Liz's Meditation Report: The Whole Week

Hello, hello! I've been a crap blogger lately. But I have an excuse! I've been skiing at Purgatory--the mountain resort just outside of Durango, Colorado--and landed back in Chicago in the middle of frosty, rainy Tuesday night.

Although I had hopes as high as the Colorado mountains for meditating every day....sigh....other stuff kept getting in the way. In the mornings, I tried to squeeze in a mini jog so my legs wouldn't forget how to run (Boston is only eight weeks away, after all). Inevitably, I pressed snooze so many times that I barely managed to fit in a few miles before swooping back into the condo like a tornado to change into ski gear and hit the lifts by opening time. After a full day on the slopes, all my sore body could manage was twisting the cap off a bottle of Durango Amber Ale, propping up my legs, and chatting with my family. So...yeah, not much meditating. Double sigh.

But I think my one saving grace, despite my utter failure in this challenge, is that riding the lift is a unique version of meditation. With breathtaking views of snow-capped mountains and parka-clad skiers gliding down the slopes, riding the lift is like a dose of Zen. I'm going to keep trying the daily meditation in Chicago, and now I'm armed with beautifully serene and special memories of the snowy Durango mountains. And stay tuned for some expert tips on fitting in the daily chill-out session. I know I need them. Photo grabbed from JTPics on Flickr. Posted by Liz

Total Body Workout

On last night's The Biggest Loser, Bob Harper put a tree to the test when he made it serve as a piece of gym equipment. Well, with some special suspension straps attached, that is. Trainer Bob introduced his gym-banned group to TRX training--a way to give yourself a total body workout using your body weight and two straps hanging from the sky.

I read about TRX earlier in the year at FitSugar.com, but thought it was one of those classes where I'd to go to a specific gym or find a trainer who worked with TRX. Now it turns out, I can just as easily buy the system and set it up at home, or on the go. And at $200 for the set, over the long haul, that beats any gym membership or set of training sessions. Score for anyone not living in the Bay Area: the location for the TRX Training Center.

Imagine how low you can get your body into a squat if you have something to pull up with. Or lunges and leg lifts (I saw Sione lifting his leg as he squatted back, something that would send me toppling over without supports). Think about all of those core muscles firing, the abs going into overdrive, your biceps and triceps flexing and relaxing. TRX can work the entire body through a combination of moves both in familiar and uncharted territory. And for someone who needs to work her core, it's a winner.

It was developed by the U.S. Navy SEALs and used as part of the military's functional training tools. With their strong reputation, it has to be a strength-builder. I'm willing to give it a shot, especially after checking out this video by Vision Quest Coaching owner and former U.S. Postal Team cyclist Robbie Ventura that talks about the benefits of functional strength training. Photo grabbed from Be Sportier. Posted by Kate

The Meditation Report: Kate's Day Six and Seven

Day 6: Relaxation, calm, serenity. The minute I hit send to turn in an assignment and without meditation, I felt free as a bird. But that also meant packing my evening with a busy--and exhausting--workout at the gym and at Vision Quest. That bird-like feeling persisted when I arrived home from Taste at VQ--lots of core work apparently fueled my system and I needed something to calm me down. I resorted back to the bed to perch and meditate--this time have far greater success than on day one although that could have been from the workout high. I tried focusing on a word and maybe I started daydreaming while meditating but it worked. I wound down and even thought I still had to lay in bed and watch TV, I was no longer feeling like the Energizer Bunny. Liz was right: I would start thinking about skiing.

Day 7: I sound like a record on repeat over here with all these plans and then not 100 percent following through. Here's another (although it has a happy ending): I had to save myself a bike for a packed spinning class at the gym, so I planned to arrive early enough to snag the bike and meditate before class time. Well, I got to the gym early but a friend was there so we were talking about insoles, bike fit and running gait, and I had to save my meditation until later. Much later because I was watching The Biggest Loser and eating dinner. But after a segment on the BL when Tara asked for a five-second breather (and thinking there's someone who needs to relax and meditate), I knew I would be doing my time even if it was five minutes before bed.

I'm a fan of the word meditation: I tried it again tonight and it seems to be working, keeping my mind from wandering in a million different directions. And while the week of meditation is almost up, I might not meditate daily, but when I'm feeling the need to chill out, which is pretty frequent, I'll give myself those 10 minutes to shut out the rest of the world. It helps refocus my energy and I feel more productive in the long run. Posted by Kate

Fit-Fact: First Family Fitness

After a weekend in Chicago, news of dinner at Table 52, and a friend on Facebook status updating to say he waved to Mr. Pres and he waved back, I've got Obama on my mind.

But I'm not talking about stimulus bills and politics. When Michelle Obama was announced as the latest First Lady to grace the cover of Vogue, Kathy Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb commented that she had great arms and must work her upper body. At inauguration time, a photo circulated through my e-mail linking to a photo of Obama riding through Hyde Park on a bike. OK, that seemed to poke fun at our Chief of State, but he is known for shooting hoops. Hence the announcement that daughter Sasha would be joining a basketball team at her new school. So with all of these active Obamas, it didn't surprise me in the least when a few weeks ago my guilty pleasure reading on People.com uncovered dirt on the Granny-in-Chief, Michelle's mother.

Turns out that the woman many media outlets have started calling the First Granny, Marian Robinson, loves doing yoga.

And she's not the only one in the family getting limber. Robinson's yoga partner is Sasha and Malia's godmother, Eleanor "Mama Kaye" Wilson. Robinson's younger brother, Stephen Shields, serves as their yoga instructor.

I'm still wondering how Michelle's getting those svelte arms (can I steal some secrets?), but I'm loving the athletic chops of this family. And not just Grandma and the immediate family. Maybe Grandma was a star athlete who never met her true calling, because there's something in the genes of that family. Michelle's brother Craig can hold his chops on the basketball court and played college ball at Princeton. He's currently the men's basketball head coach at Oregon State University and previously coached at Brown University. Any one-on-one action between in-laws? Photo grabbed from chimpomatic.com. Posted by Kate

PS Apologies for any lackluster posts by me the past few days, I feel like I've been in a mental fog. Hope to snap out soon!

The Meditation Report: Kate's Day Four and Five

Day 4: Ellie Krieger of Food Network fame saved me today. I recently started subscribing to her newsletter and each day in my inbox comes a new tip for healthy living. And the timing couldn't be better because the latest suggested three ways to meditate. I've been focusing on the breathing method--breathing slowly, counting to four as you inhale and exhale, and if your thoughts drift concentrate hard on nothing but breathing. The newsletter also suggested two other methods: word and heartbeat meditation.

I should have tried word meditation, repeating a word or phrase to keep my mind from wandering, when I trying my meditate-at-the-gym method again--I wasn't as successful this time having to listen to the whoops, scuffles and whistles happening on the basketball court below. I have a hard enough time finding my heartbeat and counting it during a workout so I'm not sure how well I'd track it during heartbeat meditation.

My other lesson learned: "Remember, you're not being graded on your performance — you're simply exploring a new way to achieve greater serenity. The more you do it, the easier it becomes to slip into a deeply relaxed, meditative state." I like that thought.

Day Five: I could have used meditation the most today and unfortunately I didn't give myself those 10 minutes when I should have. Knowing a deadline was looming and spending a Sunday afternoon working on it didn't help and I passed on my opportunity to work out and meditate after. My plan was to go to Circular Strength Training at Equinox, which include a 5- to 10-minute cooldown of Prasara yoga at the end of class, then either find a quiet spot at the gym or head home and log those strictly meditation minutes. Sorry to disappoint today. Posted by Kate