Having a hard time getting motivated to do your Scolio-Pilates homework? Then join me on the beach in sunny Southern California. This is a free 10 minute workout. So grab your Scolio-Wedges and let’s go to the BEACH! Any thoughts or comments that you post below are very appreciated! Sending you sun and pain-free spine, Karena
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Yep, I did it. I got certified in scuba diving and now I can do Pilates in even more places. A little secret? I have NEVER had my abs so sore after doing Pilates as I did when I tried doing these exercises under water. OUCH! Enjoy!
Get those legs ready to rock ‘n roll that summer wardrobe!!
Two guests today: Podcast available here
You can listen to Alive & Well Radio on AM1220 in SoCal or listen live online at http://hometownstation.com
A quick synopsis for you…
Dan, super-interesting guy… At 38 years old, he owned a construction company and was a fitness fanatic when he noticed that he couldn’t build muscle as easily anymore; he was gaining fat around his middle; his joints ached… Yes, it sounded to me too like he was just simply aging. But, instead of accepting his body’s changes as normal, he chose to have doctors run tests and see what exactly was going on inside his body. After years of research and dedication he was teamed up with physicians to help all of us understand the changes in our own bodies and using bio-identical hormones to help us be the best we can. No more weight gain, low libido, hair loss, depression, memory loss or insomnia.
Bernie joined us at the end of the show to share his insight in the world of fitness. A former college athlete (football), Bernie has struggled with the aches and pains of the choices of his youth but has found a way to stay active and keep the weight off. Listen to Bernie’s discussion about the importance of addressing obesity in our population as well as taking the step towards choosing health. You have to want to fight for it!
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I recently got the message that a friend of a friend is ready to write a Pilates book but didn’t know where to start. She was looking for some advice in that direction. Here are a few thoughts that I have about that.
First, WHY, do you want to write a book? You must have a very strong message that no one else is communicating, or perhaps not communicating well. I wrote OsteoPilates and am now finishing up ScolioPilates (procrastinating at the moment as you can see) for those very reasons. For OsteoPilates, the information about safe exercise for osteoporosis was just too difficult to find for the average person (read: non-exercise professional) and for ScolioPilates, there is great information out there but it can be extremely difficult and confusing to follow. If you don’t have a strong message then I can’t understand why anyone would be compelled to spend that much time at a computer. Especially an exercise professional who is used to being in constant motion.
If you have a message and are determined to get it out there. Then the next thing you need to do is write. I know, sounds obvious. But honestly, finding time to write is one of the most difficult things you will do. You have to be very self-motivated. You also have to be willing to change your teaching schedule. Give yourself your best hours to write. My New Year’s present from my husband? Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, no clients are scheduled until 3pm for me. My most productive hours are early. At around 2pm, I start falling asleep at the computer. Going out to teach at that time instead, gets me engaged and moving again. I read a quote recently from J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series. She said that she still has to fight for time to write. “It’s like people think these books write themselves.” And no truer statement could be made. From the very beginning to the most successful writers your friends and family will have trouble understanding that you cannot change your writing schedule for a lunch date, party, doctor’s appointment, etc. etc.
Next, decide if you are going to publish or self-publish. If you are going to self-publish, write until your book is done. If you are going to get an agent and go with a publisher (I don’t recommend it for small niche markets like pathologies), then you can submit your book after you’ve written two chapters along with a proposal to an agent. Try Michael Larsen’s “How to Write a Book Proposal”. It’s very, very easy to follow and your book will be only a hundred times better for doing it. Once you have found an agent, the agent will be in charge of looking for a publisher. The publisher will offer you a contract and an advance on royalties and then you will write the rest of the book.
Last, you will market, market, market, market. You will do this whether you have a publisher or not. Most people want a publisher because they don’t want to be in charge of marketing. Well, sadly, neither does your publisher. In fact, if you don’t present your own very strong marketing plan in your proposal they won’t pick up your book (usually). You are in charge of marketing either way. When OsteoPilates came out, my publisher lined up 10 radio interviews nationwide. A very modest effort. But it is very, very expensive for them to market their authors so it’s not surprising that they didn’t spend more on a first-time author. I am self-publishing my 2nd book, ScolioPilates, since I feel it is just too niche to share the royalties with a publisher and my 3rd book… well, that’s looking like it is more for the masses, so I’ll see about that one.
That is the extreme bare bones of it. I know you’ll have questions. Please post them here so we can keep the discussion going. It’ll help you and it’ll help the rest of us.
I think 2010 could be called the Year of the Return of the Common Sense Committee. I think possibly it is a residual effect of the lovely economy as people are not just leery of being duped by the financial system again but it has also made us look at all aspects of our lives. Who are we listening to and why? Is the product or advice we are buying into great advice or just great marketing?
Our most popular shows will change the way you think about health:
Happy New Year Everyone! Looking forward to working with you in 2011!
There are reasons I do Pilates and hike the basset hound 2-5 miles every day. The first is because I just feel much better, beginning with my mood. The 2nd reason is dessert. I exercise so I can eat dessert and not look at (or care about) the calories in the recipe. This recipe is posted at @GyroGirl2’s request. Enjoy!
Makes 24
Ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Sift together the first six ingredients. Stir in the nuts and chocolate.
Pour 1/2 cup boiling water over the prunes (they should probably be in a bowl and not just on the counter). The prunes should soak for 5 minutes. Drain.
Place the prunes, canola oil, milk, maple syrup, and vanilla in a blender. Blend well and then stir into the chocolate mixture to form a dough. At this point, the biscotti almost didn’t make it to the oven. I almost took the dough to the patio and had myself a party. REALLY yummy.
Sprinkle some of the raw sugar on the parchment. Roll the dough into two long rolls. Flatten a little so they are about 2″ wide. Sprinkle with more raw sugar. Bake for 30 minutes, or firm to touch. Cool on the counter for 10 minutes and then in the fridge for 2 hours.
After cool, bring it back out. Cut into thin, biscotti-sized, slices and place back on a clean piece of parchment and into a 250 degree oven. The slices should be lying flat. Bake for 5-7 minutes on each side. cool and store where you can keep moisture away from them. They should keep for 2 weeks. If they get a little soft, you can throw them back into a 250 degree oven.
Confessions of a non-cook. This recipe was adapted from a super-gourmet cookbook that intimidates me to just open it. The book is The Artful Vegan by Millenium restaurant in the amazing San Francisco. So here’s what I left out: I used more bittersweet chocolate than I was supposed to because it was easier to find. What the recipe called for was about half of that chocolate along with about 5 teaspoons of cacoa nibs. Never heard of ‘em and too introverted today to ask at the grocery store if they had ever heard of them. The other ingredient that went by the wayside was whiskey. 4 tablespoons of it. I didn’t substitute anything for that so the biscotti was probably drier than it should have/could have been. But really, this non-cook, didn’t notice anything missing. This was a really great biscotti recipe. Nice chunks of chocolate and walnuts.
