Starting Your Fitness Kick

I had completed a half marathon last year and was surprised how easy the actual race was because I felt full of energy at the end of the race. The race was the easy part; the training program was the hardest part. Just getting those miles under your belt to prepare yourself for the race put so much strain on the muscles and tendons of my legs and feet, not to mention the blisters.

 

The prospect of training for a marathon seemed quite daunting and a potentially painful experience and I think I am allergic to pain. When I seek advice on fitness I only ask people who are fitter than me so I asked my friend Marc Dragan. Marc, a former professional triathlete and three times runner-up in the grueling Hawaiian Ironman triathlon, is now in his early 50s. He is still in superb shape, runs two very successful businesses and maintains a close family unit with his wife.

 

Remembering so many patients exercise programs being derailed through aches and injuries, I asked Marc, “How on earth did you manage to do all this training without your legs screaming under the load?” 

“Throughout my career, the only time you saw me running on a road was during an actual race. I did all of my running training on sand, grass or on a proper athletics track.”

 

Now what kind of training should you do?

 

If you haven’t exercised much before, the important thing is to get into the habit of exercising and not so much what kind of exercise you should do.

 

The key to look for in a training program is variation. You need to train at different intensities, which means that you must puff to varying degrees when exercising. It’s a bit like training different gears in a car. When you use all different gears your body’s engine works a lot more efficiently. This differs from the all or nothing training approaches that are a sure-fire recipe for fatigue, injury and illness.

 

I checked out many websites offering fitness-training programs and in my opinion the training programs that encourage a great variation in intensity are at www.endurancetraining.com.au. Check it out and you can adapt it to suit whatever kind of exercise you like. You can even get personalized training programs supplied to you.

 

 

 

Boosting Your Fitness While Maintaining A Healthy Work Life Balance

With my 40th birthday around the corner I have decided that i will run a marathon non-stop on August 23, 2009. I ran a half marathon just over a year ago and since then I haven’t kept up with my exercise as well as I should.

You may be asking what prompted me to get back into regular exercise again.

There were many factors but, to be honest, the inital reason was vanity. I saw a photo of me with my shirt off off a couple of weeks ago and realised that i had been letting myself start to get out of shape. A bit of ribbing from a couple of friends and relatives about my expanding waistline confirmed that it was time to act.

The second motivating factor was my strong belief that you should practice what you preach. If i didn’t do what I recommended to others, how can i expect others to take action? So I believe that I would be letting a lot of other people down by not being an example.

I realised that i needed to challenge myself to do something that I had never done before but always wanted to do. That’s why i chose to run a marathon. Many of you may think that it is just a vain attempt to hang onto my youth and who knows? You may be right. 

As I went for my first long run this morning along Mooloolalaba beach to officially start my new fitness kick I began to think of additional things that I could do that would keep me motivated. I know that people can do anything if they give themselves a big enough reason to do it.

Beginning my third lap along the beach, I could use my experience to help you. The biggest obstacle in developing a healthy exercise habit is time, or more accurately , the lack of time.  So I thought if I could train for a marathon and write my book, run this website, run my chiropractic business and still enjoy fullfilling times with my wife and three children, I may be able to learn a few more tips and distinctions that could help us all achieve a healthier work life balance and a healthier life.

So i have decided to regularly document my progress and challenges on this blog so we can all learn from my experiences and mistakes.

Each Small Step By Us All Leads To A Giant Leap For Mankindness

On this anniversary of the Sept 11 attack on the World Trade Center
I can still remember exactly where I was on that fateful day. I recall 
my wife sitting on the sofa, hunched forward with her hands in her 
head fighting back the urge to be physically sick. But it was the 
picture of my 13-month-old daughter, Aleisha that would forever 
stay in my mind.
 
Having just learnt to walk, Aleisha was standing about three feet 
from the television. In front of this backdrop of horror images she 
was dancing with unbridled joy and exuberance. It was as if she 
was declaring to the world, “Nothing is going to stop me from 
being happy.”I looked at Aleisha’s beautiful smile and then turned 
to the contrasting image of my wife feeling sickening despair.
 
My mind started racing with deep thought as I tried to process the 
events. “They are both exposed to the same input… but their 
emotional responses were opposite.”I have frequently heard 
of the saying, “You can’t control most events but you can 
control how you interpret them,” and this was a classic 
example.
 
But then I said to myself what many people would say. “Oh, she’s too 
young to really understand.” But then I thought, “Perhaps we’re too 
old to really understand.”
 
So I began to think about different ways to interpret this tragic situation 
in a way that would make a difference.
 
Once I stopped getting caught up in all of the understandable fear 
and hatred some more productive thoughts began to flow. “The plane 
hit the World Trade Center. That’s where the New York Stock 
Exchange is. The stock market is going to drop in a big way. 
I better get onto the Internet to position myself to be able to 
get some shares at bargain prices.”
“How on earth can you think of the stock market when this terrible event 
has just happened?” asked my wife, Angela, shaking her head in disbelief.
 
As I went onto the Internet to change my trades some more 
positive and productive thoughts flowed. I wondered what it 
would be like to be the US president in this time of crisis. I 
also thought that it was a time of incredible opportunity. 
 
What a difference would it make to the world if the president 
had the courage and the strength to reach out to their attackers 
and ask, “What have we done (or haven’t done) that’s caused 
you so much pain that you have turned to such an act of destruction?”
 
Rather than just laying blame and creating further division and 
labelling the perpetrators as part of an axis of evil and we are 
the good guys, I thought it was an ideal time to address the causes 
of global disharmony. And since a lot of this disharmony seems to 
be about (or in the name of) religion I thought to myself, “What would 
Jesus, Buddha or Mohammed do in this situation?”
 
What would they do?
 
I would venture to say that they would extend an olive branch of 
peace. But how could we as individuals make a difference in the 
peacemaking process? The answer to this question came to me 
five minutes later…
 
After doing the necessary changes to my trading website, I 
checked my emails. A friend that I had recently met at a 
conference had forwarded me an email from Neale Donald 
Walsch, the author of the Conversations With God book series. 
Here is an excerpt:
 
“Dear friends around the world…
 
The events of this day cause every thinking person to stop their daily lives, 
whatever is going on in them, and to ponder deeply the larger questions of 
life. We search again for not only the meaning of life, but the purpose of 
our individual and collective experience as we have created it-and we look 
earnestly for ways in which we might recreate ourselves anew as a human 
species, so that we will never treat each other this way again.”
 
The hour has come for us to demonstrate at the highest level our most 
extraordinary thought about Who We Really Are. 
 
There are two possible responses to what has occurred today. The first comes 
from love, the second from fear.
 
If we come from fear we may panic and do things-as individuals and as 
nations-that could only cause further damage. If we come from love we will 
find refuge and strength, even as we provide it to others. 
 
A central teaching of Conversations with God is: What you wish to experience, 
provide for another. 
 
Look to see, now, what it is you wish to experience-in your own life, and in 
the world. Then see if there is another for whom you may be the source of 
that. 
 
If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another. 
 
If you wish to know that you are safe, cause another to know that they are 
safe. 
 
If you wish to better understand seemingly incomprehensible things, help 
another to better understand. 
 
If you wish to heal your own sadness or anger, seek to heal the sadness or 
anger of another.
 
Those others are waiting for you now. They are looking to you for guidance, 
for help, for courage, for strength, for understanding, and for assurance at 
this hour. Most of all, they are looking to you for love.
 
This is the moment of your ministry. This is the time of teaching. What you 
teach at this time, through your every word and action right now, will remain 
as indelible lessons in the hearts and minds of those whose lives you touch, 
both now, and for years to come.
 
We will set the course for tomorrow, today. At this hour. In this moment. 
 
There is much we can do, but there is one thing we cannot do. We cannot 
continue to co-create our lives together on this planet as we have in the 
past. We cannot, except at our peril, ignore the events of this day, or their 
implications. 
 
It is tempting at times like this to give in to rage. Anger is fear 
announced, and rage is anger that is repressed, and then, when it is 
released, that is often misdirected.  Right now, anger is not inappropriate.  
It is, in fact, natural-and can be a blessing.  If we use our anger about 
this day not to pinpoint where the blame falls, but where the cause lies, we 
can lead the way to healing. 
 
Let us seek not to pinpoint blame, but to pinpoint cause.
 
Unless we take this time to look at the cause of our experience, we will 
never remove ourselves from the experiences it creates. Instead, we will 
forever live in fear of retribution from those within the human family who 
feel aggrieved, and, likewise, seek retribution from them.
 
So at this time it is important for us to direct our anger toward the cause 
of our present experience.  And that is not necessarily individuals or groups 
who have attacked others, but, rather, the reasons they have done so.  Unless 
we look at these reasons, we will never be able to eliminate these attacks.” 
 
It took this letter to open my eyes to a whole new definition of personal 
responsibility.I realize that we cannot say that we are responsible only 
for what happens to us as individuals. This letter was an introduction 
and a challenge to start to also accept responsibility for our part in the 
world regardless how small and insignificant that we think that we are.
 
Whether we like to admit it or not the collective actions (or inactions) 
of billions of Westerners has resulted in a sense of hostility and mistrust 
amongst many in the non-Western world. Personally I could not recall 
anything I had done to Muslims to promote antagonism. On the same 
note I could not recall any actions that actually promoted more unity and 
understanding.My inaction was a small part responsible for this build 
up of antipathy.
 

Responsibility means that we are able to respond. If you are part 

of the cause, you are part of the solution. It was time for us to stop 

pointing the finger at others and start looking into the mirror. On 

that day I began to feel truly responsible for the first time. I intended 

to do my insignificant part as a citizen of the world to promote harmony.
 
The opportunity didn’t come until the weekend when on the way to 
the gym, I saw three young Muslims. My heart went out to them. 
“How would they be feeling at this time?”
You could see the fear and hesitancy in their eyes as we crossed 
paths as they tried to avoid eye contact. Recalling some language 
I learnt as an exchange student to Indonesia, I greeted them with 
the traditional Muslim greeting, “Wassalam  allaikum.”
 
Their eyes widened and their chests dropped with relief and surprise. 
And then with a nervous smile, one of the girls turned around and 
replied, “Wallaikum salam.”
 
It was one small step.
 
But a giant leap for mankindness.
 

The September 11 Peace Letter From Neale Donald Walsch

I wouldn’t classify myself as particularly religious although I do share many spiritual beliefs that align with various religions.  Fear based religions do not particularly resonate with me. This letter from Neale Donald Walsch that I received on September 11, 2001 did touch me in a big way. It represented a more loving and tolerant type of spirituality that I believe more accurately represents a loving God.

Share this with your friends.

Statement – September 11, 2001 – 12 noon pst

Dear friends around the world…

The events of this day cause every thinking person to stop their daily lives,
whatever is going on in them, and to ponder deeply the larger questions of
life. We search again for not only the meaning of life, but the purpose of
our individual and collective experience as we have created it-and we look
earnestly for ways in which we might recreate ourselves anew as a human
species, so that we will never treat each other this way again.

The hour has come for us to demonstrate at the highest level our most
extraordinary thought about Who We Really Are.

There are two possible responses to what has occurred today. The first comes
from love, the second from fear.

If we come from fear we may panic and do things-as individuals and as
nations-that could only cause further damage. If we come from love we will
find refuge and strength, even as we provide it to others.

A central teaching of Conversations with God is: What you wish to experience,
provide for another.

Look to see, now, what it is you wish to experience-in your own life, and in
the world. Then see if there is another for whom you may be the source of
that.

If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another.

If you wish to know that you are safe, cause another to know that they are
safe.

If you wish to better understand seemingly incomprehensible things, help
another to better understand.

If you wish to heal your own sadness or anger, seek to heal the sadness or
anger of another.

Those others are waiting for you now. They are looking to you for guidance,
for help, for courage, for strength, for understanding, and for assurance at
this hour. Most of all, they are looking to you for love.

This is the moment of your ministry. This is the time of teaching. What you
teach at this time, through your every word and action right now, will remain
as indelible lessons in the hearts and minds of those whose lives you touch,
both now, and for years to come.

We will set the course for tomorrow, today. At this hour. In this moment.

There is much we can do, but there is one thing we cannot do. We cannot
continue to co-create our lives together on this planet as we have in the
past. We cannot, except at our peril, ignore the events of this day, or their
implications.

It is tempting at times like this to give in to rage. Anger is fear
announced, and rage is anger that is repressed, and then, when it is
released, that is often misdirected.  Right now, anger is not inappropriate. 
It is, in fact, natural-and can be a blessing.  If we use our anger about
this day not to pinpoint where the blame falls, but where the cause lies, we
can lead the way to healing.

Let us seek not to pinpoint blame, but to pinpoint cause.

Unless we take this time to look at the cause of our experience, we will
never remove ourselves from the experiences it creates. Instead, we will
forever live in fear of retribution from those within the human family who
feel aggrieved, and, likewise, seek retribution from them.

So at this time it is important for us to direct our anger toward the cause
of our present experience.  And that is not necessarily individuals or groups
who have attacked others, but, rather, the reasons they have done so.  Unless
we look at these reasons, we will never be able to eliminate these attacks. 

To me the reasons are clear.  We have not learned the most basic human
lessons.  We have not remembered the most basic human truths.  We have not
understood the most basic spiritual wisdom.  In short, we have not been
listening to God, and because we have not, we watch ourselves do ungodly
things.

The message of Conversations with God is clear: we are all one.  That is a
message the human race has largely ignored.  Our separation mentality has
underscored all of our human creations. 

Our religions, our political structures, our economic systems, our
educational institutions, and our whole approach to life have been based on
the idea that we are separate from each other.  This has caused us to inflict
all manner of injury, one upon the other.  And this injury causes other
injury, for like begets like and negativity only breeds negativity. 

It is as easy to understand as that.  And so now let us pray that all of us
in this human family will find the courage and the strength to turn inward
and to ask a simple, soaring question: what would love do now? 

If we could love even those who have attacked us, and seek to understand why
they have done so, what then would be our response?  Yet if we meet
negativity with negativity, rage with rage, attack with attack, what then
will be the outcome? 

These are the questions that are placed before the human race today.  They
are questions that we have failed to answer for thousands of years.  Failure
to answer them now could eliminate the need to answer them at all. 

We should make no mistake about this.  The human race has the power to
annihilate itself.  We can end life as we know it on this planet in one
afternoon. 

This is the first time in human history that we have been able to say this. 
And so now we must direct our attention to the questions that such power
places before us.  And we must answer these questions from a spiritual
perspective, not a political perspective, and not an economic perspective. 

We must have our own conversation with God, for only the grandest wisdom and
the grandest truth can address the greatest problems, and we are now facing
the greatest problems and the greatest challenges in the history of our
species. 

It is not as if we have not seen this coming.  Every spiritual, political,
and philosophical writer of the past 50 years has predicted it.  So long as
we continue to treat each other as we have done on this planet, the
circumstance that we face on this day will continue to present itself.  The
difference is that now our technology makes our anger much more dangerous. 

In the early days of our civilization, we were able to inflict hurt upon each
other using sticks and rocks and primitive weapons.  Then, as our technology
grew, it became possible for clans to war against clans and, ultimately, for
nations to war against nations. 

But even then, until most recent times, it was not possible for us to
annihilate each other completely. We could destroy a village, or a town, or a
major city, or even an entire nation, but only now is it possible for us to
destroy our whole world so fast that nothing can stop it once the process has
begun. 

That is what makes this point in our history different from any other.  And
that is what makes this call for each of us to have our own conversation with
God so appropriate and so important. 

If we want the beauty of the world that we have co-created to be experienced
by our children and our children’s children, we will have to become spiritual
activists right here, right now, and cause that to happen.  We must choose to
be at cause in the matter.

So, talk with God today. Ask God for help, for counsel and advice, for
insight and for strength and for inner peace and for deep wisdom. Ask God on
this day to show us how to show up in the world in a way that will cause the
world itself to change.

That is the challenge that is placed before every thinking person today.
Today the human soul asks the question: What can I do to preserve the beauty
and the wonder of our world and to eliminate the anger and hatred-and the
disparity that inevitably causes it – in that part of the world which I
touch?

Please seek to answer that question today, with all the magnificence that is
You.

I love you, and I send you my deepest thoughts of peace.

                            Neale Donald Walsch

Stem Cell Update

I have received numerous requests for more information about my friend Amanda Boxtel who has been receiving stem cell therapy in India from Dr. Geeta Schroff.

For more information on Amanda’s story visit www.amandaboxtel.com or visit her blog at www.amandaboxtel.wordpress.com .

You can see photos of Amanda standing and kneeling with assistance on her latest blog at http://amandaboxtel.wordpress.com/photos-amanda-pt-may-2008/