so important! I cannot stress this enough. And if you are going to replace your insole you might as well use a great replacement! The insole SofSole sent me to try was called The Athlete Sole. Here is what SofSole says about the insole:
Maximum Cushioning for High-Impact Activities
- Gel heel and forefoot protection
- Hydrologix™ moisture management system
- Max cushioning
- Medium arch
SofSole has two other soles to choose from: The Airr and the Arch. One gives more air and comfort to the foot and the other gives more arch support.
There are many other products to choose from at SofSole, insoles, sock, shoe care and more. Please visit www.sofsole.com today for more information on their great products!! Happy Feet and Happy Training, Kathie
I love this recipe and fix it probably once a week. It is super easy!!
Prep Time: 5 minutes, Ready in 35 minutes, Servings: 4
Ingredients:
- 4 – 4oz filets tilapia
- 2 teaspoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt, or to taste
- 1 lemon sliced or 3 oz of Lemon Juice
- 1 (16 oz) package frozen cauliflower with broccoli and carrots and red pepper
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) Spray with non-stick spray a 9×13 inch baking dish or line it with foil and spray.
- Place the Tilapia fillets in the bottom of the baking dish and dot with butter. Season with Old Bay seasoning and garlic salt. Top each one with a slice or two of lemon or drizzle lemon juice on fish. Arrange the frozen mixed veggies around the fish, and season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Cover the dish and bake for 25 tyo 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until veggies are tender and fish flakes easily with fork.
Easy, low fat, veggie full!! You cannot ask for more!! Kathie
I am constantly preaching “take your vitamins!” Well vitamin supplements are the way to get way your body may be lacking in diet which is so easy to do because of not eating all the right stuff.
I love e-vitamins because they are reasonably price but also because they have customer reviews. These reviews help me make my decisions – quick and easy. Click on the link above and search for your current supplements. You might be pleasantly surprised by not only the price but also the shipping and delivery. It will be at your doorstep in no time. Be sure to click on the link above now! I sure appreciate it! Kathie
For more articles on supplements you might like:
10 signs that your body needs a supplement
Do you really need a Multi-vitamin?
Nature knows when to eat. So do you, you may have lost touch with it. Get in balance starting now.
If you have a bird feeder you know that birds do not eat all day long. There are certain times of day when there are a lot of birds at the feeder and then certain times of day when the feeder has few to no birds at all. This is a fact of nature. Birds, fish, and animals of all kinds are in tune with a certain “clock” that tells them it is time to eat. It has something to do with the moon I am told. But we humans can get in tune with this as well – it is in us too! By the way, if you are a fisherman a wise investment would be a bird feeder. If the birds are eating so are the fish!
This same biological clock that ticks in the birds also ticks in us. You can get in touch with it by meditating. Read my post on meditation by clicking here. Once in tune with this “clock” you will find that you eat for fuel not just for fun. Funny thing when you eat for fuel your body weight balances out and things just fall into place.
See why meditation is so important?
Start obvserving nature more and appreciating the ebb and flow of the world. Relax into it and you will find that your “problems” whether they be getting into shape or eating right will fall right into place where they belong. Just like the birds you’ll be eating right on time!! Kathie
photos/flickr.com/dagnyg
While doing research for my article this month I decided to try something out of the ordinary for myself and begin early morning workouts. Know this is very unusual for me as I love my sleep and I hate waking up in the morning. But I decided to try this one on for size. After reading this article you may decide the same thing.
I can hear my mom now, “There is no way Kathie is getting up at 5am to workout. After all she slept in when she could have gotten up to see the sunrise at Niagara Falls.” She’s right, I would rather sleep than get out of bed at 5am. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the only hard thing is getting out of bed and that only lasts about 5 minutes. Funny thing each day I do this it gets easier and easier. The proof is in the research and here are some of things I learned about am workouts.
#1. Working out early in the morning “jump starts” your metabolism, keeping it elevated for hours sometimes for up to 24 hours! As a result, the early morning exerciser is burning more calories all day long!! I like that, how about you? There is more to like too. Read on….
#2. Studies have shown that exercise significantly increases mental acuity. Mental acuity is keen insight and perception. And this benefit from exercise lasts 4 to 10 hours after your workout ends. I don’t know about you but I can use all the help I can get in the ‘mental acuity’ department.
#3. Working out in the morning energizes you for the day. Not to mention the gratifying feeling of virtue you have knowing you’ve done something disciplined and good for yourself.
#4. When you exercise at or about the same time every morning, especially if you wake up regularly at about the same time, you are regulating your body’s endocrine system and circadian rhythms. Your body learns that you do the same thing just about every day and it begins to prepare for waking and exercise several hours before you actually open your eyes. That is beneficial because:
- Your body is not confused by wildly changing wake up times, which means waking up is much less painful. *Now I like that!
- Hormones prepare your body for exercise by regulating blood pressure, heart rate, blood flow to muscles, etc.
- Your metabolism, along with all the hormones involved in activity begin to elevate while you’re sleeping. As a result, you’ll feel more alert, energized and ready to exercise when you do wake up.
#5. Exercising first thing in the morning is the most foolproof way to ensure that other things don’t take over your fitness commitment, particularly if you have a hectic family life. And who does not have one of those? It is so easy to wimp out in the evening, when we’re tired or faced with such tasks as rustling up dinner or running the kids around town.
#6. Many people feel that morning exercise has a tendency to regulate their appetite for the rest of the day. Not only do they eat less (since activity causes the release of endorphins, which in turn diminishes appetite), they also choose to eat healthier portions of healthier foods.
#7. *And I like this one. People who consistently exercise in the morning find, sometimes to their great surprise, that the appointed time every morning evolves into something they look forward to. Besides the satisfaction of taking care of themselves, they find it is a great time to plan their day, pray, and think more clearly – things most of us do not get to do otherwise.
#8. More than 90% of those who exercise consistently have a morning fitness routine. If you want to exercise on a regular basis, the odds are in your favor if you squeeze your workout into the am.
So, in conclusion I have found, not only in research but also by personal experience, that working out first thing in the morning is a fantastic way to jump start my day and improve my life! Why not take the challenge I offer today and try early morning workouts for a month. See if you notice all the differences listed above. I challenge you as I challenged myself. It really is not all that bad and the benefits outweigh the 5 minute grumbling (which wears off over time) of getting out of bed. Best of all, your workout for the day is done and over with and you can cover your day with a fast metabolism, a clear mind, and a healthy body. What more could you ask for? Start tomorrow!
Sign up for a FREE and very powerful life changing e Course. I guarantee it is powerful and life changing!! I am taking it myself and I have posted some of the class material in my blog. I love this material because it was written a long time ago. Enjoy!
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Meditation is so important in life. This simple sentence is a basic truth. I want a no excuses on including meditation in your daily life. Eight minutes per day is all you need and it will drastically change your life. Everyone has 8 minutes to spare and I am asking you right now to make a contract with yourself to perform mediation 8 minutes per day for the rest of your life. Yes you can permit a day or two off for illness or emergency. But once you start this process you won’t want to miss. I can guarantee you that.
What is mediation? It is a simple process where you go into a quiet place and sit still for 8 minutes. That is it. You will want to deep breathe and focus on your breathing. Yes your mind will wander, even the most enlightened meditators have minds that wander. But this is normal.
Here are three very important things about medition that you must know:
Breathe deeply and focus as much as you can on your breathing.
To truly relax into meditation you will want to breathe deep and slow. Most of us do not even know how to do this. Right now take a very deep breathe, all the way into your belly, hold, now release that breathe. That is a deep, relaxing, meditation breathe.
Two things you can do for the thoughts that jump in to your mind are (these are taken straight from the book - 8 Minute Meditaton by Victor Davich. There is a link to the book at the bottom of this post.
Allow…Allow….Allow…
Just as the first rule of real estate is “location, location, location” the first rule of meditation is “allow, allow, allow.” When you meditate you absolutely must allow everything that arises to arise – and you exclude nothing. This affords you a clear, unobstructed view of the 93 ring circus that is your thinking mind.
When you sit down to meditate you own mind chatter is going to come pouring out. Some thoughts will be pleasant, blissful, and even funny. Others might be depressing, frightening, and horrible. Naturally you will want to stay with the good stuff and push away the bad stuff.
Don’t.
When you meditate, just meditate. Allow every thought, image, and body sensation to “dance its dance.” And you just sit this one out.
Please remember that meditation is not causing your wild displays of mind. The truth is that Roving Mind is always present. The major difference is that, for the first time in your life, you’re noticing it and dealing with it in a brand new, better way.
Catch and Release
Catch and release goes hand in hand with “allow…allow…allow.”
In the world of fly fishing “catch and release” means that after you catch a fish, you unhook it and release it back into the stream. This is exactly what you want to do with every thought , image, and body sensations that you’ll feel compelled to tangle with.
For example, let’s say you are meditating, when out of nowhere, the image of the maniac in the huge SUV who cut you off on the highway last evening pops into your mind. Suddenly, you are fantasizing about how you’d like to get even with the driver – devising punishments that would make the Marquis deSade cringe! Your body becomes increasingly flushed and feverish. You are seething with rage and righteousness.
So what’s going on here?
In catch and release terms, you’ve “hooked” a thought that has now triggered a cascade of other thoughts, images, and body sensations. In a split second your mind has created a drama that permeates every aspect of your being.
Now, let’s turn this scenario again, this time using catch and release. Same image of the jerk in the SUV, same angry thoughts, but now you realize what’s going on. And you say to yourself, “Oh I’ve hooked a thought. I’ll just release it. Which you do, instead of reeling it in, throwing it into your creel, taking it home, scaling it, filletting, frying, and eating it.”
See how much easier – and wonderful – this is? This simple act of thought releasing is your ticket to freedom – the freedom NOT to engage. Keep doing this, and allow it to lead you to deeper states of awareness, clarity, and peace in everything you do.
Anglers tell tales about “the one that got away.” In meditation, that’s not something we regret, but applaud.
Click on the link below to learn more about the book and to buy it now! Thank you for your business. Happy meditating!!! -Kathie
