I Promise To Love, Honor, and Cherish ME!

I am sitting in my sun-drenched kitchen, watching the light dance on everything it touches and savoring the quiet. Today, December 31st, 2007, there are none of the usual distractions … no dog barking, no stereo blasting and no dryer beckoning. It is the last day of another year, a natural time of reflection.

I am always excited about starting anything new – particularly a new year. To me, the New Year symbolizes a new beginning– a fresh chance to do it smarter, healthier, wiser, richer – not more, just better. This is markedly different from how many of my clients view the opportunities of a new year.

As fitness professional, I am keenly aware of the increased pressure on women of all ages to look younger and more fit than perhaps humanly possible. As the year comes to an end, my clients are single-mindedly focused on their appearance, vowing to drop a dress size, stop eating French fries, or to walk five miles a day.

I applaud their goals and determination. After all, having a goal is to be applauded. Without goals, we cannot know where we are headed or when to celebrate our achievements.

What troubles me is the motive behind their goals. Why do we put so much pressure on ourselves to be thin? Flat abs, lean arms and legs, a tight rear. We all want a toned physique, but if we are honest, this goal seldom has much to do with good health and more to do with aesthetics and perhaps, societal pressure.

My approach to fitness is linked with my personal journey and my own struggles with my body. I wanted more than anything to be a ballerina – not just a dancer, a Prima Ballerina. Despite my dreams, my DNA was in my way: breasts, curvy hips, and a full butt did not fit into the plan – or the tutu! I was by no means fat; I just didn't fit the mold.

Please understand that I am not taking jabs at the dance world. Thin is in and will always be, but my love of the beautiful art of dance started a sad journey of dissatisfaction with my body. I desperately wanted to create the long beautiful lines that my curves kept me from achieving. “Love the Dance, Honor the line,” my teacher would say. My focus shifted from perfecting my moves as a dancer and an artist to how long I could go without food.

The thinner I tried to get, the weaker I became and so did my dancing, which ended with a knee injury that probably saved my life. In my search for healing, I rediscovered Pilates. As a dancer, the discipline of Pilates was just part of my stretching/floor regime. But as an injured dancer, my focus shifted.

I learned that strengthening my center wasn't just about holding in my abs to look beautiful; it was about making me stronger. I was strong at my center – my core. The more I focused – centered my energies on where my power came from, the more I healed (and not just physically).

Through relearning from a different place – a different mindset -- I became stronger, leaner, more graceful than ever before. At this time I was also searching spiritually. I wasn't looking for religion, but Spirit, Understanding, Power, Fulfillment. I discovered what is now my motto: “We are spiritual beings on a physical journey... Our bodies are our Temples and our Vessels. A healthy Vessel gives us a more enjoyable journey …”

Through the adversity of my dissatisfaction with my body and a serious injury emerged a new attitude and my renewed spirit. These are gifts I wanted to share with other women whom I knew felt the same intense pressures to be picture perfect, despite body type and DNA.

My Just b Method was developed by combining years of studying Pilates, ballet, modern dance, and martial arts. By adding light resistance to these disciplines a unique form of working the body from the inside out emerged developing the desired lean strong physique and a powerful, radiant spirit. Movement has meaning and we need to connect to it physically and spiritually.

There is a proper way to work the body with discipline and grace. You will still achieve the physique you desire, but with a more mindful focus – from the inside out. You also will be motivated to nourish your body with better food choices, without feeling deprived. We can love the dance, which is our lives; honor the line, which is our path, and cherish our temple, which is our beautiful, one of kind body.

This year as we pledge to a New Year/New You, let's add a New Attitude – to love, honor and cherish ourselves and each other!

To Love Yourself (v)
Admire, adulate, care for, delight in, dote on, exalt, glorify, treasure, worship

To Honor (v)
Acclaim, aggrandize, appreciate, be faithful, celebrate, exalt, reverence, value, worship

To Cherish (v)
Adore, appreciate, cultivate, embrace, guard, hold dear, nourish, prize, value, worship