Where do you see yourself in 5 years?  How do you picture your life?  How do you feel about where you are right now?  Looking back, is there anything you wish you would've done differently?  Any regrets?  Any unfulfilled dreams?  Have you lived the desires of your heart?  Or have you denied your dreams and passions? 

At 41, if there's one thing I've learned, it's that life is there for us to live to the fullest, and the key is to listen to our heart.  But too often we live in our head instead.  Here's the difference:  the mind is the perceiver; it only knows the information gathered by what it sees with our physical eyes, what we hear, touch, smell, and taste, but also what we've been taught. And the heart?  Ah, the heart… the heart is tapped into a realm so much bigger and beyond the physical world.  The heart connects us to the greater consciousness (pulse) of life.  While the mind perceives with limited information, the heart is connected to the infinite wisdom and knowledge of the Universe.  Our heart knows who we are and why we're here:  our life purpose.  And we all have a purpose.  If you don't know what yours is, quiet your mind and listen to your heart.

February's National Heart Month.  May you live your life healthy, happy and alive!  It's the way of the heart!

Congratulations to Lisa's cousin, Dan Brisse, for winning a gold medal this past weekend at the X Games!  To read more about Dan, check out Lisa's blog!

Lisa Brisse & State of the Heart Fitness

For more thoughts from Lisa, check out her blog at: www.stateoftheheartfitness.com/blog

In all of my years of working as a physiologist, helping people to make healthy lifestyle choices, the thing that stands out most, is how disconnected people are from their bodies.  I will never forget one of the first clients I had when I worked at the Pritikin Longevity Center. She was an artist, maybe in her late 60's, and though she was there mainly as support to her husband who had heart disease, she soon realized how "out of touch" she was with her own body.  I remember showing her a simple abdominal exercise and as I was instructing her to lift her shoulder blades up off the floor while using her abs (her arms crossed over her chest), all of sudden she looked at me with a puzzled look and said, "I have no idea how to do that…  how to get those muscles to do that movement." 

I thought to myself, how can you not know how to use your abs? Being physically active my whole life, I was always very aware of my body, so I was puzzled. But now having been in this field for as long as I have, I can say that MOST people have very little body awareness. This is a direct effect of our technological, sedentary way of life. No longer do we need to rely on our bodies to grow our own food, to farm the fields, to handle the livestock, to cut the wood to stoke the stove, or to even walk to town. Everything is practically done for us, while we, as a society, just sit. What we don't use, we lose.

Why is it important to have body awareness?  Because it allows us:

• To keep proper posture & biomechanics
• To maintain balance (a huge issue when we get older & lose muscle tissue from lack of exercise)
• To stay injury free - when we don't feel our body, we push too much & get injured or sick
• To make our exercise and workouts MUCH more effective, so we can actually get MORE benefit from LESS effort
• To NOT overeat:  When we are tuned into our body, we can feel our hunger cues and know when to stop
• To know what our body needs to maintain optimal health & balance in ALL moments:  exercise, nutritious foods, sleep, water, etc.
• To consciously relieve tension in our muscles
• To be more present & feel more alive at all times!
• To honor our body & be grateful for all that it does!

In short, your body is your connection to life. When we are tune with it, the more alive we feel.  Your body's your gift, so don't miss out!

If you've ever had your back "go out" you know it's not fun.  Nothing makes you appreciate what your back does for you every day until it goes on strike!  Statistics show that 80% of the population suffers from back pain at some point in their life.   Yet, one way to avoid pain and keep our backs healthy is to practice body awareness and good posture - consciously lengthening the spine while  standing and sitting, retracting your shoulder blades slightly as you shift your shoulders down and back, being aware and engaging your abdominals to keep a neutral spine.   If you consistently do so, you are on your way toward building a better back.  But of course, the key is awareness.  Sitting the majority of the day makes the muscles of your body lazy.  However through conscious awareness, posture can be improved easily, but must be practiced on a day-to-day, moment-to-moment basis.

In addition to proper posture, another way to keep your back healthy is to exercise your core muscles (the muscles of your abdomen and low back that support your spine and affect posture).  Here are some simple exercises to help:

Superman:  Lie face down with legs and arms resting on the ground.  Slowly lift your right arm and left leg just a few inches off the floor.  Hold for 10 seconds while breathing, then return to your starting position.  Repeat using the opposite arm and leg.

Plank:  This particular exercise uses your core muscles to stabilize your body.  With your elbows directly underneath your shoulders, and your toes curled under, lift your body off the floor so it is parallel with the ground.  Hold for 10 seconds while breathing.  If you feel this in your lower back, lift your hips up a little higher.  Repeat 3x.

Back Bridge:  With your feet on the floor, knees aligned with your hips and arms on the floor, lift your lower back and hips up, bridging your back.  Breathe and hold it for 10 seconds.  Repeat 3x. 

To build a better back, make periodic posture checks throughout your day, while incorporating these strengthening exercises into your routine several times a week.  These simple things, done with consistency over time will not only build a new and healthy habit, but will also build a better and healthy back!

-- Children laugh approximately 300 times a day, where the typical adult laughs less than 10 times per day? Laughter is a known stress reliever, find ways to add humor and joy to your life.

-- If you are interested in losing weight, always serve your food on a plate or bowl so you can see how much you are eating. Studies have shown that people who eat from a bag, box or bucket eat 40-50% more than if they put their food on a dish.

-- Research has shown that people who wrote down everything they ate discovered they had underestimated their daily calorie intake by 1,050 calories. That could add up to gaining a pound every 3½ days.

-- Research has shown that people who wear a pedometer and have a daily goal of walking 10,000 steps, walk an average of a mile longer each day.

Join the HEARTRUNNERS this Sunday for...
REDONDO BEACH SUPER BOWL 5K/10K
Sunday, February 6, 2011   7:30 AM
Redondo Beach

Register at:
http://www.redondo10k.com/registration

Email or call us at 310.899.4046 for more info!

Come have FUN in the next
HEARTRUNNERS
Training Program (12 weeks) starts
Saturday, February 19

9:45-10:45 Saturdays

Cost:
$150 - New Members
$130 - Returnees
$15 Drop-In
Come try a session for FREE! 

Check out the latest FUN happenings
of the Heartrunners on YouTube

Email or call us at 310.899.4046 for more info!

Let's   S-T-R-E-T-C-H   Together!
Bring your spouse, partner, or friend! 

Partner Stretch Class
Friday, February 18th
4:30-5:30 pm
$25 per 2 people
Note:  Don't have someone to join you?  Come anyway! 
($15 single)

Class has limited spots!
Email or call us at 310.899.4046 to RSVP by Thursday, February 17th

Call 310.899.4046 or E-mail
to sign up for any of our activities!

See out archived Newsletters HERE

To unsubscribe to this Newsletter just reply to this e-mail with "remove" in the subject line.

State of the Heart Fitness, P.O. Box 7013 Santa Monica, CA 90406
T: (310) 842-5657     info@stateoftheheartfitness.com      www.stateoftheheartfitness.com

copyright © 2010  - State of the Heart Fitness