Patience

With living in a different area and trying to take on a different lifestyle I have begun to realize many things about myself. Some of them positive but many of them negative that I did not even realize. One major aspect of my personality that I need to change and I feel is changing already is my patience. I did not know how impatient I was or quick to anger I was. I know it sounds hard not to realize this but when you are used to doing it or programmed to react in such a way that you can't even see it. As it was mention before I have become interested in Buddhism and my husband and I are joining a Buddhist Temple. We went to our first service last Sunday and we cannot wait for our next service tomorrow! This experience has really woken us up and has driven us to make many changes to our lives and personalities. I can tell already that normal situations that would knock me for a loop normally do not anymore. I don't have that tightness in my stomach, the sweaty palms, the lack of sleep are all gone! I have been reading the book Introduction to Buddhism and doing a lot more meditation and that has been doing wonders! My nerves do not feel so fried I don't feel so on edge and I think slowly but surely my patience is getting greater and greater. Now I am not expecting this miraculous transformation over night but I can tell a difference already and the anxiety levels are way down if not gone! I know I have just begun this journey but I really like where it is taking me.

Another bad habit I have/had (and I hate admitting this) is hanging on to the past. I have, like so many others, have been done wrong by people and I hang on to it. When they try to come back around as my friend or contact me after a stretch of time I immediately would react! "where does she get off calling me?" "Why does she want to meet up?" Getting angry and not responding to the outreach. How do I handle this? If I am always available I am telling that person that it is ok to treat me the way they have been treating me and the best way to get the point across that it isn't is to ignore them right? But on the other hand isn't that reacting out of anger? Out of hanging on to the past? This is my struggle that I have to overcome I mean how long can you hang on to something like that? Now I am not gong around telling people how much I hate certain people because I don't hate anybody, I honestly don't that is the worse life energy drainer I can think of, but there are people that I choose to avoid and for good reason. I avoid them because they have become toxic and it's best for me not to have any toxic individuals around. I am not sure if I am handling this right but I am on the journey to finding out. I have made it a goal of mine to let go of the past because it is dead and gone. What kind of life are you leading where you are still angry about things or holding grudges against people that have hurt you in someway a long time ago? I want to be happy, healthy and blessed and I want others to feel the same joy. I can imagine it is an indescribable joy and I can't wait to share this with you...

Buddhism

It has been a while since I have written. Things have been so busy with work and other things and the biggest thing I have been busy with is getting back on a religious and faith path. I am not going to sit here and preach or tell you or anybody how they should worship or who they should worship. My opinion on that is whatever speaks to you that is a healthy and righteous way of living and getting close to God. My husband and I have been interested in Buddhism and researched it for years. I was always interested in why they do what they do and was always so fascinated on how serene they are and always spoke of peace and love. It sounds like they are a band of hippies that formed a religion but this has been around for thousands of years and it is now making its way to the western U.S. I am glad that my husband and I were touched by this and we can go on this journey together. Never once were we concerned about what people would think or have to say. The one thing that people should not do is judge, that is the job of God or Buddha and not humans. I believe that converting to this religious faith will help me with some harsh opinions I may have towards others, swearing and unfortunately gossiping. I really didn't realize how much or how easily I could get sucked into this until I became very aware of my habit of gossiping. I am not proud of it at the least and I really want to learn how to over come this and to stop! It's such a waste of valuable brain power and of our precious lives. I really want to stop this and have a closer and more meaningful relationship with God.

For almost ten years now I have not been to church. When Bill and I first met we had visited one church for a while but then we would fall off. We would go to Sunday service then quit, Wednesday night service then quit then I would try and go to church with my friend Sara but that only happened once. I really don't know why I would fall off everytime but I would. I guess it just didn't speak to me and I guess I really didn't agree with the fire and brimstone and such a focus on money. Everyweek when I would attend church as a little girl there was such a heavy focus on money, how much you should give and those who are not giving are sinning and doing something wrong against God. If that wasn't bad enough it was the whole "you are sinners and are doomed to hell" No matter what we do we are doomed and we will never become close to God unless you did these certain steps. Don't get me wrong I love the Lord and I know he loves me. We have a close relationship and He has seen me through so many things, including when I was abusing drugs and alcohol. It is only because of Him I am alive today. The issue I have is organized religion. Again I am not here to spew hate or to preach, I am just thinking out loud.. Every sunday I would come home in fear! I mean just imagine how scared I was as a kid hearing that I would go to hell or somewhere I didn't want to be because I had committed some sin when I was born, I didn't even do anything! I knew as young as 6 that this was wrong and I really didn't like it or agree with it. God would not want us to be in fear ever, he would want us to take comfort in him and that's it. Also I had a parent that was so dogmatic about having her kids in church every sunday and being so involved with the church. To be blunt (and God forgive me for saying this) I did not want to do any of that! Well I take that back, I really didn't mind being an usher because a lot of my friends in the church were ushers too so that was a way we could see each other. Being in the choir and going to bible study every week wasn't my cup of tea also. Now this may be something as I was young and I guess a lot of young kids do not like being in church everyday. What I'm trying to say is it didn't really connect with me and I really couldn't put my finger on it for years. I always believed, had a good relationship with God and felt good about it. What was being preached to me was if I didn't do a million things in the church I was slapping God in the face, huh?

Moving to Colorado I knew that I wanted to get back in the church and have that tradition again, but what church? I guess you could say I am a disillusioned Baptist (I hope I don't get punished for that) I know a lot of questioning catholics so I guess that's human nature too right? We have inquiring minds by nature so that makes me feel better.. It was time for us to get back with God and to get involved but this time not because we are being guilted into it but because we want to by our own will. Some weeks after we had moved here we began looking at churches and then we decided that since we are interested in Buddhism and it seemed to speak to us so we sought out the local Buddhist temple. We finally found one that was in Denver called the Tri State Denver Buddhist Temple. It was on a Saturday that we had decided to peek our heads in on that one and other Buddhist Temples to see what one we wanted to visit the next for our first Sunday service. A couple we saw didn't really seem like the traditional Buddhism we wanted to practice but they seemed like really nice temples. Finally we got around to visiting the Denver Buddhist temple in hopes of talking to someone but unfortunately we visited it when they were having a funeral, our luck huh? So we just said let's suck it up and go on Sunday a little early and ask questions then.

We got there at 9 and good thing we left early because the snow was really coming down on Sunday morning. We walked up and for some reason I was so nervous! Would they accept us? Would we understand the service? Is the whole congregation going to stare at us? Thankfully I was so wrong! The first person we met there was so eager to answer our questions and was very helpful! He let us know that they are trying to make the temple more progressive and make anyone of any race or culture welcome and not to be nervous about joining a church with different cultural traditions. He showed us the service book, what we should do during and after service and also we would learn by watching others. Man I loved it there! We felt so welcome the service book showed you how to follow along with the chants and songs and the message that the sensei delivered was so short but so right on and it was really something you can take home and try to live by. That really resonated with me more than fear based services. There was no guilt, if you want to help you can and just the welcoming atmosphere. With being in that kind of environment that made me want to volunteer my time and to give monetarily.

I am really excited to be sharing this new experience and I am anxious to see how our lives will change and our personalities. I can already see how it can make you more patient and you really watch what you say about others and also what you think. Having good and pure thoughts is the best way to lead your life. You are not bogged down by negative energy because in the end all the gossping, back biting and negative thoughts will come back to you and take away your quality of life. Enjoy living! Your life is very precious and a gift and it should be treated as such...

Thanksgiving

Well it has been a couple days since I have blogged but the work scene has been hectic and getting ready for Turkey day was crazy too. Yesterday was the first Thanksgiving I spent with my bro in years! It was great being around him for a holiday and just to see his face. My niece Eden was there, Charmaine, Dave, Charlon and Mia. It was awesome seeing Mia too I haven't seen her in years, maybe since Eden was born! So it has been a long while since she and I have connected. During the day yesterday my hubby and I were pretty lazy and really just watched tv. I did pilates in the afternoon after we ate and took a shower but that is how productive I was all day. Today I have been just as lazy, my hubby has an appointment this afternoon but that is all he has to do today then it's a four day weekend! I am going to workout of course because I really have to work off those calories I ate yesterday! man it was worth it, that food tasted so good and a lot of what we ate I haven't had in so long because I just don't eat that crap anymore and to be honest I don't miss it! Anyway back to the turkey day... So it was great seeing my bro and when Bill and I walked into Jason and Charlon's home it was great being greeted by him! It seemed to me that he was really relieved to have some of his family around for the holidays. I know that can be hard being on the other side of the country and not being able to be home with your side of the family especially around the holidays so I am glad that we are going to be in the same state and now we can see each other more often, finally. This is what Thanksgiving means to me, being around family, being around good friends and being thankful for that. This also makes me think that God made sure that Jay and I live in the same state. So he can have some of his famiy around and that won't be so lonely for him. I am excited to have my niece closer to us also.

So man the food was great! There was macaroni and cheese, butternut squash soup, turkey, rolls, cranberry sauce man I was in heaven! This makes working out so worth it because when this time of year comes around I feel no guilt in spending the calories! Then the desserts were crazy! We had sugar cookies, apple pie, cheesecakes galore! When my niece saw those sugar cookies her eyes lit up! It was great to see how she was enjoying her family and Turkey day. Anytime I can spend with her is a joy and being closer to her is such a gift. Other than the awesome food we need to take the time to be thankful all the time! Not just around thanksgiving and christmas and then forget about it every other day of the year of course this time can really put it on your mind but I think the real job is to keep this in mind all the time and be thankful for what you have and not think about what you don't have and why. To me this is ungrateful and what you need will come to you when you need it and when it's time. I am trying to really keep in mind the "holiday mentality" all the time and just be thankful. Being around my bro and his family makes me thankful for his family and that they are apart of my life. Even though your family may not do or say what you want when you want they are in your life for a reason and just be thankful for that, it could be worse! So when we were done eating we visited for a while and watched some tv. Jason and Mia fell asleep which was hilarious but man that turkey has some magical powers in it that makes you so drowsy! Eden was up watching tv with us and enjoying her cookies and it was great! Well we had to take off because my hubby forgot his regular glasses and that makes his night driving pretty difficult. Plus we were pretty tired from eating and being lazy ;-)

Overall it was a great day but of course it was different because we were not in Kalamazoo this year. It was the first time in almost 30 years I haven't spent a holiday with my mother and my aunt. I am sure it's sad for my mom but next year for sure we will be home for one of the holidays either Thanksgiving or Christmas but we haven't decided yet. It was good to talk to people and get my eat on! It was different but change is good....

Turbo Sport!

Man oh man I just had a rockin workout! Another brilliant brain child by Chalene Johnson has rocked my world! For those of you wondering where Turbo jam was born it was her turbo kick/turbo sport workouts! Tonight the class was taught by Jenelle Summers which is Chalene's sister and I loved it! Man it was so intense and a crazy calorie burn. One of the craziest parts of the workout was the ab routine! OMG I didn't think that was going to end! Man that burn is crazy. The routine is kind of long and the first time through when you are feeling good you get kind of cocky and go hard during the routine but the second time through the whole thing is when I got my teeth kicked in! Man I am so sore and I know tomorrow I won't be able to laugh or sit up in bed so that will be great! Being sore (sounds weird) is the best indicator that you have blasted that body part! Now I am not saying if you aren't sore that is something bad, some people just don't get sore! But if you are, you can wear that as a badge of honor! :-) I really do when my abs are sore. That is such a hard part of my body to work and I am never happy with it so when those babies are sore I am so proud and maybe a little cocky.. Just kidding but that shows me that I did a damn good job! But man this workout like other hardcore cardio workouts give me such a high! If anyone is wondering how do I keep going or keep wanting to get those results is because of the natural high I get! You don't need alcohol or drugs, you just need to sweat and you will have the biggest high you will ever want!

So Jenelle totally kicked my butt again and I am forever grateful to her and her sister Chalene, I will never stop singing the praises of those two! My booty is going to hurt so bad it's not even funny! Last night I did legs and back with Mr. Tony Horton of P90X and now tonight was turbo sport that had a KILLER leg section! Man I am going to have buns of steel for sure! :-) all that hard work I want to have an awesome booty to show off! Anyone that does these workouts wil have any body part made of steel! As you can tell I passionate but hey in order to be successful at anything you have to be excited and passionate about it! I really believe that. Well I am off for the night, just wanted to log my daily workout! I am trying to get better about blogging and sharing. Tomorrow is another yoga session which I think is an amazing way to end the week!

Keep it healthy and strong!

Erica

P90X Legs and Back

Man I just got crushed by the P90X Legs and Back routine! As I have stated before this is not my first time with P90X but with this second time around I feel much stronger and I am loving it! The first time I did legs and back again I couldn't walk for a week and I'm not joking either. That was a painful but man you can feel that strength building up so quickly! I have to be honest my fave parts to work in a weight training routine is the arms and legs! I don't now why but I love crushing those body parts! Along with the legs and back I did the abs/core plus which is a part of the P90X+ workout. Yes there is a harder version of P90X and believe me it kicks you in the teeth! I am really looking forward to having a day off or getting some more yoga/pilates in to stretch my body out and to relax me too! Having the two aspects is so amazing for your body. You have to add the stretching (I know I sound like a broken record) in order to avoid injury and honestly just to feel so damn good! :-) I hope people find this blog helpful and inspiring as they are entering or thinking of entering their fitness journey. It is hard to get into sometimes but man how different and strong you feel is awesome! I'm telling you, you will get there someday! I am starting to ramble, back to what I was talking about.. Tony Horton is an intense guy and when I first started working out with him I really underestimated him. I really didn't know how insane he was! I say that with the highest respect of course :-) Man I thought to myself "Who the heck is this guy?"I mean he kills you seriously but with him and any other trainer that is amazing you will get results in no time! With this leg and back routine you will be able to crack walnuts with your booty and crush concrete with your legs. You will seriously get that strong and yes you can do it in 90 days. Many people don't believe me but with P90X and all of the other workouts that Beachbody has they have a eating routine that is no fail! If you stick with the eating and with the workouts you will get the results and energy you are looking for! You can't eat a bunch of junk and then go workout. First of all you wont' have the energy to get through it and no matter how much you train you won't see the fruits of your labor. I can talk about the eating thing in another blog but what I wanted to get across was in order to see your work come through you gotta stick with good eating! You won't regret it!

I am really glad to be back on P90X and of course for cardio I do either Turbo Jam or Turbo Kick. If you are not aware of what this is, you need to get with it! I am kidding of course, but seriously it is the best workouts I have done for cardio ever! I usually hated cardio but the key is in finding something you like and sticking with it! If you ha

ve fun you won't stop and the results will keep coming! I know many people think that I am obsessed with fitness or talk about it to much but as I have said in previous blogs, fitness has turned my life around and now I want to do that for other people. I really want them to see what it can do for you and how different your life and out look can be when you feel good! But anyway, I have one more week of the regular workouts then a recovery week which will be well needed! It will be the first time in a long time that I have done core synergistics and you will know that I will be blogging about that! That is a challenging workout that blasts your core and it's a killer cardio workout! Even though in the re

covery week you aren't pushing any weight you are still getting your butt kicked! It's a break but not really. I guess they tell you that so you don't get scared off lol. I will keep you all posted as this journey continues and for all of you that are in your fitness journey or just starting it, keep going and don't give up! BRING IT!!!

Yoga

Man I had a great yoga session today. The calming principles and of course the fitness principles are amazing! I love the increased flexibility and overall feeling better! Now I know there are some people out there that thing yoga is weird and all you do is breathe and fold yourself into a pretzel and it takes years to attain this level of flexibility. Well I am here to tell you you are wrong! It's a great way to destress, workout and add years to your life! If you are doing something at least once a week that is calming as yoga you have no choice but to live a long and fulfilling life! There are many people that go all out with it, they get into vegetarianism, meditation and other things that are considered aspects of a yogi's life. I have gone without meat for a time and I do meditate to a great meditation CD once in a while. I cannot get over how calming that is and how different I feel! It almost feels like my mind is different or I am a different person. I can also tell when I haven't done this in a while either yoga or meditation. I feel off, stressed out easier and my mood is not that great. I get impatient and unfortunately my husband is the direct victim of this, we work together so if I am stressed out he is the first to hear about it! When this starts to happen he knows right away what the problem is and he tells me to get my butt in there and do some yoga!

I am gong on about this because I want people to realize how beneficial this is and how important it is in any fitness regimine you may have or just to add it to your daily life. People may not always get why flexibility is important but when they are working out and they get injured they will wish that they had done yoga that week! I know a lot of fit people out there that can really perform that are so inflexible it's unbelievable! I can't help but think "how do they walk everyday?" Then the question comes about how do they get more flexible or perform better in their sport. More times than not I hear that adding this or any other flexibility training is a must and it may sound strange but it can help you perform better because your muscles are being stretched out and you have a greater strength potential! A greater strength potential can mean better performance over all!

On those days you don't feel like doing any working out or having a lazy day, stretch! Sometimes if you are tight this can be a workout in itself! This is so beneficial to your body and you want to make sure that your joints are doing good so you can exercise until you are 100! But overall this a great de stressing agent and what may have stressed you out before won't now because you have added something to your life that has been around for thousands of years. Knowing that it has been around this long tells me that yoga is doing something right! You can use your own body to heal itself and prevent sickness and disease from coming into your life. Give yourself a treat and do something for YOU, turn it off and breathe. Namaste..

Back on the P90X Train

Oh man today's workout was a killer! It was the Shoulders and Arms work out with P90X and man Tony Horton is no joke! Yes I have decided to get back on the P90X train. I just love how intense it is, the techniques used in the weight training and honestly how it kicks my butt! I have done plenty of workouts where I get pretty sore but by the next day or two I'm fine. P90X leaves its mark on you for days and I love it! It sounds crazy I know but I think I'm one of those people that just love being sore, never thought something like that would ever come out of my mouth! Believe me when you start getting on the workout routine and you are at the level where you can do some intense work, you will love the soreness. It feels like a badge of honor, that it's proof you have worked hard and you have the pain to prove it!

This isn't my first time with P90X when I first started getting back to being active and taking care of myself this is one of the first workouts I had started with. People thought I was nuts and I thought I was nuts too! But I am an impatient person when it comes to things like that and I knew this workout would be the one to get me in gear fast! When I first started with P90x I thought I would never get through the first workout let alone continue using it! When I first got the package in the mail I had watched every DVD so I knew what I was getting myself into! Of course they make it look easy on every workout but I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was excited and couldn't wait to get started! So the first night after work I pop in the first DVD which is Chest and Back then you do Ab Ripper X afterwards. We get started with the warm up and stretch good first. So I thought cool I'll pace myself and I can get this whipped! OMG was I ever wrong! First off I got too cocky and thought I could still do push ups on my feet. I haven't been able to do those in years! So I sadly had to get on my knees and do the push ups to start. I am very competitive with myself and I wanted to go big right from the jump! But do what you can and what Tony always says "Do your best and forget the rest!" That is so true and I was living by those words! To make a long story short I was absolutely amazed how far I had come three months! I was doing 30 pushups every time I did Chest and Back, crushing the pull ups and feeling so strong! I loved every DVD and what it had to offer! The muscle confusion that you always hear about is so true! I was sore for so long after doing each DVD and that let me know that this workout is serious! This made me that much more excited to get healthy and really pay attention to the changes that were taking place in my body.

I had done other workouts like Hip Hop Abs, Turb Jam, Chalean Extreme and I love all of these! Chalean Extreme is no joke either! It's weight training and not as many reps as P90X or as fast but slower. This sounds easy but it is not! That was so hard and what I got from Chalean Extreme was my forearm strength increased dramatically and my shoulders got incredibly strong! I loved how I felt from that too and my booty looked amazing! J/K but the results are awesome for sure! I had done this program for about 9 or 10 months and I was ready for a change. Not taking away from Chalean Extreme or any other workout but you do need to switch it up after a while and my body was telling me that it was time to make a switch again! I was still dong my cardio and by this time I had discovered Turbo Kick which is another brilliant workout done by Chalene Johnson. Man she knows how to keep you addicted to fitness! When someone is passionate about fitness or any other career that they are in it really shows so Chalene is in the career that God had put forth for her! I was really starting to miss weight training and really getting my butt kicked :-)

So now I am back to P90X! I love it and I am sore as I was when I first started and I love it! Yesterday was Chest and Back and man after all those pullups my back is killing me! My arms are on fire and my abs are quivering! This may sound nuts but I am loving every minute of it! I have lost some of my arm strength that I had gotten from the first time around but after doing other workouts that helped me with my strength I know that will come back in no time! I have a new excitement for this program and I can keep up! That is the best part! The first time around I was practically crying and so mad because I couldn't keep up with the people in the vids. I mean of course they are all in shape and have done the workouts before but I wanted to be like them after the first day! Of course you have to work up to that and the fact that you can do that in 90 days is nothing to sniff at for sure! I am glad to be back on the P90X game and I am going to be sharing this new journey with all of you. Now I am off to recover from this crazy day of shoulders and arms, eat some food and relax! I will be back tomorrow to share my latest yoga experience

Keep it happy, healthy and strong!

Erica