Hello Personal Trainers! This is my personal call to you! I am looking for advice on how to go about becoming a personal trainer. I just don’t know where to start. My only intuition is to reach out to existing professionals to see how they got where they are today. So here it is, my video message to you:
This is a call to personal trainers out there on the interweb. Who are you? How did you become a personal trainer? Why did you choose that path? What led you to it? Looking back at it now, would you choose personal training again?
Over the past several months I have become increasingly interested in physical health and wellness. I feel naturally drawn to learning more about these subjects. I feel this naturally attraction to it. I can’t completely explain why. It sparks my interest and curiosity. I like the idea of learning how to be more healthy. Wellness is a state that I am happy to enjoy most of the time, and I would love to know how to increase the likelihood of staying well. I’ve been making small gradual changes to my lifestyle recently. Some of these changes include alterations to my diet. On a daily basis I include more fruit by drinking a smoothie of bananas with berries, soy milk, flax seed, and wheat germs. Sometimes I include or substitute peaches or melons too. I’ve also started to eat more soy products, more fish, more vegetables, and less red meat. I cut down on caffiene as well. I used to drink several cups of coffee each day. Now I may have one, but usually I stick to green tea. This morning I actually had two shots of homemade espresso, but I regard that as a once in a while treat that I enjoy. There was a time where espresso was the norm.
Since making these dietary changes, I feel much better. I think my digestion as a whole has improved. I have more energy and vitality. I’ve also been exercising more and more through my training with Yee’s Hung Ga Gung Fu association. There’s no doubt that gung fu has also contributed to my health. There are also meditative practices that go along with gung fu practice. Some of these fit into a category called “Hei Gong” in Cantonese. I have seen greater mental clarity, less stress, and more even emotional shifts since undertaking these practices.
So to sum up, I’ve been making these changes in my own life. I have seen the results and I’m excited about them. I feel much more alive and well. I’d like to devote more time to understanding health and well being, mental, phsycial, and spiritual. My inituition tells me that the personal training occupation could allow me more time to do this. So personal trainers, I’m reaching out to you. If you’re reading this post, please send me some information on the path you’ve taken. Thank you.
I’ve recently started reading “Awaken Healing Light of the Tao” by Mantak Chia.
What a wonderful book. I really enjoy the discussion of Chi that extends over the first 50-70 pages. Chia goes into great detail explaining the Taoist theories of the universal energy (known as Chi), its role in the cosmos, as well as our individual well-being and health. I am personally drawn to the idea that we are all connected, and I think the explanation of that theory here is beautiful. This book would be great for anyone who wants to get a better understanding of the concept of Chi, which is often heard in relation to the martial arts. However the idea of Chi is applied to many more circumstances and situations.
The first exercise in Chi flow mentioned in the book is the Inner Smile. I have only attempted this exercise twice. I am a novice in the general practice of meditation. My only other experience with meditative practice is the Chut Gum Moon (7 Golden Passages) of Hung Ga, and Jam Jong (Zhan Zhuang). I think that these practices have helped to prepare me for the Inner Smile meditation, but that I still have a long way to go. Basically, the Inner Smile consists of drawing positive energy into your body, and systematically focusing it on various internal organs. In the Taoist theory, each organ is associated with specific character virtues and emotional states. The goal of the meditation, as I understand it, is to bring positive energy into your body in order to make your own virtues stronger and positive emotions more abundant.
Both times that I attempted this practice I did go through my day with much more positive energy. I think that it had a great affect on my emotional disposition. I felt more relaxed, happy, and able to deal with the hustle and bustle of my daily life. Specifically I was much more at peace during my commute to and from NYC. I hope to make the Inner Smile a frequent part of my meditative pratice. Maybe with time, I will feel the effects grow stronger.
Every morning I make a fruit smoothie for myself. There’s always at least 1 banana. Definitely some Omega-3 enhanced Soy Milk. Then comes the frozen fruit. I’ll add any combination of tropical mix (honeydew melon, cantelope, grapes), strawberries, pineapple, or berry mix (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries). In order to give the mix some fluidity I’ll add orange or cranberry juice. There’s also two secret ingredients that I add, the first is ground flax meal. The second is wheat germ.
I think this is a really nutrituous way to start the day. It gives a good boost of energy from the natural sugars in the fruits, but also delivers a good dose of fiber. The bright fruits also contain important phytochemicals and anti-oxidants that help prevent cell damage. The ground flax meal is a great source of essential fatty acids, which are used by the body to construct tissues and membranes, as well as increase good cholesterol while reducing bad cholesterol.
I honestly feel much better since adding these smoothies to my daily routine. They don’t take that long to make either. And the ingredients may add up to a couple dollars per smoothie, but that’s about a liters worth. It’s cost effective, nutrituous, and quick. What more could you want?  Plus, they’re delicious!
This guy funkscribe is the funkiest new musician I’ve seen. Now I’m not a regular scout for upcoming music, but I somehow came across him on youtube. I was amazed at what I heard. I haven’t yet found out how to get any more of his music but all the same I thought I’d pass this link along to anyone else that enjoys some good funk. You can also get in touch with him via myspace here.
Yesterday was the last day of Chinese New Year celebrations with Yee’s Hung Ga. This was my first year at the near year celebrations with the association. What an experience it was. We spent four days running around the New York chinatown boroughs of Brooklyn, Flushing, and Manhattan between this last weekend and the one before that.
For those that aren’t familiar with the tradition, the Chinese calendar is based on the moon rather than the sun. This is why Chinese New Year is also called Lunar New Year, because it is the start of a new year in the calendar which runs according to the moon. In the Gung Fu tradition, the Lion and Dragon will move throughout the neighborhood chasing away evil spirits and bringing good luck. Each animal has a distinct musical rhythm associated with it. The music is played by a team composed of a large drum (roughly 30 inches in diameter) at least one set of cymbals, and a gong. When the Lion or Dragon is on the street, the music is very loud. It must sound powerful and strong to accurately capture the spirit of the moment. For the team playing the music and protraying the animal this means that a high level of enery is essential. This what livens the spirits of the people who meet the animals.
Yesterday we marched through Manhattan Chinatown 100 strong. We had four teams, two lions and two dragons, all moving together down the streets with banners at the head. Our Lions were hoisted 15 feet into the air again and again atop a long red pole. When there was enough space, the hoisted Lion would be surronded by double dragons swirling and undulating backand forth. It really was a spectable to behold.
I felt proud to be a part of such a group of energetic and strong individuals who could come together to spread positive energy to so many people.
Daily dedication is my most recent exploration. Hung Ga training has taken my mental focus to a new level. Every day, as a member of Yee’s Hung Ga International, I am instructed to perform several Hei Gong exercises. Sometimes these exercises are also referred to as Chi Gong. Their purpose is to build internal power. I believe that eventually they are meant to create a better flow of Chi within the body.
There are several sets of Hei Gong exercises but currently I only know of and pracitce one, the 7 Golden Passages. This is a set of 7 stances. In each stance, the method of training is to remain still while flexing certain muscles. In a way, these exercises are deceptive. Aside from breathing, there is no movement. However, each stance is designed to target a specific set of muscles. The stances are not common body positions and so beginners may have difficulty holding each stance for 1 minute.
I have noticed a great change in my physical health and strength since I started this regimen. It has been emphasized to me over and over again that it is absolutely imperative to do these exercises each and every day. With that in mind I am taking the challenge of making time for it everyday.
I’ve just returned from the most amazing honeymoon vacation. We went to the Yucatan pennisula for 8 spectacular days at the Aventura Spa Palace resort. This vacation was beyond my wildest dreams. Truly refreshing.
In the books on meditation which I’ve been reading I’ve read about something called Bare Attention. From what I understand this is a sort of state of perception in which the mind works to observe phenomenon without attaching a self-centered perspective. I’ve also read about mindfulness of mind-objects, which means to be conscious of the things which come into your mind. I believe such examples would be desire, attachment, joy, but then again those could also be called feelings.
Today I’ve been trying to put this into practice. I had my first experience of what I think could be mindfulness of mind objects. I was walking home from the train station and on my way passed over a sidewalk made of colored stone slabs. They were alternating between turqouise and purplish-grey colors. This was such a stark contrast to the dull poured concrete that I thought to myself “This is so nice! What a great way to add a little variety to the mundane!” I followed the stones ahead, and noticed that they also continued up a straight path to a homeowner’s steps. Immediately I thought “I hope that when I own a home, I can have stones like this in front of my house.” My mind then jumped to how I might get stones like this for myself. “I wonder how much they cost, and where would I get them? Would I have to hire someone to place them?”
That’s when I caught my train of thought. I had jumped from simply admiring the asthetic appeal of the sidewalk to creating a fantasy of a future in which I owned a similar sidewalk for myself. I was surprised at how quickly my mind had jumped from one thing to the other. This all happened in the time it took me to take two steps down the sidewalk. For me, this was an example of how quickly my mind can run off on its own, following a tangent when it could be simpler to just admire the natural beauty in front of me. I think that noticing the tendency of my mind to jump ahead could eventually lead to a quieter and more focused state of mind.
So I have taken it upon myself to study Mindfulness. This is the teaching of the Buddha. In a time where I feel that my life has become too hectic I feel that mental training is in order. So far I am in the information gathering and beginning application stage. I’ve read a book and a bit more on the topic so this is still very early for me yet. My goal is to apply these simple techniques to my everyday life in order to make better use of my time by being more effective. I would rather work 8 hours efficiently than 10 hours in a disorganized manner. This is my effort to improve my professional skills, but also my attentiveness to all aspects of my life.
A funny anecdote:
One day last week, while reading “The Heart of Buddhist Meditation”  I left my umbrella on the PATH train. Whoops. I guess I could really learn a thing or two about it! However I was reading Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness and in the introduction the author describes an incident where one of his students was reading his first book “Mindfulness in Plain English” while crossing the street, and was subsequently hit by a car!! At least my little lesson in mindfulness was not one inducing misery!
I look forward to understanding more about the concepts of Bare Attention and Clear Understanding. I plan to put into practice Mindfulness of Breathing as often as I can.
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