Time to Wake the Hell Up.

Friends--

Please read and sign.

https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

Travel Fitness Fun (written at 35,000 feet for authenticity!)

I have been fortunate enough to travel frequently lately. And while I used to look at trips or "vacays" as a time to throw in the fitness towel and paint the town red from a fitness debauchery standpoint, I have recently decided that I would take my commitment with me and make each travel adventure a fun and totally new fitness experience.

I definitely love to travel. Trains, planes or automobiles--I am in--I have an heightened sense of wanderlust. I like the idea of going somewhere totally new, I love a new city to explore with new people everywhere, I love that feeling that something I have never experienced before is just about to happen.

So instead of travelling with some sort of self-denying and Spartan diet regime I make a point of incorporating amazing local cuisine wherever I happen to be. Instead of worrying that I am missing my classes at home I find new classes to attend. I look for ways to move that aren't traditional exercise. I think about tourist activities as a chance to use the health and fitness I have gained so far--and even increase stamina. I go do it. Walking tours, body surfing, places to go dancing, and even mall and museum walking. It all counts.

Also, like most of us I don't have a spa-lady budget. My chances of blow-out spa weeks are pretty few and far between--but that's okay. I can make my own spa wherever I go.

Here are some of the practical things I do to make each travel opportunity I have a health and fitness one too:

1. Plan where you stay based on amenities. Almost every hotel--even motels--have fitness centers. And even if it's a two star fitness center with three machines, it will do. Full service hotels three stars and above can have very spa-like fitness facilities; check out where you are going on the Internet ahead of time so you know how to plan. You will need workout clothes, shoes and socks, possibly your yoga mat, a swimsuit, goggles and sunscreen. (I also cannot live without SwimEar--a rubbing alcohol concoction that gets water out of your ears almost instantly--helps prevent annoyance and swimmer's ear for about two bucks.)

2. BYOS--Bring Your Own Spa. There are definitely low-cost and fun ways to get your yoga on--or even get a massage without spending the hundreds of dollars a spa-day entails. If you belong to a local membership massage club like Massage Envy they are located across the nation in almost every strip mall in every major city. You can book a massage using an already-paid for membership massage almost anywhere.

The YMCA has really updated their fitness class schedules across the nation. I definitely got into the beautiful Brooks Family YMCA when I was in Florida over the summer. If you are visiting family it's very possible to get a guest pass or even a trial membership. If you are on your own, you can purchase a one week inclusive class membership for around 50 dollars. Even if you get to yoga three times for that 50 bucks you have saved money compared to walking into a traditional yoga studio or going to a spa class.

3. Don't forget the mental spa aspect. If you are doing as I do--traveling in a situation where you spend a lot of your time going solo--you have a lot of control over your experience, but at the same time you have to be willing to boldly go out and do it. Don't get stuck regretting a missed opportunity to see or do something because you are going alone. Revel in that alone time. How often do people get to explore cities at their own whim and in their own time? Moments of solitude can be amazingly healing times of self reflection and well, just peace. And when you have had enough peace you can always text your daughter away at college on your droid while you sip a latte in the sunlit cafe of your choice.

And finally give yourself a 25% margin of error. Have that dessert--you walked all day, have a cocktail, you hit the stationary bike. Or simply just declare some days "free days." I have realized that if I do the healthy thing for my body and my mind 75% of the time I am still going to make amazing strides.

And happy trails to you--until we meet again. I have a Jack Daniels and Ginger Ale and I am high over Seattle (literally and figuratively). I will check in again from this trip and post a picture or two.

Here's to our health--and our happiness!

Love--
Beauty

The Healthy Soul

Once, many years ago, my daughter who was attempting the amazing feat of not only trying to live through junior high school, but also trying to do it with a high frequency hearing loss, was talking to me about some kids in her class. These kids were treating her with a Saccharine-tinged form of rude-kid faux courtesy—candy-coated on the outside and, on the very transparent inside, just meanness. Meanness masquerading.

We all know those people. People who take your life challenges or even your wins and through their own baggage or simply their own mean spirits trash you while pretending to give you your props. It’s a disgusting display of manipulative passive aggression, and I have always loathed it. Give me a plain old rude person any day of the week over a sickeningly-sweet snake.

When my daughter encountered these girls (boys can obviously act this way too, but girls own the stock), they were in the habit of greeting her with exaggerated smiles and too-loud greetings making her feel like she was the mentally challenged character in an over-acted, poorly written play. I have always thought this sort of hidden contempt was the greatest form of cowardice. To counteract these mini-terrorists I gave her a few one-liners. And while she never ended up confronting these girls who, like dogs on a street, were eventually distracted by a car going by, or another cat, or a bug—it helped her to cope to have a retort at the ready.

I said, when they say, “HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! HOW ARE YOU TODAY!!!!!!?????” (Icky smiles, hair flipping, facial contortions as they over-enunciated), she should look at them coolly and say, “You can treat me like I’m normal, but thanks for saying hi.” This simple response was a way of letting them know that:

1. She got it.
2. She thought they sucked.
3. She wasn’t playing.

Lately in my own health and weight loss quest I have been reminded of this story about my daughter because I have encountered my share of these mean junior high school girls morphed into “adults.” And while my quest and my blog are most often met with sincerely positive and uplifting good wishes from fine people, the occasional small souls are still around doing the equivalent of what my daughter encountered albeit in more insidious grown-up fashion—good wishes that are not-so-subtly patronizing, prejudices laced with smiles, loathsome behavior wrapped with ribbon.

This doesn’t mean that people should stop applauding one another at the risk of appearing patronizing. It’s just that covert meanness and passive aggression are acts of hostility and people who do it should be aware that their behavior is doubly disgusting because of the pretense—and that no one is fooled.

I continually thank God that I was raised by a woman who didn’t manipulate, who wasn’t a game player, and who spoke her mind without fearing being told she was too (fill in the blank—loud, assertive, not sweet enough, rough, pushy, etc.) I am glad that I am smart enough to understand and be aware of covert behavior and passive aggression and that I have never engaged in it. I relish the personal freedom I have because I have I learned to speak my truth and to not be mean. These are qualities I value far more in the world than even my health and fitness. I believe they are signs of a fit soul—and I am grateful for them every day.

Because, after all, you can work out constantly, you can reach your goal weight, you can be in perfect physical health, but if your soul isn’t healthy, if your light isn’t one of kindness and compassion, then at the end of the day, you have nothing but an empty package. And if you have filled this package with passive aggression and meanness and smallness, then what?

Bodies are important—but they are, and will always be, just the vehicles. A healthy soul comes first—and will always be the most valuable thing that anyone can possess.

Lessons in the Sun

Well it's over. I am on the plane back from Florida and I am considering the lessons learned at Camp Chad. Certainly three weeks is a very long time to be anywhere away from home on travel. It's a long time to be a good guest, it's a long time to remove yourself from everyday life and routine. But in spite of the stresses and exhaustion of travel I love it. I have often thought that I am happy going anywhere at all if it means I can hit the open road and explore. I like new places, I like local color, I like to remove myself from the way I usually think and I think this experience at Camp Chad facilitated that.

Of course you know, if you have been following my blog, I went to Camp Chad as a fitness and health excursion and I was successful. I definitely got a chance to improve my yoga skills and move from what I probably would have termed as a beginning yoga skill-level to an intermediate level. (Not that a true yogi grades his or her skill level that way, and I am convinced that the best part of yoga for me will always be the process of learning to be comfortable with myself and at one with the universe—the mind/body/spirit connection.) I realized with a great deal of happiness that my cardiovascular health has much improved. I can spend almost an hour on the most difficult running elliptical, I can master a very fast-paced aerobic hip hop dance class that was not only a blast but made me feel like I could be far more confident in what my body could do. I ate healthy (for the most part even though I did sneak away occasionally for lattes—I'm human—but I managed to stop drinking coffee after the early afternoon.) Oh, and I dropped 13 pounds.

But more than the active and intentional health and fitness changes I made and successes I had, I enjoyed the benefits of my increasing health and fitness. As a tourist in the amazingly romantic and beautiful town of St. Augustine I walked for hours. I saw museums I loved, strolled through amazing resort areas and landmark hotels, I visited the Fountain of Youth with family and strolled the grounds with ease stopping for a kitschy and amazingly relaxing presentation of the night sky projected on the ceiling of a mini and pretend planetarium with narration and sound effects that reminded me of a black and white film I might  have watched in elementary school. I tilted my head back in the pitch black theater and let the campy, touristy experience wash over me like cool Ginger ale. I loved it. 

I strolled from the hotel across the street from the Lightner Museum with my daughter and over a latte we decided to make our way to the marina for an evening boat cruise of the harbor. I thought nothing of making the mile or two walk in the high humidity, I bounced up the stairs of the small craft to the observation deck to take pictures without measuring my steps or making sure I didn't rush. In short, I forgot to be so worried about my every move physically because with my improved health and fitness I get to experience life without all the careful planning. Yes I can walk there, no I don't need to be dropped at the door. Yes I feel fine—even wonderful, etc., etc.

Also, I have been in Florida a number of times in the last ten years and believe it or not I never got to the beach. I went once when my daughter was little but was very uncomfortable making the walk from the parking lot to the ocean. I remember the strain I felt and I didn't enjoy putting on a swimsuit and lying on the beach or playing in the surf. Prior to this new experience it had been years since I could jump up and down from the sand to a standing position without thinking it through. Now I just do it. I walk down the beach in my swimsuit knowing that I am healthier than I have been in a long time and I am unconcerned with public opinion. I feel like I belong there and therefore I do.

My experiences at the Florida beaches were nothing sort of miraculous. If you are a California native—especially a Southern California native like me—you understand the call of the ocean. It's a part of me and probably represents home more than any other place on earth. Certainly I feel very much at peace there now. Prior to this experience when every step was an undertaking, when I felt ultra self conscious, when I was overheated and unhappy through the whole experience it just wasn't fun. I didn't trust my level of health enough to swim freely, I felt at risk. Frankly, I needed to feel at risk. That was accurate based on some real things. I was fat and out of shape past the point where I could safely and happily enjoy myself there. Well, no more.

As I sit writing this in an airplane seat I have the laptop perched quite comfortably on the pull-down tray in front of me and I fit in the seat well enough not to feel like I am encroaching on the space of others, and I know. I like to fit in the world. It's an incredible feeling of comfort that I will never take for granted again.

I am almost 52 years old now. I promised myself I would be in the best shape of my life when I reached the age my older brother died. I know now that I will still be in process, but I do know that my process is a wonderful, wondrous exploration of self and I do know that what I have done to change my life in the last couple of years makes me realize I feel like I am 39 again—not almost 52. I also know that we all have the chance to do this. If I can make these changes anyone can. If I can improve my health and fitness level enough to be enjoying my life I truly believe that anyone who wants to can make changes. Those changes may not be perfect, they may not always meet your original or “best-case” expectations but they will make anyone who undertakes them feel happier, more comfortable and more alive. And that's what it's really about.

So if you are reading this and you are having a bad day or month or year or, heck, decade about how you are doing physically, I am here to remind you today to realize it's baby steps. Do one thing and build on it. Make a small change in your life and applaud the hell out of it. You deserve your own praise. You deserve your own self-love and your own personal recognition. No one can change you but you. No one knows what is truly best for you but you. If you listen to what you need, to what you tell yourself quietly when the noise dies down each day, you will hear your own voice. That is the voice to give your attention to. Your inner knowing.Your true guide is really you. You know what to do. I am behind you 100%. I am proud of you as I am proud of me. I had a good time at camp. Thanks for coming along.

Love--

Beauty.

The Powerful Green Drink

Camp Chad has some very strange elements for the uninitiated. The most intense one being the Green Drink. Every morning upon arising participants in the camp are given a concoction of parsley, kale, limes, ginger, apples and cucumbers that has been blended to a frothy consistency. The goal is to take this green drink and "power it" or basically tip your head back and pretend you're a college freshman with a beer bong. It tastes odd--like you have ingested the contents of your lawn mower's clipping bag--very organic, tangy, incredibly fresh and strangely appealing.

Now the weird thing is (and we are about to get very graphic for those with tender sensibilities) this whole process acts like the most intense colon cleanse of your life. A while ago I purchased an over-the-counter colon cleanse that people in the fitness industry are always talking about and it did absolutely nothing for me except make me feel I had wasted a few weeks and a hundred dollars. This green drink, on the other hand, works like crazy. I felt as if my entire system was suddenly being purified. The insides of my digestive track released years of toxic waste. I was informed that it could have been, in addition to toxins, even "parasites." That seems a little hard to digest. But in any event, something has definitely started to happen.

What has started to happen is that I feel lighter. My abdomen feels like it is more compact, healthier and less bloated. My attitude, which is always pretty good, is soaring. Even with the get lag and an infection I have been dealing with I feel my body getting healthier.

I feel like at sometimes in my life I have been a scoffer, but there is no value in scoffing. What I feel like now is that I want to be open to experience. I am beginning to see that I can feel great. I can become someone who feels physically wonderful, happy to be in my body and gloriously alive. It's a strange and happy thought to think I can control this--I can change how I feel and the experience I have in my body on earth.

Maybe the green drink is the fruit of the Garden of Eden without all the penalties--just the joy and the sweetness. I think there's a good chance of that.

I hope you have a moment of pure pleasure and peace today. More adventures to follow...

And--cheers!

Day One-- A Long Day's Journey Into Night

Sometimes it takes a long time to get where you are going. That's a metaphor for my life on many levels, especially yesterday. I arrived at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport at about noon. About 5 PM I was on a plane to Camp Chad. Well, actually I was on a plane to Denver which had been delayed because of weather. It hailed in Denver yesterday for those of you not glued to the Weather Channel.

After waiting in the airport for hours I started out my sojourn into better health with a hot dog. It was the only choice and I stood up to eat it. However, in spite of the delay the airport seemed to be full of happy, even jovial people all going somewhere. Nothing like going somewhere to lift your spirits.

So getting on my Southwest flight I happened to sit by some great people--a man and his son who were coming from his sister's dog rescue ranch in the high desert in California. We laughed, we danced, we schmoozed--basically they were good people. The man was even gracious enough to put my enormous backpack stuffed to the brim with all my junk under  the seat in front of his feet. I am always amazed and gratified at the kindness of strangers. (But the guy at the pharmacy today took a point away from the Karmic flow of goodness to sort of equal things out.) Anyway, off we went to Denver where we landed to get rid of almost everyone and get a whole new flock of everyones to take off again. I was one of the three people going all the way through.

The next guy was a snorer. I started the flight by glaring at him at intervals and then found I could tune him out. Also I am not sure that it's good for my own psyche to glare at someone from Denver to Florida. So, I let it be courtesy of John Lennon and Buddha. I congratulated myself on my Zen and poured Bailey's into my coffee to prove the point. At two o'clock in the morning we finally docked in Jacksonville to deplane. My adventure begins!

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses.

Hello Dear Readers,

No, I have not been incarcerated, in rehab or on a bender. I have simply been dealing with a life that has more stress than a barrel full of monkeys and in fitness suspended animation.

I have so many excuses I could write a book about them all. Oh, wait, I have. So, now I am taking BATB on the road to "Camp Chad"--a cutting edge, all inclusive, exclusive weight loss spa located on the Eastern Seaboard. I will write you "postcards from the edge" as I find my own exercise "middle way" as the Buddhists would say.

I fly Thursday. Look for updates as I spend three weeks kicking butt and getting my butt kicked. I am glad to be back and I look forward to talking to you soon! Oh, and...wish you were here packing and doing laundry and dishes!

Love,

Beauty