What if?

What if you had one year to live? What if you had forewarning, and foresight? How would you live that year? Living with Common Variable Immune Deficiency is a steady reminder that life is temporary, yet I have always joked that I will probably pass in a car crash or such. Things aren't always what you think they are. When your eye is on the ball, you don't see what's happening on the sides.

After the passing of one of my yoga students, it served as yet another reminder that we are all temporarily here on Earth. Senator Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with brain cancer, and was lucky enough to be able to sail and do all the things he enjoyed. One of his family members talked about his last year as being able to circle the wagons one last time. But this guy lived a courageous and full life.

Recently on a vacation I took yoga classes that filled my spirit, and went to the Redwood National Forest, one of the things that I have always wanted to do. But somewhere along this journey of 40 years, I have come to the conclusion that it is not all about checking off the "bucket list," nor is it all about doing. Taking on this path--as a human on Earth, is filled with many reasons, plans, and purposes. We are born with amnesia for a reason. What is this purpose?

What if this is Earth School, with planned course work, and yet with added free will? "All bets are off once you are on Earth," is a saying that I've heard. It is the cosmic wild west--in that we can have a plan, yet when all people have free will, anything can happen. Yet (thankfully) there is this divine force that intervenes at times. A book that I feel best describes my take on the soul planning of incarnation is: Courageous Souls. Perhaps I will write more about this area later, but the scope is large and complex. Is our free will about how much we get out of our Earth classes and which detours we take? Two students could be in the same course, one applying themselves to understand the material, and the other one barely shows up for class and doesn't pay attention. We know people like this, and perhaps we see ourselves in one of these students. Perhaps it IS the "messing up" that is the lesson.

So what do we do with our free will? What if we had only one year left? What would we do with this knowledge? How would you live your life differently? Or would you? In a TV episode of House, a patient was wrongly diagnosed with a terminal disease. This guy began to live fully and with gusto. When he found out that the diagnosis was a mistake, he was pissed! He did not want to hear this, and he was quite disappointed. He had taken the trip and said what he wanted to say, and quite liked the permission to live life fully--that dieing gave him. What changed the most was his outlook on life and how he experienced it. Does it really matter if we have this job or that one, or hold our social status in a particular way if it is not authentic to our soul?

The courses in school that I struggled the most with were often times the ones that I learned the most from. We can think we know about "all that is" and have all the answers, but we can not as long as we are humans. Some things don't make sense, and won't.

OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti!

5 Months to Go...

Seven years ago I was headed to Ventura, Ca. to race as the featured athlete in the Dina LaVinga Breath of Life Triathlon, but didn't make it. I was eager to race, but my health was just too poor. Fast forward to 2010, and I am now planning to attend this race, and finish my commitment. Although I have done the Ironman at 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run, at this time in my life an olympic distance race seems like a long distance! This race is a .93 mile swim, a 24.8 mile bike, and a 6.2 mile run.

I am "preparing" right now to train. I swim 2-3 times a week doing drills for form, I run 2-3 times of varying distances, but not much more than 5 1/2 miles at this point, and cycling 2-3 times per week on indoor trainers for about 1-2 hours. But lets be honest, doing this day in and day out takes some fitness. Triathlon training isn't about one training session being particularly stellar, but the ability to do the daily training, and it be sustainable. Day in and day out. And believe me, I have blown off training sessions, when needed. So what IS the difference between preparation and training? They look a lot alike, yet in preparation, I am not doing any of the workouts very hard, and am totally focusing on form, technique, and repeatability.

My expectations are not high. Seven years ago I would have expected to have a podium finish, but now I would likely finish way back from this! I'm good with this, really.....I am, sort of. I'm alive, and that says a lot, but I am wired like a triathlete. These are the people who think that one sport just isn't quite good enough for them. Yup, I'm that person. What can I do? It is probably this trait that has given me the fire to expect better health than what my doctors thought was even remotely possible. Yes, poor quality of life and a certain early death.....that is just not quite good enough for me!!

When this article was written, I was 33. Dina LaVigna was 33 when she passed away. Four years ago, I came very very close to passing away yet again. It's close, and it's personal. But I can't think about it. I will get out of bed tomorrow, God willing, and go to the pool to swim....because I can.

Hey Lady...

Margaret Thatcher

"Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't."

Observing "it" changes "it"...

The uncertainty principle in physics that states that merely observing something at the subatomic level, changes it. This is called the Heisenberg Principle. When we don't acknowledge something, we can not change it. Finances, relationships, health, fitness, nutrition choices and weight can all be affected by the simple act of observation. We must first make an observation before we can make change.

In this photo I am on the downhill slide of a few years with undiagnosed hypothyroidism, for which took some time to get the right dosage of replacement. It was after the most weight gain ever in my life, 5 hour bike sessions, and eating only fish and vegetables with no weight loss, did I seek a new health care provider who would look closer at my own observations- something was clearly not right! My weight was still in the "normal" range, but very high for me.

Several months later since this photo was taken, I am now on the low end of the "healthy" weight zone, yet not quite in the "race shape" that I'd like to be in. So what am I going to do about this? Continuing the process that I have been on, and I will recap: first making the observation that my body composition, although in the medically "healthy" range, is not optimal for my frame, for how I feel, and for performance.

• Make observations on body composition-- measuring weight/fat/lean mass/circumference
• Observe key elements that are a factor: nutrition choices, exercise, illness, injury, genetics
• Make a plan! Studies show that the mere act of logging weight/body fat % or logging food and exercise will bring improvements. Those who follow a schedule with nutrition and exercise, improve more.

I am now able to exercise regularly after being in physical therapy for a few months. This is a whole other issue...but needless to say my journey has been slow and trying but I am on the mend. Exercise brings health improvements and better body composition, and I am following a loosely organized training regime that is preparing my body for triathlon training. Tracking it in my calendar, I allow myself to switch my plan when needed, but it is logged and quite obvious if I am slacking. From all the years doing triathlon, I have found that it really works best to get into regimented training if the exercise is organized by the days of the week. Right now, I swim T/TH- and usually run on alternate days or after a swim. Bike sessions are secondary at this point, and might only be twice a week. As time continues, I will finesse my training a bit, but this plan is effective and easy to adhere to.

This works for basic weight loss, getting fit, or training for a race. My weight loss clients have done best when logging food choices and exercise, and I recommend sites such as www.fitday.com or comparable.

In Health & Vitality,

Lori

Life's Door...

Two days ago I took this photo on my run after a morning swim at the Y. The snow was a few inches deep, and it took some high knees to move forward in spots. I giggled a lot, and was reminicent about how many winters had passed with me chronically cold and miserable. This year I am finally warm, having the right amount of Armour thyroid replacement. I still pile on lots of layers out of habit and fear of being bone cold....so this run was particularly warm with a lot of sweat.

This is the time of year that we "plant seeds" for the coming months ahead. A friend of mine has this tradition that what she does on New Years Day will be the representation of what will be created for the coming year. I like this! Today, I trained first thing in the morning and then cleaned house. So I guess I'll be fit and have a clean house!