|
|
 |
| |
| From Karen |
| |
Welcome Back!
Wow, that seemed like one of the fastest summer's ever! Now, here we are, back at school!
This time of year is always my favourite. For many people, the New Year starts January, but mine has always been in the Fall. It's when I get back into the groove and start focusing on what I want to accomplish. It's when my creative energies start to soar! So for me, I'm focusing on getting my book out, taking my business to the next level. And I want to continue to carve my physique in better ways for next year's competition.
What do you want to accomplish this fall and winter? Do you envision changes to your body or your weight? Are there changes to your eat you wish to implement? Is there a special event you want to prepare for? Whatever it is, know that the Universe will always meet you half way...you just have to put in some elbow grease! 
This month, we'll look at how to put some Zen into your weight training, and use the power of lifting as a form of meditation to attract what you want in your life. Lifting and meditation together, you ask? Of course! That's been my secret for years, and I'll show it to you as well! Come walk with me... I'll show you how it's done!
.  |
|
| tips & tidbits - Assume The WArrior's Pose |
| |
|
When I first walk into the gym, my focus changes and I go into my meditative place. I envision what I'll be working for that day. And I always take the Warrios Stance. For me, training - like anything else - is about being in tune with Mother Nature. It's my chance to connect with my primal force!
Try this next time you head into the gym:
- Assume the Warrior's Pose - stand with legs shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, core slightly tightened, lift your chest up slightly.
- Close your eyes, breathe slowly and deeply, and envision drawing up the energy from the earth into your legs, and up and into your body. There, now you're connected to Mother Earth.
- Think about one thing you want to change about your body. Envision it in your mind's eye. See it, really see it! Zone into your muscle, see its fibers.
- Now....lift. Keep envisioning and keep drawing the power of the earth up into your amazing body, and know that you and nature are one. Always have been, always will be.
So next time you lift, put some Zen into it!
|
|
|
| spiritual Matters - walk as if..... |
| |
|
Whether you're looking to create a stronger, healthier body or to get that job promotion, or that new relationship, you always have to keep in mind the first rule of success - walking as if.
I learned this little lesson years ago, when my life was in a shambles - divorced, broke, unhealthy, raising a newborn on my own - and I studied with an amazing Spiritual Intuitive for 2 years. In a nutshell, what you focus on you create. I was focusing on all the wrongs in my life, so I was stuck in my past, and stuck in my old habitual ways of thinking.
Then I learned the secret to attracting what I needed...I needed to see and name what I wanted, and to get clear, really clear about it all. Once I named it, I needed to feel it. I needed to walk as if I already had it in my life, right there, right now! In doing so, this creates a dissonance in the universe, a hole, per se, that has to be closed, so the Universe works to bring the two open ends together, and to restore everything to balance. Neat, huh? 
We are the sum of all our parts - physical, emotional and spiritual - and godod health means a working relationship between all three. That's what life has taught me, and this is what I teach in my BLISS Training Method, my Healthy Living Program, and in all that I do!
|
|
|
| She Did it...in her own way |
| |
|
Sometimes it's challenging to do an on-line training and nutrition program when your clients are all over the world. I've been fortunate to be at a time when Social Media and the toppling of traditional business models (top-down, CEO rules...blah blah...).
Then Last month, a client of mine, Chloe Robson, caught up with me regarding her amazing success with my last Best Shape Challenge. (I blogged about her last month). But even more amazing was a friend of hers who emailed me shortly afterward.
This woman admitted that she nevery actually purchased the Best Shape Challenge because she was out of funds - she was getting married in a few weeks and was purchasing a house - and she just followed along with her friends who were on the Challenge.
Wow! Down almost 20 pounds and tons of inches, and one friend emailed me to say just how HOT this new bride-to-be was looking! "She looks amazing, slender and great muscle tone," said one well-meaning friend.
Was I upset that she did the Challenge without the usual pay route? Not at all! It was just another testament to the fact that if you focus and do the work (even if it means just following along with your friends), you WILL get results!
This young woman proves what I've always said - you have to continually make goals along the way, and refresh them every few months. Do you have a special function, a photo shoot, a holiday or a wedding? Use that moment in time to channel all your energies into your training and nutrition to one end-point! That's why every month I include a Goals Sheet with my Healthy Living Members to fill out and post on their fridge. Heck, I still do it 30 years later!
Continually make fresh goals, and you'll become crystal clear in your success!
|
|
|
| Book excerpt - Karen's new book |
|
|
I recall the exact moment I decided I wanted to change my body. I was 21 years old, and I was going to pick up my girlfriend for lunch when I caught my reflection in the mirror at the end of the hall. It was summer, and I was wearing a halter top and terry cloth shorts. I was soft and round, and my legs were ugly and shapeless.
I went home and lamented to my boyfriend. He was reading a Muscle and Fitness magazine while training in our make-shift gym. I flipped through the pages and spied a tiny picture of a woman lifting weights...I was in awe! Beautiful! Sexy! Strong! (Remember, this was 1982 and women just weren't training with weights back then. They weren't really in gyms, and they certainly weren't in the muscle mags yet).
I want to look like that, I said. Here, do one of these programs then, he said. What, train like a man, with a man's program? Won't I look like one too? He laughed. Nope. Start training!
And so I did.
That was 30 years ago, and I'm still here, lifting and training at 50 years of age! And it just keeps getting better!
What was I thinking way back then? I wanted to make a difference, to do something unique and to take control back in my life ( I fled home and my over-bearing parents). I wanted to carve out my own niche and stand on stage one day as a drug-free, natural, healthy woman.
It took a long time to build my physique, but I just kept focusing on what I wanted to look (and feel) like. I created my own vision board, there, in the gym, with pictures of other athletic women tacked up on the gym wall, others who had gone before me and who were breaking fresh ground on their own. I wanted a piece of that ground and I wanted to be a pioneer of sorts.
The hardest part wasn't the training, it was keeping the focus for so many years, even through all my health issues, incredible losses, depression, chronic fatigue, and my son's challenges. But I never, ever gave up my dreams. Did I lose faith? Yes, dozens of times. But I persevered.
Don't ever give up on your dreams. Whatever they are, they're yours to realize. And when you lose faith, just keep moving forward one step at a time. And One Rep at a Time.
Excerpt from One Rep at a Time - by Karen McCoy, due out fall 2011. (Includes 8-Week BLISS Body Makeover Program at NO extra cost!).
|
|
|
| RECIPE: Sweet potato pancakes |
| |
|
A new, healthy twist on an old stand-by. Sweet potatoes have loads more vitamin C than oranges and are lower glycemic than regular potatoes!
 Ingredients (two servings)
6 oz sweet potatos or yams (I prefer yams, they're brighter orange ones)
1/2 cup oatmeal
4 egg whites
1 egg and yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup fat free plain yogurt
Pierce the potato with a fork. Cook in microwave for 5 minutes until tender. Remove skin. Process oats ina blender until powdery. Put them in a large bowl. Break the potato into chunks and put in blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to the bowl with oats, and stir in the egg, egg whites, vanilla, cinnamon and yogurt. After mixing them all together in the blender, cook in a frying pan as per usual.
Calories per serving: 250, protein, 17g, carbs 35 g, fat 4g.
|
| Book corner |
| - by Caroline Myss, PhD. and C. Norman Shealy, M.D. |
|
A collaboration between a traditionally trained physician and a medical intuitive. This book illuminates the deep connection between emotional dysfunction and physical illness. It describes the role that emotional disturbances play in the most common diseases and ailments, including influenza, colds, arthritis, heart disease and cancer.
Myss and Shealy detail the deeper emotional and psychic reasons why illness develops in the body. Dr. Shealy offers a traditional account of a particular disease or ailment, while Dr. Myss sheds light on the deeper emotional and psychic causes through her energy analysis.
I've re-read this book for 10 years, and I'm always amazed at its clarity and insight, and it helped me sort through my own health issues which I suffered with for years, as well as helping me to understand and shift my current dysfunctional habits and perspectives.
We are not purely physical, and Myss and Shealy easily serve this premise up to you. Enjoy!
|
|
What's Coming up! |
|
With summer over, I'm getting lots of emails about up-coming classes. Seems we were all a little loose with the food and drink this summer!
My popular Lift n Lose program at Panorama is back, during the days and I'll be teaching this one myself. If you're new to weights and/or you need a refresher, this training and nutritino program is for you!
My Advanced BLISS program is kicking off too, everything I've learned for competition is all in this advanced class.
My popular on-line 10-Week Best Shape Challenge is filling up fast...this is by far my most popular offering. Only 20 seats.
Starting in September, I'm creating my Advanced 12-Week Best Shape Challenge II for the serious athlete. (Please note, this is an advanced class and you must have at least 1 year of consistent weight training under your belt. However, if you've fallen off the wagon, you'd be best to repeat the 10-Week Challenge as this class requires serious focus! More info to come!
Healthy Living Program Members - your NEW September Workout is here! Check your email for your password, and enjoy!
My new book - One Rep at a Time - will be out this fall and it includes access to a full 8-Week Training, Nutrition and Body/Spirit Program, all for under $30! The perfect gift for Xmas or anytime! I'll keep you posted!
Tristan and I with funny man, Rick Mercer last month! |
Go to top | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
