About Me

I have been a teacher of fitness and health for thirty years. In 1989 I was certified for personal training with the National Acadamy of Sports Medicine. I had a gym in Santa Barbara for eight years. Co-owned and created a spinning bike company which manufactured bikes for five years. Also I have worked with nutrition companies for twenty years. Along with many wonderful non famous people I have trained many celebrities, and members of the Royal Family. My own athletic past consists of long distance running, long distance cycling, cross country skiing, down hill skiing, rollerblading, hiking, sand running, track work, and weight training. I have authored two fitness columns in local papers, and have been writing this blog since January 2010.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Reflecting On Age

Age is an interesting thing, particularly in the United States.  This country does not revere its elder population.  In fact, Americans are obsessed with youth and all that that implies.  The media is responsible for much of how we as Americans focus on the young.

We have ads and commercials selling skin cream for aging skin where the models are 18 years old.  We have air brushing on models that are already thin and attractive, but they need to look more "perfect".

If you have a career in the public eye, you will be judged by your aging skin and body especially if you are a female.  Men get away with getting older and out of shape most likely because men are the ones doing the judging in these business's involved in the public eye.  It is definitely a double standard in Hollywood and the entertainment industry.

What has happened is that we have bought this idea that we are not as vital or interesting as we age.  I beg to differ with this.  As you get older and reflect on who you were when you were younger, you come to realize that who you are now has so much more wisdom, experience and understanding of life than you did when you were young.  There is a saying that I heard when I was much younger, "Youth is wasted on the young".  I did not get it when I was younger, but I get it now!


What we need to understand is that aside from our bodies aging, our spirit or our soul that reside in our body is not old.  It is more experienced and aware.  Now having said that I want to also add that not all of us are more aware.  I know many older people that have not "grown" up in wisdom or awareness.  Many people like this are obsessed with holding on to their youth and refuse to accept that they are aging.  It is a process that we can not stop, even with plastic surgery. 

We all age differently depending on our genetics and lifestyle, which includes diet, exercise, stress levels and our environment.  However it is our thoughts and beliefs that really play the biggest role in how we view our aging process.  If you think you are old and believe that it is a negative, you will have that experience.  There are 60 year old's that are not able to stand on one leg because they have not practiced balance or kept a healthy level of fitness.  Then there are 90 year old's that are running in marathons.  It is all in the mind once again.

In 2015 the Census Bureau reported that there are 47.8 million of Americans over the age of 65.  It is estimated that in the year 2060 that number will rise to 98.2 million.  That will be one in four Americans over the age of 65.  That is a huge chunk of the population that would be considered "old" and "useless" if things continue as they are now.

I would like to suggest that we not listen to the media or society's view point in this matter.  I suggest that we decide that we are as vital and worthy of an exciting life at any age.  65 year old's no longer automatically retire unless they want to.   Instead they are starting new careers and new lives and new interests.  I recently saw a video of an 90 year old woman still doing gymnastics.  I read an article on a 100 year old man who wanted to start running and competing in races.  These are people who are not believing that their age is an obstacle.  They are doing what they want without any thought to their "age".

So I would say to you that your age is just a number unless you believe the "crap" fed to us by the media and social media.  Take your age out of the equation when you are thinking about your life course.  It is just another limiting belief to stop you from doing things you would really like to experience.


Now some of you would argue that there are things that can't be done because of age.  Yes I do know of some things that might be totally dependent on youth.  It might be a challenge to be a 90 year old swim suit model.  Probably won't happen, but you never know who will come along and change that.  What 50 looks like today is not what 50 looked like 100 years ago.

Age is what happens everyday that we are alive and breathing.  It is not a barometer of limiting how we live our lives.  That is up to us.  Live your life the way you want no matter your age.

Blessings
Queenie




Monday, November 12, 2018

The Art of Self Talk

We all have mind chatter going on 24/7.  How much of that mind talk is about you?  How much of that is negative?  Most of us would not speak to anyone who said the things to us that we say to ourselves.  Many of us have a regular diatribe of negative self criticism going on in our heads on a daily bases.  We tell ourselves how stupid we are, how ugly we are, how incompetent we are and on and on.  What we tell ourselves is powerful to how we manifest our life.



Much of this self talk has been created from our childhood and our past interactions with others.  We replay these beliefs in the form of mind chatter daily telling our selves things that do not support loving ourselves.  In many ways we are our own worst enemy when it comes to how we speak to ourselves.





The first step in turning this chatter around to a positive conversation is to be aware of how many times a day you are saying negative things to yourself.  Once you realize that you are doing this, you can replace it with a positive thought such as, "I am capable", "I am smart" and  "I am worthy".  Say these things to yourself every day to create a new conversation in your head. 

Our subconsciousness holds all of our old beliefs that do not serve us.  Those are the things that keep creeping into our daily thoughts that we need to re-create.  We can do this by repeating the new positive  thoughts over and over again, just like we did by thinking the limiting thoughts over and over again.  It takes time to do this but is well worth it if you want to change to having a more positive conversation with yourself.  It will change your life for the better if you can.






Our thoughts, beliefs and words are powerful in creating our life.  When you can control you thoughts, beliefs and words in a more positive direction your world will manifest from that.  It is all up to you.  If you no longer want to be a "victim" of yourself, take charge of what you are saying to yourself.  You are the only one in control of this and that is the beauty of it.  You can have whatever conversation you want with yourself.  I suggest it be loving, positive and supportive.




Watch as your life unfolds with more opportunity and success as you learn the "Art of Self Talk".  It is a beautiful thing.

Have a Blessed Day
Queenie


Thursday, November 8, 2018

The Power of Perception

"Perceive" is defined in the Dictionary as "to become aware of; through one of the senses, especially through seeing.  To take in through the mind."  Perception is simply the act of perceiving or the ability to perceive.  What is not being said here is that we can "choose" how we perceive what we are seeing or feeling or experiencing.  We are choosing it anyway, unfortunately most of us are doing it unconsciously. 


Two people can be sharing the same experience and come away with two different perceptions of that experience, such as two people taking a hike together.  While one person is pointing out the beauty of the surroundings and the lovely breeze that is blowing in the air, the other is complaining of the wind and how their feet hurt.  Same experience, different perception.

We can always choose to focus on the positives in any situation rather than what could be bothering our experience.  People who tend to perceive things by constantly pointing out the negative are probably people who are not finding the joy in life.  They are focused on what they "perceive" as a problem.  They are missing what could be a good experience.

We can perceive a "failure" as a horrible thing.  Something that might stop us from trying again.  It might take us into feeling not good about ourselves.  Or we can perceive it as a step closer to success, a learning lesson and becoming stronger.  It's all about our perception of it.

 
Perception is another way to see how you are creating your life.  What are your perceptions?  Are they always focused on the negative or are you perceiving life from the glass half full?  See how many times a day you perceive out of a habitual negative thought process.  The beauty of this is you get to choose.  You just need to be conscious of your thoughts each and every moment.  When you begin to think and perceive in the positive direction you will begin to feel better which will allow you to create in a more positive way. 


If you already think and perceive in a positive way, congratulations you are most likely having a happier and more peaceful experience in life.  We can all do this.  It just takes effort and the willingness to change.  The power of perception is about choosing!


Blessings
Queenie

Sunday, October 28, 2018

Feeding Our Bodies and Mind Healthy Nutrition


Feeding Ourselves Healthy Nutrition
For Body and Mind

It is important to feed our bodies with healthy nutrition to attain a healthier body.  Most of us know that, but most do not do that.  Our country has over 73% of its population overweight and obese.  We are the most over fed but undernourished country in the world.  That is a horrific statistic given the fact that we used to be leading the way in most categories such as health, education, longevity and mortality. 

Our health demise began with the onslaught of “processed foods”.  In the beginning in the early 1900’s processed food did not have the same chemicals, pesticides and artificial ingredients as it does now.  Companies that create these processed foods have found more chemicals that lead to a longer and longer shelf life.  There concern is keeping the food from spoiling which adds to their bottom line…the almighty dollar.  That my friends is what drives the food industry and certainly not your health.



The simplest way to tell you how to eat the healthiest is this; eat mostly nature’s foods that are not processed and come from its original source such as the plant that grows in the ground.  Hopefully not grown with toxic pesticides and chemicals or choosing what we know of as “Organic”.  Animal protein should also be raised in a non toxic environment for the optimal health benefit. 

Most Americans eat from a food source that is at least 70% processed.  Try turning this around to eating from 70% unprocessed and you will see a difference in you health because of it.

If you want to argue that it is difficult to eat without choosing processed foods, then you are one of those who are “arguing for your limitations” and you certainly have the right to keep eating in an unhealthy manner.  I have no attachment to people eating poorly and becoming unhealthily, but I do understand why there are so many Americans that are fat and sick and processed foods are a part of that reason.



We also need to feed our minds healthy nutrition.  This has to do with what we are focusing our attention on.  Are we watching negative or violent television?  Are we playing violent or negative gaming?  Are we focused on gossip or addicted to the news?  These are all things that feed our minds and from my perspective are the same as processed food.  They are full of toxic information with no positive content to give you a healthy mind.  They don’t leave you feeling positive when you are done watching or reading them.  If you are honest about it, they most likely leave you feeling disturbed or anxious or simply feeling lousy.  




If we want to feel good mentally we need to focus on what that is that makes us feel good.  If we want to feel good of body we need to feed it healthy foods.  Feeling good of body and mind is usually what we want.  Feeding ourselves unhealthy food and unhealthy mind stimulation is not the answer.

Assess what it is you have been feeding your body and mind and see if you are on the right track.  Most of us have a mixed bag when it comes to these things.  Some of it is good, and some of it is bad.  Try and get the good to outweigh the bad and you will begin to feel better both physically and mentally.



Take charge of your life and create a healthier experience of body and mind!
Have a blessed day!


Understanding Metaphysics


What is Metaphysics?

I have been a student of Metaphysics for nearly 30 years.  It is a study and philosophy that has been around for centuries, but faded from the main stream of consciousness. It is my belief that those who were in a position to control certain groups of population did not like that it gave individuals power to create the life they wanted by choosing their thoughts, beliefs and emotions.  Therefore it was removed from many group teachings, particularly those teachings that use fear and guilt as a way of keeping people under their control.

The first known book written about metaphysics was written by Aristotle in 350 B.C.

The definition of Metaphysics as referenced by the dictionary goes as follows;
Metaphysics is a division of philosophy that is concerned with the fundamental nature of reality and being.  It is the relationship between mind and matter and what is beyond the physical world.

This is telling us that there is a power in us beyond the five senses that we can resource in a conscious way to create our lives in a manner that we want.  It is not connected to any religion, cult, or what some people refer to as a “Woo Woo” kind of thing.  It is simply this; "a philosophy that we create our world from our thoughts, beliefs and actions. If those are sourced from worry, fear or any other negative type thinking, you will create your reality from that."


 How can we create a positive outcome from a negative source?  If you ask anyone in your life that has a successful and happy existence, I promise you they will not say it came from limited or negative thinking.

We all have over 60,000 thoughts going through our minds every day.  Most of us are not consciously choosing those thoughts, but rather allowing our minds to ramble on unconsciously day after day.  Most of us have a running diatribe of thoughts that are the same everyday such as, “I can’t do that”, “I am ugly”, I am never going to be successful at that”, “If it weren’t for my abusive childhood I would be more successful” and thousands more of the same ilk. 

The first step to changing your thoughts to being more positive and creating from that place, is to be aware of what you are thinking in each and every moment.  My students are usually shocked at how much of their day is spent in negative thinking not only about themselves, but about anything and everything around them.  Such as, “I am so exhausted.”, “I hate this traffic.”, “Look at how stupid that person looks.”, and on and on.



Metaphysics gives you the tools to change this way of thinking around.  It takes effort and practice, but it will change your life for the better like nothing else can.  Remember that you have given the “negative” thinking in your life a lot of effort and practice; you have just gotten really good at it so it no longer seems difficult. 

Once you begin to change those limiting thoughts and beliefs to more positive ones you will feel so much better and will watch your world change around you in an amazing way.



It is an exciting journey to take and I hope you will for the sake of your own happiness and fulfillment.  I will be sharing more about how we can keep on track with thinking and believing in a positive manner.  You can create the life you want when you are focusing on all things positive.  Have a blessed day!

Sunday, June 17, 2018

Create Your Life!

We create our lives with our thoughts and beliefs. What are your thoughts and beliefs that you're creating from? Are you coming from a negative source of thinking and believing, and then wondering why your life is not working out the way you want?

This is what most of us are doing, but you can change it by being consciously aware of  your thoughts and beliefs at all times. It is a simple thing to do but not easy if you have been practicing negative thinking for a long time. It is 100% possible to turn it around with consistent effort and awareness.

Start by being aware of how many negative thoughts you think in a day, you will probably be amazed at the negative diatribe that goes on in your head. Begin by replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts and repeat those over & over as you have done with the negative thoughts.

Whatever we focus on, we create in our world. If your focus is negative thinking, that's what you will create. So it only makes sense if you want to create a positive life for yourself, you must think and believe that way.

There's no time like the present, so begin the process now so you can create the experiences and life that you are wanting.

I will be giving you tools in the coming days to help you facilitate this process. But you can start now by just becoming aware of what you think and believe.