Thumbtack Listing

Still listed in 1st place, as an Elite Trainer!

http://www.thumbtack.com/ma/springfield/personal-trainer/?utm_source=recurring_mailer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=one1&utm_content=20110812&ers=26645709494585599753902922136787741588&_c=MTsyMzAyOTI3O6oIevb.4DuuTxZCpFy5ex0J3Mv5#sort=rating&hilite=YRw12hVig8TNGw

Meditation and Kids

I think children can benefit greatly from meditation too. It isn't really the complicated mystical experience some make it out to be. I think kids "get it" as most of them are naturally intuitive.

This is how I taught my kids to meditate. "Close your eyes, be still and quiet. Pay attention to how many sounds you can hear. Now stretch your hearing as far as it can go, notice each sound without feeling anything about it, and keep trying to hear further and further away from you."

Just Checkin' In

Feels like summer is about half over, just wanted to check in and let everyone know what I'm up to. I developed an inguinal hernia in the spring. (It's the same type of hernia Muhammad Ali had, so you can't call me a wuss.) I had hernia removal surgery last Monday, experienced some minor complications and ended up staying overnight at the hospital. I'm all patched up now, and starting to ween off the pain medication. Of course, the healing process is a slow one, but I'm confident that the high intensity power lifting I did over the last couple months will make my recovery a fairly quick and easy process.

The doctors orders are that I'm not to do any heavy lifting for the next 6 weeks, and I can't lift anything over 5 lbs. for 3 weeks! That was a big shocker to hear. However, I'm planning on making the most of my recovery. I'm catching up on some reading, and I'm really curious to see if muscular atrophy sets in. As well as how long my muscles continue to grow from my last workout. And if atrophy does start to set in, I'd like to see if I can halt or decrease its effects through visualization. That should be an interesting little experiment.

I'm not actively seeking new clients right now, but, please do write or call me if I can be of any assistance whatsoever. I never charge for advice, because I find the oversaturation of misinformation offensive. It's criminal the way fitness professionals have overcomplicated the health and fitness industry. I think there is way too much soul-less moneymaking going on, and not enough (as Bill Phillips calls it) "making yourself stronger, by lifting up others."

I'll leave you today with one of my favorite chapters from the Tao Te Ching, and a picture of my favorite client, my 6 year old. Thanks for your support.




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Men are born soft and supple;
dead, they are stiff and hard.
Plants are born tender and pliant;
dead, they are brittle and dry.

Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible
is a disciple of death.
Whoever is soft and yielding
is a disciple of life.

The hard and stiff will be broken.
The soft and supple will prevail.
-Tao Te Ching, chapter 76 (Stephen Mitchell translation)