PRIORITIZING OUR LIVES

I recently went to a Turbokick Camp. Turbokick is a group exercise format based on shadow kickboxing which is both is challenging and very fun.
While at Camp, we worked out really hard but also had many motivational speakers come and help us address different issues we might be facing in our lives.

One of the talks that stuck out the most for me, was given by Chalene Johnson, the creator of Turbokick. Chalene has accomplished a lot in her life: she has a husband and two children; she has created the Turbokick format which has really revolutionized cardio kickboxing and taken it to the next level; she has signed an exclusivity contract with 24 hr Fitness (when it comes to cardio kickboxing, they only teach Turbokick); she regularly creates new choreography (also known as Rounds) for Turbokick and has also created a home video version of Turbokick, known as Turbojam which is currently distributed by Million Dollar Body.
In the light of her accomplishments, when I heard that her talk would be about prioritizing our lives, I could not help but being excited. Clearly, being that accomplished, she must be doing something right.
I feel fairly comfortable describing myself as crazy busy, but I feel at times, that I might not be busy in the right way. I wonder sometimes if being always on the go is truly productive and really allowing me to create the life I desire.
I too have a family; I work full time, go to college and work as a massage therapist/ personal trainer/ group instructor on the side. I am also an “exercise nut job”, which, as you might imagine, takes up a lot of my time. Often people ask me how I do it, and honestly, I feel like like I am free falling most of the time. I just never seem to hit the ground. I do feel however, there must be a better way to do things.

As part of her speech, Chalene created a list of steps to take in order to bring some clarity to our lives and align what we do each day with our priorities. Here are the steps as she introduced them.

Step 1
Prioritize in writing the 5 most important things in your life based on what you want to be.

-This needs to be based off of what you really want from life. Not what you think you are supposed to want. If for you, career comes before family, then list your priorities as such.-

Step 2
Create a log of every min and how you spend it for a week. Include all of your regularly scheduled activities.

-Very time consuming, but quite enlightening. Everything needs to be listed, it is amazing how much time we spend on activities that do not further our aim in life, or are downright useless.-

Step 3
Start with those activities that support one or all of your top 2 or 3 priorities and star them.

-Personally, I am starring anything that supports my top 5 priorities. If you want to be very organized about this, you could even color your top 5 priorities and star your activities accordingly.-

Step 4
Underline neutral activities.

-Brushing your teeth, doing your hair etc... It can come as a surprise also, to find out the time we spend doing those things.-

Step 5
Circle activities or obligations that contradict your present order of priorities or that you do out of an ill placed feeling of guilt.

-This is where it gets difficult. There are those things that you indulge in that bring you nowhere. There are also those activities you undertake because of peer pressure, guilt etc... Circling them is difficult, because we all know better...-

Step 6
Make an “Immediate Action” TO DO list to remove circled activities A.S.A.P.

-Some of those activities can be (and absolutely should be) removed from your life immediately. Be honest with yourself and figure out a way to terminate them.-

Step 7
Make a transitional TO DO list for things you wish to remove gradually.

-Somethings cannot be given up quite as immediately. For example, if you are looking to transition from a job you might have to running your own business, going "cold turkey" might not be the best if said job is paying the bills. Make a transitional list, plan how you are going to ease those things you cannot remove from your life immediately.-

Step 8
Openly communicate your priorities with others.

-People need to know what your priorities are. You will find who truly supports you. Someone who pressures you to do something that goes against the priorities you have clearly communicated does not truly love and support you. Keep this in mind when picking your friends...-

Step 9
Take cues from people who really support you. Take cues from your body.

-There are those people in your life who truly care and will support you and your priorities. They are good people to listen to when in need of advise. And of course, always listen to your body. It knows... Pay attention to stress, tiredness, sickness etc...-

Step 10
Practice saying: "Can I get back to you on that?”

-Going back to step 6 and 7: learn to say no. If you are one of those people who has a difficult time doing so, ask for some time to think about it and then work up the courage to say no. Remember YOUR priorities are what has to come first.-

Step 11
Remind yourself daily: if you try to do it all: YOU WILL FAIL. Do what is important.

-Indeed. Is there anything else to be said?-

This speech and the tools given with this step by step list can be very useful in clarifying our goals and true priorities. It also allows to take an honest look at how well we actually work for our goals in our day to day lives.

I encourage everyone to give this a try. Tell me what comes of it.

TURBOKICK CAMP 2007

There is quite a bit to be told about Camp, it was an awesome experience all around. Gathering 250 people who are all completely hung up on working out and shaking their rear is bound to be fun.
I left a week ago today. I met with Michelle Olsen and Melissa at the SLC airport. Michelle is the person who certified me. She has this really forward and upbeat energy, as all of our Area Promotion Directors do. Melissa has been doing Turbo for a while now and has lost... 150 lbs... Respect. I don't weigh 150 lbs. It gives me goose bumps to talk to people such as Melissa who went so far out of their comfort to zone to beat the odds 10 times over. You go girl. She was picked by the Powder Blue people to have her flight paid for, because she earned her being there, really.

Thursday evening was spent checking in at the hotel, mingling with fellow turbo fanatics and getting to know our Team mates. The Purple team was a good looking one, indeed.... See below!

I was struck right away by the fact that our Turbo celebrities and the Powder Blue staff all seemed to have friendly and warm personalities. They are easy to approach, easy to talk to and truly eagger to help.

Friday morning started with a little 5K in Irvine. My running partner and I got lost and ended up running over the freeway, breathing in deep the fumes of exhaust.
We then had breakfast and got acquainted with the people who had not arrived until then.
Next, we gathered in the main room and waited for our first Turbo work out, led by, wouldn’t you know it, Chalene herself.
We were lucky enough to get a taste of Round 31, and it’s going to kick butts. I kid you not.

The rest of the day was devoted to motivational speakers including Carl Daiker, the BeachBody CEO and Chalene herself who talked about the different levels of friendships. It was a stern reminder for me of learning to say no in order to put my true priorities first.
Later that day we got a taste of Hot Hula with Anna Rita. Now, for any of you who have done the Turbojam videos or are TK instructors, you know there is only one way to describe Anna Rita: fierce. I was a little afraid to approach her, thinking that maybe she would rip my heart out and tear it with her teeth. I was stunned to find that she is a very down to earth person, easy to talk to and has a wicked little sense of humour. She just became my new role model.

The evening was devoted to a little fashion show where some of the new designs from Turbowear were presented. Of course, shortly after that, the madness of shopping began.

Saturday, was a really awesome day. We had several motivational speakers come and talk to us about nutrition, communication and Chalene did a speech on prioritizing. I will post on it soon. Workout wise we did some hip hop and followed this with some Steppin’. Ever seen the movie "Stomp The Yard'?

Personally, this was a favorite moment of mine being that I have such love for African Dancing. Steppin’ is very much like zulu dances performed with the rubber boots worn when the Zulus were being enslaved to work as miners. I love to see the roots of the African American people come out and in ways that are constructive (and way fun). Honestly, steppin is very close to actual zulu dancing, but for the outfits maybe.

We got to experience what will soon be 2 new Powder Blue format: Turbo Sculpt and Turbo Extreme. Let me tell you, light weight + many repetitions = killer!
And Turbo Extreme… ah… turbos followed by a finale and then all over again and again. Heart thumping.
That evening, was our dance party. Dance, I did. So far, no picture of my crazy dancing self has surfaced , for that I am grateful.

The next morning was tough. Trying to look cute or work out while being hung over would not be an easy thing to do, by any means. Now try to do both. Praise heavens for make up...

We had our last Turbo class led by our “Men of Turbo”. Some people had already left/were still in bed, so there was room to really get into it.
Live classes are always fun, but Turbo Kick Camp is just a whole different experience. Everyone there is a Turbo addict and the energy is amazing. People jump, shout, sing along, it's just madness... really fun madness.
We then finished with a Piyo workout and I rushed to the John Wayne airport (it’s a real airport too!) to get back home.
I was in a state of absolute exhaustion and am barely starting to feel that I can function properly.

The experience was amazing, the energy is revitalizing. There is a strong spirit of acceptance, camaraderie and fun. If you love Turbo, I really hope you can make it next year.
While it is easy to recount the different events that took place, what I took home with me is much more than the list of events would lead to believe. I brought home renewed optimism, desire to improve and prioritize, a sense of energy and "can do". I am very grateful for that.

Here is what I learned from Camp in a nutshell:

-Leaving your room without your camera would be like not getting up in the morning.

-There is always someone more spastic than you are.

-While many people are in top shape, the ones who aren't get biggest cheers.

-Zena truly is a princess.

-Chalene is about as unassuming and kind as they come.

-I can actually do pretty good with hip hop.

-Waterproof make up is on my shopping list for next year.

-Wearing a cheerleading outfit really isn't that bad (at Camp).

-Being open to meeting new people and being vulnerable is a good thing.

-Sweaty doesn't fully describe what you end up looking like after a Camp workout.

-I love TurboKick much more than I thought I did.

Now, indulge with me in a few pictures...

LE CHAT VEUT SORTIR


Dartagnan was such a beautiful cat.
I found him when I was 12/13 years old. The bus we took to go to the nearby town where our Junior High School was, would drop us off at the entrance of Malves and we would then walk back home.
One day, my friend Sandrine and I saw a litter of kittens playing in the garden of one of the old houses. Of course, we went to see the kittens. There were 4 of them, and the owner had named them after the 3 musketeers and Dartagnan. She had named this kitten Dartagnan because he was the most daring and friendly one. The whole litter was believed to be male; however a nearby neighbor later adopted one of those kittens who turned out to be a female… Dartagnan was such a little heart thief. Upon getting back home, I begged and begged my parents to adopt Dartagnan. We already had a cat, Arabesque, a beautiful grey cat and my parents felt one cat was enough for household. Our cat Arabesque was very free. We lived in the country so she would stay home during the day but would spend the nights roaming out. It took some hard work for me to get my parents to go see little Dartagnan, but he was just too adorable and I won my battle. We brought Dartagnan home.

He fit right in. He was not one of those shy cats who goes and hides behind a piece of furniture the first few days. He made himself home right away. We were surprised to see his confident demeanor while snooping around the house. You would have thought he had always lived there. He also worked really hard to win the heart of Arabesque. She had a major attitude, but he would go lay next to her and roll onto his back, showy his fuzzy little stomach, try to touch her with his paws, as if to ask to be looked at and meow endearingly. She tolerated him little by little, but never really became his friend. Arabesque I think might have been a direct descendant of pure breed Chartreux , she had such a royal bearing with her gray/blue coat…

In spite of Arabesque not liking him so well, Dartagnan was loved by everyone else because he was absolutely not afraid of humans, very cuddly and expressive. When we got him, he had little ear problems and I had to clean him up. Well, if you’ve tried to do such things to a cat, you know you need gloves; sturdy, leather gloves. Not so with him. While he was annoyed with me, he never scratched me or bit me.
Once, I found out that he was being fed by our neighbor. I was very upset, I felt like she was trying to steal him away. In spite of being only 13 years old at the time, I went to my neighbor’s house and lectured her about feeding my cat. My mom to this day says she was taken aback by how I lectured a grown woman.

Dartagnan use to run my brother’s Lego collection all over the house which was really annoying for Thomas. All the little parts would slide so well across our tiled house. He also clawed up the wall paper in the stair case. That was his biggest flaw in my parent’s eyes. But trying to discipline him was setting yourself up for failure. He would just look at you, clearly showing that he did not have the slightest idea what you problem was and basically walk out. If you happened to grab him and throw him outside like my dad would always do, upon landing, he would just stay there; hair slightly ruffled looking rather annoyed.

Dartagnan was a tough little cookie; he spent his nights roaming and often got into fights, even after being neutered. Once, he did not come back in the mornings as he used to. We started getting worried. You see, people hunt in the area and there is a fair number of what is called braconniers (poachers who mostly use traps). Our cat Arabesque once did not come back for several consecutive days. We started thinking that she had been hit by a car or killed by a hunter. However, one night she dragged herself back home with a limp paw. It looked fairly benign but she seemed in a lot of pain. The next morning my mother took her to the vet and he explained that she looked very much as if she had been caught by a trap. The poacher probably finally released her. But the wound was very deep and infected. The vet told my mother he would have to amputate her and my mother could just not bear the thought of it. So she had her put to sleep.
It was very, very sad, and this is how Dartagnan became our only cat.
So when he himself did not come back, I became very worried. The day went by and still no Darta. When dusk took over, I decided to go look for him. I called his name and walked around the neighborhood when suddenly, I heard a painful meow… I went back home and told my mom who said it could have been any cat. But I knew it was Dartagnan. So I went back and somehow, we found each other. He looked fine but was not walking properly. The next day, the vet told us that he had probably been hit by a car and that the impact had broken some bones in his pelvis. I was glad he was alive. He was fine with some time and pain killers. But if we happened to be around him when he would need to go to the bathroom, he would look at us with imploring eyes and meow. That always made me so sad.

Dartagnan had a gift to go sneak underneath my pink bed throw without making a wrinkle and sleep there. It was just amazing, I have no idea how he did that but the only giveaway was a round shape in the middle of the bed, which often, I did not see. I sat or laid on him numerous times.

Darta was also a hunter. When he was little, he would try to get our gold fishes in their bowl, but his paws were just too short. Later though, he started hunting mice, birds, baby rabbits etc… This was the one thing Dartagnan and I disagreed on. While I admired his stealth, claws and fangs, I resented his killing animals. He once came back home with a live bird in his mouth, chirping, trying to escape. I called Dartagnan to me, and, being the trusting cat he was, he came right away. I then proceeded to save the bird from his deadly jaws… And ran away. Dartagnan gave a very surprised and annoyed meow and I am sure swore to himself he would never trust me again. I tried to save the bird, but it died anyway. I probably just lengthened its suffering when I think of it…

Dartagnan was also there when I had my first kiss. Right in my arms as a matter of fact. This blog is in English so my parents can’t read…
Nicolas and I were in the cellar talking, not daring to do the inevitable. Dartagnan happened to come in from the outside though the little side window and got down in my direction. I grabbed him and held him in my arms. I looked at Nicolas and told him that this cat was the only one who loved me (ah, teenagers…) Nicolas asked me if I was willing to bet and the next thing I knew, we were kissing. I could have sworn my parents would be able to tell just by looking at me what had happened, but it was not the case, this remained was my and Dartagnan’s secret. Nicolas was murdered almost 10 years ago, I am not sure why, but knowing that Darta had been there for that first kiss made the whole thing less surreal.
I even once said that Dartagnan would be my dream mate if he were a man. My dad almost chocked himself laughing when he heard me say this, because poor Darta had already been neutered.

I have so many stories about my cat. This blog entry could go on for a long time.
Dartagnan contracted feline AIDS a few years ago. He went through a rough patch where he lost a lot of weight along with some his beautiful luster, but he came back on top of it and recovered well.

However, 2 weeks ago, he started acting completely listless, refusing to eat; he also stopped seeking human attention and cuddles, which is absolutely unlike him. My mother said he started doing really odd things like drinking water in which she had poured detergent. He seemed utterly uninterested in living. She took him to the vet who gave a poor prognosis and she decided to have him put to sleep. I know it broke her heart. It sure broke mine.
I loved Dartagnan so much. I have come to realize that pets are like people. Some of them have personalities that click with ours better than others. And, while Darta stayed with my parents and I went away, he always remained my cat. My soul mate cat.
I feel quite crushed that he is gone now, that his little fighsty, sometimes haughty but always loving little feline spirit has gone on.

We have this family joke: my dad would always say “the cat wants to go out” at the most random times. Dartagnan would be sleeping on a chair and my dad would just say “Helene, open the window, the cat wants to go out”. That made my mom laugh while I would ask how he could say such a thing. I missed the joke for quite a few years.

But Dartagnan has gone for good now.

Aurevoir le chat!

THE DANCING INSTITUTION.


I was finishing taking an online exam for my Ballet History class yesterday, when all of a sudden, I got really mad. While this might seem like a premenstrual mood swing, I can assure you I had a good reason for my anger.

I spent my high school years in Avignon, attending the Lycée Frederic Mistral as a full board student, while my parents lived about 5 hrs away. The reason I was enrolled in a high school so far from home was because it was in partnership with the Conservatoire National de Danse d’Avignon, which I was also attending. Our schedule was arranged so we had to go to school in the morning and to the conservatory each afternoon and all day Saturday. When we had to be rehearsing (which was most of the time), academics and dance took about 55 hrs of our schedule a week


While I was attending, the only major that we could select was literature. This is all the conservatory had negotiated with the Lycée. Students who excelled in math and science and would have been better off doing a different major, were just told in essence “too bad”. Our class was also forced to take Chinese even though our Lycée offered other options.

While we received our normal academic education, all we did at the conservatory was dancing. There was no real musical training to speak of, the only art history class we got was an afterthought and lasted only a few months, when rehearsals became more important, and we had NO anatomy training to speak of. I have to laugh now at what I pictured my tendons to be. Everything revolved around being in the studio practicing, rehearsing over and over again.

Well, this made me mightily angry yesterday for several reasons. Let me talk about the first, and maybe the least important one.
My Music Theory teacher at the U once said that in order to be a good performer, one had to understand music theory. At the time, I felt like arguing that, feeling that if one had a natural instinct for music and was a born performer, this knowledge was not needed. Well, I am afraid to admit that he was perfectly right.

As I was writing about Petipa, who I think is responsible in a lot of ways for most of the structure of classical ballets as we know them today, I realized that I had been a stupid dancer. Yes, I knew that a Pas de Deux was composed of an adagio, two variations and a coda… but I knew so because of performing in or attending performances of ballets. That is just the way it was. Just like the fact that Petipa created a structure where a group of steps is repeated three times and then a variant combination is introduced. Yes, I knew that too, it always went: right, left, right, something different, but I never knew why or how it got to be so.

Well, I had never been given the tools to be an intelligent performer by the institution which trained me; an institution which prides itself of forming dancers who are able to apply in some of the major companies in the world. Shame!!! It pains me to learn only now how the danse d’école came to be. How it evolved, how it went from one country to the next, changing, how one thing gave birth to another. It pains me to understand only now the underlying reasons of the structure of ballet; to understand how Giselle or Swan Lake were absolute breakthroughs or even why one of our studios in Avignon was called Bournonville. All we knew how to do was perform the steps and try to add some feeling to our performance without having a clue about the broader meaning of what we were doing. We were nothing more than dancing machines; stupid performers. And that is solely the fault of the Conservatoire.

But as I said, to me this is the least evil of this whole situation. The other two things stem from one philosophy: dance, or die. You think I am being overly dramatic do you not? You’d be surprised. For one, forcing students whose strength lay in math and science to graduate with a Literature/Philosophy major is shameful! Let’s face it, how many of us students were able to make a career of dancing? A few did; Avignon is a good school, but most don’t succeed. And even those who do usually have to end their performing career very young. You see, we were expected to be primed for becoming pros right after high school and we were not expected to go any further with our academic education.

I can even tell you of one of the girls in our class, who really was an excellent dancer, so excellent actually that the Conservatoire director, Mme Petracchi talked her into dropping out of High School. While Celine did become a professional dancer, what would happen if she were to injure herself? What will she do once she is too old to perform (which will be happening in the next few years). The only option really becomes teaching, which, the last time I checked, is not a profession with a whole lot of earning potential. The unemployment rate in France being what it is, having only a high school diploma seems to leave little opportunity to cross over into other professions. Again, it was all about dancing, dancing NOW. There was no attention given to a plan B. This was not the philosophy with which they trained and students who tried to think of other options were looked upon as being undedicated.

This brings me to my final point. The Conservatoire had no respect for us as human beings. We were dancers; that’s all. Everything came second to that. Even our health did. Every Wednesday, the scale would be brought up in the main studio and we would line up and be weighed, one by one by our costume maker, in front of the director of the school, and all our peers. Our weight was written down and if we gained any, there was hell to be suffered. Usually we got a dirty look and a mean spirited remark.

But the worse was during rehearsals. It was not unusual to be called a “fat cow”, “ugly”, “stupid” or to be told we would be better off being secretaries. Looking back, I am positive we were the victims of psychological abuse, which we turned into physical abuse against ourselves.

Geraldine was one of the most popular students with our teachers. Even though she was not old enough yet to enter the Conservatoire’s pre-professional division, she was picked to perform with the company during its summer tour and was even given some solo roles. Very popular…until she started gaining weight, that is. While I would never have described her as fat now but Geraldine was a little chubby, by dancer’s standards. She was relegated to Corps de Ballet first, and to nothing at all later on. Upon graduating from high school, she entered the pre-professional division and decided to grab the bull by the horns. She said she was dieting and doing lymph drainage massages, and it was working fantastic. Within a few months, she became skeletal, we could see her ribs in her back and her cheeks looked hollow. She was reinstated as a member of the Corps de Ballet and was even picked for a principal’s role (Grands Cygnes) during our performance of Swan Lake that year. She looked completely anorexic. But this was no concern of the pedagogic team of the dance academy, she looked gorgeous on stage.

This, absolutely, disgusts me. I personally had to work on myself a long time to stop thinking of my body as fat. I was never androgynous enough. I was not planning on having a career as a ballet dancer, I was more inclined towards jazz and modern dance, but that very inclination along with my thin but nevertheless woman’s frame was enough to be looked down on by my teachers. The problem was not just caring enough to teach us basic anatomy (we were athletes after all!) or help us be well rounded performers with plans for the future. It was primarily a complete disregard for our growing bodies and young impressionable minds. Toughen us up, they did indeed. I can recall only of one of my teachers ever caring about us as growing young girls, Mr Escoffier.

I am not pointing my finger solely at the Conservatoire de Danse d’Avignon here, even though I have a personal beef with it. I am blaming the whole dance establishment. I recently saw a PBS special on osteoporosis which focused on ballet dancers. All this dieting is bound to catch up with you at some point. The documentary was stating that the mentalities are changing and showed a nutritionist explaining to the dancers of the New York City Ballet that the signs of unhealthy dieting (aka starving) could be things such as amenorrhea, extreme fatigue, loss of body hair etc. While I think this is a good beginning, I also have to laugh at this because in the end, unless a dancer has this perfect androgynously thin body, she will not be allowed on that stage. And to a dancer, this is all that matters, regardless of the price to pay. Choosing one’s health or mental well being is viewed as a sign of weakness. The philosophy I was taught is that if you cannot handle it, then you are not meant to be a dancer.

Before writing this post, I read on the Avignon State House website that anatomy, art history and basic music were also taught at the Conservatoire. I hope this is not just on paper and mentalities really have changed. Being an artist or an athlete is a sacrifice in and of itself. I think it is one most of us young ones were and are willing to make. I personally do not feel any resentment for spending many hours practicing and rehearsing from the time I was 9 years old; I did what I loved doing. It was my choice.

I think, however, that the people in charge of those prestigious training establishments need to look at the broader picture. Most of their students will not be gold medalists or principal dancers. Most students will not be successful. Those who will be successful will only grace the stage for a decade at most before they are forced into retirement by the demands of the art. It is neither fair nor humane to destroy the future for so many in order to eke a few years out of the few.

The images I uploaded with this post are from actual recent performances by students of the Conservatoire National de Danse d'Avignon. Beautiful, isn't it? Truly, this was a good school, but do you think it is worth it?

YES!!

Our long awaited Million Dollar Body e-store finally opened its e-doors tonight! Hurray! I was sincerely running out of patience.

Finally, the BeachBody products are available to purchase online. So, if you are interested in any of the BeachBody videos or suplements, I strongly advise you visit the store. I actually recently got Hip Hop Abs and did one of the work outs yesterday. Much much harder then it looks, much harder...

If any of you would like to try a video before actually purchasing it, please call me or email me. I seriously have them (and use them) all. I would be happy to loan them so you can see what a specific workout is exactly about.

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You'll get on my home page; just scroll down, the left hand icon at the bottom will help you create a Million Dollar Body profile (it's free and it has tons of great things like free diet plan, access to WOWY live work out etc...) and then let you in the e-store. Oh yeah.

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That also means I will be your coach. And that is no laughing matter... Actually, you will receive an email with my contact info and you are free to contact me for coaching assistance or not. It's all up to you.