August 2009 Newsletter

An Inspirational Quote

"Most of us are undertrained physically and spiritually (not enough stress) and overtrained mentally and emotionally (not enough recovery)."

Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, The Power of Full Engagement

It's Here: Your Total Fitness Exercise Library
by Catherine Carrigan, catherinea@totalfitness.net

Just for you, we have been working hard all summer to create a library of FREE exercise videos.

Each of our videos is 30-60 seconds long. You can start watching at the following link: - http://totalfitness.net/exercise_index.htm

We created this library because we want YOU to exercise regularly. We truly believe it is not possible to be a healthy person unless your health program includes 3 ½ to 5 hours of exercise every week.

Many people know they should exercise but find themselves bored, unmotivated or confused about how to exercise safely and effectively.

Welcome to a rich resource of more than 200 different hand-picked exercises for a slimmer, leaner, healthier and more flexible body. Our exercises demonstrate excellent postural alignment so that you can stand tall and be kind to your neck and spine while you work out.

Click on the categories of exercises below and you'll be taken to videos of our favorite fitness activities. When used with the tips below we know you'll get amazing results!

Get_specific_tips about how to get leaner faster. We recommend you view them before starting a new exercise program. Please also view our disclaimer before commencing any of these exercises.

Whole Body Workout Exercises are awesome for working lots of muscles simultaneously, boosting your metabolism, and getting leaner faster. They shape your physique rapidly and are worth adding to the start of every workout because they produce stunning results!

Lower Body and Core Workout Exercises use the muscles in your legs and core area and can be used to increase leg strength and tone in a functional way. This list is perfect for people who want different ideas for resistance training leg workouts.

Upper Body and Core Workout Exercises are favored by women who want to gain upper body strength and men who want to gain bulk. Our list has some fresh ideas for fun upper body and abdomen exercises which will help you create the body you desire!

Yoga exercises and Mudras suitable for beginner and experienced yogis are featured in our collection of nearly 100 videos. Invigorate your practive by roaring in Lion pose, or stand serenely in tree pose - we've lots of movements for you to enjoy!

Stretches and mobility exercises are important parts of your workout because only with them can you reach your athletic and aesthetic potential, reduce the risk of injury, and stay supple enough to sail through your senior years.

Coming soon: We will soon be videotaping our favorite qi gong movements.

Is there an exercise you want us to demonstrate? Please email me at Catherine@totalfitness.net and we will be sure to add it to our list. Stay tuned to get fit and healthy.

Is Your Self Image Real?
by James Williams, james@totalfitness.net

When clients ask for help with transforming their physique, they often overlook the importance of changing how they see themselves. Their feelings about their self-image often resonate with the body they dislike because their inner critic chirps-up each time they see themselves in the mirror.

People who ignore the importance of updating their self-image passionately hold onto the faint hope and glimmer of once again having the body they had many years ago. They imagine in their head, as it presently looks, is bolted onto that 20 or 30 year old slim, more toned, or more muscular body!

What they really want is to feel as they did all those years ago - happy and comfortable with how they looked. Wishing for that bolt-on body from the past will never recreate the feelings they want. The re-creation has to be made now - in the present. Living in the past won’t, in this instance, produce results.

Daily criticism about how we look means there’s a lack of self-acceptance, and this drains us of the motivation to exercise more frequently, eat healthily or get more rest. Wishing you had a different body just keeps you right where you are - in misery and living a private illusion that you can relive your past.

Anthony de Mello, a psychologist and former Jesuit priest, points out that we live an illusion. His view is that we’re hooked on approval, praise and success. These societal drugs were taught to us from a very young age. We think we’re good looking because we have been told on many occasions by others that we looked “great,” “ fantastic” or “beautiful.”

In other words, the people in your life who gave you approval or praise for how you looked shaped your self-image when you were younger. Just like B.F. Skinner’s trained rats, some people have been conditioned to believe that they’re beautiful because they perceived such comments as praise or approval. As a result, they live an illusion that feeling happy is partially dependent on being told they’re beautiful by other people.

The media has also played a huge part in creating the illusion by how it portrays models and actors - yet while you spend 8 hours a day in the office, they’re spending 8 hours a day taking care of their body. An actor or model’s body is their job. We must ask ourselves, is it realistic to expect to get a figure like a model if we’re not spending the same amount of time taking care of our bodies?

You’ll actually get great results when you start reinforcing the belief that you’re beautiful, and you do this by taking some time just for you. Read my previous newsletter aticle, “Self-Love: The New Diet Craze” http://www.totalfitness.net/2008%20August%20Fitness%20Newsletter.htm#core_strength10) for ideas.

If we’ve learned to associate compliments with praise and happiness, what happens when we stop being told the reinforcing words “You’re beautiful?” It’s simple. We start doubting our beauty. When we stop getting the verbal reinforcement, we start to doubt our looks and eventually dislike parts of our body. The bubble of the illusion has now burst and we live in misery.

Just imagine the other scenario: you were rarely, if ever, told that you looked beautiful and received more derisory remarks about your looks then compliments. If that’s you, then you may well have created another illusion - that you’re unattractive, and again you don’t feel happy about your looks.

When our inner happiness depends on hearing certain words from other people then we don’t really believe that we’re beautiful at all. We are addicted to a drug, and the withdrawal can be very painful. How can we believe we’re beautiful if we’re taught to look for signs of it from other people, rather than knowing it in our heart? Ultimately it doesn’t matter whether you were told you looked beautiful or not, the result is the same: misery.

It sounds like a no-win situation. However, that’s untrue. We’ve just swallowed the wrong pill about beauty, and it’s time to spit it out. Beauty is an inner state we have to gradually cultivate ourselves. It is a mastery of our emotions and ability to live in the moment. Developing your inner beauty gradually creates the motivation you need to take care of your body by eating, sleeping, exercising and relaxing consistently. Beauty starts with how you feel about yourself and is reflected outwardly in the naturally youthful appearance of your body.

Look out for the final part of James’ article in the September 2009 Total Fitness newsletter.

Upcoming Total Fitness Seminars and Talks

Toronto, Canada
Can-Fit Pro

Brain Body Integration and Balancing The Chakras

Presenters: Sue Maes snd Catherine Carrigan

Date: Saturday, Aug. 22
Time: 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Sue Maes and Catherine Carrigan are presenting two seminars at Can-Fit Pro, the top annual fitness convention in Canada. Personal trainers, Pilates and yoga teachers, nutrition and wellness experts, club owners and managers and other coaches from all over the country will be meeting in Toronto.

In Brain Body Integration, you will learn how to read your body's messages. Every organ and every muscle is related to an acupuncture meridian, a thought and an emotion. Find out how what you think affects your health and how you can make yourself healthier by releasing unprocessed emotions.

In Balancing the Chakras, Sue and Catherine will teach the major lessons behind each chakra, show you how to determine if your chakras are open and demonstrate exercises that balance each energy center.

For more information, please email Sue@totalfitness.net or Catherine@totalfitness.net.

Online

21 DAY TRANSFORMATION TO A LEANER, HEALTHIER YOU!
Boost Your Metabolism, Lose Body Fat, Increase Energy and Transform Your Physique

Paula Owens

This is an online program. An extremely effective program for health, vitality, longevity and fat loss for ALL fitness levels, both men and women.

Includes 3 different fun, challenging, calorie-burning exercise programs with photos for 21 workouts (2 periodized strength training programs and 1 interval program). You'll receive daily educational emails on nutritional strategies, sample menus, recipes, recovery tips, injury prevention and health, wellness and lifestyle tips to motivate and inspire you to the next level. In addition, you'll receive a one hour recorded teleconference with a step-by-step explanation of the exercise program design and all of the exercises.

You will receive the exercise programs, teleconference recording and exercise photos on September 9th via email.

Tuition: $69.00

Visit www.PaulaOwens.com/seminars.html to sign up now!

Tempe, Arizona

Book Signing With Paula Owens, author of
The Power of Four

I will be available to answer your questions on nutrition, fat loss, anti-aging, lifestyle, exercise, hormones, supplements, health and wellness plus more!

For more information, please email Paula@totalfitness.net.

Atlanta, Georgiaa

Detox Your Way To A Healthy Body

Teachers: Catherine Carrigan and Allison Pelot

Join Catherine Carrigan and Allison Pelot in a repeat of this fabulous course about basic principles of detoxification. Find out why detoxification is essential for health and how to take a balanced, sensible approach.

For more information, please email Catherine@totalfitness.net.

Atlanta, Georgiaa

Self Empowerment Technologies©

Sue Maes' fabulous internship

Date: Sept. 28 – Friday Oct. 2, 2009

Time: 9 to 5 p.m.

Location: Total Fitness, 1951 Northside Drive NW, Atlanta, GA, 30318

This is the ultimate self empowerment course! It is an experiential class. It can push you past all your limits, change your habits, move you toward peace and contentment. It has also been used as an adjunct to other therapies to enhance any healing business.

Four Levels

Includes a Comprehensive Manual

For more information see the Brochure.

Yoga and Qi Gong Classes in Atlanta

Yoga Classes:
Every Tuesday and Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Holy Spirit Prep School
4820 Long Island Drive, Atlanta, GA.
$15 per class or $65 per calendar month.

All the proceeds from August yoga will benefit the Atlanta Pet Rescue.

To get directions to the new location please view this location map.

Qi Gong Class: Every Wednesday, 5:30 p.m.
1951 Northside Drive, Atlanta, GA. $15 per class.

Booking appointments with Total Fitness

To schedule an appointment to find out about a personalized fitness, nutrition or healing program that will help you get results, please contact us:

In Atlanta

Catherine Carrigan catherine@totalfitness.net, Phone: 404-350-8581

James Williams james@totalfitness.net , Phone: 404-350-8581

In Phoenix

Paula Owen paula@totalfitness.net, Phone: 480-706-1158

In London, Ontario, Canada

Sue Maes sue@totalfitness.net, Phone: 519-471-1174

You can also visit us on the web at www.totalfitness.net