Posture. And The Message You Send Out

I remember one of my clients told me that the moment I shift the body weight onto one leg I change.

She noticed that when I balance my weight on body legs, stand grounded, tall and my body aligned I have a different attitude.

And she was right. The slightest body movement can send a different message. Sometimes those who receive the message are unaware of it, others feel it or even see it, either way it’s there.

Your body

The brain communicates with the body through nerves that send and receive information to and from anywhere in the body.

The nerves the body uses to send and receive information to and from the brain, all go through the neck and spine. Or should I say they come out, they originate, from the spine and then go everywhere in the body.

Your spine can be compared to a garden hose through which you have running water. If the hose is bent there is no water flowing, or very limited. The spine is curves but not bent.

Same goes with your neck. If the neck is not straight then those nerves will not be able to function optimally to send and receive information and so the reactions in the body will not take place in an effective way.

There is much more that takes place in your body as a consequence of your posture. For now just think that without nerves no much takes place in your body and if they don’t function properly it leads to many imbalances in the body.

There are mainly 2 kinds of people

Those who look down into the ground and compress the trachea which can restrict breathing. This position also encourages slouching which, in turn, leads to compressing the rib cage and internal organs. Pressure builds up.

Those who tilt their heads backwards and put a lot of strain on their spine. This also leads to slouching as the shoulders drop forwards.

This is very basic but you go the idea. What we need to find is a balance between the two.

That balance is the elongated, relaxed and aligned posture.

Your mind

In his studies and practice Frederick Matthias Alexander, as in the Alexander Technique, helped not only patients suffering from physical pain such as neck, shoulders and lower back but he also helped his patients suffering with depression by re-educating their manner of USE, the use they were using their bodies.

It is no surprise that posture affects physical wellbeing as well as mental.

When you are sad for example, all you need to do it change your stance and that changes your mood as well. These are your power stances.

When feel sorry for yourself, you slouch and look into the ground. But the moment you lift your head high and look ahead your attitude changes as well.

These are basic, simple examples. They work in probably any situation. Stand tall and confident and you will notice how your mood, your thoughts and emotions change almost instantly.

In self defense

In fact in martial arts and self defence among the first things they talk about is posture, how you walk and attitude.

You see, someone who walks with their head into the ground, hands in their pockets and slouching are seen as less confident and vulnerable and they often fall victims.

When you are confident on the inside, which can be influenced by your posture, you send out confidence.

In business

Here’s what you might be interested in more. Posture is body language.

In business, negotiations, when you speak in public, when you walk on stage, your posture is the first thing people see.

Actually they do not see your posture, what they actually see is your attitude and confidence.

They see the confidence you have in your own product and service or the words you speak.

What are you telling your audience? That what you do is the best or that you are not very sure whether they should buy from you or not?

Every moment of every day you send a message through your posture. What is the message you send out?

[tweetthis]Every moment of every day you send a message through your #posture. What is the message you send out?[/tweetthis]

For me, the journey to an improved posture started when I was 8 years old. That doesn’t make my posture perfect, no one has a perfect posture. However I know I do send out the right message.

Karate Shotokan, Daito Ryu, target shooting, archery, Latin American dancing and all the other sports I practiced since 1995 all require a good command of the body and mind. They also require confidence, power and mental strength.

And posture is where everything begins. As posture will determine the kind and quality of physical movement you engage in and what happens in your mind.

So posture for me, and for my clients, is number one. From the first day we meet my clients hear my talk about posture and every sessions after that.

How about you? Do you think posture matters in your business, profession and life in general? If you are unsure how to achieve a relaxed, elongated and confident posture I would like to invite you on a call with me.

There will be no pitching or selling, and I will take you through a guided visualization which will help you improve your posture. Here’s how you can book.

July 21, 2015July 21, 2015

10 Reasons Why You Should Have Your Own Personal Health Coach

Have you ever asked yourself whether or not you need a coach? If so, here are a few reasons why a Personal Health Coach can be a good idea if you want to get results. It will also help you decide whether you need one or not. Not everyone needs a coach and coaching is not for everyone.

1. Consistency and accountability!

I will begin with these 2 because they are essential to get lasting results. You will see your Personal Coach weekly, or maybe even more often and they will make sure you get things done to get results. And even if you make mistakes they will be there to guide you back on track.

Your success is your coach’s success.

Personally I keep in touch with each of my clients in between the sessions, asking them how their week is going, if they did the routine we have chosen for them to do, what they struggles are and so on.

And those who are committed to transform their lives do the work, make time and make it possible and they do get what they seek.

2. Trusted source of information

We do our research. We study, test and learn. You have access to all that information, so you don’t have to waste time on reading everything on the internet.

Furthermore, there are things you cannot learn from a book.

3. Saves you time

It takes time to come up with exercises and routines to get the best results. If, for example, you do the same routine at some point you have to change it or you will stop making any progress and you might actually regress.

See my blog on the adaptation process to better understand what I am talking about.

4. Gets results

There is a reason athletes have coaches. As athletes, although we know a lot about our sport and we can actually coach others, we still need coaches. Because you cannot push yourself harder than someone else can push you.

5. Gets results….safe

It is important not to compromise aesthetics for a healthy body. What I mean is that too many of us focus on weight loss at our body’s expense.

Remember that weight will always go up and down, but once you damage your body it takes years to heal. In some cases certain injuries never heal completely.

6. Out of your comfort zone

You can only take yourself out of the comfort zone so far. And if you are not taken out of your comfort zone you will never get results.

If what you do doesn’t make you grow stop doing it, there’s no point doing it.

[tweetthis]If what you do doesn’t make you grow stop doing it, there’s no point doing it.[/tweetthis]

7. Attention and care

Having a Personal Coach it’s…well…personal. You and your coach will get to know each other very well.

Your sessions together are not limited to the 1h-1h30min a week but you talk in between your sessions. That’s how you get long lasting results, by having someone who cares guiding you.

Your coach will create a training program that will take into account your goals and aspirations but also who you are as a person.

8. Saves you money

You may think not, particularly if it’s an expensive coach, however your personal coach can teach you how to care for your body inside and out.

They coach you smart, keeping you away from injuries and they can give you tools you will be using for a lifetime, that will save you money on physiotherapy sessions, diets and all sorts of things you really don’t need once you establish strong foundations.

My Sensei once told me that when someone asks for a certain amount of money, which seems a lot, that means there is always something more than the eye can see. In some cases this is spot on.

9. After coaching resources

You personal coach may have online resources so when you finish your personal coaching together you have everything ready for you to continue by yourself.

For example I give my clients lifetime access to the UWF Academy which follows 12 weeks of weekly training, food discipline, technique guides, meditations and more.

And they can do these programs over and over and over again. This is very valuable as they can do things by themselves and not always depend on someone else.

10. Motivation and support

When the tough gets tough many people give up, they reset and then have to start all over again. Remember, consistency is key to make progress and get results. Those who have their Personal Coach are less likely to give up.

There is someone there behind you to push you forwards and walk the journey with you. Of course you can cancel your sessions but will you? I am pretty sure you will not.

When you give up you reset and have to start all over again, if you continue no matter how difficult it gets that’s how you get the results. And how do you keep going when you want to stop? Yep, that’s right, you have a Personal Coach before you even get to that stage.

July 8, 2015July 9, 2015

Why I Don’t Give Free Sessions

When I began my journey in the industry I was a Personal Trainer in a gym. Among the first things I was advised to do was give free sessions away so members know who I was and what I was doing.

So I did, I gave away hundreds of sessions for free while at the gym. All was good. I loved what I did, and still love it, so I was doing it with a lot of pleasure.

However, it became clear that those who really wanted to get results have decided to work with me and were committed, they didn’t even need that free session.

On the other side, many of the people I gave free sessions to not only were they not committed to change anything in their lives but they didn’t even follow the program I gave them. Actually many would now set foot in the gym for months. Or just kept walking on the treadmill.

So here’s my point. A free session will not actually show you anything. You think you would see what I do, but you won’t.

I don’t know about other coaches and trainers but my coaching sessions each have a theme, a topic we work on. It’s not all in one. And I insist on a very detailed approach, we leave nothing unclear.

Among the many techniques we look at posture, breathing, how to move your body. If I give you this all in one session you will go home without learning anything.

And if you want a bit of everything just to see how it is you will get nothing out of it. You will just be left confused.

You will not understand the principles behind the movement, your mind will have several different themes and topics from only one session.

It’s like trying to learn maths, English grammar, chemistry, sewing and play football in 1h30min.

There is no clarity to what and how you did and there is no pattern. There is the creative side, but everything is coached with purpose, nothing is random.

The dangers of knowing too little

Learning a little bit is useless, incomplete and in some cases dangerous. Not knowing what to do with the information you receive and how to use it in the correct way can lead to injuries.

Plus how many details of what I taught you will you actually remember?

So you go home and you will practice an exercise you vaguely remember, you will practice it repeatedly for weeks and months and then you start getting pain.

A free session will no introduce you to a system. You can make a program that doesn’t need supervision, a simple pressups, squat, lunge, crunch program but nothing more than that.

However when you decide to work with me, learning and practicing The Merisoiu Technique, you commit to actually learning and growing.

You can learn crunches and do 100 of them by yourself, you don’t need me to sit next to you and count? But you do need my help for guidance on more complex movements which do more for your body and nervous system.

The Merisoiu Technique is a practice and without practicing it you will never benefit from it. It’s not a one session thing.

PLUS all my sessions are 1hr30 and we are mindful and work deep, we are not superficial and there are no quick fixes.

My programs are either 3 months or 6 months. Either way you will go at least twice through the same theme, double that for 6 months programs.

First time you get familiar with the exercises and drills and the second time you understand how it works and remember most of the technical points so you can do it yourself.

But a consultation is extremely important

As you already know I do give 45 min free consultations over Skype or phone. This is very, very important.

The free 45 minute call is to delve deep into your goals and aspirations to see whether you are even suitable for coaching with a health and wellness coach.

Much work goes into the evaluation and planning stage. It is not a simple 30 min training plan with 5 exercises, 10 reps each. That’s not enough to build foundations and achieve real transformational results my clients leave our programs with.

The only way to benefit from the work we do is to evaluate where you are at to start with and that’s what we do on the 45 min call.

If this resonates with you feel free to book the 45 min free call right here.

July 7, 2015July 7, 2015

Why I Am Not A Personal Trainer

Who would have thought that the knowledge about the body learnt after thousands of hours spent in the Dojo training for Karate competitions and teaching will be the foundations of my coaching today.

Everything from breathing, posture and meditation to developing a strong, flexible and healthy body as well as knowledge about bones, tendons and muscles were ingrained in me from an early age. All I needed to do is fill in the gaps through studying and experimenting on myself and form a complete system: The Merisoiu Technique.

So why am I not a Personal Trainer?

I was a PT for the beginning of my career in the health and fitness industry. As a PT I used to help my clients lose weight, tone up, get fit, gain muscle mass as well as nutritional advice.

I loved it. I loved it until I realized that I had so much more to give my clients. And I wasn’t. I couldn’t give what I wanted and the way I wanted. I wanted to transform my clients’ lives by addressing the foundations and personal development.

Now as a Coach I not only help my clients with their physical appearance and wellbeing but change the way they live their lives.

I don’t coach my clients to get fit and healthy for the summer, I coach them to be fit and healthy for the rest of their lives. And we do it by addressing the root cause of their imbalances and slowly changing habits, starting with the smallest ones.

My clients leave my programs with a lot of knowledge about their bodies and how they function. They receive intrinsic knowledge which they cannot learn from a book. This comes from years and years of experience. In essence it’s a Personal Development journey.

I wanted to introduce my clients to a new way of living life. So I transitioned from Personal Training to Transformational Coaching…outdoors

[tweetthis]I wanted to introduce my clients to a new way of living life.[/tweetthis]

The roots of The Merisoiu Technique

So when I created the system, The Merisoiu Technique, it was because my clients wanted to get fit, strong and powerful. However they also needed to understand how their bodies function, how to move soft and fluid and how to prevent injury as much as possible. And it was essential not to sacrifice the later for the former.

It was imperative for them to understand the difference between tension and relaxation, intentional movement, posture and balance and counterbalance. The Mindful Control component is where my clients learn to bring together or to align body, breath, and mind. And then to catapult their results we brought in the physical and psychological benefits and the freedom of training outdoors all year round. Benefits such as strength and emotional balance. And of course the nutrition and healthy habits part.

Finally, it became clear that my clients needed to have access to a complete system which would offer them the foundations they needed to live a healthy and fit life for the rest of their lives. Once you understand the basics of movement, posture, breathing, nutrition and Mindful Control then you actually become in control of your own life, for the rest of your life.

All in all The Merisoiu Technique involves coordinated movement, breath, and awareness, building a strong and fit body and learning how to implement healthy habits and nutrition. It’s about building the foundations of a healthy lifestyle and reclaiming your nature.

The principles of The Merisoiu Technique

The Technique covers five main areas of health and wellness:

Earthing

It is no coincidence that The Merisoiu Technique is an outdoors system of Personal Development which takes place all year round, be it hot, cold, freezing or rain.

I believe nature is the most powerful force. And when you train with natures elements you become as powerful as the elements. Well…almost as powerful. It’s perfection to strive for. However they do make your stronger than you have ever thought you could be.

One of the elements of The Technique that many are afraid of is rain and winter training. What many don’t realize is that this is your challenge, this is what shows how dedicated you are to the way, the path you chose.

And this is when you strengthen your body and mind, more than in any other season. Winter is the season of breakthroughs for all my clients. You make it through winter training with me, you make it through almost anything else.

Natural Movement

Natural movement was created by Movnat Founder Erwan LeCorre. It’s training and conditioning the body through movement such as lifting, throwing, hanging, crawling, balancing, running, walking. So you will find natural movement element in this system as well.

Fluid Movement

I have personally development a range of fluid movement sequences based on my experience in Martial Arts. Imagine Tai Chi but different.

Fluid movement can be done very slow, slow, fast or very fast, it can still flow. The Merisoiu Technique fluid movement sequences covers all.

Mindful Control

Here we pay close attention to posture awareness, breathing mastery, attention and focus, technique and discipline.

This component also includes mindfulness and meditation practices.

There is a touch of Alexander Principles in the Mindful Control component

Habits Transformation

This component addresses any habits in your life that keep you from getting fit and healthy for life.

In general, with my client, we focus on nutrition, food discipline, individual training routines planned weekly and meditations.

So you see, this is a complete system. It pays close attention to every detail of your life. From breathing to posture and daily movement.

Your training never ends in the forest we train, it goes beyond. You take this knowledge home with you and you transform your life. What I was doing as a PT could not be taken home, it was left in the gym and it was changing your body but it didn’t go much further than that.

If this sounds like something you desire I invite you to book a FREE call with me to go over the struggles you are facing and see what are the best options for us to work together.

July 1, 2015July 1, 2015

How To Build Food Discipline

One of those blogs again, right? How can you possibly build discipline in one step? It’s difficult, right?

Just because we lost control that doesn’t make it difficult. Is food controlling you? I mean, really! Don’t tell me food is controlling you.

You are in control. This might upset some people but it is the truth. You have the control over your life and that includes everything you eat. No one forces you to put that bagel in your month . You have the power to make choices. Through those choices you decide how tomorrow will look like.

Yeah, but I am fit, it’s easy for me to talk, right?

Ah, but you cannot assume that because I am fit today I was always like this and I don’t have my own struggles.

Secret #1: If I gave up training I’d start putting on weight. I eat a lot. I eat healthy, because that’s how I was brought up. But I eat a lot. And I can eat less, as I said it’s a choice. But I’d feel miserable. So I prefer to train.

Secret #2: I used to be about 10kg heavier than today, just a few years ago. I wasn’t always how you see me know. And it took me a few years to get here. Because I don’t exercise to lose weight. In fact I don’t exercise. I train, I train with a purpose. I train to learn and develop skills not to burn calories, those come with it.

Weight slowly came off when I began training and gaining control over the food I was giving my body. And it was bloody difficult, I tell you that. But IT IS POSSIBLE.

So I know a little something about food discipline

How to build discipline

As always I love stories and I believe we learn from stories. So let me tell you what happened a couple of days ago.

It was a Sunday, and Sundays I only train in Karate and study. I study topics that will allow me to help my clients reach their goals in a more efficient way.

I woke up around 8 am. I knew I had planned my 2hr karate training in the afternoon, so all morning I did my QiGong routines and I read. Aaaaand…..I ate fruit. Yum!

However I didn’t take into account the 2h karate training and that I needed a bit more fuel than that.

It all went well though, I had really great and strong training session in preparation for the world championship. One of the best sessions I’ve had, I was half dead by the end. Felt awesome!

But then, on the way back……I began craving pizza. You see I have 2-3 pizzas a year and I didn’t have the 1st this year yet. And I also craved chips. Yeah…I crave stuff as well.

But every time I crave I make a conscious choice not to have them. Sometimes I also makes a decision to have those things I crave but NOT when I crave them. Remember this one:

The dogs that beg for food when you eat are those who know they will get receive food when they beg and make a lot of noise. I know my dogs do.

So discipline your mind and things will get easier. Start by NOT giving your brain the satisfaction by giving it what it craves, when it craves.

[tweetthis]Don’t give your brain the satisfaction by giving it what it craves, when it craves.[/tweetthis]

Knowing that these cravings were ONLY the sign of lack of food and nutrients, I began thinking, or rather forcing my brain into thinking, about the food I had in my fridge. Which is all boring, healthy food.

I kept thinking: what will I eat when I get home?

So I got home, had eggs and a big salad and cheese and then fruit and voila….cravings gone!!! Yes, it’s that simple. You are in control. It’s about making conscious choices.

Next time you crave something unhealthy keep in mind that it probably is because you haven’t eaten or haven’t eaten properly. Think before you act.

So that’s what you need to do: when you crave don’t give in and instead have the right kinds of foods. Cravings will disappear in most cases.

By the way, this is a lesson my mother taught me as a child. So if you have kids and you feel this is lesson could be useful for their future health then teach it to them. They will take it with them throughout their lives, just like I did.

You might think that kids don’t listen, but what you say stays with them, it’s imprinted into their subconscious and they will access that when they need it most.

Need to build food discipline but don’t know where to start? I can help you with that. However you must know that I cannot do anything for you if you don’t do the work. It’s ALL on you. I cannot come and take that pizza from you. You need to make the conscious decisions. If you really want food discipline and are committed and ready to put the work in then yes we can talk about it. Only if you are committed please.

June 25, 2015June 25, 2015

How The Practice Of The Merisoiu Technique Changes Your Life

When you begin something and you stop after a few months, a year or even 2 you will never master it. And when you don’t master something you don’t receive the essence of it and you don’t grow.

You never receive the true value of what you do. And your progress never gets over a certain point before you choose start all over again with a new practice because you were bored of the old one or for other reasons.

Mastering one thing will automatically make you very good at many other things. If you are unable to master one thing then do you think that by jumping from one activity to another will help you master anything and be really good at anything?

If you cannot be dedicate to one path, how can you be dedicated to any path at all, in any area of your life. You cannot.

You must begin by mastering one thing before you move on to the next.

Don’t just play with your life, your habits, your passions. Dedicate yourself to something and practice it, day and night. Then and only then you will see the true value of the lessons you are taught.

It’s not about how you slim you are, how fast and strong, it’s about dedication, loyalty and perfecting the art you are involved in.

It’s about daring to be the best you can be every day and every moment of the day.

The Merisoiu Technique was built with this in mind. It is not a fitness regime and just because it is outdoors that does not make it a bootcamp.

You will not do your usual reps and sets, press-ups and burpees and if you do they will be with a twist. We are here to challenge your mind not only your body.

No, The Merisoiu Technique is a process, a practice, a “way” for you to follow, dedicate time, be disciplined and learn to be consistent. It’s mastery.

It is an art by itself, built upon thousands of years of Martial Arts wisdom and techniques and modern coaching methods.

In return for your dedication and commitment, The Technique will open new doors for you, because it is a Personal Development tool. It strengthens your strengths and turns your weak points into strengths.

My clients who have been with me for over 6 months, some of them have been working with me for 2+ years, take the learnings into their daily life and it transforms everything they do, for the better.

The Technique is not meant to be practiced only in your session. It’s a practice that changes the way your live your life, for the better. It’s a transformation process rather than a change.

How you use your body and mind in your practice of The Merisoiu Technique will become the way you use your body and mind in all other areas of your life.

Finally, The Merisoiu Technique is an education system for your body and your mind. Master the elements of The Technique and you will find yourself in control over your emotions, thoughts, your body and over your life.

The breakthrough

It is no a coincidence that The Merisoiu Technique is an outdoors system of Personal Development which takes place all year round, be it hot, cold, freezing or rain.

Transferable skills

The Merisoiu Technique is the way to train your mind and body, build strong, lasing foundations and then transfer them into your life.

When you learn discipline, dedication and consistency in one area of your life, the practice of The Merisoiu Technique in this case, then you will automatically implement them into other areas of your life like work or family. And so life is just a little bit easier.

The Merisoiu Technique tests your limits, so when you choose a path in your business or profession you will take that determination, dedication, consistency, that power and strength of mind and body developed through the practice and use them on that new path.

Once you follow a difficult path, that pushes you out of the comfort zone every single time, then all the other paths you choose become a lot easier to dedicate to, be consistent and make the greatest progress.

So if you are ready to know how The Merisoiu Technique can transform the way you move, breathe and live, jump on a free call with me.

May 26, 2015January 5, 2019

100th Blog

100th Blog Post

Thought I’d make something special for my 100th blog post. So I picked (hand picked that is 😉 ) a few sentences from each blog post I wrote and added the link to the blog post it came from. A piece of wisdom from each of them. Some more interesting than others, but starting with the first ever…

1. Researchers at the University of Essex in England are advancing the notion that exercising in the presence of nature has added benefit, particularly for mental health. Benefits of Exercising Outdoor
2. Eating healthy snacks between meals helps control your weight and provides healthy protein, healthy fats, fiber and carbohydrates. Healthy Snack Ideas For You
3. If you do them [breathing exercises] constantly you will feel great improvement on your stress levels,patience and coping mechanisms. Stress, anxiety and depression
4. In the UK we have adapted the original food pyramid and underpinning guidance to follow what is called‘The Eatwell Plate’ . Nutritional Guidelines
5. Just because it’s fruit doesn’t mean it’s good if you are trying to reduce the amount of sugar intake. 7 Easy Ways to Reduce Sugar Intake
6. When breathing in a correct manner we have more power, more control over our bodies and we reduce the risk of certain injuries. Learn The Diaphragmatic Breathing Technique For Running
7. Matcha tea is a natural caffeine boost & green tea finely milled or fine powdered. Vivid Drink Matcha Tea Review
8. Your skin absorbs anything you put on it from water to chemicals we use every single day several time a day. Why what you Put On Your Body is very Unhealthy and how you can Change that
9. A mother’s depression, especially when untreated, can interfere with her child’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. What meaning do you give to depression?

1. Even if you immune system is down you have less changes of contacting a virus outdoor than indoor with 100 other people. 7 Things I do to avoid the Flu
2. Use Ginger to reduce muscle and joint pain, swelling and stiffness Painkillers in your kitchen Part 1/4
3. It is important to learn simple and fast ways you can do instantly to relieve the stress, center yourself and regain focus How to let go of stress instantly
4. How you use your it determines how it works and how it feels; your body can be a well oiled machine or an old and rusty pickup truck. How To Use Your Body To Reduce Aches And Pains
5. When you want to improve productivity, focus, reduce stress and be healthier but you struggle, there is nothing better that creating and nurturing a good habit, which comes automatic, it’s fast and easy. How to easily create healthy habits that stick long-term
6. Rather than me or anyone else telling you what to eat I wanted to give you a very very brief explanation of what carbs are,, what are their properties and types of carbs are there. Good carbs Bad Carbs
7. Fitness, power and strength shape our bodies yes, but as a consequence our mental processes, our self esteem and finally the actions we take on a daily basis dramatically change. How fitness changes you at a physical and psychological level
8. Do you dread Mondays? No need to, it’s a day like all the others. 10 Habits for a Happier, Healthier Monday
9. The squat, even without any weight and when done properly, strengthens your stability muscles to recover faster after an injury, small or big, regain your balance faster and injury free when you trip, slip or otherwise lose balance, balance how the body functions, strengthening the weaker points. The squat: Why to do it, How to do it
10. Fish seems to help with tummy troubles such as Indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel diseases. Natural Painkillers in your kitchen Part 2/4
11. Reconnecting with the Earth’s electrons has been proved to promote intriguing physiological changes and subjective reports of well-being. What does Earthing have to do with mental health?
12. Meditation is not only about quieting your mind, but rather allowing your thoughts to pass, one by one, without judging them in any way. Meditation What, Where, How, When & Why
13. If you want to make any changes in your life then you need to change your attitude, that’s what training in cold weather does. Why 99% of my clients are afraid of outdoor winter training
14. Your brain is naturally turned on when the phone is around, waiting for alerts from it, this prevents the body from achieving the desired state of total relaxation. 7 reasons why you shouldn’t sleep with your phone
15. Whether we talk about mindful eating, walking or running, they all contribute to our mental and physical wellbeing. 3 steps to Mindful Eating and its benefits
16. Besides getting stronger and fitter I’ve gained so much more, higher self esteem, confidence, calmness, patience, resilience.[when I chose the outdoors over the gym] 6 reasons why I choose the outdoors over the gym
17. For a food to taste good it need fats and sugars, if it lacks one it has more of the other; watch out fat free food lovers. 13 simple nutritional habits to improve your health right now
18. “Everything breathes: breathing is the inspiration of Life within all living forms of reality” 1st Principle of Conscious Connected Breathing – J. Yost. How I breathed my way into physical and mental well-being
19. Mindfulness is paying attention rather than anything else, mindfulness is everywhere and in everything we do. The role of mindfulness in my childhood
20. Press-ups are not limited by muscle mass. You do not need muscles to be strong and those who have muscles are not necessarily stronger than those who don’t. How to do a full press-up and Why

1. Although no one has ever seen the mind, we can consider the brain as the platform for the mind and thus a platform for out mental wellbeing. How nutrition affects our Mental Health
2. Calm joint and headache pain with Natural Painkillers in your kitchen Part 3/4
3. When you want to achieve something there are times when you need a kick in the butt, and no one is more able, motivated and caring enough than your coach to do that. Why on earth would you want a Coach?
4. Recovery it’s largely about tissue regeneration and nutrient delivery. How much rest do you need for fitness gains
5. MOBILITY is the ability to move or be moved freely and easily. FLEXIBILITY is the quality of bending easily without breaking. The difference between Flexibility and Mobility
6. Scientists have discovered a connection between connecting with the Earth and reducing inflammation in the body which is responsible for many diseases we suffer from. How I discovered Earthing
7. [training outdoors] is the best way to warm up when you’re cold. You will walk around in a t-shirt while others have coats. 10 awesome things about training outdoors
8. [Breathing] helps detoxify your body. 16 benefits of practicing deep breathing
9. When we sit or stand tall the exchange of information is free to go back and forth helping us function at our optimum level, heal faster and better, have more energy and vitality and sending nutrients where we most need them. 3 ways to enhance your meditation experience
10. Don’t go to bed with your mind running around.Allow your mind to settle before you fall asleep for a quality rest. 11 habits to help you feel better in your own body
11. Rhythmic exercise, such as walking, can be conducive to the process of self-discovery. What is a walking consultation and Why I do it
12. By stretching your fingers, toes and consequently wrists and ankles you: improve the blood circulation to those areas, you relax your tendons, ligaments, muscles which leads to relaxation further up the arm or leg and better connectivity to the hands/fingers, feet/toes, reduce the risk of plantar fascia or carpal tunnel syndrome, improve range of movement in your hands, wrists, feet, ankles and thus freedom of movement. How to stretch your fingers and toes and why
13. Physical tension leads to impatience, mood changes, frustration and mental stress. This in turn lead to lack of focus, creativity and productivity. How to relax your shoulders while you sit tall
14. [Self-Discipline] is one of the 20% skills that contribute to 80% of results when applied to the right habits or areas of our lives. Building Self-Discipline

1. Make anger or stress a matter of minutes rather than days, weeks and months. How I managed to manage my anger and stress (when I used to be like this)
2. “It was everything I wouldn’t and haven’t done before…it was LIBERATING” What Nadia has to say about her Urban Women Fitness outdoor training sessions
3. Going to bed with your mind running around means it will still be running for a while after you fall asleep and there goes your restful night. How to wake up fresh and energized every morning
4. A busy mind leads to an imbalanced body. And the opposite is also true, a balanced body leads to a balanced, calmer mind. 5 lessons I learnt from balancing exercises
5. Walnuts, besides fats, have a good amount of iron, vit-B6 and magnesium, grapefruit (as you guessed) vit A and C in abundance and grapes vit-B6. Why listen to what your body asks…sometimes
6. Train hard but train with purpose. No matter where you train, be creative and search for variety. Have a purpose and experience the journey Why your workouts are boring and 4 ways to make them exciting
7. Target shooting is indeed a sport of the mind. It also teaches you about relaxation, mindfulness and focus. It’s a challenging sport. 3 Mindfulness Lessons From Practicing Target Shooting
8. Weight loss is a result of a healthy lifestyle and a healthy lifestyle has several components: Body, Mind, Emotions, Soul and Social. Weight loss is simple…
9. The difference between leaving someone with the love for sport and exercise and making them hate it for the rest of their lives. “Beasting” vs Smart Coaching
10. “Science has proven, beyond doubt, that the content of our thoughts and emotions directly and immediately influence our biochemistry” Kelly Howell (Sound Healer, Meditation Guide, Consciousness Researcher) How the meaning you give to your words can make you sick
11. When you deal with weight loss have a plan, a healthy lifestyle plan, and stick to it. Have a schedule of exercising, create healthy habits for the entire family and just focus on the process only. 3 Mistakes Women Make Which Increase Stress Levels
12. One of the reasons they [athletes] do [have coaches[, and one of the reasons I have 3 coaches training me right now in Karate, Obstacle Racing and running and business, is Struggling to stay motivated? This is why…
13. You know I always mention about “the purpose behind your training” and I always say the purpose is not the same thing as a goal. Purpose vs Goals
14. All [The Merisoiu Technique] principles blend into each other creating a bigger picture which gives you a better understanding of how health really works and stop seeing health as a goal in your life. How Does The Merisoiu Technique Really Works
15. I believe, from my experience, that running can and should be enjoyable and pain free. I know because my running transformed from painful to actually enjoying it. 7 Ways To Make You Enjoy Your Running

1. Mindfulness does not have to be meditation, a chore, a to do thing on the list and in fact i tcreates more time and space rather than reduce it. What’s all the fuss about mindfulness
2. We struggle too much to follow thousands of rules. 3 Ways To Stay Healthy And Fit For Life
3. If you brushed your teeth only once a week would your teeth be healthy? Why Training 4 Days A Week Is Essential For Transformational Results
4. We do not realize that if we respond to stress and tension with more stress and tension we make things worse. We cause tension after tension after tension.Why You Should Master The Art Of Nothing
5. Don’t believe what I, or anyone else tells you or writes about,you need to filter the information we all give you and think for yourself. Confused About Food: How To Get Past The Confusion
6. I am a firm believer in taking long walks outdoors after leaving the office. The space and fresh air clears the mind and calms down the nervous system. By the time you get back home you’ve cleared most of the negative emotions and thoughts. 3 Ways To Cope Better With A Stressful Working Environment
7. You’ll never ever progress being comfortable. Nature will get your out of your comfort zone at every single training session, no exception. 3 Things That Happen Instantly When You Train With Nature’s Elements
8. Every habit, healthy or not, has its purpose in the body. Your brain uses those habits to solve something. The Secret To Creating Healthy Habits That Stick Long Term
9. We run from one corner to another, always in a rush, always looking at the time and always under some type of pressure. We seldom, if ever, stop to breath and look around. Finding Balance In Life
10. When I think about my daily diet I always go back to when my grandmother used to cook for her grandchildren in the countryside. 9 Simple & Intuitive Approaches To Healthy Eating Habits

1. Among the benefits of tree scrambling you have core strength, arm and shoulder strength,coordination, agility, flexibility, mobility and even lower body strength depending on the tree and how you climb through it. Reclaim Your Nature
2. It’s the details make the whole so cutting out all your favourite foods and going to the gym 5 days a week all of a sudden will not necessarily work for building healthy habits leading to a healthier lifestyle. How To Use Triggers To Effortlessly Create Healthy Habits
3. Make it easy and fast to prepare your training by making permanent lists and strategically placing them where you can easily see them. 3 Ways To Design Your Environment And Make Exercise Easier And Enjoyable
4. Posture sends stress signals to the brain. 3 Awesome Benefits Of A Great Posture
5. Muscle soreness can kick in anytime within 72 hours from your training session. Some experts say 24-48 others go to 72. 5 Ways To Deal With Muscle Soreness Without Medication
6. We, humans, are build to move, yes. But we are also programmed to grow, to learn, to develop, to make progress one way or another. We are evolving all the time. And that makes us happy, thrilled, excited about that thing that we do. So why is it that so many people don’t like it. Some go so far as saying they hate it, exercise that is. Why? How To Fall In Love With Your Training Routine
7. Weight loss is easy, it really is, when you stop trying to lose it and just look after your body from the inside first. And have patience. Why Weight Loss Should Not Be Your #1 Priority
8. Running is more than just physical movement, it requires consistency, dedication, resilience and discipline. When you become a runner your body changes but most importantly your mind changes as you face challenge after challenge. What Can Running Do For You
9. As the spine straightens and lengthens you get that feeling of release in your lower back and throughout your spine. 5 Awesome Benefits Of Sleeping On The Floor
10. It’s good to have a Coach you can lean into when things get difficult. It’s even better if you like your Coach, the teaching methods, exercises, the empathy, enthusiasm, energy, philosophy (if they have one) and what they stand for. The First Step To Take As A Beginner In Fitness
11. Stop exercising and start moving in ways you’ve never done before. STOP Exercising! Do This Instead

1. 5 Secrets To Less Pain And More Freedom Of Movement
2. If we cannot control the simple act of breathing how are we suppose to control our thoughts, our bodies or ever the world around us. And if we cannot feel and fully experience breathing how are we supposed to be mindful of anything else within or around us. HOW to breathe and WHY it is important
3. When you feel your body is not working at its peak, you feel aches and pains everywhere,you feel as if your body is falling apart. Are you falling apart?
4. Your mind and body are always connected. One influences the other and when one is out of balance the other will be as well. Where Do You Hold Your Stress? And 5 Steps To Combat Stress
5. MOBILITY is the ability to move or be moved freely and easily. MOBILITY is an indication of how well and efficiently we move. FLEXIBILITY is the quality of bending easily without breaking. FLEXIBILITY is a component of MOBILITY. Why Your Flexibility Today Is Different From Yesterday
6. To get rid of many of these physical pains and stress all you need it 5-10 min. Do This NOW To Revitalize Your Body
7. Bringing mindfulness into running makes it a lot more enjoyable. Do You Hate Running? Here Are Three Steps To LOVE It
8. Zanshin is the state of readiness in Budo practice. Budo is the code of Martial Arts, the Martial Arts path, an education system in the modern world, rather than a fighting system like many people believe. What Is Zanshin And Why It Is Important For You

1. Everyone lives different lives and so we all need different things. It all comes down to mindset really. What Day & Time Is The Best For Training Sessions
2. We are so dependent on our eyes nowadays. We receive most of our information through the sense of sight. It seems to me we are slowly losing the ability to feel. Stop Looking And Start Feeling
3. Why does our butt stick out when we heel strike if heel strike is the natural way? Then back arches and we end up with back pain, thus hating running. Don’t Run On Your Toes…Or Heels
4. In the end the experience you have is the only thing that matters . Getting Off The Treadmill Of Life
5. Cultivate the art of attention and focus and your life will change Why I Stand For 1h30m Training Sessions
6. The way you go through life, the way you see the world, how you feel and what you listen to will change the way you live your life. How To Cultivate The Art Of Attention And Focus
7. Practice breathing and your running performance and your general health will see huge improvements. TMP 001: Breathing Technique For Runners
8. Your cannot balance properly to strengthen your foot muscles and the rest of the body if you cannot hold a nice, relaxed, elongated posture. You MUST address your POSTURE. Strong Foundations For A Strong Pain Free Body
9. If the foundations of a system are weak then the entire system is weakened and will collapse sooner or later. Why And How To Look After Your Feet
10. If I had to choose the one thing I’d like my clients to take from their experience of training with me that’ll be Posture. If there was one thing I could choose. How To Stop Your Shoulders From Hurting At The End Of The Day

We are organic beings and we should remain in contact with the matter we are made of. The Risks Of Going Barefoot

May 10, 2015May 23, 2015

How To Cultivate The Art Of Attention And Focus

Now this is a challenging topic for me to write about. There are many ways you can cultivate the art of attention and focus. I will only show you one way, or rather 3, the way I practice.

The magic word is indeed “practice”. Just like we can lose anything, muscle, weight, discipline, faith, we can also lose the ability to focus.

The reason this is difficult for me to explain is because I was taught attention, focus, discipline from a very early age, 8 years old, when I began practicing karate.

So now the challenge is for me to teach others how to do it….my way. Of course I could easily go to others who have systems in place to coach others to develop such skills. But what’s the point then? They will never ever be able to show you how I did it, how I made it possible, my way.

So let’s get to it.

If I was to choose 3 ways to cultivate attention and focus those would be:

Look and See

We all look at things. We look at people around us, at trees, at buildings, at the device you are reading this on. But do you actually see….anything at all?

Do you actually SEE the colours, shapes, sizes and patterns. So often we just go through the day blindfolded and in a rush.

When I walk many times I try to imagine I’m slowing down time. Imagine Matrix, it’s old school but a great way to imagine what I do.

So I slow down time, not slow down my pace, and I look and see things that I’d normally just walk by, things that most people don’t see.

For example: a spot on a leaf, a chewing gum stuck on the sidewalk, a spot on the bark of a tree, a drop of water

Touch and Feel

Again a personal example. Walking to my Karate class I pass by a cemetery (a nice one though) and the fence is covered in trees, bushes and flowers.

Many times, slowing down time as before, I touch the leaves and the flowers, while I walk past them.

But it’s not just touching, is feeling their softness or harshness, feeling the drops of rain, the freshness of those drops.

Listen and Hear

We are seldom aware of what’s going on around us. We walk around like zombie or robots, and I do the same, I am part of it.

Yet sometimes, when you slow down time (there’s that “slow down” again) we begin to actually hear things we’ve never heard before.

As you walk down the street or sit on the tube or bus try to find all the sounds you can possibly find. Count them. See how many sounds you can capture.

You’ll be amazed at what happens when you do this. Please try it and leave a comment or email me. I’d like to hear your experience because it will be totally different than mine or anyone else’s

The common element

That’s the “slowing down” element. That’s the pause, the stop, the moment of stillness.

That’s what we’ve lose as humans in our pursuit for better, faster, stronger. I do the same, but from time to time I practice the Art Of Attention And Focus.

When you manage to do that you are cultivating the art of attention and focus. Practice these are your life will change for the better.

The way you go through life, the way you see the world, how you feel and what you listen to will change the way you live your life.

These are the things that I do with my clients. Sometimes our sessions are really physically challenging but other times we challenge the mind and spirit so we develop at all levels not just one.

May 3, 2015January 5, 2019

Getting Off The Treadmill Of Life

I am not even sure the title is the best one for this post. I was inspired by one of my students to write about this after a conversation we had the other day.

Let me tell you my thoughts first.

One day, last Wednesday to be more precise, a thought came to my mind: Wednesday? I thought Wednesday was last week. I thought we were done with it and moved on.

Now that was a funny thing (for me at least). I wasn’t really serious.

But come to think of it we never move on. Wednesday will come every 7 days, again and again…..and yet again. May will do the same. We keep ourselves in this infinite cycle.

“We” because we humans invented the cycle and named the days of the week.

Another wheel going nowhere

Now the point is that not only we are on a hamster wheel already we also run on treadmills and cycle on stationary bikes…..going nowhere…..again.

Do you really want that? Do you really like that? Just askin’…

Yeah, but I’ll hurt my knees otherwise

If your running is aggressive you will probably hurt your body wherever you run or even just walk. And you will probably hurt it more on surfaces that absorb that aggressiveness and you will never become aware of it. You will never learn, never grow, never understand, never move on.

Is that what you want? Another wheel going nowhere?

You will ache anyway

You will be old and you will ache anyway, might as well ache for a good reason. That’s the answer I gave my aunt who said running will damage my body.

I will not say it doesn’t. Anything can damage your body, even if it’s wear and tear. And it comes sooner or later even if you do nothing.

We live it, we breath it

In the end the experience you have is the only thing that matters . That’s what you will tell your friends, family and grandchildren.

You will never talk about the shoes you wore on the treadmill at one point in time. You will not tell them you ran a 5k on the treadmill and actually feel awesome about it.

But run outdoors through mud, water, rain, snow or whatever the weather. Then come home and tell your story.

At Urban Women Fitness we live and breathe every moment we are outdoors. Whether running, climbing trees, lifting logs or moving in ways we’ve never moved before.

We feel the wind, the cold, the snow, the sun, the rain, we feel them all and we become a part of the elements and the elements a part of us.

We listen, we touch, we experience, we discover, we experiment, we live even if just for a few hours every week.

And the stories we tell our loved ones are precious, are unique but most important we are proud of ourselves and we finally LOVE this thing that many call “exercise”

April 3, 2015May 23, 2015

STOP Exercising! Do This Instead

Stop exercising and start Developing skills

Stop exercising and start Exploring yourself and the environment

Stop exercising and start Playing around so you enjoy life

Stop exercising and start Being Mindful of what you are feeling, seeing, hearing and doing

Stop exercising and start Listening to the life surrounding you

Stop exercising and start Discovering what your are actually capable of

Stop exercising and start Moving in ways you’ve never done before

Stop exercising and start Acknowledging the world around you

Stop exercising and start Paying Attention to how you move, live and breathe

Stop exercising and start Experimenting with new ideas and concepts

Stop exercising and start Being Creative with your body and mind

Stop exercising and start Learning & Growing

Stop exercising and start Feeling Alive for a change

Stop Being A Zombie.

For many exercising can become boring or feel like a chore. That’s because there is no passion in it. So many of us exercise just because it’s healthy and we have to because we were told we should.

Thus we end up doing it for the sake of it. There is no pleasure in what we do. And that for me is a waste of time and a waste of life.

[tweetthis]Learn, develop and be mindful and you will never ever have to workout a day in your life.[/tweetthis]

The Merisoiu Technique was created by bringing all the above elements together and more. The 15 elements above at the philosophy of the technique.

The Merisoiu Technique is not another fitness routine or bootcamp, it is based on technique, smart coaching, focus and creativity which enables women to push boundaries for physical, mental and spiritual growth and development.

So stop exercising and embrace The Merisoiu Technique philosophy right here at Urban Women Fitness. To find out how you can work with Founder and Coach Alexandra Merisoiu click here.

March 31, 2015

The First Step To Take As A Beginner In Fitness

I love to work with beginners or those coming back to exercising. I love to witness the huge changes from one session to the other and watch them learn and develop from scratch. The journey is amazing.

Of course I like to work with you advanced runners and fitness enthusiasts as well, for the same reasons because I teach you something new so you develop new skills as well.

But this blog is for beginners and particularly if you used to exercise or practice a sport and for a good amount of time you haven’t been on any fitness regime.

These are some the problems you might encounter as you come back to fitness, or at least the problems many of my clients face on our first session:

– you suddenly realize that what you used to be able to do with ease now it’s challenging, i.e. easily run 10k nonstop
– you become aware of the lack of strength, reduced cardiovascular fitness and low endurance levels
– you become frustrated thinking you used to be able to do those things so easily
– you feel disappointed that you do not progress as fast as you throughout you would
– you run out of patience and might even start hating exercise as you find it very difficult
I’ve been there not once but many times. So I know exactly how it feels. But I will not tell you any of my stories in this blog.

Instead I will give you the first few steps and how you should look at things so you don’t give up or end up hating exercising.

First steps into getting your fitness levels up:

1. Decide why you want to get your fitness levels up.

Health and weight loss are not good enough reasons. Health should always be there and weight loss will not always be there. No matter what you do your weight will go up and down throughout your life and, for many, that is demoralizing. So make sure you know why you are doing what you are doing.

2. Enjoy your training.

Really, there’s no point forcing yourself into doing something you hate. My clients come to me because they just don’t like the gym. If I made them go into a gym they would feel locked in a dusty, smelly, loud box. So they enjoy the outdoors and the skills they learn and develop with me. They do something they get better at and they experience a sense of fulfillment.

3. Enjoy the company of your Coach.

It’s good to have a Coach you can lean into when things get difficult. It’s even better if you like your Coach, the teaching methods, exercises, the empathy, enthusiasm, energy, philosophy (if they have one) and what they stand for. You will know you got the right Coach for you the moment you meet up.

4. Patience.

This is probably the most common issue, lack of patience that is. You know you were at a certain level of fitness a while ago and you expect to come back to it quickly or not even notice a difference. Then you realize you actually need to start all over again. That can be demoralizing. This is where a good Coach comes in handy, by the way. Have patience and focus on the process. Focus on your training routines, on your plans, and just take one step at a time. Sometimes it’s good to ignore assessments, just do your workout as results come after you put the effort in and you will know when you get the results. Understand that any transformation takes time.

5. Consistency.

No matter what you choose to do as your fitness or sport routine if you don’t do it on a regular basis you will get nowhere. Furthermore practice and practice some more and go back to basics as this will cement the foundations from which you can build further. With your Coach, if you have one, if you don’t contact me, make sure you focus on building really strong foundations. If you know how to do one proper pressup then you are able to count to 10 by yourself. You do not need a coach for that. But you do need a coach to make sure that pressup is damn good and efficient so you don’t injure your body.

Key points to bear in mind:

– it takes time
– you cannot expect results without putting the effort in first
– be accountable to someone you look up to and are inspired by and who can push you hard but also understands where you are
– one training session a week will not do anything, think a minimum of 3 to see some improvements
– your training never stops after your session, take the lessons home and incorporate them into your lifestyle
– a run (literally or figurative expression) is not about the finish line but about what happens between the start line and the finish line. It’s good to set a goal, plan towards it, then forget about it and focus on the process, on the plan.

[tweetthis]A run is not about the finish line but about what happens between the start line and the finish line.[/tweetthis]

These are the things I stand for. After 20 years of being a competitive athlete, on and off, and practicing many other sports than the one I compete in, Karate Shotokan, I’ve been through moments like this many, many times.

I know how it feels and I know how to guide you through the process. If you need a structure, a clear plan and someone to give you that kick up the bum then don’t hesitate to book a call with me right now.

March 8, 2015March 8, 2015

Finding Balance In Life

I am the Coach who helps women find the right balance in their lives. The physical-mental-spiritual balance and the family-professional-personal life balance.

So many of my clients come to me seeking this. And I give them the tools, knowledge and support they need to grow, develop and nurture the seeds of wellbeing.

Everyone is seeking balance. Whatever that may mean to each of you. But what is this balance I am talking about?

Teach your body and brain what balance is

This is how I see things, and as I said in other blogs don’t believe me, think for yourself and decide.

We run from one corner to another, always in a rush, always looking at the time and always under some type of pressure. We seldom, if ever, stop to breath and look around.

Some of us seldom pay attention to the world around us and the one within us for longer than a few minutes, if that.

Under these circumstances is it really possible to be or find “balance”?

And are your body and brain able to recognize balance at all?

Teach your body and mind what balance is and how it feels first. How? By doing, throughout your day, small things you qualify in your mind as being balanced: balancing your backpack on both shoulders, balancing your body weight evenly on both your feet when standing, uncross your legs when sitting and place them flat on the ground.

The more you think about balance throughout the day the more balance you will attract in other areas of your life.

It’s the small things that make the difference. It’s the details that we, as society, are failing to observe. And it’s the details that make the whole….always.

Think balance and you will receive balance.

But the reality is…

Philosophy is so easy. Everyone gives wise advice, including myself, and they are all true….in theory. When you actually get to applying them that’s the challenge.

The truth is you will always lose balance. It’s not something new. It’s not a shock to you. When you have an awesome day something happens and throws you off balance.

Some are thrown off balance by something like a sudden rain when they are at the beach. Look at your life. How many times are you thrown off balance?

And how many of these events are actually real enough to be taken seriously?

The reality is that unless you learn to see the other side of the coin you will always feel miserable because there will always be events to throw you of balance.

The other side of the coin I’m talking about is the one that helps you develop further and grow, and grow and grow some more from these unbalances.

Actually balance comes from unbalance. How are you suppose to know what balance it if you never experienced unbalance? It’s like night and day, you see what I mean?

Be grateful for those moment when you feel you lost balance because they guide you to the path of balance. If you learn to see the other side of the coin that is.

Unusual experiences

As a professional woman do you like to walk through muddy puddles, walk in pouring rain and stay for hours outdoors in the cold winter doing balance exercises? In most cases the answer is no.

All my clients experience mud, rain, cold winds and winters at some point in their training programs with me. Normally they would all pull back and give up their training day because of these obstacles.

Yet, when they train with me they know that everything (particularly breaking the rule of being clean, ha ha) makes them push boundaries for physical and mental growth and development.

It’s unusual, different it’s exciting and exhilarating. It’s liberating.

Being out of their comfort zones makes them grow. You see, after they train with me they feel liberated. This is how some of them describe the experience they have. They see the other side of the coin, the other side of cold, wet, muddy days. The side that makes them grow.

Injuries

The most recent experience I had myself was yesterday, Saturday the 7th of March.

I competed in Bracknell Legends Shotokan Karate competition. I went there convinced I’d leave with 2 first places.

Instead, I left with 2 third places, a sore eye and a severely sprained middle left finger. It’s all purple and swollen as I type and it makes writing this blog bloody difficult. It’s not fractured though.

Today I went to my regular karate class. And I immediately saw the benefit of the injury and of not using my left hand.

I usually fight with my left leg and hand forward. That’s my strongest, fastest stance. Now I am being forced to change that and use my weakest side of the body. Now I block and attack ONLY with the right hand and arm and legs.

By damaging my left hand I am actually strengthening the weaker side of my body. And that will only make me stronger. Being ambidextrous has many benefits but that’s a topic of another blog.

Conclusion

No matter which example you take, in each of them you see BALANCE. In the first one is balancing the adult and the child.

In the second example you see balance between the left and right side of the body, left and right brain hemisphere, Ying and Yang.

Advice

I cannot give you advice through a blog. These things are so individual. I’d need to know more about you and your life and then point the path for you to take.

There is always something that needs balancing or re-balancing in everyone’s life. Because no matter what we do we will always be thrown off balance sooner or later.

What will make you grow is how you interpret these unbalances. How you will grow from them. There is always a way to grow from an unbalance in life.

So are you seeking balance in your life? If you feel what I wrote here is something that resonates with your please email me and let’s talk about it more at alexandra@urbanwomenfitness.com

March 4, 2015

3 Things That Happen Instantly When You Train With Nature’s Elements

1. Stepping out of your comfort zone

You’ll never ever progress being comfortable. Nature will get your out of your comfort zone at every single training session, no exception.

The thing is that your mind will be so busy being out of the comfort zone that any other thoughts are way out of your mind. You only thing about what you are doing at that point in time, that’s it.

2. Realizing how strong you actually are

I’m not talking about muscles, that’s easy & anyone can build up to be physically strong. I’m talking about mental strength. There are some situations where muscles do not help.

3. Always finding something new

Every single session will be different even if you do the exact same exercises in the exact same place. Nature changes from day to day, hour to hour, you are challenged at all levels: physical, mental, spiritual.

And as nature changes you change, you become stronger and more resilient every time you train with it (nature that is).

Then you have the official right to BRAG. Anyone can train on a nice, sunny day. But how many of your friends can train outdoors at zero degrees or below on a windy evening? Not too many believe.

I believe in training outdoors because once you step out there you become someone else.

ALWAYS pushing boundaries for physical, mental and spiritual growth & development.

Ready to step out of your comfort zone and change your life for good? I can show you how, book a FREE call with me.

March 1, 2015

3 Ways To Cope Better With A Stressful Working Environment

I was asked this by one of my readers. And she has a point there. The environment we live and work in for at least 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, can have a great impact on our personal and family lives.

It can be positive and that would be great, but many times it’s not. So how do you deal with it?

Before becoming a Coach and working for myself I was an employee. I worked as an insurance broker, in corporate banking, photography and hospitality industries.

In each case there were situations and people who would not be on the same wave length as me. We did not get along at all and made our lives miserable.

As opposed to how I am today, calm and patient, back then I used to get angry, stressed and frustrated on anything and everything. But that was ages ago.

Over the years I learnt how to deal with these type of situations and not allow them to affect me. Sometimes they do, I’m not going to lie, but it’s very mild and I clear them fast.

So here are 3 things for you to try. Depending on your situation they may or may not work, so give them a try and post your comments so I know how they work and guide you further as needed.

#3. Take a detour

After a tough day at work you want to clear your mind and energy before you go home. So make a detour somewhere where you enjoy spending time and with someone you enjoy spending time, or even alone.

I like spending time with myself, especially when I need some expert advice 😀

That being said, going for a pint is not what I’m thinking. And meeting friends who complain and talk only about the awful day they had is not a great idea either.

Choose more calm and quiet places where you can gather your thoughts with people who make you feel extraordinary.

When I was working in corporate banking, in winter, I used to go ice skating every single evening after work. Sometimes I didn’t feel like going.

But that’s the thing, because my energy was low and my mind was so full of stuff it felt like a burden. Once on the ice it wouldn’t take long to get my positive and enthusiastic energy level back to normal.

In the other seasons I’d go running or practice different sports. That’s my thing: sports.

#2. While at work

When you are at work and things are getting out of hand here are some things to think about:

1. Go for a short walk in your break, clears the mind

2. Stop and pay attention to your breathing. My habit is to focus on my heart area and breath into it 3 times, normal breathing. When I have time I do it for longer. This slows down your heart rate and calm the nervous system. You can do this throughout the day and not only when you feel stressed or overwhelmed.

3. Smile. Yep, force the smile. You will instantly feel better and people around you will start feeling better. They will end up laughing at you and before you know it everyone is in a happy mood. Do it in front of the mirror in the bathroom alone if you don’t want anyone to witness it though. I’m serious, smile.

4. Pay attention to the words you speak. When you use words like “this place is awful”, “I hate him/her” or “I can’t wait to leave” you make these things real. Believe me, been there done that.

So back in the old days I used to say out loud, to anyone who’d listen, the opposite of what I was feeling when I was down. This made me feel amazing and people around me would compliment me on my positive and enthusiastic attitude.

I’d say things like “every day is a learning experience”, “what I like about what I do is that it challenges me to learn more and get better. All this will help me in the future.”, “I think our boss’s plan can actually work, let’s see how it goes before we decide it’s not good”.

I’d also see the good things in people, those small things that are positive and buried underneath their worst character traits. Everyone helped me grow to the person I am today, even if they drove me mad sometimes. I see/saw this as a learning experience rather than a destructive one.

So when you tell yourself something you become exactly that. I’m not talking about “fake it till you make it” rather about actually seeing the good things around you because there are always, always good things, even if they’re small. Open your eyes and actually see.

Exercise: make a list of all the good things about your work and the people you work with. For each person make a list of things that are good. It will help you see and focus on those good things.

#1. The Outdoors

I am a firm believer in taking long walks outdoors after leaving the office. The space and fresh air clears the mind and calms down the nervous system. By the time you get back home you’ve cleared most of the negative emotions and thoughts.

When you take the walk allow your mind to buzz, let it talk, talk to yourself, let everything out. It’s like counselling, and it’s free. And it can also be a meditation, walking meditation that is.

Besides the only person you can get expert advice from is yourself.

That’s how I leave my clients feeling. I take them outdoors where they exercise, they meditate but we also created space and find calmness.

They find the positive person to spend time with, they learn to be healthy and strong and we also laugh a lot. All I mentioned above and more.

Do you need further guidance? No worries, you can book a free call with me and we can talk about it, I can even take you through a guided meditation.

It’s different form your usual meditations and that’s why my clients love them so much. It’s fits in with the modern world.

Book the free call right here and let’s chat.

February 25, 2015February 26, 2015

Why Training 4 Days A Week Is Essential For Transformational Results

If you brushed your teeth only once a week would your teeth be healthy? The answer is no…..at least I hope so.

So why do you think that training once a week can actually get you the results you want?

Whether we talk about weight loss, toning, fitting into your favourite jeans, overcoming depression, once a week effort will not make a difference.

If you want transformational results you NEED to transform your habits, your life. And exercising is one of the most important aspects of your life.

I am sure I don’t need to tell you about scientific facts proving that exercising (whether it’s yoga or intense workouts) is healthy for all aspects of your life: physical, psychological, emotional, social.

And I may be biased but I do believe that taking your training outdoors makes again a HUGE difference. I see this all the time.

I have clients I trained in a gym, with weights and treadmills and all these things for over a year. Really challenging exercises. When I took them outdoors their bodies changed massively in a matter of months.

But not only their bodies, they were also more focused, ADHD symptoms dissolved, they became more patient and so on. But those clients train with me at least twice a week and alone twice a week.

It’s in your genes

As human beings we have always been moving, running, climbing, carrying, lifting, throwing for millions of years, every day. Every Day! It’s in your genes, whether you accept it or not.

Now you attempt to go AGAINST your nature. Against what your body needs and you focus only on what your brain wants: comfort – 1 lousy exercising session a week.

That’s not even half of what your body has been used to for millions of years. And you expect transformational results…

We have created an environment for our comfort, for our brains but our bodies are still behind, a long way behind.

If you do not keep in touch with your body you will suffer the consequences.

There’s no time

Something I hear every time I talk to someone about anything. Ladies…there is no such thing as “no time”.

I am one of the people who should say that night and day. I’ve done almost 1 year’s worth of progress in 6-7 months. And ever since I can remember I always did 10 times more than everyone else. I also got 10 times more than everyone else.

No one “has time”, we all make the time we need to do the things we DECIDE to spend the time we have on. I believe it was Earl Nightingale I heard talking about this.

Whenever I feel like saying “I don’t have time” I stop and say “I choose do to something else with the time I have”. Do this and things will begin to change.

I decide what I do with my time. Sometimes I give up a few hours of sleep a week. Sometimes I gives up going out with friends, partying and having fun.

When things need to get done you need to choose what you will do with your time. It’s simple…

From now on NEVER say “I don’t have time”. The more you say it, the more you believe it and the more true it becomes.

To transform your life you have to decide what you are going to do with your time. You want to exercise more? Then make the time in your life for that.

And you want to transform your life? Make time for 4 sessions a week.

Making time for 4 sessions a week to get transformational results

I’ve been really strict with what I wrote in this blog. But I had to and I hope it woke you up and made you understand that nothing with transform if you don’t change the way you think and the words you speak.

So here is how I make time to do 1000 things in one day. I give you this not because I want to prove something but because I am hoping you will take something out of them

1. Discipline. When I get lazy then I work twice as hard to recover the time I lost. Be disciplined enough to go out there and do your 4 sessions.

2. Accountability – have a Coach. I am accountable to 4 people in my life right now: Amanda my business and marketing coach, Michael – natural movement and OCR coach and Sensei Robin and Sensei Graham – my Karate coaches. They always keep an eye on me to make sure I don’t fall back. It’s difficult sometimes but when I get the results it’s worth all the effort.

3. Accountable to myself. I admit I am hard of myself. Many people tell me this. But that’s how I get what I want out of life. It’s difficult to please myself but when I do it’s for massive transformations and breakthroughs and I give myself a high five. And sometimes a hug (shhhh….don’t tell anyone). Expect great things from yourself, get those 4 sessions in to get results.

4. Say no to parties, movies, nights out. It takes discipline and commitment but hey….who said it’s going to be easy. No to parties, YES to training to get transformation results.

5. Have a strong WHY. This is what Amanda taught me. She says that if you have a strong enough why you can overcome almost any how. And looking back I always had a huge WHY behind my actions. Everything I ever did has a strong why and strong emotions behind. So this way you will make the time to do your 4 days a week training.

So if you want transformational results, get those 4 sessions a week in. They do not all need to be intense and sweaty, but they need to be there if you think you need to exercise more.

Yoga, Tai Chi, running, natural movement, anything, get them in there so you can make the transformations. Otherwise you will struggle all your life.

But I can make things easier for you

I have a program which makes things easier. This program is for a period of 6 months and you will do 2 sessions a week for the first 3 months and then 4 sessions a week for the last 3 months.

Plus you get:

Accountability
Nutrition guidance
Training plans we create together to fit your lifestyle and your personality
Weekly calls to make sure you are doing the work to transform your life
You get your sessions recorded so you don’t miss anything
You get life access to all my online resources: exclusive articles, podcasts, webinars
And much, much more…

It will leave you feeling

Proud that you achieved your transformational goals and you did not give up
Confident that you know exactly what and how to do things moving forward, to continue transforming your life
Enthusiastic when you think about exercising. No more confusion.
Relaxed you have the right knowledge and right person behind you
Motivated and inspired to move on, reach your goals and purpose

If you want to know more about this particular program please email (and mention this blog and program) at alexandra@urbanwomenfitness.com

February 19, 2015March 8, 2015

How Does The Merisoiu Technique Really Work

The Merisoiu Technique or TMT is based on Six Guiding Principles of a Healthier Lifestyle:

1. Earthing or Reconnecting With The Earth
2. Natural Movement or Reclaiming Your Nature
3. Zanshin or Awareness and Mindfulness
4. Nutrition
5. Personal Development
6. Habits Transformation

TMT is not a step by step plan, you cannot do one principle and then go to the next.

All principles blend into each other creating a bigger picture which gives you a better understanding of how health really works and stop seeing health as a goal in your life.

Health is something we should not have to think about, and I should not write about…. but I do for some reason. We should not make a life purpose out of it, a milestone or a goal.

How I came about it

The simple answer is 20 years of sweat, blood and tears. Ha ha, seriously it’s everything I’ve learnt and applied from my coaches and mentors from the age of 8 to this day. And I am still learning of course.

TMT has strong roots in Japanese Martial Arts, particularly Karate Shotokan, but Daito Ryu and Ninjutsu as well. I also apply some of the internal Chinese Martial Arts philosophies of Tai Chi and Chi Gong.

Everyone sees Martial Arts as fighting methods. I agree and disagree with this.

Martial Arts, when the students is wise enough to take the essence of the art, can be a powerful Personal Development journey.

This is a different story of how Martial Arts planted the seeds of discipline, determination and motivation in me from a very early age. A story I will talk about in another blog.

For now it is enough to say that The Merisoiu Technique brings together everything I learnt and applied in six pillar which are the Six Guiding Principles.

Here’s how TMT principles intertwine:

Natural movement if the physical part of the program which takes place outdoors.

But it’s not just Natural Movement you are practicing because another principle is involved as well, Earthing.

You may do natural movement training indoors but then you are missing a very important element of your health: reconnecting with nature, with the organic matter of which you and me are formed. Break that connection and you suffer the consequences.

Natural movement in the outdoors challenges your body in so many different ways, from flexibility to strength, power and physical fluidity and balance to mental focus and emotional stability.

Zanshin is an essential part of natural movement.

When they hear about outdoors training most people think about bootcamps. Natural movement is NOT bootcamp, it’s technique. Technique requires awareness and mindfulness, energy and focus.

This does not mean that your training will not be challenging. They will be more challenging than you imagine. And no, you do not need machines to get results. Training outdoors is more challenging that indoors.

Nutrition is what gives you the energy, focus and strength for your training.

You cannot train the body on the outside and forget about the inside or the other way around. They come together to form the whole. Only then you can say your body is healthy.

Personal development is continuous learning and growing.

It’s about rewiring your brain, doing things you haven’t done before and explore your true potential. Through natural movement and Zanshin you develop, learn and grow.

Habits transformation is the principle that brings everything together.

No matter how much you study, apply and you are coached on if you do not address your habits you will not be consistent and you will not get the results you seek.

However, it is not easy to wake up and go training at 6 am. It’s not easy to put your training kit on in less than 1 min and run out the door to meet your coach (that’s discipline). It is not easy to say no to ice-cream when we love it so much. It is not easy to do anything.

That’s why the habits transformation principles in The Merisoiu Technique takes you through a series of steps which you can apply to any habit to create and make it stick long term without so much struggle.

So here’s another benefit of The Merisoiu Technique: IT SAVES YOU TIME…. and money.

So instead of going to the gym, then doing earthing separate because science has proven to be beneficial, then of course you need Yoga and some fluidity so you go to Tai Chi lessons. But then you want to practice mindfulness and awareness so you go to yet another class where you spend more time searching for it and travelling to it and of course more money.

So stop spending time and money and embrace The Merisoiu Technique.

This is a brief intro to The Merisoiu Technique so if you really want to know how it works and how it works for you in particular, book a FREE call with me and let’s chat.

And read more about the technique by downloading the free ebook

February 17, 2015February 17, 2015

Purpose vs Goals

You know I always mention about “the purpose behind your training” and I always say the purpose is not the same thing as a goal.

I never trained myself without a purpose. I always had something behind, a purpose for training, a purpose for competing. Training or working out for the sake of it was never an option for me.

This is what I believe or how I feel the difference between the purpose and the goal.

Defining the Purpose and Goal

First let’s define the two terms.

A goal is the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.

A purpose is the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. A person’s sense of determination.

So from the definition we can tell that purpose is the big picture.

When we look at weight loss, exercising for health or toning, goals are very important, but if there’s not purpose behind your weight loss or toning you will get bored and stop, or simply give up when the tough get tough.

Then of course you want to reach your goals so you start again. And because there is no purpose you stop and so on so forth..

You need to find the purpose behind your training, so you give meaning to your training.

So here are some differences between Purpose and Goal and I see things. I suggest you actually take your goal now and try to find the purpose behind it.

1. A goal has a deadline, in many cases a purpose doesn’t

2. The purpose is the reason you want to reach your goal

3. Purpose gives meaning to your actions, and even your life

4. Goals have a specific aim, the purpose doesn’t

5. You can have many milestones and goals to get close to your purpose

6. Your purpose will influence your goals

7. Your purpose is your mission. Purpose is personal and it’s who you are.

8. Goals are, or should be, aligned with your purpose

For example…

I’ll try to give an example from my life right now. In obstacle racing my purpose is to become an elite racer.

My purpose has no deadline and it’s not really measurable.

The immediate goal, which has a deadline and it is measurable, is to finish at least one race in top 10 by the end of the year.

My purpose will gives meaning to my actions: training, nutrition, mindset, lifestyle of an elite racer.

Becoming an elite racer is the reason I was to achieve my goal.

And my purpose influences my goals. If my purpose was different than the goal would have changed. Does that make any sense at all?

How do you find the purpose

I am sure there are loads of ways to do this. But as I like to keep things simple, as much as I can, I always ask “WHY” many, many times.

I learnt this from my coaches. I just liked the simplicity and put it into practice and it works.

Plus I can see the results when my coach Amanda asks “why” 100 times to get to the roots of what I am doing, so I can see it works even on myself.

Need to find the REAL purpose behind your training so you can reach your goals with less pain and resistance? Then book a free call with me.

February 14, 2015February 17, 2015

Struggling to stay motivated? This is why…

When I ask my clients what is their greatest health and wellness struggle in that point in time I often get this answer: finding it difficult to stay motivated to exercise.

And the usual reasons are:

1. They don’t really know what to do

2. They know but they find nothing interesting in what they do

3. It’s boring to go to the same place, do the same thing (even if they change exercises), see roughly the same people and have the same view all the time.

There are many other reasons but there are probably the most common I get.

However there is more than that. These reasons that lead to lacking motivation are just the surface. Underneath there may be many other reasons, such as:

1. There is no purpose behind your training or exercising.

If the reason you do what you do is not strong enough, when you hit the wall you will most probably give up. There is nothing to keep you going. Read my blog on Purpose vs Goals to get an idea of what you should look for.

2. You do not grow.

As human beings we are always on a path of learning. Once we stop doing that we lose interest. Progressing from 10 press ups to 20 is not learning. Learning is developing the technique or learning different techniques. Here you also need creativity and colour in your workouts.

If you have a great purpose (goals are not purposes! – will write about this) and you learn and develop then the motivation will be there for longer and will be stronger.

3. There is NO accountability.

You can be accountable to yourself up to a point. When the tough gets tough and life gets in the way many people slide back and then have to start all over again. And that is a motivation killer itself. Are you one of them?

Why do you think top athletes still have coaches? Do you think they cannot train themselves at their level? One of the reasons they do, and one of the reasons I have 3 coaches training me right now in Karate, Obstacle Racing and running and business, is accountability.

There are moments in your life when you want to stop, when things are so difficult in your life that you cannot go any further.

That’s when your Coach comes into the picture. She will always be there for you. Of course you will always be responsible for your own actions and thus the results but a Coach is critical for you to keep on the path and move towards your purpose.

So are you lacking motivation to exercise and stay healthy?

I am an athlete and I know exactly what that means and how it feels. I’ve had loads of ups and down in 20 years of competitive sports. I have also had many, many coaches who supported me along the way.

I know how to coach you so you stay motivated and you will also learn how to stay motivated even after we finish our program.

With me you have a purpose, you grow and learn and you are accountable. Of course you will also reach your goals and milestones.

Book a free call with me so we can talk in more detail about your purpose and goals.

February 10, 2015May 23, 2015

3 Mistakes Women Make Which Increase Stress Levels

#3. Obsessed about weight gain and weight loss

Keeping a healthy weight is crucial for your health. However weighing yourself every day or every other day won’t get you anywhere and you will be continuously worried and stressed that you are getting nowhere.

Your weight will fluctuate from day to day, often throughout the day as you eat and drink. Better weigh yourself at the end of he week to see where you are on a weekly, not daily basis.

And if you really want to lose weight, doing it fast will get you nowhere. Sure, you will lose it – the weight, but you will put it right back up.

When you deal with weight loss have a plan, a healthy lifestyle plan, and stick to it. Have a schedule of exercising, create healthy habits for the entire family and just focus on the process only. This will also reduce the stress and frustration of slow progress.

#2. Worrying about every little detail

You like to do things well, to strive for perfection. I know, I do the same. However, many times, although we strive for perfection, we cannot reach it not matter how hard we try.

This tension of trying to get things 100% right leads to working long hours, frustration and stress. The result… unhealthy lifestyle.

Because no matter how well you nourish yourself, and how often you exercise, you also need to look at your emotional wellbeing. Then we can talk about real and not partial health.

#1. Not allowing for some space in their lives

You look after everyone else and there is not time and space left for yourself. As a result you are continuously under pressure and stressed.

And you also transmit that pressure, tension and stress to the people around you, particularly your family and children. Believe me when I say your family suffers a lot when you are unwell, I tell you this from a child’s perspective.

As a child and teenager I took all my mother’s stress, anxiety and depression, all my parents’ anger and violence into my early 20’s. Only when I left to live on my own in UK I managed to heal and become the opposite of them. Nowadays I manage stress in a totally different way, and no more anxiety, depression or anger.

The solution

But it’s so difficult to make the space in our minds and bodies to allow ourselves to heal and nurture ourselves.

No worries, this is why I am here doing what I do. I can show you how to make that little bit of space in your world to allow yourself to slow down, breathe, relax and then resume your hard work and make things happen faster and better than ever before.

You may think I am talking about a sort of meditation or some mindfulness techniques. No, no, none of this. I have a much, much simpler and easier to implement habit to help you relax and find a little bit of calmness in your life.

A habit which no one ever considers because it’s so obvious we overlook it all the time. I can show you what it is, FOR FREE. Book a free call with me and I will share it with you, my little secret weapon 😉

February 6, 2015May 23, 2015

How the meaning you give to your words can make you sick

The meaning you give to the words, events and experiences unfolding in your life will decide whether you will feel miserable and defeated or stronger and more confident than ever, after anything and everything you encounter in life.

And that event can be related to your weight, a cold or flu, stress, anxiety or anything else.

What we tell ourselves and what we tell those around us will influence the outcomes of that particular experience you are going through right now.

Whether we talk about stress, depression, illness, job loss, overweight, all consequences come as a results of our interpretation of the world around us.

In terms of illness “Science has proven, beyond doubt, that the content of our thoughts and emotions directly and immediately influence our biochemistry” Kelly Howell (Sound Healer, Meditation Guide, Consciousness Researcher)

This does not mean that if you are ill you can suddenly come off your medication, but you can use this knowledge in parallel to it.

The meaning you give to the words you speak

I’ve experienced cold and flues many times, like everyone else. A cold is a cold, although I think I never actually had a flu.

And we generally see the common cold as coughing, sneezing, runny nose, lethargy, feeling lifeless and miserable.

But how I see (or interpret) the common cold as opposed to how many others see it makes the difference between how I feel and how most other people feel.

~ when I catch a cold I feel energetic, while they feel lifeless.

~ when I go running in shorts in the middle of winter they sit in the kitchen thinking about how bad they feel.

~ while I am more enthusiastic, and stronger at all levels they lie on the couch with pills and tea in front of them thinking “I feel like crap (pardon my French – no offence French people, this is just how the saying goes)

So, in the rare occasions I catch a cold, I feel more energetic, more enthusiastic, more confident and literally stronger than many other times when I am under the common cold, while you probably feel lifeless, lethargic and miserable.

And I will give you MY SECRET,

the ONE thing I do to feel awesome even when I’m ill

In high school I was sick and tired of telling everyone I caught a cold (or it caught me!) all the time. It made me feel worse actually.

The mere mentioning of the sentence “I caught a cold” made my mind associate it with being sick.

So one day I began doing something different. And since then I never changed it. I began telling everyone this:

“You are WRONG, I am not sick, I did not catch a cold.

I am creating anti-bodies…”

And I kept telling this to literally everyone who asked me if I was sick or who didn’t ask for that matter. And the more I repeated this the stronger my belief was that that’s what was actually happening.

Everyone was surprised to witness how well I was training (as part of Romania’s National Karate Shotokan Squad), how focused I was in class, how much energy and vitality I had.

To be honest I was amazed as well.

So for me now the

COMMON COLD = ANTIBODIES PRODUCTION PROCESS

The meaning of “Stress”

Based on the same principles. We learnt and now associate the word stress with bad things (weight gain, depression, anxiety, lack of productivity etc all the bad stuff).

So when we tell ourselves “I am stressed”, your body immediately reacts to bring forth those results.

If we were to replace the word “stress” with the word “apple” (I know it’s stupid but bear with me).

So if apple was not a fruit but its definition would be that of ” a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances.” (the definition of stress) then every time we would use the word apple we would automatically go into that state of emotional tension.

The meaning you give to the words you use will determine how you feel

mentally, physically, emotionally and socially, whatever those words may be.

Again I associate stress with success, and so every time I am under “stress” or stressed I work harder and I am more focused. And that’s how it works for me.

And how I did that is simply telling everyone that stress makes me better at what I do. While they were telling me the opposite in their case.

The same principles can be applied to weight loss and many other events and experiences you go through over the course of your life.

This is where I come into play. I help women overcomes stress and depression through The Merisoiu Technique, enabling them to push boundaries for their physical, mental and spiritual development.

So if you are looking for guidance with something that’s going on in your life right now and you can’t shift it alone, book a free call with me and I will give you the tools you need. Yes! I give you stuff for free on the free call.

February 2, 2015March 13, 2015

Weight loss is simple…

Ha, I knew this will draw your attention. But I am serious, it is simple. If you struggle with weight you might say this is nonsense. But hear me out, read the whole thing including my story at the end. Read with an open mind.

Weight loss is simple, keeping it off is bloody difficult. You can lose weight fast in so many ways including going day and night to the gym for an X number of months, stop eating carbs and fats, being “beasted” into running and weight lifting, pills and shakes and all other stuff.

But what happens when all this stops?

Because you can’t do this forever. You know why? Well….you will be miserable because you want to live your life, you only have one after all, and it’s short. So you want to enjoy it not feel you are trapped in your own body.

You want to eat a biscuit from time to time, you want chips now and then , you want to have an ice cream once in a blue moon, because they are tasty, your brain is thankful, you are enjoying life.

So after you lose the weight and start living your life with pleasure again, even if that means you will have an ice cream once a year, what will happen?

I’ll tell you what will happen. After you put your body and brain under so much pressure to avoid fats and carbs and everything else, when they finally get some they will hold on to it thinking they will probably not get any more because that’s what you taught them.

And every time you eat something you “shouldn’t” your body will keep it all.

So what is The Secret to losing weight and keeping it off

Oh the secret….there’s no secret. Sorry to disappoint you. Harv Ecker said in a video that doing SIMPLE THINGS on an ongoing basis will change who you are.

Yep, I’m sorry again, but to get the weight off and keep it off you need to look for simple things and do them on an ongoing basis. Don’t worry, they will become automatic and you will not struggle with them after a while. But you should look for simple things anyway, so you don’t struggle.

Weight loss is a result of a healthy lifestyle and a healthy lifestyle has several components: Body, Mind, Emotions, Soul and Social.

If and when you understand this, really understand it, that’s when you will get your weight loss with a lot less resistance.

But focusing on weight loss alone will get you nowhere, and you will end up slim, sad and miserable.

Here’s what I mean by simple things which you do on an ongoing basis that will change who you are:

Simple Thing #1. Eat healthy

You heard me saying it before and I say it again.

Understand that weight loss and weight maintenance is the result of a healthy life. And that means eating food how mother nature gives them to you (95% of the time at least, exceptions are allowed). That’s fats, carbs, protein, vitamins and minerals. Everything that’s in the books.

Simple Thing #2. Exercise a little

Walk, run, practice a sport, 15 – 30 min a day 4-5 days a week. If now you walk everyday and you don’t lose weight that means your body is ready to take exercising at the next level, maybe a run or maybe longer or/and faster walking.

Or maybe searching and finding a sport you like instead of going to the gym if you don’t enjoy it that much. Or how about spending more time outdoors?

Simple Thing #3. Be happy, be grateful

This is emotional and spiritual health.

See the small beautiful things in life, because they are everywhere. I used to be happy collecting dried leaves in autumn and I love feeling the texture of a tree bark. Yep….now you know. I am a tree hugger…..as if you didn’t already know… The fact is that it does not take a lot to make me happy.

These are simple things you can do on an ongoing basis. Easier said than done….I know very well what you mean.

The fact is that to do this you need to create space in your mind and in your life so you can see clear and make wise decisions.

And that’s when I come into the picture. I create a healthy, fit and organic lifestyle for my students which they learn to keep by themselves, which stick long term. That’s empowerment, so they achieve and keep and improve their achievements. And I invite you to book a free call with me to go over some of your struggles and find solutions (yes, FREE COACHING on this call!!)

Be consistent, keep going…and going

Something done over 3 days will be a waste of your time. Done over 3 months will do nothing. Done over 1 year will get you nowhever. A simple habit done over 3-4 years will literally change who you are.

This is continuous development. Consistency is key when we want to continuously grow and improve, whether we talk about weight loss and maintenance or being a top athlete. Consistency, even if it’s slow and steady, they trick is to keep at it.

And that’s what my business mentor Amanda Watts keeps repeating and repeating hoping we will all get the picture at some point.

My personal experience with weight loss

And I tell you this from personal experience. Yep…..even since I took a break from Karate I always had problems keeping a balanced weight.

When I was around 18 I was 10kg heavier than today, maybe even more. And that’s because I stopped karate (after 10 years of being in the National Squad) and for 2 years I didn’t do too much sport or physical activity. And I had a friend who was not interested in these things.

And we used to eat junk food and all sorts of crap (pardon my language), day and night. Since that unbalance I experienced weight gain and weight loss throughout the years.

When I started running, in 2 years I became so addicted to it that I went down to 49kg and people thought I was malnourished. Then I slowed down on running and weight went up to my balance point which s 51-53kg. But then it went again to 59kg and down again and so on so forth.

So the way I have maintained my weight balanced throughout the past few years is by following some simple actions and doing them on an ongoing basis. And 3 of them are in this article. It’s as simple as that.

And I enjoy life and food, I have ice cream every other month, and sometimes I have milk chocolate as well and bread, and pizza once or twice a year, same with home made chips.

And I am happy and healthy, and I am not miserable that I can’t eat this and that. And instead of saying I’m not allowed to eat this and that, my mindset was always that I choose not to eat them, and I choose when to have them.

Weight loss is a result of health and not the other way around

…and a healthy life consists of healthy habits. But to transform your current habits you need to go through a step by step process that’s as little painful as possible. But I am here for you, book a free call with me and I will work with you on a couple of habits to get you on the right path.

January 19, 2015May 17, 2015

How I managed to manage my anger and stress

Nowadays anger is as foreign to me as Mars. Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating. But I get angry and stressed out very seldom and when I do it only lasts for a few minutes before I’m back to myself again, the self you all know to be Alexandra. However it didn’t always use to be this way.

Anger and stress used to be 2 constants in my life. Always present, always a burden. As a child I grew up in a very competitive environment and I lived a very angry, stressed and frustrated family life.

As I grew up almost everything would get me angry and make me lose control. From someone cutting in front of me to my mother expressing her opinion on which jeans I should wear as an answer to my questions.

Yes, I was not the calm, patient and thoughtful person you and my clients see today. So what changed? What made me transform?

The experience

I used to be a very shy kid. The kid at the back of the class, on the last chair. I was in the shadows, invisible to everyone, just the way I liked it. But that was what I chose to show my peers. Inside I was a different person, I was a volcano ready erupt any moment. They learnt this as well.

Growing up my volcanic personality was more obvious and more difficult to control. Of course I did not know what I know now and I did not live my life like I do today. There are some things you only learn by experiencing the opposite extreme.

The explosion

I don’t want to make this story too long so I will fast forward to 3-4 years ago when my anger as well as depressive inclinations peaked. No one knew what to do with or to me. Well I decided to come to the UK in the end.

I ended up living in a village where I worked 1 year until I could get my permanent work permit so I can work without restrictions. A place where I had a bus every 3-4 hours to take me to a slightly larger village.

That was the place I fell into the worst and darkest places I ever was in the past. I went into depression for months, almost 1 year actually. I cannot write here all the details.

But what I can tell you is that I used to get angry only by sitting on a bus. Angry at myself, at the world, the people around me, my friend and on everything and everyone that crossed my path.

My ways of dealing with anger were always punching a punching bag, running and trowing myself into cold water if I had any. But those actions did little to solve those feelings. I was addressing something that came from inside myself with things I found outside myself.

The transformation

How can you see the light if you’ve never seen the darkness?

I always wanted to be different from my parents. They were angry all the time, at each other and not only. But how could I achieve calmness if I never knew what anger felt like?

Of course those were not my thoughts back then. I was a volcano in eruption.

Somehow that period slowly dissolved as I began to explore the English country side, walking, running, swimming in cold waters, hanging off trees and walking barefoot through rivers. Then silence replaced anger, frustration, fear and depression. Making me wonder how long will it last.

It seems like it was planned to last forever and for me to help others overcome these moments like I did.

Who I am today

Today I notice many situations which in the past would make me explode with anger. Many situations which would cause me to slip into depression again. But then don’t have the same effect on me. In some cases I am socked of how calm I feel. Is there something wrong with me or what?

The difference is that now I know how to welcome them. How instead of building resistance I just let them past, I even open the doors for them. One for them to enter and one to leave.

This is not something that can really help you is it? I will give you something more applicable then.

The #1 thing that helps me make anger or stress a matter of minutes rather than days, weeks and months

Out of all the things I learnt, I wrote and I preach there is one thing, the most important, which I emphasize to my clients every single time we work together. One basic, overlooked and underestimated but powerful habit we all take for granted.

So the #1 thing I do to achieve this calmness is…..BREATHING. Yep, the simple and powerful, yet underestimated, act of breathing.

But there’s more. It is mindful breathing not breathing for the sake of it. Which we all do all the time.

Sure I’ve now learnt so many other things I may use but I always end up going to the basics, breathing. And the more I practice and the most often I am aware of it the better I get at managing, or controlling, or letting go of these types of feeling. Leaving behind a sense of calmness and stillness, in the body and in the mind.

It’s simple really and I can easily teach you in a 30 min call, for free. I promise that if you use what I teach you in 30 min you will feel the difference in a matter of minutes, just like I do.

Here’s where you can book that call with me.

January 18, 2015June 1, 2015

Building Self-Discipline

Self discipline is a trait everyone should have in their life. Whether it’s related to health, business, diet or fitness self control is what will get consistent results.
No one is born disciplined. It is a behavior we can learn, develop and use for success in any area of our lives. And as any other skill or behavior we can develop it but we can also lose it if we don’t practice it. I tell you this from personal experience.

Why is it good to be self disciplined:

1. Makes it easier to create and follow a plan. If you want to take up running 5 days a week, at 6 am it will be a lot easier to follow through if you have already practiced self discipline.

2. When you are disciplined you are in control of your world and life and you can make more rational decisions without feeling stressed or upset.

3. Self disciplined people get the results they are looking for. As my mentor Amanda Watts would say, consistency is key. When you are self disciplined you are consistent with your work, your training and your goals every day, week and month. You get where you want to get and let nothing get in your way.

4. Self discipline is training or control of oneself and one’s conduct for personal growth. It’s one of the 20% skills that contribute to 80% of results when applied to the right habits or areas of our lives.

5. Daily chores will be less stressful and frustrating. Everything will become easier.

Here are some easy ways you can start to discipline yourself before you go for bigger, more relevant goals in your life:

1. Make a schedule for the first hour after you wake up. For example mine is 20 min practicing Qigong or another type of exercise, 20 min working on my to do list and 20 min reading, listening to TED talks or inspirational videos to get my mind ready for the day.

2. Wake up at the same time every morning. Not 5 min earlier or later and no snooze button. Put your alarm clock, or phone, far away from your bed or in a another room to make you get out of bed to turn it off. Just make sure wherever you leave it you can hear it.

3. Plan a to do list, decide how much time you will spend on each task and do them. Turn off any phones, laptops, email, facebook etc if you don’t need them to avoid getting distracted. You don’t have to start with 1hour per task if that’s difficult to keep up with. Instead start small, 15 min for example, and slowly build up.

4. To build discipline I ask my clients to do food diaries. Besides the fact that we look at their nutritional habits we also build self discipline which helps us later in the program and helps them later to keep going without me

5. And the cherry on top…..sign out of your facebook, email, twitter, linkedin accounts etc and only check them 3 times a day for 1hour maximum. That is if your work does not involve working on social media, even so you can sign off for a few hours a day.
As usual if you have any questions write me and I will answer.

And if you want to learn more please download my free ebook The Merisoiu Technique or book a free consultation to talk to me.

January 10, 2015January 10, 2015

What is a walking consultation and Why I do it

I am the kind of person who talks, out loud that is, on her way to the tube station, who laughs and writes while walking.

I am most creative when I walk. Many of my article outlines are created while I walk. Webinars, workshops, they are all created when I walk. My mind seems to work best when my body is active. A possible reason is the increased blood flow to the brain. I personally blame it on space and freedom of movement and consequently freedom of thinking and creativity.

But I am not the only one engaging in walking meetings. Some psychologists hold their therapy sessions while walking around. “Bringing a little bit of movement enriches the counselling session” says psychotherapist Clay Cockrell.

Kate Hays, PhD, is the author of Working It Out: Using Exercise in Psychotherapy and she first encountered the concept of movement and therapy in the early 1980s. The idea is that rhythmic exercise, such as walking, can be conducive to the process of self-discovery.

When I walk and talk to my clients or friends who accept my invitation for walk instead of sitting in a cafe we create a unique bond. We go on an adventure together and we are in sync with each other.

When we walk we don’t feel “under the microscope” . There is a feeling of freedom and a lessened sense of confrontation. One of Dr Cockrell’s patience says that “taking four walls out of the equation helped me open up and feel more comfortable”.

When we talk about life experiences, especially depression, it is sometimes difficult to make eye contact. Walking side by side makes it easier to open up and to allow yourself to receive advice and guidance.

If we go silent there is no awkward moment. We keep walking until we decide to talk again. In a cafe we feel we have to talk, to ask or comment

Walking is a form of meditation, it allows your mind to tune out from all the chatter.

Research shows that after walking subjective perception of stress decreases significantly and may also bring about feeling uplifted. So after a consultation you can feel more energized and positive for the rest of the day.

Bottom line is that spending time in the outdoors scientifically proven makes you happier, more comfortable to talk and can be a process of self discovery.

So let’s go for a walk.

December 8, 2014December 24, 2014

10 Habits for a Happier, Healthier Monday

Do you dread Mondays? No need to, it’s a day like all the others. But here are my top 10 tips to get your week started positive, healthy and full of energy.

1. Push yourself into an early morning WORKOUT.

Better yet do it outdoor. The fresh, crisp air will wake you up, boost your immune system and get the engine going for the rest of the week.

2. Start with a healthy, colorful BREAKFAST.

And looking forward to it the evening before.

3. Start your week with a morning MEDITATION.

It can be any type of meditation, you can do Tai Chi, walking meditation, yoga, visualization or meditate like a monk. Whatever works for you.

4. Watch and listen to INSPIRATIONAL, POSITIVE speeches and videos.

Nothing better to get your brain into thinking positive from the beginning of the week and get motivated.

Try this amazing track on youtube, one of my all time favorites 50 Positive Thoughts To Live An Awesome Life

5. Start with a SMILE.

Whoever passes your way smile, it will make you feel better and it will brighten up their day as well.

6. Morning STRETCH.

This always wakes me up and relaxes tight muscles from the night before. Don’t be too harsh on yourself, just light stretching. If you have injuries or pains leave the stretches for a bit later after your body moves a little.

7. SILENT your phone at night and don’t use it for 1 hour after you wake up.

According to some studies people who don’t check their social media or use mobile devices are more productive during the day. I would add more clear minded and have more energy. Tried and tested many years ago before reading any statistics. Try it.

8. Make someone a COMPLIMENT

Throughout the day make at least one person a compliment, it can be anyone and about anything. Like the smile this will make their day and you will feel better as well. Win-Win.

9. Start with a list of five things you are GRATEFUL for.

Appreciate the little things as much as the big, important events in your life. They are all part of you and complete your life, and the more you acknowledge them the more often they will happen to you.

10. Each time you meet someone, silently wish them HAPPINESS, JOY and LAUGHTER.

I think this is my favourite. I do all of the above throughout the week and like all of them but this is so powerful that it has to be at the top of my list.

December 2, 2014March 13, 2015

How to let go of stress instantly

As women we wear multiple hats. We take upon us many responsibilities and a lot of stress. That builds up and before you know it, gets out of control. This in turn leads to anxiety, more stress and even depression.

It is important to learn simple and fast ways you can do instantly to relieve the stress, center yourself and regain focus. And here are 3 of them that I use most:

1. Focus on your Heart

Close your eyes, focus on your heart and breath 3 times (deeper than you normally would). Do this now…

Breathing straight into your heart helps you center, find quietness and inner peace. This is particularly important when you feel angry and you want to respond to the situation without regretting it later. This will help you respond rather than just react, throwing out whatever comes to you.

Photo Credit: martinak15 via Compfight cc

2. Relax your Muscles

Close your eyes and feel how your tensed muscles on your face, shoulders, back and arms just relax and drop. A deep breath or sigh can help with this.

Many times we hold our stress and frustration in our bodies. Actually most of the time and especially around the shoulders. When we close the outside world by closing our eyes, we allow ourselves to internalize the feeling, and just let go of the physical tension and with it goes the mental tension.

3. Fake the Smile

There has been scientific research done to prove that even a fake smile has the power to change your mood. Your brain does not make the difference between a fake and a real smile and it reacts the same, releasing hormones in the body which make you feel happier. Try this now…fake a smile.

All these elements are essential parts in my 6 step Outdoor Health and Wellness Program when I work with stressed out women to leave them feeling energized and transformed in as little as 12 weeks.

Please leave your feedback below, I would love to hear how all this has made a difference in how you feel while reading this.

If you’d like to know more please download my free eBook “15 Healthy Habits For The Body”

November 21, 2014March 13, 2015

What meaning do you give to depression?

Dr Alan Cohen, a GP with a special interest in mental health, says that when people get depressed or anxious, they often feel they’re not in control of their lives.

One in Four women suffer from this biological illness (depression) at some point in her lifetime.

A child with a depressed parent is 2 to 4 times more likely to develop depression himself before adulthood.

Extensive research has shown that a mother’s depression, especially when untreated, can interfere with her child’s social, emotional, and cognitive development.

A review of studies going back to 1981 concluded that regular exercise can improve mood in people with mild to moderate depression and it can also play a supporting role in treating severe depression.

There are less people in control of their lives and more people who suffer from depression.

We need and can take control over our lives, through exercise, meditation or anything than brings us joy, calmness, mindfulness and relaxes us.

IMPORTANT: Below are some experiences I went through by myself, I do not assume it is a treatment for depression rather an experience with it (not just sadness) and how it affected me. Please do not use these ideas to replace professional medical treatment.

You give it meaning

When we have a feeling that’s all it is, just a feeling. It does not become good or bad and it does not affect us until we judge it, until we label it as good or bad.

Any experience can have many meanings and we are the ones who give those experiences the meaning in our lives. We have the power to alter the consequence of any experience we go through right this moment.

The only true meaning of any experience is the one we give it. Through meditation and other mental techniques we can also alter the meanings of past experiences.

Questions for yourself

What is the experience you are going through?

What is the meaning you give it?

What is the new meaning you give it?

It is a map for you follow

An experience can show us where we need to focus our attention if we have the wisdom to see it. And we do…

These feelings we have give us a clue that something or someone crossed our way and we are invited to explore that feeling, to ask “why am I having this feeling”, “what is the lesson I am supposed to learn”.

And so the feelings we label as negative become our friends and mentors because they teach us rather than hurt us.

Questions for yourself

Why are you having this feeling, emotion or experience?

What is the lesson you are supposed to learn?

Everything happens in cycles

Everything in our lives unfolds in cycles. Seasons, years, day and night, even ice age and global warming, they happen at shorter or longer periods of time but they are a cycle.

The same is true with our thoughts, emotions and feelings. There is a cycle if you have enough time to observe.

And you should have enough time, or make time, because it is about You, Your Family and Your Child. Isn’t that a good enough reason to “make time”?

Questions for yourself

When, in my past, has this feeling or experience happened again? Or is it a new one?

If it did happen in the past then what was it that I needed to learn and I didn’t?

What is the lesson you are supposed to learn?

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Pull when pushed and Push when pulled, follow the flow

Most modern treatments teach us how to push away the experiences and feelings which might be painful and may hurt us.

In ancient cultures and traditions such as Japanese martial Arts Aikido the opposite is true.

In Aikido you pull when pushed and push when pulled. That means that you go with the flow and the flow will show you where to go.

When we experience something that our beliefs tell us is negative or bad or may lead to negative or bad consequences, we are actually invited to allow this experience to unfold, and not to resist it, not to use strength.

This does not mean we do not follow our doctors recommendations, we do.

This does not mean we have to like it. It means that we can learn from it, we can evolve and ReCreate ourselves based on an experience which showed us a glimpse of who we really are.

Or maybe you can give it a different meaning? 😉

Questions for yourself

Am I trying to suppress my feelings and push away my experiences?

My experience taught me…

I experienced many cycles of depression from the age of 6, with and without sport and exercise. I was part of the National Karate Squat an still being depressed.

That was the result of the environment I lived in and the people I spent my time with, mainly adults with financial, personal and emotional challenges.

In the past 3 years I went through my deepest depression ever, I got over it and I found out what I loved most and what I wanted to do in life. I did not take pills, no therapies, but instead I connected with Earth and with myself and discovered something that was not there before.

At that time I did not know that my believes and interpretation of that experience was the way out of it. I did not know that training outdoor would help me in any way. I knew that being outdoor made me feel calm, clear-minded and relaxed. And that’s all I needed

But I took action nonetheless, I did not wait for it to get worse. I began training outdoor and since then I coached myself and was coached and learned how to use nature for training and achieve a healthier life.

So this is my experience and now, looking back, I can talk about the journey.

It is, however, important to remember that this is not a replacement for professional medical treatment.

There were and are many people in my life who directly and indirectly mentored me. The ideas I believe in and I expressed in this article are lessons learnt from teachers in personal development and applied in my own life whether consciously or unconsciously, but if they worked for me it does not mean they will work for every single person, we are all different.

Finally, give these lessons I learned and wrote here a meaning by yourself.

July 2, 2014December 24, 2014

Stress, anxiety and depression

Stress, anxiety and depression

We tend to try and solve our health and energy drawbacks by changing our
external environment. We try and take pills, supplements in the form of shakes,
energy drinks or vitamins.

Yet, if we were to look within us we would notice that probably the #1 cause
for anxiety, irritable or low self esteem, depression or loss of temper is stress.

NHS UK associates stress with: muscle tension, headaches, muscle pain and dizziness.

Stress can also cause a surge of hormones in your body. These stress hormones
are released to enable you to deal with pressures or threats – the so-called “fight or flight”
response, according to NHS UK.

If you’re constantly under stress, these hormones will remain in your body, leading to the symptoms of stress.

In the end stress is one of the weight gain triggers, or excessive, worrying weight loss
and is detrimental to our long-term health.

I think I made my point that stress is not good – I think we all know that – and, in time,
can lead to serious illnesses and addiction such as drinking, smoking, eating sugar to be able to cope with it.

What triggers the Stress?

Anything really and, as we are all different, the triggers are different as well.
However there are a few common stress triggers:

1. money problems
2. relationships
3. work – job you hate
4. time constraints
5. holiday pressures
6. overload – taking on too many tasks
7. not enough quality time for yourself with yourself
8. striving for perfection
9. lack of passion
10. disorganized clutter – messy home, messy desk, overflowing inbox just adds to the pile

So what can you do about it?

I read quite a bit about keeping a diary and make notes of stressful episodes for 2-4 weeks.

This will help detect what causes stress in your life.

You should write down information such as:

1. the date, time and place of a stressful episode
2. what you were doing
3. who you were with
4. how you felt emotionally
5. what you were thinking
6. what you started doing
7. how you felt physically
8. a stress rating (0-10 where 10 is the most stressed you could ever feel)

I used to be a very impatient child and now I am an impatient adult, of course.
I used to be very stressed and depressed since I was, maybe, 7-8 years old.

So I created my own stress coping mechanisms.

While the diary is a really good advice which you should definitely try I will give you
some of my own techniques I use to get rid of stress without drinking, smoking or overeating.

1. Breath, breathe and breathe some more.

Breathing exercises release muscle tension .
If you do them constantly you will feel great improvement on your stress levels,
patience and coping mechanisms.

Here is a basic breathing technique: Rectangular deep abdominal breathing.

1. In breathe & Out breathe the same length.

2. Then the holds are longer after the in breath and the out breath. i.e. 5 seconds in
breath, hold 10 seconds, out breath 5 seconds, hold 10 seconds.

3. If you want, make the rectangle as long as is needed to take your lungs, diaphragm,
and heart to the gym.

4. Make sure you are not doing it in a dusty, dirty or polluted location. So NOT in the
warehouse/storerooms, trains, busy roads. Not at work as you have lots of perfume
sprays/chemicals and air conditioning all around you.

5. You can do it before you go to bed or while you are in bed but after you leave
the window open for a while.

6. Breath through your nose, if needed breath out through your mouth

Even writing this article I find myself closing my eyes from time to time,
and take a deep breath to help me focus on the task.

This takes us to the next technique

2. Close your eyes and pay attention to just 1 inhalation 1 exhalation.

This is such a powerful and calming exercise which takes only 3 seconds.

Close your eyes and pay attention

3. Stretching.

We tend to “store” stress primarily in our abdomen and shoulders but
also in muscles throughout our body.

Mix stretching with breathing and closed eyes and stress and anxiety will
melt away.

4. None of these working? Take a nap.

Surprised?

My mother used to say that out of 4 hours of studying while exhausted, if I slept
(or just lay down with my eyes closed) for 30 min, I would be twice more productive
in the time left than if I just pushed through.

To this day I prove this to myself over and over again. And when I refuse to listen to
my body I prove that my mother was right all the time.

Arianna Huffington mentions sleep in her speech “The Third Metric” as well. It’s good
to listen to the whole speech.

Sleeping is not a waste of time. Take a 10 min, 20 min, or 1 hour nap, you may feel
tired right after it but in 5 min your mind will be fully energized.

If I have 2 hours time for a nap I am in paradise.

Follow your passion

5. Follow your passion

Many wise people talk about this and, as I found mine in the health and fitness
industry, I understand how powerful and life changing this is.

Sure, it can be really, really difficult, but it’s what you love to do and you will
never feel like you are working one day for the rest of your life.

Don’t let your passion orbit around your life, rather embrace it and build your future with it.

Meditation

6. Deep meditation

I used to do this as a child as part of Karate Shotokan classes every single day
without knowing what or why I was doing it.

Now a lot of people talk about it. It is not viewed as a religious practice or only
reserved for certain people.

There are many free meditation programs online. I personally use Mindvalley classes and courses.
They give a lot of quality classes for free and if you want more they have really good deals.
There are also great, inspiring people in the team.

Other things to try:

1. practice your favorite sport
2. try something new
3. eat real, nutritious foods
4. nutritious food
5. just be nice to yourself once in a while

I don’t want to make this article too long and boring. These are just a
few techniques you can start using and see if any of them work for you.

You just need to find your way.

So what action will you take when you lack energy, you start gaining
weight or frustrated? Will you reach for the pills or address the way you live your life?

Source: this article was written by Alexandra Merisoiu and syndicated from www.moosin.net