Let’s Be Positive
/It feels like every month of this year, so far, has been jaw dropping. June definitely did it too. I became a listener of stories and found myself trying to figure out how to act on what I believe - equality for human beings... Initially, as I was listening to stories, I was furious, angry, relentless... Color of our skin should not give us the privilege or the curse of life - That is just not fair. Then I listened to a black colleague talking about her experience in life and her perspective how I can act... It was the calm in her voice that affected me the most. The following morning, during breakfast, as we were watching the news, Kaya asked why “the police was hurting the guy”. We tried to explain it to him the unfairness in the picture and how some policemen do the wrong things. His immediate response was “I will punch that police if I see him do that again”. That was THE time to pull out that calm voice of my colleague and be POSITIVE.
It sounds very cliche to say “let’s be positive”. And I am certainly not trying to sound cliche... What I mean is to have a positive tone even when opposing an idea. I did NOT tell Kaya that he shouldn’t think about punching the bad policeman (I wanted to do worse things to that policeman than punching). I just asked him what would punching him would do in return. My 5 year old looked at me puzzled. He paused and then said “maybe I should call the good police”... :) Of course the concept of good and bad police is still up in the air but we are talking about a 5 year old mind. His thinking shifted from “punching” to “getting more help” to stop the bad. This one was an easy win on positive thinking.
I am definitely not a Pollyanna - I just believe in the power of positivity... And I even tried to apply the “let’s be positive” theme at work during some of the toughest conversations. Most of the time it worked - not always (I admit). The hardest times are when I am super angry and trying to come up with that positive response so that my opponent will have a chance to think logically. Trying this strategy on kids, especially 2.5 year olds, really don’t work that well.
That all being said, I am challenging you to be positive during times that you don’t agree with someone - especially when you strongly believe that you are correct. :). Can you act calmly with a positive tone? Here is a scenario: You are training with friends... They tell you that you should now be doing 100 push-ups. You know that there is always some pain involved in tough workouts but you also know that 100 is way beyond the limit that you would like to push. Your friends keep pushing you... Your approach can be “can you please tell me what 100 push-ups that are done haphazardly will do better for me than 20 perfect ones?” I do think you get your point across with that. Don’t you?
Alright.... Enough of my rambling mind! Here are some pictures from this month that were important for me. :)
I captured a lot of smiles this month! Thank you…
Pride is in my wardrobe… favorite color is Orange = healing
Masks are not inconvenience. They are our super powers of saving lives
On that note, here is another 15-minute workout. I am still working on how to get these to you visually - I promise.
Warm up:
Shuffle in Place - Keep your feet shoulder width a part and fast move the feet as if you are doing a basketball drill - 20 sec
Squat Pulse - Come down to a quarter squat. Pulse it up and down - 20 sec
Mountain Climbers - hands on the ground, one at a time pull your knee to your chest - 20 sec
Repeat 1 through 3, total of 3 times
Lower Body:
Lunges Forward and Backward: Anchor the left foot on the floor. Right foot moves forward into a lunge position. Then the right foot goes all the way back to a lunge position without any resting steps in the middle. Each forward and backward makes 1 count. Repeat on the right side for total of 10 times. Switch sides and repeat for 10 counts.
“T”: Keep your arms straight up in the air, with arms next to your ears. As you bent forward, keeping your arms next to your ears, lift right leg up until you can come down to a “T” shape. Repeat each side 8 times
Repeat 4 through 5, total of 2 times
Core:
Table top to dips: Sit on the floor and come to a reverse table position by pushing your butt up in the air. (Your stomach should be facing the ceiling). As you bring the position down, bring your butt closer to your arms and do one tricep dip - please don’t forget to use your elbows for the dips and not your shoulders. Repeat for 8 counts
Nes’s Jane Fonda: Lay on your left side with legs stacked up. Hold your head up with your left hand - as if you are comfortable watching something. Then do the following: (once you finish your right side, repeat it on the left side.
Lift your right leg slightly up. While keeping it up, tap your toes to the front of your left toes. Repeat for 6 times and move to the next move.
Keeping your right leg slightly up, pull your right knee into your chest. Repeat for 6 times and move to the next move.
Keeping your right leg slightly up, pulse it up and down for 6 times.
Repeat 6 through 7, total of 2 times....
Please do let me know how it goes... Feel free to use your positive comments on me even when you don’t like the moves. :)
Hi Five to you all for surviving this year. I feel like 2020 has a lot to teach the human race. Let’s see how my jaw will drop in July!
As a side note, let me know if you would like to join our weekly training sessions...
