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No I am not referencing our recent Valentine’s Day festivities I am speaking of a wild weekend I spent with 50 fitness instructors doing some hard-core, gyrating, sassy, fitness-dancing in an 8 hour ZUMBA certification class.

The first Question I usually get here is ….What is Zumba?  Well, we were asked to repeat repeatedly that …

“ZUMBA is a dance/ fitness program set to international music ….OR… IT’S A PARTY!”

You choose the definition that works well for you but I will tell you, being lead by our expert instructor to the stars, Tanya Beardsley it was definitely all that and a bag of sunchips.

So what was a Professional Coach like me doing attempting to keep up with a bunch of professional fitness instructors?

Well,  a great friend of mine (owner of Inspiral motion and Gyrotonic instructor extraordinaire)said she was going and mentioned that there was no prerequisite to attend, so when I heard “road-trip” and “dance” and “party” I said, SIGN ME UP! 

No more than 3 days later I was asking myself “so tell me why again are you driving to New York to get Zumba certified when you will likely never teach a class?”  and the answer that kept coming back to me was… “because you said you would.” And at some point I was so inspired that I actually signed up and paid money to do it so who am I to question that inspiration.  And thus,  I Just put it on the calendar and went.

As it turns out, I am so grateful I got zumbafied for several reasons.

1 – I found out that when push comes to shove, I can do 5 hours of movement in a day. Who knew!

2 – I found out what it is to sweat – I mean really sweat for hours.  I rarely work hard enough to sweat and it is great to know I can do it while having a blast!

3 – I got to watch a master mover and was totally inspired! If you check out the youtube video I found below you will see some of the things she does with her body… I want to know how to do that!

4 – In our training there were a couple people who stood out from the crowd, that totally knew what was going on and they helped us all rock the house.  I would like to be someone who knows the formula, has practiced the basic steps and could walk into any Zumba class in the country and represent!

5 – for those of you who have followed my journey for a time you will remember that I have been seeking  “the body of a dancer”, with this in mind, my ZUMBA adventure is clearly just one more very important piece of this puzzle.

6 – I had 8 hours in the car with my friend and we never once turned on the radio.  It was lovely to share the time and get every little thing that might have been weighing on our minds out into the ether. Thanks  God for good friends!

7 – I just want to wear the clothes.  Our instructor had these wide legged baggy pants with tassels on the back pockets (that did amazing things when she did this particular shimmy move) and a chain from her hip to a side pocket.  So HOT!

And finally – our overnight trip to New York where I got to be a Zumba teacher for a day, got me out of myself. It took me into another world, one with a fresh perspective on fitness, my own body, dance and life in general.

Instead of being at the front of the class, I got to be a student and I witnessed a master instructor at work.  I felt the exhilaration of getting it and the growly frustration of being lost.  I even had a moment where I looked in the mirror and felt old and so totally “un-cool” and I watched as I was able to catch my mind, get over it and focus on the next step… and then the next.

This is really the challenge of everyday life.  How to stay focused on the dance, being present and intentional and not getting frustrated when learning the new steps; being patient with the process because one does not build the body of a dancer, a thriving business or a beautiful new romance over night.  We must move towards our inspired futures, calmly learning the steps, staying the course and knowing… we WILL get it.

So why not try something new.  Infuse some fun in your life. Trust your process and believe that with intention and focus you will get there….oh… And go get your ZUMBA on!

Happy Friday!

Coach Joelle

(p.s. none of these are me. In case you were wondering. i just found it online.)
 

Good morning! 

Coach Joelle here to share another new food adventure from an aspiring vegetarian.

This past weekend, my family in town, we headed to one of downtown Cleveland’s delights, the Westside Market.  It has that ”market feel” with stalls of vegetables and fruit (we got 4 organic cucumbers for $1) stalls with handmade pasta, stalls with rich stinky blue cheeses and display after display of almost every kind of animal part you could imagine (you might know it as meat.)  To look at things like cow tongue, back fat and chicken livers it really made me stop for a minute and contemplate the nature of meat.

As some of you may know, I have recently taken the path of the ‘Conscientious Omnivore” eating a mostly vegetarian diet for ethical reasons and only buying or eating the every allusive “happy cow”.  The cow that has been grass fed, free range and has had the opportunity to live some semblance of a good life before he is cut into little bits for my enjoyment.  The more I read, and the more I learn about  modern food processing,  the more I question whether I can live with any animal’s life on my conscience, but that is not really what I wanted to talk about today.  As I was looking at all of the display cases, it caused me to ask….  

What is meat?

“Is there some part of a cow or a chicken that is called “meat”’ I wondered? We have the skin, that is called “skin” or “hide” and then there is fat – we all know what that is – and then I guess we have bones and muscle.  I was thinking, “There is no material in there (other than internal organs, veins etc.) that we would call the “meat” part of the animal” so I guess that means that “meat” is muscle (You can tell I grew up 600 kilometers from the nearest farm that I would just be having this revelation.) 

I looked at my own muscle under my skin and wondered how much “meat” you would get out of my bicep or thigh muscle.  I know, creepy.

When I brought this up with a friend of mine she said that she had once had the opportunity to observe an open- heart surgery.  She described how the heart stood, separated and clean inside the chest of the person on the operating table.  The heart was surrounded by the ribcage and it was that moment that she realized how familiar those ribs looked  – just like any side of ribs we would get on “all you can eat” night.  This realization made her very present to how, while we may be near the top of the food chain, we have all the same parts as the things we eat.

Prime rib – a part of the ribs, a standing rump roast is part of the cows “rump” that still has part of the leg attached.  Yum.

Ok, I am not trying to gross you out. It is just that I have never contemplated this.  Meat comes in little packages, without faces, or legs, and to realize that there is no mystery part of an animal called “meat”, that it is the muscles that moves and holds it’s body, is an uncomfortable feeling for me.

The other day I was so fortunate to have found a piece of grass-fed free-range mooo. As I sat down to eat I said a little prayer over him.  “Thank you cow for giving me part of your muscle to eat.”  It left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

As I think more and learn more about the food I eat, I keep cutting back my options. For me, this does not feel like deprivation, but merely an opportunity to explore new food horizons.   The good thing is that the more I explore, the more people I meet who have lost their taste for meat years ago.  Why, just this weekend, my uncle’s girlfriend gave me a recipe that inspired me to make my first batch of quinoa and adzuki beans, I have a fresh appreciation for raw nuts, and I LOVE my spicy kale recipe.  Who knew I would ever become one of “those people.”

If there were anything I wanted to come of this sharing, it would be this, when you sit down to a meal, consider taking a moment to appreciate the life that was given.  Honor your cow, chicken, turkey or mollusk for their life, and their death.

With Love,

Joelle

Dear friends,

I am writing you in tears, sobbing from a dark room.

I am at a friends place and they happened to have a book I had heard of called Skinny Bitch

. As I read the chapters chronicling the atrocities our food source is subjected to, carcinogenic chemicals, antibiotics, and general junk that you would never knowingly put in your body, I was happy to see they were getting the word out, even if some of the language was at times superfluously coarse (rather turretts-like) – which should be no surprise if the name is any indication.

It was an enjoyable read and served in helping me to clarify the food choices I am currently grappling with…

… yep organic is the way to go,
… fresh fruits and veggies rock,
… cut out dairy ( Need calcium? Eat some broccoli.)

I knew this, but the message was being especially well supported in this book.

And then I got to the chapter on factory farming and slaughter, and my soul was rocked to its core.

For 99.99 percent of us in North America, meat is just something that shows up in little perfectly cut packages waiting for us on our store shelves.  I have had several friends who are vegetarians on principle, who just couldn’t bring themselves to eat another living being. I never begrudged them for their point of view but I never really got their point.

Today I read about animal slaughter practices in the chapter titled “You are What You Eat”. 

The atrocities in the treatment of these animals are beyond comprehension.

And In case you are saying “ya, yah”

I say emphatically no! NO! 

I am not even sure I can recreate what I read, all I can tell you is that in significant portions of the places where our society is manufacturing and slaughtering animals for our consumption there is great suffering, pain, and unspeakable travesties committed against the creatures we are sharing the planet with.

If you are unclear what I am speaking of, buy the book Skinny Bitch

or read Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, and Inhumane Treatment Inside the U.S. Meat Industry by Gail Eisnitz (a chief investigator for the Humane Farming Association) or search google or YouTube for “slaughterhouse videos”.

One that recently made its way into the news was this undercover video by the Humane Society of America –

watch humane society video

When I see the images and read the stories of these horrific transgressions they are not a surprise considering the trend I have been witnessing in our society for sacrificing all things (compassion, humanity, the planet) for profit and greed.   I am not surprised, but I am completely horrified.  I feel painfully present to the darkness I have been a part of by eating animals that have come from these uncaring, cruel and inhumane facilities.

Please do not misunderstand me. At this point in time I am not against eating meat.

It would be one thing (for me anyway) to eat an animal that was raised happy and healthy, in an all natural way and then was gently appreciated and humanely killed to support my life.  I understand that many animal lovers and vegetarians may condemn me for being ok with this, but at this point that idea still feels ok.

What is happening today, in many cases, is nothing remotely close to this idyllic picture. Today, it seems that animal production is treated as industry, no different than steel production or manufacturing toilet paper, the only thing is that the product is living creatures.  Being large scale, for-profit organizations, the kind of thinking that runs these companies is often the same that creates Enron catastrophes, the same that carelessly pollutes the planet and the same that will feed a population on sugary, fatty and nutrient-void food and promote it to children because it makes great business.  It is all about more, more, more, profit and productivity and the result is a soulless, cruel, abomination.

I hurt.

Right now I am completely unclear as to what to do. I am not sold on soy and I have been a very comfortable meat eater to this point.  As I look to the months ahead as I plan to start a family I have extra concern about eating fully vegetarian as I take on this new phase.  With that being said, I do not know how I could reconcile eating Factory farm slaughterhouse meat from our regular suppliers knowing I would be a part of this corrupt cycle of greed and inhumanity.

If you are a compassionate person with a desire to do good in the world I believe this is something you should know.

I liken what I am experiencing to the feeling my husband experienced last year.

He and I participated in a dolphin swim in the Caribbean.  Less than a month later Jeff found out about the dolphin hunts in Japan (a major supplier of dolphins for these leisure companies  – graphic video’s of this practice can be found on BlueVoice.org)  and the high mortality rate of Dolphins in captivity.  He was a broken man for weeks after realizing what our money had contributed to.  I now have an idea of how he felt. The guilt and sadness for being an unknowing supporter of something like this brings a heavy weight.

For those of you who know me, I am not an alarmist and I am not an activist (at least I have not been in the past – now, who knows?). I am someone who looks on the bright side and who sees the good in the world.

With that being said, I cannot express enough how sad this is to me, and how I want nothing to do with any industry that would practice or allow and this sort of cruelty to animals.

I am starting today to actively explore how I can live as a vegetarian and I will also be exploring the availability of a local meat supply where I can personally witness their practices; one that is organic, healthy and run with love and compassion.

I am uncomfortable with the task at hand – we are talking significant life changes. But I must.

And as far as feeling like I might miss something.  That I might feel deprived somehow for not being able to grab a steak at our favorite restaurant or have milk in my latte, to this I say-

No piece of steak, no spicy chicken breast is worth compromising my integrity on this issue.  Not a chance.

I have shared this with you out of the emotion of the moment and because I simply could not – not share it.

As a final note I want to reiterate I do not begrudge anyone who carefully and humanely keeps or kills animals for consumption.  If you happen to know a facility that fits this bill, I seem to have come into the market.

You have your choices as I have mine.  I wanted you to know what I am learning.

In love,

Joelle
 

Hi guys!

It’s winter time and the chilly weather makes a trip to the gym or going for a brisk walk outside (brisk being the operative word) seem really unappealing.   Add to this the knowledge that I am happiest when I am moving and energizing my body and I got clear that I needed to start moving despite the weather if I am going to keep up my usual level of coach joelleness.

For those that read my Livloud! Newsletter you already know that dancing in my living room is nothing new, I have been doing it since I was 8 years old.  The thing is that Dancing has always been about joyful self expression, I had never considered doing it as a form of exercise.

And so, this week, I have taken dancing in the living room to new levels!

I have instigated the 11:00 am dance break. 

What this entails is that at 11:00 I leave the office, head into the living room, and totally freak out my cats!  Ipod in hand, blaring my favorite tunes, I participate in a ½ hour all-out one woman dance party!  Anyone watching from the outside would see me jumping up and down, spinning, acting out the words and singing at the top of my lungs to the soundtrack that only my ears can hear (it is no wonder the cats see me coming and head for the closet).   

The 11:00 am dance break is in many ways a dancing/singing meditation.  When I am belting it out and the world melts away, the clearing created is a birthing ground for new ideas and brilliant insights in addition to the overall experience of wellbeing. I am finding that I need to have a pen and paper close on hand so I can quick jump over and  scribble my latest epiphany before continuing to get my groove on (I know my husband is reading this and realizing anew what a total dork he married .)

The result is a ½ hour combo of sweaty, heart pounding, inspiration, exercise and joy (and the afore mentioned freaked out cats.) The combination of movement, inspired lyrics and the aerobic experience of singing is a powerful tool for shifting the mood, clearing the head and creating momentum for the day.

If you find yourself resisting the gym but still wanting to take care of your body you may want to join me for the 11:00 am dance break.   All you need is some music and a strong capacity to be a total geek .

Dance on darling… DANCE!

With Love,

Joelle 

 P.S.  I am totally jazzed to tell you that within the next week I will be announcing a new program for those of you who are interested in having a great life!  The Make Your Life Program for those of you who are interested in having a great life!  The Make Your Life Program is something that I have been working on for about 5 years, I have been honing it and filling it with everything you need to know to be able to joyfully create a life you live.

Happy Monday!

For my husband and I, casual conversation and a glass of wine over a fine meal is one of our greatest pleasures.  It is not uncommon for us to spend several nights a week out at some of our favorite restaurants sharing the events of our day and enjoying each other’s company.

With that being said, something has been happening over the past several months that is creating some new patterns in our life; new patterns that excite me as I imagine the possibilities.

As many of you know, last fall I took on a 21 day cleanse, the lessons from this were many and as a result I have created a greener, more vibrant diet, relying less on animal protein (because now I know I can) and bringing in much more of the crazy greens and stuff like seaweed and Kale, foods that in the past I really would have had no idea what to do with.

Add to this my husband’s passion for the environment and the litany of information and documentaries he has brought into my life regarding GMO’s ( genetically modified crops), pesticides, and fish mercury levels and I find we are now shopping organic, GMO free, buying free range eggs and choosing our meat and fish very carefully.

Then add that I am preparing to get pregnant.  Yep, you heard me.  Unless some intriguing unforeseen circumstances arrive, we will get busy and start our little family shortly after our 2 year anniversary coming up February 14th.

With all these factors I have a heightened desire to serve my body, serve my family’s health and serve our not yet conceived child by creating a pure, clean, non-toxic, healthy environment using all the knowledge presented.

So with all of this background it will be no surprise to you that our weekly trips to Whole Foods have become less of a novelty and more of a necessity as we stock up on everything from organic produce to almond milk to hemp seeds (a brilliant protein source, by the way.)

This Sunday’s trip was a carefully planned event as my dear husband has recently rediscovered the joy of cooking.  He has treated me to his special patented stir fry two weeks in a row (the ingredients of which you shall never know as he has sworn me to secrecy) and he was anxious to bring his creation to the dinner table a third time.

After all the stir fry ingredients had been acquired, while we were looking for whole grain, imported Italian penne (I read that the Italian pasta is a great buy as it is held to a high governmental standard and to a high consumer standard by the people of Italy) my husband picked out an organic vodka sauce and a roasted pepper sauce and he said to me….”Hey babe?  How about I do the cooking this week?”
How delightful is that!!

So for the days to come I will play kitchen assistant to his iron chef and together we will create natural, clean, vegetable-filled delicious meals in our home.   Ahhhh.

Isn’t it amazing how “simple” the “simple pleasures of life” can be?

May your days be filled with simple pleasures, lovely meals and delightful company.

Sending hugs,

Joelle

P.S. Some day, in the not too distant future, Jeff and I plan to live in the woods, with a garden, composting, singing Koombya .  Ok, maybe not Koombya but there will be singing and a brilliant community and meals with friends on the patio and great wine. Yummy!:-) For now, we will make meals together, watch the falling snow from under fuzzy blankets, cuddle our cats and continue to create the life we have imagined. Smooch!

I want to thank so many of you for asking how my cleanse was going and being a part of my process.  For those of you who are hearing of this for the first time you can read more of my adventures in green sludge by clicking here.

The essence of what happened for me over the 21 days is that I was vegan for a week and then ate only raw fruits and vegetables and nuts for two weeks along with appropriate supplements and it was no big deal.  In the past I really wondered about people who had this type of lifestyle.  I did not understand how they could live without meat or why they would want to.  Coming out the other side I have many new awareness and insights about my body and my overall health.

1) I love the green sludge!  Part of the cleanse regiment was a shake made of “vitamineral green” (every type of green food known to man dehydrated and put in a powder form), lecithin powder (a soy powder that helps metabolize fat), flax seed oil, a banana, water and ice blended.  I enjoy it so much and appreciate the way it makes me feel that I have chosen to keep it as my first meal of the day.

2) I love the other green sludge! Part of the cleanse was to have fresh squeezed vegetable juice daily.  Lucky for me I have a fabulous Mediterranean restaurant around the corner called Aladins and they juice!  When I need a snack I now head over for my $2.50 cucumber, spinach, parsley and carrot juice – heavy on the greens.  I completely love the taste and the clean feeling I get.

3) I can get by with WAY less animal protein!  After 3 weeks with no animal protein, no fish, no cheese, no nothing, I found out that I can live quite peacefully without it.  I never got the whole “rice and beans” thing and how people can live off of that, but now I know a little hummus with bread or rice and beans in a corn tortilla with some veggies is a perfectly acceptable meal!

4) Whole foods rocks!  Not the first time I realized this but the cleanse took me to a whole new levels of awareness.  Now I go to whole foods to pick up things like Almond milk, young cocoanut juice, raw cacao beans and Ezekiel sprouted grain bread as part of the new healthy me!

5) Eating enough organic fruits and vegetables is a full time job.  Part of the education I received on the cleanse was information around enzymes used to breakdown food, how stuff gets in the way of our body absorbing nutrients through the intestines, and the poor nutritional quality of food comparative to 100 years ago.  All of this points to one thing for me; the food guide says 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily and most people don’t come close. Eating fruits and vegetables throughout the day is a conscious choice I am making for my life and my health.

6) All this good stuff is getting me ready for baby.  I won’t go into the details but a few months ago I was suddenly hit with the idea that Jeff and I will be conceiving in February.  Weird wild stuff since this time last year all I could say was, “slow down partner!  I am no where near ready!” Next thing I know I get this FEELING and now it has become a fact, February 18th, right after our anniversary and our two week Caribbean cruise, we are going for it! The point is that while I take on this new level of health for myself, there is no doubt that it could not come at a better time, both for creating a body that breezes through pregnancy and for creating an environment that gives our little one a healthy perspective from day 1.

7) I love routine.  When I share what I took on for the cleanse so many people say they could never do it.  I honestly found it easy, I was never hungry or uncomfortable and I was even able to stay 100% on the program on a trip to Atlantic City to the bar and nightclub conference where the whole show was focused on eating and drinking. As long as I had my plan there was no battle, no hemming and hawing, there was just working the plan.  As a result I have created a new regiment for my regular life that gives me a similar structure for living in alignment with the life, health and body I want.

If any of you are interested in taking on this adventure yourself I highly recommend having a professional there to guide you.  The wonderful woman I had by my side is Janee Kuta-lliano at www.aliveone.net.  She is a raw food guru and a wonderful role model and I plan on cleansing with her again in the spring. Thank you for sharing the adventure! 

I welcome questions or comments and hope this brings you one step closer to vibrancy and happiness in all you do.

HUG!

Joelle

Well, I am in week 2 of my Detox cleanse and I am having a blast! 

That means it is officially 13 days without any kind of animal product including fish and dairy.  The whole process is quite miraculous as I am discovering that at least for short periods of time, my body can live quite happily on fruits vegetables and the prescribed green sludge that is part of the program. 

This week we have gone from a vegan diet to completely and solely raw foods in addition to psyllium husks, digestive enzymes, probiotics and this special clay that absorbs toxins.  We have also added Kamut which is the equivalent of wheat grass, some sort of concentrated oxygen, 8 ounces of freshly squeezed vegetable juice and 8 ounces of something called energy soup (10 different vegetables in a blender eaten raw).

At first it all seemed a little overwhelming but as I said, I am completely in awe of the way my body is taking to it all.  When I drink my spinach and cucumber juice my tongue says YUM! No cravings for sugar or alcohol (not sure how that happened). And I am having a blast collaborating with the serving staff at restaurants to see how I can stay on my program and still have an interesting and enjoyable meal. 

On Saturday I had my first trip to a new tapas restaurant called Light bistro with my husband and another couple.  I discussed with our server what I was up to (raw foods – nothing cooked over 114 degrees, no meat, dairy or sugar) .  He went back to speak with the chef and upon his return he says no problem and asks me if I would like a 4 or a 5 course meal! WOW! It was amazing and delicious and everyone at the table was looking over at the masterpiece I was being served.

I have also discovered the pure delight of raw cocoa nibs (the raw bean) with almond milk, a bit of organic coconut, stevia (herbal sweetener) , a banana and some ice.  We are talking on heck of a healthy, totally delicious chocolate milkshake!

Which brings us to the big test.  

For the next 3 days I will be at the east coast Bar and Nightclub convention and trade show. If the pictures on the website did not tip off that this will be one massive party, then the fact that no on is admitted under 21 pretty much sealed he deal.  So I am off to work my raw food/no drinking/ MUCHO health plan inside of a massive eating and drinking festival.  BRING IT ON BABY! Once I make it through this I know that next weeks fast will be a breeze!

If any of you happen to be drawn to the idea of a cleanse I would highly recommend it. I am acquiring a whole new relationship to food as fuel and to what a body is capable of. Grab yourself an apple and chug some green sludge!

Cheers! 

 Joelle

To demonstrate how ridiculously inflexible a person is!

So I am on day 6 of my 21 day detox cleanse and while I have so much to report on, from the green sludge I drink for breakfast to the very interesting stuff I am learning about the impact of heating your food over 114 degrees,  today I am going to share about my yoga experience.

Part of the cleanse program is that I get unlimited yoga, pilates and girotonics and I am using the opportunity fully.  The space at Inspiral motion is a lovely quiet space full of lithe gracious women.  Just being there makes you want to drink green tea and eat organic.  I have had the pleasure of attending 3 classes and each was full of adventures in inner peace and the wonder of a body.  I really just want to share with you the insight I gained in these classes on the nature of the body. 

As I mentioned at the start, I am completely in awe of how inflexible I am!  I cannot fathom how the other folks in the class can get their nose down to their knees while I have a two foot gap between my head and the little spot on my leg where I am supposed to be able to rest it. Truly amazing! And I am intrigued by the possibility of someday being able to move and contort my body in such ways. More importantly, I noticed how much of my body does not get used in my day to day life.  Even with running and walking, for those of us who sit a lot there are parts of the groin and ribs and lower back that are for the most part ignored. 

As I stretch and bend and move these parts of me my body opens, releases and says AHHHHHH. I can feel myself releasing stress I have been carrying for years, my body is realigning and little chronic aches and pains seem to be slipping away. I can see how this type of movement, this flowing, intentional, stretching, opening serves a whole other world that the weightlifting and running does not touch.

Yoga is nothing new, in fact, it is ancient.  I have done it at numerous points in my life and likely you have checked it out in the past, but just in case you forgot as I did, the beauty and healing power of this movement, I invite you to check out a yoga class for your body, mind and soul.

Namaste.

Joelle

I am totally Jazzed! 

I just signed up for a 21 day cleanse and it starts next Tuesday!   The program includes 4 weeks of instruction, reading materials, supplements, unlimited yoga, Pilates and GYROKINESIS® , the support of a community and the care of Janee Kuta-Lliano a seasoned professional in Internal Cleansing and Detoxification.  HOW MUCH FUN!

I have been heading down this path for a while, little by little, and I am ready to go all the way! 

Here are all the things that have been on my mind that have brought me to this place. 

1) I know some beautiful, healthy 50 year olds. They all concur, no red meat, lots of greens and little to no interest in sugar.

2) My husband has been reading about the chemicals in our foods, and the impact of pesticides and genetic engineering on our food supply.  Some pretty interesting stuff that has me convinced organic is the way to go.

3) My skin has been having some issues. It could be hormones, it could be stress, it could be that the skin is the second liver.   I figure if I get all the junk out of my system there is a chance my liver can do the work and leave my skin out of it. ( I have recently added dry skin brushing and the juice of 1 fresh lemon in warm water each morning to support the liver in it’s process.)

4) My journey with my food coach Paul Koros last year showed me that vegetables, hearty grains, portion control and eliminating sugar can do wonders for my body, remove sugar cravings and take me to pre-college weight.

5) The cycle of sugar cravings and alcohol consumption lead to among other things, yeast in the system that increases cravings, impacts insulin processing and exacerbates hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). 6) I found out my husband’s vitamix (heavy duty blender) makes awesome fruit and vegetable juice with all of the fiber and super easy clean up.

7) Two years ago I went off of the pill, and avoid antibiotics at all costs after reading the Body Ecology Diet. This was the beginning of a choice to be as “natural” as possible.

8) This spring Whole foods came to town which makes all sorts of healthy eating choices much more accessible and fun!

9) I am going to be on TV soon so I might as well get my skin and my body under control once and for all. Details to come on this but one way or another…. It will happen!

10) I am excited about the idea of eating green, eating raw, buying organic, slowing down the pace of life a bit and spending time making conscious food choices and creating meals.

In addition to all the health benefits of this process I am also really excited about meeting other people on this path as I can see that this adventure will lead me to the next and the next. I will keep you posted.

Here’s to 100, healthy and hot!

Joelle

   I thanked a lemon today.  

I have taken on a new practice of freshly squeezing a lemon into a glass of warm water to start my morning.  It is supposed to be good for cleaning the liver and I figure cleansing the liver sounds like a pretty good idea, as far as good ideas go.

So I am squeezing the juice out of the lemon and this thought comes to me… “Thank you for giving me your life essence to cleanse and nurture my body.” Hmmm, that is a new thought.

I had recently reread the Body Ecology Diet ( a great book about restoring healthy balance in the body) and it said something about only eating fresh fruit and vegetables instead of canned because with the canned vegetables they have “lost their chi, their life essence.” In the moment when I was squeezing that lemon I had sudden clarity that this lemon had sacrificed its life essence for me and I felt it appropriate to express my gratitude.

Then I had the thought, what if I had the same level of reverence for every berry, every, leaf, every fish or animal that gave their life for my survival and I suddenly got it! I have heard people take that stand before but I never fully understood.

So I am taking on a new level or awareness and appreciation for this fabulous planet of life forms that gave their lives so I could have mine.

“Thank you lemon.”

love Joelle

So many adventures! So many Ideas brewing, stuff being created, life being lived!  I often think of writing, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day, if I only had someone walking around where I could dictate and they could transcribe and record the beauty of a rainy day in the middle of summer, the joy of watching my plants grow and bloom or the humor and insight from an emergency trip to the office to bring my husband a pair of pants.  So much to share and I have not put writing at the front of my focus and so I will take some time to tell a little, share a little and express this morning.

For those of you who were interested and have asked me about my “body of a dancer” quest, I thank you for interest.  Causing the body of a dancer was a very interesting pastime for me as I was waiting for summer.  It gave me purpose and focus. It got me into my body and was a lovely distraction from my work.  And then something happened. Well, actually 2 somethings. 

1) summer came, life became easier in the sunshine and warmth which freed me up to walk and be outside more and revel in the beauty of it all making the body focus less of a necessity and

2) I realized that I had some work to do.

I am very focused on lifestyle.  I am waaaay interested in quality of life and have no interest in building a business at the expense of my joy, peace and happiness.  The challenge is that I was really enjoying my lifestyle, writing, focusing on my body, creating, but at the back of it I realized I was actually avoiding something kinda important….

Selling.

Or let’s not call it selling, let’s just say I was not spending thought, time or energy putting my energy out into the world. And then I saw that…. And then I did something about it…. And the result has been tremendous. 

So here I am in this tremendous flow of abundance, taking all my action and then delivering on all the opportunity it presented and somewhere along the way, I lost my quality of life! Well, not lost it, it just kinda got absorbed into my work.  And you know the old saying, all work and no play makes coach joelle, a pain in the butt to live with! And so It was time again to look and reevaluate.  

My mom says that we should not be talking about  “balance”, it is “balancing” – a constant ongoing process, I think she has something there.

So I realized I needed to get more life into my life, but I also wanted to do it while honoring the systems and processes I put in place which were supporting results on the business end. Hmmmm.  Quite the inquiry! A couple of Fridays ago I met with my Cleveland Girl Power Mastermind group and I had a wonderful conversation that lead me to great clarity about the topic of life, leisure, creativity, professional integrity and financial prosperity.  What I realized was that work worked, as long as it was inside of “my fabulous life”.  If my life is inside my work then it can end up being really one dimensional, however if I have work as a key component inside of and in alignment with a delightful, beautiful, fun, joyful life, then work is just one more ride in the amusement park, executed with the same zeal as I would have for a trip to the spa or dinner with my husband. 

As it turns out, my husband and I have taken on our health and wellness together and I am deeply enjoying the process and excited about the results.  I have lived with this body long enough to know that when it is happy, life works out.  In the end I might just end up with the body of a dancer after all, along with a thriving business and a great life… who would have thunk!?

May you enjoy your own balancing process.

Happy Monday all!

J

Hello everyone! Here is the latest on my body project!  Well, I have to say that I am feeling on a roll (not like a roll – this is good news). The food component is almost immaculate (I said almost) and I am definitely following through on my commitment to be in my body 30 minutes a day. 

I am loving my “Dancer’s Body” work out DVD (thank you Kristen).  It is exactly what I was looking for and I tell you, when exercise is fun then you are 90% there.  To tell you the truth I am having so much fun that there is little I would rather do than learn the latest dance moves and groove along to the music!  

The weather helps too – Sunday morning 8 am my husband and I were up for a Wog around the neighborhood (he runs, I wog walk/jog).  Being outside is motivation enough for me to get out and get moving.  Finally, Pilates is totally working for me. It is a 5 minute walk to the studio, I LOVE my instructor and it is all about creating a dancer’s body so it totally fits into my plan.  All in all, I am on track, feeling great in my body and anticipating what I am creating.

With all that being said I have some tips for any of you who are on your own body quest.

1) Create a fun context! What I mean by this is find a reason to take care of your body that really inspires you. For me creating the body of a dancer is way more fun than living in the idea of “having to lose weight” or that “I should exercise more”. 

Invitation: Look at your world and what you like and what inspires you and see if there is a powerful context to create your own body adventure around.

2) Make a plan! By having a plan you have a clear road map that shows you how to get from here to there.  By having the plan you are not wandering aimlessly hoping that eventually you will somehow find your way.  For me, the plan looks like a specific way and amount that I eat as well as 30 minutes a day in activity. 

Invitation: If you were to create a plan to get you from here to there what would your plan look like?  Write it down and if you dare…. do it!

3) Get some accountability! This is huge!  By committing to record what I am up to on this blog I am holding myself accountable and I am enrolling you in supporting me. I can tell you, it is one thing to slack off and know that I am slacking off and it is an entirely other thing to slack off and then get to tell you about it.  Some time in the next few months I need to produce my body of a dancer pictures  – there is no way this conversation is just going to disappear into the mist- I am going all the way because you are there on the path with me.

Invitation:  Why don’t you invite some of the people in your life to hold you accountable to what you are up to.  Who knows, you might even inspire someone to join you on the path.  

4) Make it easy and have fun! By having a Pilates studio across the street and creating my own dance studio at home (a la the “Dancer’s body” workout DVD) It is easy for me to get in my 30 minutes a day. By doing activity I enjoy instead of dreading my workouts, I am excited to do my 30 minutes.  In addition I have been playing with my food to find some wonderful ways for me to eat what I said and have fun with my food (I have found out that low fat plain yogurt, pure cocoa and stevia makes one heck of a chocolate mouse!)

Invitation: Look at what you are committed to and ask yourself how you could make the process easy and fun.  If at first you do not see how then run it by some people, play with it, there is an easy way – there is a fun way – you just have to be willing to see it. Enjoy your process my friends. I sure am enjoying mine! I invite you to take this moment to make a new commitment to yourself and your life.  Declare your commitment in this blog and let’s get started!!

HUGS!!

Joelle

P.S. If you are looking for coaching and accountability around something important in your life, I have this awesome program called 60 Days to Success that is two fun and committed months all in service of your goal.  Previous participants have taken on everything from losing 20 lbs to having the best two months of their business ever!  If you would like to talk about what you could cause in your life in the next 60 days email me or call me at 216 320 9298 and let’s explore your fabulous future!!

Sigh, So here I am staring right into the face of my own gash darn humanity. 

You know, it is way easier to figure everything out behind the scenes and come to you as “COACH JOELLE” LIFE CREATOR! KNOWER OF ANSWERS!  THE GO-TO GAL WHO HAS IT FIGURED OUT!  It is a whole other matter to be facing myself with all of you along with me on the journey. 

Thank you for being there and thank you for your love and understanding as I work through my stuff. So, on the path to “HOT” – and the “body of a dancer” I WAS doing a lovely job….

Sunday – totally on with the food and went ice skating.

Monday – really nice work on the food and I had Pilates (I even received a wonderful gift from my friend Kristen of aloe infused fuzzy socks and “the dancer’s body” workout dvd! AWESOME!! ) AND THEN…

Tuesday – ate 2 pieces of whole wheat sushi in the am – 3 pieces in the pm with some rye-vita crackers – drank two cups of caffeinated coffee – had 4 ounces of fish and some asparagus and two glasses of wine and powerful conversation with my good friend Sherry and then proceeded to meet my husband at one of our favorite haunts, had an Irish coffee and then followed it up with two diet cokes and apple pie and ice cream. As I was lying in bed awake at 3:00 am as the sugar, alcohol and caffeine wore off I groaned as I realized I was going to have to share all of this with you today.  UGGG.

So, a couple of things as I recommit:

1) Caffeinated coffee is NOT AN OPTION no/way no/how – I know how my body works and it is not a healthy life-giving option.

2) For right now sugar (eg. apple pie a la mode) is NOT AN OPTION.   It creates a cycle of addiction that is not in alignment with what I choose for my body.

3) I am re-committing to no more than 1 drink on a weeknight even if I have lovely company and the wine is flowing.

4) I will eat healthy life-giving food and enough of it so that I am not finding myself at the end of the day hungry with a “devil may care attitude”.

5) I will schedule daily activity in my calendar and will keep my commitment to myself.

6) I am so clear the power of this exercise with you all as I have no interest in getting to write another posting like this one any time soon.

7) I am even more inspired and committed to having the body of a dancer in the face of my breakdown.

Just to be clear. While the exercise of recording this and the accountability is very confronting and illuminating, I am choosing what I am choosing not out of some arbitrary regiment or some list of things I am “supposed to do”.  At this point in my life I know what works and what doesn’t. I know what leaves me powerful and clear and I know what leaves me unconscious, moody and uncomfortable in my body. I am committed to being in love with my body and having my body support me in my life adventure and in my mental and spiritual clarity.

The key for me is to hold my commitment to being in a dancer’s body at the front of my mind. I will be creating new visual and mental cues to keep this at the fore front as I make choices out in the world. Thank you. I love you.

Humbly,

Joelle

Well, as I look back at day 4 and 5 of my official “body of a dancer” blogging.  I have some insights.

One thing I notice is that I seem to feel good, get on top of things and then go, “hmmm, things are going so well, I can slip a little.”  Next thing you know I have had ice cream 2 days in a row and I neglected my daily 30 minutes of activity. I can see that if I were not recording this, I would slide into my comfort zone, totally give up and start over later.  Thank goodness I am living in a greater commitment than that during this exercise.

Another thing I noticed which you will likely notice when you see my food consumption – is that I tend to get off track when I do not have the appropriate food at home. When I am running low on food, what I tend to do is eat less, I am less enthralled by what is available and then if I go out to eat in the evening I will go overboard.  A great realization and just one more excuse for a day trip to Whole Foods! ?

So, here is the scoop.

Day 4 Friday

Exercise: None – out of commitment

Banana

Leftover cauliflower and chicken in curry (1 ounce chicken)

Banana

Salad with tomato and salsa

1 cup organic chicken noodle soup (not much there at all)

1 rye crisp cracker (all gone – would normally have 3 or 4)

1 piece turkey bacon ( again a function of nothing to eat in the house)

¼ cup fresh fruit various

Roast beef sandwich with lettuce tomato, mustard on pumpernickel

Two drinks (whisky and diet coke)

Split ice cream with Jeff

Comments: General lack of enjoyment with my food and then I made up for it with drinks and ice cream after.  Ample fruit but in general not as life giving or sustaining as what I would like.

Day 5 Saturday

Exercise: None – out of commitment

1 egg,

1 piece whole wheat toast

2 pieces turkey bacon

½ tomato sliced

1 ounce buffalo mozzarella

Leftover chicken and cauliflower ( 1 ounce chicken )

Glass of red wine (terrible idea – had a nap after and work up miserable)

½ large pink grapefruit

1 piece white bread (see – that is what you get for going hungry!)

½ piece appetizer pizza (more of the same)

½ side salad, dressing on side

2 oz steak 1.5 shrimp on skewer

Asparagus and spinach

3 Hershey kisses 6 dinner mints (chocolate kind)

Everyone out for ice cream – 1 one scoop of coffee ice cream.

Comments: More from the day before magnified. Not feeling as radiant and fabulous as I was earlier in the week.

Recommit  – 100% on eating plan  -  30 minutes of activity every day

So here it is Sunday and I am back on board. Going skating this afternoon with my nieces and nephews and my darling husband. Heading to the grocery store this afternoon. All is well.

To our health!

Joelle

Notes from thursday – Day 3
Here is what I am up to:

Wednesday was day two of on my quest for the body of a dancer. It was a great day.

Here are the details!

Exercise:  30 minutes yoga

Oatmeal, 7 pecans, raisins

Banana

2 decaf coffee with half and half

3 rye crisp hearty crackers

Green protein capsules

Salad – with tomato and avocado and carrots

1 ounce buffalo mozzarella

3 rye crisp crackers 

4 ounces chicken (organic none the less)

Cauliflower, tomato and onion in coconut curry

Salad with tomato and carrots

1.5 glasses red wine

Felt great about the food and I am suprised by how my body seems to be fine so far with the decrease in animal protein. Hmmm. We will see how that goes. I have also been standing and sitting and holding my body in accordance to what I learned in Pilates.

Going well!

Joelle

Day one of the Coach Joelle body of a dancer project!

Hi guys!

It was a great day for my new body project.  The highlights include a trip to the Pilates studio and one incredible salad!  Pilates was lovely! My instructor is a lovely gentle soul and, get this, a former dancer! The combination of working with the Pilates machine and her gentle guiding touch gave me a fabulous workout and a really wonderful experience. 

Pilates is designed to elongate the muscles and give you a solid core. I learned about bringing my ribs in and how to hold my body – it really does make you look taller and thinner – I can see this having a significant impact on my posture. I look forward to future sessions.

I also had the delight of a beautiful salad for lunch with cilantro and avocado and tomato and carrots and I gotta tell you I cannot imagine anything more wonderful for lunch! It makes me happy that I am happy eating a salad this is good news.

So here is the scoop:

Excercize 1 hour Pilates

1 cup Tortilla soup with 3 rye crisp (heavy duty whole grain crackers)

1 banana 3 cups decaf coffee with half and half and stevia

Amazing salad with cilantro tomato and avocado

raw cashews

Green protein tablets- something new I am trying

3 rye crisps

½ cup berries

4 oz halibut

Side dinner salad, all veg, no cheese, dressing on side

Green beans

Cherry tomatoes

Glass red wine

3 bites of chocolate cake (at the table for a bday)

All in all a good day. I am standing taller and I loved my food! Here goes day 2!  Thanks for being there on the journey!  

Joelle  

p.s.  If you are taking on something similar in your life I invite you to use this space as your own accountability tool.  Say what you will do and then let us know how it is going! HUGS to you!

Ummm, so, I …uh….. HAVE TOTALLY BEEN FULL OF EXCUSES! 

That’s right! Body of a dancer?  More like body of an easter cream egg! LOL R

ecently I declared that I was taking on creating the body of a dancer and I even went so far as to list all of the actions I believed it was going to take in a previous blog. …..But then it snowed and I sure don’t like to go out in the snow. 

And then the Easter basket from my mom came. I mean, come on, Easter only comes once a year!  And then next thing you know I am drinking caffeinated coffee and scarfing down coconut Hershey kisses at my husband’s office.  BAD COACH!!

But wait… THERE’S MORE!

I even had a conversation with my beloved friend Alexandra on Friday and I made a new commitment – “ I coach Joelle will record the results of my daily commitment on my blog, starting tomorrow.”  That was Friday, yesterday (Monday) Alexandra called to check in on me – was something wrong with her internet or was I just not blogging!.  Lol!

We all have a million reasons not to do all the things we need to do to have what we want in life.  But then, we just get our reasons and we miss out on our life.  So I am committing, once again to recording my practices on the path to having the body  of a dancer in this blog.  I will record, successes, activity, and any break in my commitment (eg. “Ate 5 Easter cream eggs today” – would be a break in my commitment).

I invite you that if you have any feedback or suggestions that might support me, or adjust my action or understanding on the way to “the body of a dancer”. I invite you to comment away. Thank you for your love and support. 

Here’s to feeling like 1,000,000 bucks!

Love,

Joelle

p.s. Today I start Pilates. More details from the day to come!

Hello gang!

I am delighted to report that I have taken on a new level of commitment in my quest to having the body of a dancer! When I shared this possibility with my dear friend Alexandra Jaye she was inspired to support me and to come along for the ride!  We were on the phone for a good hour on Friday (she in California (sigh) , and me in Cleveland) fleshing out our commitment to our bodies and ourselves and we created some real fun around it! I am so grateful Alexandra is supporting me in this adventure because she is passionate about health and wellness and is a phenomenal athlete. I know I have so much to learn from her.

So here is the latest clarity and action! We are both passionate about movement and self expression so there is a definite focus on bringing dancing and singing and fun into what we are creating for ourselves. Also when Alexandra asked me where I was at in the process and what I knew I needed to do something became very clear to me…

To have the body of a dancer it is not something I can do as an after-thought inside of a busy life. I got clear to have the body of a dancer, to really make it happen, I need to put my life inside of creating the body of a dancer. Another way of saying this is to that I choose to make having the body of a dancer and everything involved with creating that body a number one priority. 

In coaching we talk a lot about “context”, it is the background of the life we are living or where life is coming from.  The context I live in is “creating a delightful life” and as of right now, inside the context creating a delightful life I am creating the overarching context “living into the body of a dancer.” This is a very exciting context for me and a total inspiration that has me excited to go to the gym and passionately making and eating salads!

One other thing that was created out of my conversation with Alexandra is that we are holding a body celebration at the end of our journey to “HOT”.  We have decided that in celebration of our success, when we reach our goal, we will get together for an all-out photo shoot! HOW FUN IS THAT!! Now that is some motivation! I am totally jazzed! T

o give you a little insight on what I am clear to do at the moment to create the body of a dancer, here is what I have so far.

What I know to do:

Sleep – lots of it.

Water – conscious and intentional of consumption.

Vitamins daily and bring mid day and end of day vitamins if I am away from home.

No caffeine – not even when I am hanging out at my husband’s office and not in the form of diet cola. (bye bye caffeine-induced joy )

Carry Stevia on me at all times and have it supplied at home. (If you are unfamiliar with Stevia it is an all natural sweetener and my personal choice when it comes to healthy sweetening options. You can get it at most health food stores.)

No artificial sweeteners – bye bye diet coke.

Follow food plan to a T (see more about this by reading about my adventures with Paul Koros and the Eating for Success ™ program.)

Ample fruits and vegetables and have then chopped and ready to go in the fridge. (just like the spa fridge article from Chef Rachel click here to read)

Alcohol consumption to plan guidelines.  Max 1 drink on weekdays 2 on weekends.

Physical activity daily whether that is going to the gym, taking a class, a brisk walk or jog or dancing in my living room.

First Steps:

Pick up some Stevia (Done)

Contact Dance Studio

Contact Pilates Studio

So that is the latest in my body adventure.  I would love to hear if you have been inspired and have decided to take on something powerful for your body and your vitality. Perhaps you are taking on your own “quest for hot”.  I would love to hear about it so please share what you are up to in the comments below.

As a final note, I am very committed to this plan and having this body. Not as an event in time but as a lifestyle. If you happen to be in my world I invite you to hold me accountable to my commitment. If you happen to see or hear of me doing anything other than what I have said here, call me on it.  Thanks for your support!

Hugs on a beautiful rainy Sunday morning.

Love

Joelle

A week ago I created a new initiative in my life around the health, wellbeing and well,… sexiness of my body.  I am not sure if it was just that spring was in the air or some other wild hare that has gotten a hold of me but I suddenly got very clear that I am ready to really celebrate being in this body.

Last summer I discovered that I can be thin and healthy just by being responsible for my eating, thanks to Paul Koros and the Eating For Success Program(TM) (to read more about this click here) but recently I have been wanting more than just being healthy and thin. I am ready to not only feed my body with life-giving food, I am ready to MOVE this body!

Last week I was compelled on two separate occasions to go running outside.  Running. ME! RUNNING!  Last I heard, I didn’t like to run. What is that about? Then Monday I was up by seemingly supernatural powers at 6 am to go to the gym and I had a blast.  Last night at 7 pm I was there again… what is up?!

Well, one thing has lead to another and somewhere along the way I got clear that I am creating the body of a dancer! I will be strong and lean and healthy. I am ready to revel in my body and it appears that this thought and the idea of having the body of a dancer is so completely inspiring to me that there is no struggle, there is only desire and action!  I am looking forward to experiencing my strong neck and lean arms in a tank top and I cannot wait to head to Starbucks, hair up, with a pair of yoga pants nicely settling on my body with just a tich of flat tummy showing.  YUM!! How fun!

So in honor of my new adventure I am adding a whole new section to my blog that I am calling “the body blog”!  In it I will chronicle my adventures in my body as I explore what it will take to have the shape and vitality of a dancer.

To your fabulous body!

Love, Joelle