"Regular or Stinging ?" Cycle For Survival

Kids seem to have the same "ugh" attitude about going to bed that we adults have about getting OUT of bed. My twins wait till the last possible minute to use the bathroom or brush their teeth (usually after the 4th time we ask, they actually do it). Jake commandeers the bathroom that has the toothbrushes and toothpaste for his nightly ritual. Abby tries to coax him out or at least "pass out her toothbrush and toothpaste". Last week, as Kurt and I listened to this ritual, Abby asked the usual "can you pass out my toothbrush" and after a pause, he did. Then with a great sigh and roll of her eyes "Can you pass me out the toothpaste?" After a pregnant pause Jake replies "regular or stinging?"

I knew exactly what he meant (we have a few different kinds and some are a little more minty). The concept of asking "regular or stinging" was hysterical to me. To think that his perception was so radically different than ours that he had a completely different "definition" and experience/reality than we did. He wasn't wrong, strong mint does sting but for some people that is a good thing.

Almost everything we experience in our lives takes on a unique definition/reality as it gets filtered through our perceptions, beliefs, prejudices, insecurities, past experiences, preferences and senses. In many ways, none of us can ever experience anything the same as someone else can.

We do get a "say" in all this though. I believe that working on our "selves", we can let go of a lot of judgement about others and even about ourselves. In almost any experience, person or thing we can learn to "find the good". We can choose the "it's gonna be great" reality.

Choosing to be an optimist is just that, a choice. We can also choose to be miserable. The question is...why would we ?

It takes a constant effort to deflect all the "not nice" that comes at us in our lives. Not unlike how hard we train to be able to tolerate more intense physical challenges, we can get our "emotional teflon" stronger but exercising our "it's gonna be great".

I will be teaching and riding with my team f0r Cycle For Survival again this year. Jen Goodman, who started this amazing charity, is a great example of someone who is" like Wonder Woman deflecting bullets with her magic bracelets" with her "it's gonna be great". She is on her 7th round of battling cancer and still she is doing great things and living an amazing life full of purpose and meaning. Her blog is: http://youfearless.com/page/fearless-blog

We can all benefit from "flexing our optimism muscles "and making them stronger. Do good, be good and believe that there is goodness all around you and in everyone (yes everyone). That is just as much a reality as believing otherwise. There will be "good" if we allow it, become it and open our arms to welcome it.

Please give to Cycle For Survival. My team is Liquid Strength and I am grateful to be able to do this good thing. I hope you will feel as blessed giving and joining hands with Jen to feed the "good" all around us.

Story von Holzhausen

Taking on new challenges

My cousin Erica sent me this and I thought it was really worth sharing. We are all taking on some new challenges this year and keeping the right attitude about them is vital to us having a good experience. I believe (as Erica does) that our belief system influences our "outcome". The dialog and joy (or lack of) we enjoy with our bodies and our "selves" manifests itself as physical reality. We are doing amazing work right now in classes. Challenging, fun and intense work. I want everyone to work on "watching it happen". With open minds and hearts, allow your strength and power to shine and come into the world.

A message from Erica Isler:

http://erikaisler.com/blog/

Cycle For Survival

I am teaching and riding again this year for Cycle for Survival. This amazing event raises money for rare cancer research. I am asking all of my wonderful students to give. Give $1 or $100. Just give. Send the message and know that you are part of something that is making a difference for all people.

My team is Liquid Strength (shocker huh?). Please go to the site cycleforsurvival.org and GIVE !

Story von Holzhausen

The intellect/happy irony

Have you ever noticed that we, as people, strive for happiness yet it is those among us who are more withdrawn, sullen and discruntled that we think of as "cool". A person who is "happy" is often thought of as less intelligent as their peers.

Especially in youth, we seem to be drawn to and emulate the more conflicted and dark among us. The joyful and chipper teenager is rarely as interesting as the James Dean type. With age (and life) it gets harder to be blissfully optimistic. When you think of people like Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama, they are usually smiling. These amazing human beings are very aware of the spectrum of joy/pain that is the human existence. The choice to "be happy" and to be hopeful and positive is available to all of us. Life gives us sometimes very valid reasons not to be happy but it is our personal choice how we let these challenges effect us.

If you really think about it, the more selfless we are the less we need or expect those around us to "feed" our personal needs (both physical and emotional). To be sad and sullen is actually to be incredibly self indulgent. We impose our needs onto everyone around us and require others to "take on" what we are feeling. There is a fine line between forming bonds and having personal connections with the people we love and trust with the struggles of our daily lives and living in a state of requiring the attention of others. In this world of constant contact via Facebook, Twitter, blogs,email and text, we are all becoming a bit narcisistic aren't we ?

Sometimes happiness needs us to fight for it. We have to hold on and refuse to let go no matter what the day brings. Holding steadfast to the beauty of our lives. Those simple joys like laughing or petting a dog that are here and now all around us. It is our choice to carry worry and fear and hate around with us, missing the wonder that we are walking by.

Perhaps it takes great "intellect" to just put that baggage down and let ourselves feel the breeze, smell the flowers and notice that we are perfectly happy in that moment. There have been a few really interesting studies this year about the "age of happiness". People seem to get happier as they get older (past 50 anyway). How many 80 year old do you know that don't smile when they see a baby ?

Perhaps there is a wisdom to happiness. When we understand how hard life can be but still we allow joy to creep into and infuse our lives, maybe it is then and only then, we truly find it.

Story von Holzhausen

Liquid Strength 2011

This new year (and new schedule at Equinox) has allowed a whole new group of people to be able to take group Liquid Strength. I welcome all of my new students and want to thank all of my regulars for their continued work and energy they bring to class.

Some changes to my website are coming. The schedule portion will be updated regularly so that I can keep everyone abreast of changes and private classes (outside of a gym setting) in my schedule. This year will finally bring classes taught by Kathleen and Scott who have been diligently working and studying to teach for years now. They bring not only their individual talents and creativity to Liquid Strength but also times and classes that I cannot offer.

There seems to be a kind of magic happening around Liquid Strength right now that is reminiscent of when I first created it. The changes that I am seeing in all of you inspire and feed the program (and all of us). Many of you have had very significant improvements in posture, confidence and body composition. This new year promises to further all of you down that very healthy and happy road.

So often during the ("meditation") closing moments of class as I ask all of you to focus on something very positive in your days or in your lives, I find myself feeling such gratitude for your presence and (as my son Jake would say) your "awesomeness" that I want to take this opportunity to say "Thank You".

Story von Holzhausen