Thursday, September 24, 2009

Why Jillian Michaels Is The Biggest Winner: Day 207

Evolution Three – Week Four

Thursday, September 24, 2009



Hello Folks,




One of my favorite Female Personal Trainers is Jillian Michaels from the show The Biggest Loser.


Who is Jillian Michaels?:


  • Personal Trainer on Biggest Loser
  • Owns her own company called Waterfront Media, Inc.
  • Past history of being overweight as teenager
  • Black belt in Karate
  • Most successful trainer on Biggest Loser
  • Wrote Master Your Metabolism and Winning By Losing
  • Has workout DVD called Banish Fat Boost Metabolism and 30 Day Shred, No More Trouble Zones

Why Is She The Biggest Winner?:


  • She believes whole heartedly that her clients will succeed; and it affects their belief system
  • She is really tough on her clients and doesn't let them get away with anything
  • She genuinely cares about her clients and their success
  • She is a living example of overcoming obstacles, especially weight
  • She is compassionate and understanding at the right times
  • She is not afraid to show herself, whether crying or getting angry, on TV
  • She understands the psychology behind weight loss and uses it on her clients
  • She doesn't ask anyone to do anything she wouldn't or couldn't do
  • She exudes confidence
  • She knows how to listen and hear her clients
  • She loves what she does
  • She practices what she preaches

What makes her so successful is that she has been in the shoes of her clients, at one point she weighed 175 pounds and she is only 5 feet 2 inches tall.



Here is a clip of her talking about why she loves what she does. I highly recommend checking this clip out, because she basically talks about marrying her values with her life's work and she is so passionate about it that it is inspiring.



Here is the clip...






Until next time…


Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up


Dakota



Today’s Mantra:


"The past does not define, You the present does."




"A bad day for ego is a great day for your soul."




~Jillian Michaels

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Where Did Fasting Come From?:Part 2:Day 206

Evolution Three – Week Four


Wednesday, September 23, 2009






Hello Folks,


In my last post I talked a little bit about the definition of fasting and what the benefits of fasting might be, but now I want to get into where fasting came from.


You can check out my first article called Fasting And All Of The Facets Part 1: Day 205 by CLICKING HERE.

Here are my reflections on fasting:



  • It may not have been a choice for our ancestors, no food means fasting must happen
  • Because of forced fasting due to lack of food, it became a ritual during certain seasons; perhaps when food sources were low due to weather changes during the season
  • Our ancestors noticed that when they were sick they lost their appetite and healed from the ailment much faster
  • Our ancestors noticed some spiritual experiences resulting from long periods of fasting and decided it had spiritual value
  • Our ancestors saw that if they fasted to make a statement about some injustice people responded with honoring their requests

The Top Five Reasons For Fasting Historically:



Spiritual Practice:



"Fasting will bring spiritual rebirth to those of you who cleanse and purify your bodies. The light of the world will illuminate within you when you fast and purify yourself. What the eyes are for the outer world, fasts are for the inner." ~Mahatma Gandhi, 1869 - 1948


Healing purposes:


"Historical records tell us that fasting has been used for health recovery for thousands of years. Hippocrates, Socrates, and Plato all recommended fasting for health recovery." ~by Dr. Ben Kim (CLICK HERE for more)



Chinese medicine recommends fasting for better health



Political:



Hunger strikes are a common way for non-violent protesters to get what they want or make a statement



Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi both adopted this practice with success.



Weight loss:



Fasting for weight loss is extremely common, but there is a fine line between starving yourself and cleansing yourself. Some of those who take it to extremes find themselves anorexic.



Religious practice:



Any religion you look at whether it is Christianity, Buddhism, Judism, Hinduism, Jainism, Muslim...etc. ..have fasting as part of some religious practice



"When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that you do not appear to others to be fasting, but to your Father, who is in the secret place; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly."--Jesus Christ, c. 8-4 B.C.-29? A.D.



"She or he who does good of her or his own accord shall be rewarded, but to fast is better for you, if you but knew it."--Mohammed, 570?-632 A.D.



"The biggest problem facing the world today is not people dying in the streets of Calcutta, and not inflation, but spiritual deprivation. . .this feeling of emptiness associated with feeling separate from God, and from all our sisters and brothers on planet Earth."--Mother Teresa, 1979 Nobel Peace laureate



"The Buddha's spiritual awakening is directly related to fasting, but from the reverse. That is to say, only after the Buddha stopped fasting did he realize his mahabodhi, or great awakening." found in Urban Darmha...CLICK HERE



I am personally a big advocate for fasting. I used to fast seasonally, whereby I would do a 3-7 day fast in the fall and the spring. I would either do the lemonade fast or a water only fast or carrot juice only or juice only fast.



My favorite fast so far was the carrot juice only fast.



As some of you may know I have been trying Brad Pilons intermittant fasting that he explains in his 90 page book called Eat Stop Eat. He suggests fasting once or twice a week for 24 hours drinking only water.



Check out this clip with Gandhi...






Until next time…



Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up



Dakota



Today’s Mantra:



Fasting is important, more important perhaps, than many of us have supposed,... when exercised with a pure heart and a right motive, fasting may provide us with a key to unlock doors where other keys have failed; a window opening up new horizons in the unseen world; a spiritual weapon of God's provision, mighty, to the pulling down of strongholds.


- Arthur Wallis

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Fasting And All Of The Facets Part 1: Day 205

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Evolution Three – Week Four




Hello Folks,

Since I am following the Eat Stop Eat program by Brad Pilon I thought I would address a few questions or thoughts around fasting...

What does it mean to fast?

  • Abstain or "firmly withhold from food"
  • Done as spiritual, health or political practice
  • Drink only water for a period of time
  • Body stores used to sustain body during fast
  • Differing from starving the body, in that, body reserves are not depleted causing tissue to be used for energy
  • Done willingly
  • Could last for long stretches or short stints
  • Complete fast includes abstaining from liquid and food
  • Medically speaking 8 - 12 hours without food is fasting
  • Break from digestion
How can we heal from fasting?

  • Reducing amount of energy needed to digest gives body more energy for healing purposes
  • Gives body break from toxic processed food
  • Immune system can deal with healing when not used to deal with toxic food
  • Cleanses entire digestive system naturally
  • Excellent for curing digestive disorders
  • Helps metabolism, which may be normally dealing with too much food
  • Helps prevent chances of getting cancer, diabetes, insulin resistance, immune dissorders and cardiovascular disease
  • Increases life span and slows down aging
  • Fasting more than 30 days risky
This information was found in Wikipedia, The Nation and Raw Food Explained

I have done all kinds of fasts over the years. My first fast was the Master Cleanse or Lemonade Diet. I did it for eight days.

I exercised the entire time I was doing the cleanse with no problem. It is a very simple program with generally good results.

Here were my results...


The Up Side:

  • Lost 8 pounds (could be some water weight or muscle too)
  • Skin very soft and clear
  • Eye's clearer
  • Felt really good/ energized
  • Made me want to do it again
The Down Side:

  • Difficult without support
  • Teeth feel gritty entire time
  • Lemonade gets old fast
  • Fantasized way too much about food
  • Hard to come off with out eating some junk
  • Had acid reflux when I ate a little peanut butter after fast
Recommendations for fasting:

  • Make sure you are the kind of person who can deal with it
  • Plan a come off diet when you are done fasting
  • Be prepared to watch things come out of your body that you didn't think were there
  • Be careful not to overeat when you return to your regular diet
  • Better to do intermittant fasting than long fasts, easier on the body
Here is a video by the fasting expert Brad Pilon:









Until next time…

Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up

Dakota

Today’s Mantra: Don't turn fasting into a chore, it should be simple and easy


~Brad Pilon

Monday, September 21, 2009

Spiral Vortexes, Exercise For The Soul, And Five Tibetan Rites: Day 204

Evolution Three – Week Four


Monday, September 21, 2009



Hello Folks,



One of my favorite topics is how to incorporate spiritual practice with exercise. I found this interesting form of Yoga that is called the Five Tibetan Rites. It is made of a series of exercises that are pretty yoga like. The exercises are supposedly over 2500 years old. In the book The Eye of Revelation, by Peter Kelder, he claims to have met a colonal who told him about his travels and learning of the Five Tibetan Rites.



The book is a 32 page book mostly based on conversations he had with the colonal.



To look at a few pages from the book CLICK HERE



The Rites are considered a form of yoga similar to ones you might find in India. The Tibetans emphasized a continuous sequence of movements similar to Taoist Tai Chi, but starkly different from the yogic static postures of today.



There is some question as to whether Tibetans consider them as being authentic Tibetan practices.



Kelder claims that the colonal met some lamas who had said they found the fountain of youth in the Five Tibetan Rites.



The lamas believe there are seven spinning psychic vortexes in the body. When we get older, the vortexes spin less, which results in poor health.



When anyone does the Five Rites every day their vortexes can be restored, which results in very positive outcomes.



It is thought that the Five Rites might be from the Kum Nye system.



Doing the Five Rites for ten minutes every day can improve eyesight, memory, restore natural hair color from grey, hair growth and more.



Some other benefits include:



  • Reduces double chin

  • Belly becomes slender

  • Strengthen arms

  • Energetic

  • Increased muscle tone

The following is what researchers say the five Tibetans do for the body:



  • Stimulate the reticular activating system of the brain.

  • Balance the right and left hemispheres of the brain, which means you think more clearly. (You should definitely do the Tibetans before an exam or an important presentation!)

  • Balance the body's hormonal system.

  • Strengthen bones, as the exercises are weight-bearing.

  • Improve the body's immune system.

  • Build muscle strength.

  • Reduce body-fat percentage.

  • Boost metabolism.

  • Align and strengthen the spine, plus make it more supple.

  • Lighten menopausal symptoms.

  • Lessen premenstrual symptoms.

  • Help relieve the discomfort of arthritis and other aches and pains.





These benefits almost sound exactly like what Taoist Tai Chi can do for the body...only it takes one hundred and eight moves instead of five. Hmmm.



Here is a long 13 minute video on the Five Tibetan Rites. I think this particular video has an emphasis on breath, form and timing. It is very well done. It looks easier than yoga; for those of you that don’t care as much for yoga as a form of exercise. Who says slow movement isn’t exercise.



It has a spiritual quality that is undeniable, too.












Does it make you want go out and get a yoga matt and try it?



Until next time…



Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up



Dakota



Today’s Mantra:



This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples: no need for complicated philosphy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple: the philosophy is kindness."



~Dalai Lama

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Arnel Ricafranca's Motivating Videos: Day 203

Evolution Three – week Three

Sunday, September 20, 2009




Hello Folks,

You have to check out this four minute workout by Arnel Ricafranca. He recently had his youtube channel blocked. He has his own website and was really bummed when his youtube videos got blocked. Since the incident he has been posting new youtube videos almost every day.

I think the quality of his videos are much better now than they were before, although I wonder if he will get booted again because of music copyright...we shall see... here are a couple of his videos..

This is the four minute video...





This guy uploaded 34 videos in 2weeks...if that isn't motivation I don't know what is....I think this is how he makes a living...or he has a lot of free time on his hands..

Here is a video posted by Arnel that has only been on-line for 2 weeks and has already had 20000 views---He also has a social network called ARNEL.TV...CLICK HERE to check out Arnel.TV







Until next time…

Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up

Dakota

Today’s Mantra: Sometimes the worst mistakes become the best inventions

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Exercise vs. Diet: Day 202

Evolution Three – week Three

Saturday, September 19, 2009










I think pretty soon I will be shifting gears and posting my pics once a week and not every day.



Here is a clip I like. I Don' have much time today so I will keep it short again. This is a talk done by Brad Pilon who wrote the book EatStopEat...







I think he is talking about the middle way with both exercise and diet. It is no doubt that most of us eat more calories than necessary...but sometimes more is less....right...we eat more because a lot of foods today that aren't filling tend to have more calories, like cake. He has a good point about striking a balance with food and exercise and not over doing either one of those things.



I would argue that he talks a lot about food and not so much about calories. We could definitely eat more food if we eat healthy food and stay away from high calorie food.



Or if we want to eat high calorie food, eat smaller portions...



so the basic idea is...



  • eat more quantities of healthy food



  • eat smaller portions of higher calorie (unhealthy) food



Exercise: bike 30 minutes, turbulance training, ankle stretches (it never ends)



Menu: Protein and veggies







Until next time…



Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up



Dakota



Today’s Mantra: We are the ones we have been waiting for.



~Barak Obama

Friday, September 18, 2009

Quick Note: Days 200 and 201

Evolution Three – week Three


Friday, September 18, 2009








Hello Folks,



It has been a long week. I am going to post my pics from yesterday and today and call it a night. And I will leave you with a quote...







Do just once what others say you can't do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again.



James R. Cook









Exercise: bike 30 minutes, turbulance training



Menu: Protein and veggies







Until next time…



Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up



Dakota



Today’s Mantra:
My advice is to go into something and stay with it until you like it. You can't like it until you obtain expertise in that work. And once you are an expert, it's a pleasure.






Milton Garland