...the other core workout.....

...downward dog...into plank...hold...keep holding...lift your right leg...then alternate lifting with your left leg...don't touch down...right leg and left arm extended off the ground....hold.....don't touch down...and move to your side...i said, don't touch down...now dip and up, dip and up....sound familiar? If you attended Women's Fitness Camp you experienced one of Tracy Gannaway's Core workouts...and I trust your muscles have remembered it too! Tracy spoke of the importance of keeping our core strong. (in rough terms...think shoulder to hip area) To quote Tracy, "A strong tight core provides a solid foundation through which power is generated in one region of the body and transferred to another."  Hmmm...this definition has me thinking. Thinking that is, about our other core. Our spiritual core. To be balanced in our approach to fitness we have to work out all three components of self. The physical, the emotional and the spiritual. I quickly get out of balance when my focus becomes all about the physical. If you panic just a little when you miss a workout or when you stress about eating the lovely dessert someone just offered you, chances are, you are too focused on physical. When we become out of balance we can become legalistic in our approach to fitness.  Legalism breeds pride and pride breeds judgement towards others and self. Jesus addressed this when talking to the religious leaders of his day, the Pharisees.  Jesus spoke in Matthew 23:25-26..."You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean."  So...think about this. What is the condition of your other core? Has it been redeemed....made clean? Jesus, Son of God, the Sacrificial Lamb, our Lord and Savior...through His death and resurrection completed the spiritual core work for us. It is just up to us to accept it as our foundation  and exercise the power He provides in and through us.

Fitness Camp...the rest of the story!

18 women gathered together all in one room....sizing each other up...you know...it's true.  It's "fitness camp" and you hope that you are not the least fit one in the room...or at least, your mind whispers, please don't let me be the biggest one here...Our goal is to chase those fears away...to help you see yourself where you are in your own journey towards fitness and give you tools to help you accomplish your goals. And we mean healthy goals...not unrealistic expectations that lead to shame and imprisonment of thinking....but, that's going to be talked about in the next blog. Most of the women arrive with a friend...or a few friends. That is wise. For what you experience and learn will want to follow you home in the package of a good friend. Fitness camp is a time to learn and try new techniques...it's a time to realize that as women we all more alike than we are different....it's a time to encourage and cheer each other on as we face and let go of what we may fear...it's a time to challenge ourselves to be brave, to realize our strength, and to be inspired. I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story....