India: The Finale

We’re headed into our last day in India. We’ll have the entire day tomorrow, and then leave in the wee hours of the morning for the airport—travelling back in time to the U.S. (at some time during flight, it will become a day earlier)!

I must admit as we end our retreat, I’m feeling calm and relaxed. I’m sleeping well. Other than one brief start of a migraine a few days ago—no headaches. And my complexion looks very nice.  I had my final consult with my Ayurvedic doctor this afternoon. She agreed I was pretty darn healthy (I saw a bit of her humor for the first time today—she’s not as stern as I originally thought). I leave with just one medicinal herb that is supposed to help with hormone balance (a non-ending struggle over the last four years or so). I actually lost a kilo (I think that’s about two pounds). I wasn’t attempting to diet or anything. In fact, I only had her re-check my weight because I’ve been enjoying the food so much here. 

I have gone ten days without alcohol or television—and both were hardly missed (doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy both in moderation when I return, but it’s nice to know they weren’t needed).  I’ve learned a lot about  Ayurvedic philosophies on body types and how to balance your own body type (Dosha). In doing that, I’ve learned that I could probably stand to slow down a bit—add a little yoga into my life—focus a bit more on what my body tells me it wants and needs. 

I’ve spent 11 days straight with my mother—first on an airplane and then in a small cabin—and we’ve gotten along really well. We typically do get along fairly well, but I’ll admit there was some apprehension about sharing a small cabin for that amount of time. I am simply a person who likes a fair amount of space and alone time. 

I’ve spotted two resort cats. I find cats everywhere I go—ask my husband. Sadly, they were not tame kitties, so I did not get my kitty fix while I was here. I did enjoy watching these tiny squirrels that are all around here scamper around the restaurant (open air restaurant) trying to find treasures to eat.

The people in our group (I believe 22 people in all) have been wonderful to meet—each adding a unique prospective to this experience. 

We’ve been immersed in a culture totally unlike our own, and it’s been an amazing awakening. I love to see and learn about other cultures. It makes me on one hand, appreciate my own a bit more, but on the other hand, yearn for something a bit different (which is one reason Mark and I are exploring retiring to another country at some point).  It can also be a little unnerving. You are a foreigner who does not know the language, who is unfamiliar with the religion, dress and culture. So if you’re a control freak (I do have some control freak tendencies) it puts you a bit out of your comfort zone. In fact, I deduced that that’s what made me so uncomfortable with the treatments here—the lack of control I felt. 

The part of the country we are staying in is primarily Hindu and Christian. We actually took a class on Hinduism and visited a Hindu temple during a holy ceremony. I am someone who has struggled with religious beliefs pretty much my entire life—and typically shy away from anything to do with religion. But here, religion seemed a much more beautiful thing. In the U.S. I associate religion with people telling you what the bible says is wrong (i.e. homosexuality, abortion etc.). Here religion seems to more about being loving, nurturing, accepting and thankful for everything the Earth has given you. It’s just a part of people here. It’s peaceful (well, until they get in a car—then it’s just insanity). 

So would I come back and do this again? (My Mom asked me this the other day). I’m so glad I did it, but probably not.  There are just too many other countries I want to explore and experience. And parts are sad—it’s over-crowded and so much poverty.  I do not enjoy bartering and pressure. And every shop you walk into here there is bartering and pressure. We visited one department store—no bartering there—but staff everywhere. When you started browsing through the clothing, they would stand right next to you picking things out and handing them to you. You literally could not just be by yourself and browse. That’s just too much for me. 

If I were having some chronic health problems I would definitely consider it. I do have strong belief in the way they heal here—using what nature gives us to create medicines/cures as opposed to the chemicals pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. try to put in us. I truly believe I am much less toxic than I was when I arrived (although compared to many, I lead a fairly toxin-free life in the U.S. I will continue to keep as many harmful things out of my body as possible).

And while I think yoga is a valuable practice—and can certainly be incorporated into my lifestyle—I still crave adventure and adrenaline. Yogis believe too much stimulation and excitement is harmful to our Doshas—that it causes imbalance. I believe it is part of what makes life worth living. That’s one I’m not willing to budge on.  How can something that makes me feel so alive be harmful? 

(I guess the fitness instructor in me has trouble believing that high intensity intervals can be bad for you, when they’ve done such good things for me!)

I miss my husband (this is the longest we’ve been apart since we met), and my furry kids, but I am not looking forward to the 20+ hour journey home. I dread it. But it will be nice to land in Columbus and see Mark. 

I will work on posting all my photos on The Fit Life, LLC facebook page. It may take me awhile to caption everything.  For now, I am signing off and preparing for departure.

Follow Your Passion - The Fit Life is Born

It's been awhile since I posted a blog. I've been holding out for this one. It's taken some prep work! And then there were some unavoidable delays (i.e. trip to the emergency room, followed by some time off work). But now I'm ready.

This blog is to announce another new chapter of my life--The Fit Life. I have officially "given birth" (figuratively--it doesn't hurt so much that way) to a new fitness company called The Fit Life, LLC. And, I have once again given up my steady, 40-hour a week desk job to pursue my passion--fitness, health and nutrition.

This life is not new to me. I've done this before (only the first time I gave up a really high-paying federal government career and tried to make it in Washington D.C.--and later California--with a start-up company). But this time I'm entering into this new path with my own life being a bit more stable. I'm no longer living in one of the most expensive states in the country. I'm married to a wonderful husband who is very supportive of my new venture (and has good health insurance), and I'm a little older and a little wiser this time around.

This is not a decision I took lightly. I really had to examine my life and what brings me pleasure. I've come to realize that I am just not meant to sit at a desk. It's not the way I was made. I am happy when I'm active all day. I'm happy when I'm up early in the morning exercising as the sun comes up.

I studied for and passed my personal trainer certification test--which I had let lapse a few years back. I filled out the paperwork to establish The Fit Life as a limited liability company. I enrolled in a holistic nutrition program through the American College of Health Sciences so I can offer one-on-one counseling on holistic nutrition (I will add that service to my company in about a year). I designed my logo and got started on my website. I discussed my plan in detail with my husband. And finally, I officially resigned from my job at children services as of July 30th.



But there's still so much to do! I need to do more work on my website (www.thefitlife.us), keep blogging (The Fit Life, LLC blog will now focus much more on fitness. I'd also like to start a Fitness Q &A blog), market myself like crazy, get more equipment. The list goes on and on--as does the excitement.

I've secured my first official "gig" which is teaching fitness boot camps through the Bellbrook Sugarcreek Park District. Yeah! So exciting!

I've officially deemed August as "Marketing Month!" I will market my rear off! So to all my creative friends out there, I welcome any marketing ideas you have (the more creative, but inexpensive the better). To all my media friends out there, I am so not above asking for a favor! ;o)

How does the saying go? If you love your job, you'll never have to work a day in your life. So here's to putting your passion to work for you! Cheers! There's more to come!

My Humorous Quest to be Pure (when it comes to gardening)

Last year around this time, I was ready to plant my garden. It was my first Spring in the house Mark and I now share. And, it was my first time as a homeowner instead of a renter. I was going to have the purest, healthiest garden around. No chemicals, unnatural fertilizers, no genetically modified seeds. My garden was going to be the most organic garden in Greene County!

I had to settle for a container garden because we have walnut trees all over the yard--and of course, walnuts kills most of your veggies. Plus, although I had talked Mark out of putting chemicals on the lawn that year, he had used them in years past. So I couldn't very well start my pure garden in a chemical-laden yard. It would be a small garden in containers, but that just made it easier to go organic.

My quest to be organic had started in the winter. I needed something to compost in. I wanted nice, healthy composted soil for my container garden--and I was running out of time! Here's where the trouble began. I should probably start by telling you I have a tendency to get obsessed with things. When I decided I wanted a totally chemical free, organic garden, I meant it. Second, I should probably quit reading books and articles about going organic because they seriously wig me out, and it makes it hard for me to eat anything without feeling bad about it.

So I needed a container for my compost, but I didn't want to spend a few hundred dollars on an actual composter (one of those big ones that you spin as things start to break down). I just wanted a container to hold my soil and natural waste. A garbage can seemed the logical choice. Should I go plastic or metal? Couldn't metal have some dangerous chemicals in it that break down while my compost is breaking down? Tin? Mercury? Something evil I'm sure. But we all know plastic is made of terrible stuff. Would it break down and get into my beautiful healthy soil? Maybe a big clay pot is the way to go? Wait, isn't there a chance the clay pot would have lead in it? I know this sounds silly, but standing in the store thinking about all of this almost brought me to tears. I ended up with the plastic trash can. I figured I wasn't going to microwave my compost in it, just store it. And we all know that plastic doesn't break down in our landfills.

The next order of business was soil. I just wanted plain, clean soil. Dirt. Do you know it's next to impossible to find plain dirt? You need soil in your compost container to help break down the waste. Long story short, I ended up with Miracle-Gro organic soil. It said organic, so I thought it would be okay.

I brought the soil home and dumped it in my plastic trashcan. But something was gnawing at me. I didn't feel right about the Miracle Gro. I went back outside and pulled the bag the soil came in out of the garbage and read the ingredients. Basically the "fertilizer" in organic Miracle Gro is cow manure and chicken poop. Well I've read all about chicken poop and chicken farms. I've read how they keep way too many chickens in a pen, stacked up cage upon cage--with the poor chickens pooping all over each other (read Skinny Bitch or Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle). Farmers give the chickens antibiotics to keep them from getting infections from being exposed to poop all the time. And I'm guessing that a company as big as Scott's (makers of Miracle Gro) don't go to little organic chicken farms to get their poop.

So already in my quest to go organic, I've blown it. I have soil with infected chicken poop in it! Rather than dump it out (it wasn't cheap), I decide to use it and just be careful that everything else I do is pure!

Seeds were the next order of business. Did you know that most seeds are genetically modified (GMO) so they'll grow bigger, be more colorful, survive droughts and have a longer shelf life? Okay, I see why scientists and farmers think this is a good idea. And, it has probably helped some countries tremendously. But again, I'm going for pure. I don't want seeds that have been spliced and modified. I want good old fashion seeds from good old fashion vegetables! So I ordered my seeds from Bountiful Gardens--a non-profit company dedicated to ending world hunger by teaching sustainable agriculture. Now I'm feeling better. Certainly my seeds make up for my Miracle Gro "organic" soil.

When my seeds arrive I start them inside by the window. I lovingly care for them--checking them each day for growth. After a month of tender loving care it became apparent I did not have a green thumb. I had one sprout--a pea plant. So here it was time to put plants outside and I had one sprout. I don't blame this on Bountiful Gardens. I blame it solely on my lack of growing skills--or perhaps bad karma for using the Miracle Gro soil.

So I did what any frustrated organic gardener would do, I found an organic nursery (Marvin's Organic Garden) and off I went to buy some vegetable plants. They didn't have a huge selection, but it was a start. They also had some soil that truly was organic. I passed another nursery on the way home (we drove 45 minutes to find the organic one). Just out of curiosity, we stopped to see what they had. The selection was so much better--I just couldn't help myself--I bought more plants without a clue on how they were grown.

With my plants planted in their containers all that was left was to watch them grow.

My tomatoes and peppers did really well. Some were from the organic place, some were not. I have no idea which was which. We grew two eggplants and enough green beans to cook one potful. My herbs lasted well into Fall. My broccoli, cauliflower, and artichokes failed miserably.

So my organic garden wasn't perfect--it wasn't pure. But I did my best to help the Earth and our health. This year we actually dug out a place for a small in ground garden. I think it's far enough away from the walnut trees. Our yard had been chemical-free for over two years now, so I call it my transitional garden--it's on it's way to being organic. I used my composted soil along with topsoil from Marvin's Organic Garden. I'm not sure what I'm doing about plants/seeds yet. I guess I better decide. I'll have to accept that fact that I'm doing my best to be pure. And that growing your own vegetables of any kind is far better than buying them at the grocery store. And what we're lacking this year we will get at the local farmer's market. Obsessing about it, just isn't worth the stress!