DISQUS

Guylaine · 1 year ago

Fast walking about three times a week on a jogging path in the forest in the middle of the city, at lunch time, letting myself get inspired by the quiet and the tall trees surrounding me. I come back to the office both energized and calmed down, ready to tackle anything awaiting me. Also, doing stretching exercices on a mat in my living room almost every night while I watch a bit of TV with the kids... I had my living room center table customized on wheels just so I can roll it aside to make room for my exercise mat...

JoAnna · 1 year ago

Walking along the beach with my dog. The sound of the waves crashing quiets my mind and allows insights to surface. Also watching my dog bound along the sand, tail wagging, full of excitement and just sheer joy of living reminds me that the simple things in life can often bring the most joy.

Alisa Barry · 1 year ago

I love a movement meditation practice called the 5 Rhythms {www.gabrielleroth.com}. When I move, it gets me out of my head. When I connect with how my body moves, I connect to my heart. I have some of the most joyful moments when I move. At home, I crank the music on a speaker and let go! Many cities offer classes lead by a teacher. What could be a better way to exercise?

Angèle · 1 year ago

Dancing feeds my spirit... whether it be belly dance, ballet, African dance, or getting out on the dance floor and doing the Cha Cha slide or the Cupid shuffle, dancing energizes me and connects me to my Cosmopolitan Nostalgic style statement. Anything that allows me to experience different cultures while honoring the past is what makes me really come to life. Also, walking on the trails in my favorite park gets me in touch with my inner self and allows me to recharge mentally as well as physically.

braziliana · 1 year ago

I love HOT yoga, I can finaly feel my body when I go to yoga.I also enjoy outside activities such as running although I am not a runner but I admire those who embrace running as the meditative activity.

Janet · 1 year ago

Walking. I've always done a lot of thinking and planning while walking. It's what puts me into a more meditative space. I don't own a car so I walk all the time.

Polly · 1 year ago

Carrie - I was a runner for 25 plus years and had a love/hate relationship with that. Ran a marathon and never went back. But I understand the attraction and I commend you!

What I really don't like is having to make time for exercise. I want it to be a natural part of my day ( oops-giving myself away here!). I like to ride my bike on errands, stack straw bales, work in the garden. I also love yoga. I'm in an Ashtanga class now and it feels to me like the fountain of youth.

--Natural Lustre

Liz · 1 year ago

Cycling to work on my old fashioned ladies bike with the wind in my hair. I always feel like i'm on an adventure.

Kristi · 1 year ago

Rowing. Alone or with a friend. On the Concept 2 (indoor) rower or on a wonderful calm stretch of water. Synchronizing mind/arms/legs - the ability to move forward while all the time surveying where you've just been.

SRead · 1 year ago

I just got home from my morning swim..... I've been swimming my whole life. My father passed on his passion for swimming and it all started in my grandparents pool. As a competitive swimmer much time has been spent in indoor pools, but now I so look forward to open water swimming ..... being outdoors offers variables you don't get in a pool and I love that element of surprise, whether it be the water temperature, wildlife or a sudden rain storm. Swimming might not even be my favorite form of exercise ....love to move and be outside, so have always loved running, cycling, kayaking, xcountry skiing, snoeshowing. I absolutely love running on woodland trails! My favourite cycling route is along the Fundy Coast and very very hilly - I love climbing! I do triathlons, so never get bored of a training routine and satisfies my competitive nature, but I still like to find new challenges that stretch my limits and keep it FUN! ...this season my personal challenge is to test my limits mountain biking - it gets me outside, laughing and screaming with lots of fear busting ..... I'm learning how to fail (& fall) fast...and then get on with it! (It sure helps to use the right gears). We also have "exercise traditions" in our family that have grown to include friends .... I love these holiday runs..... (I think I've been doing them since the Easter Run with my uncle & cousins - I'm trying to remember if he gave us a choice!). In contrast I love yoga for keeping me in balance, physically and mentally. Did I mention I would love to exercise all day?

Jules · 1 year ago

Nia! You have to try it - a form of dance, martial arts, and letting go and having fun. I can express myself and let go of the day. nianow.com

B.L. Wagner · 1 year ago

Wii tennis - a few times a day when I'm working at home. Works up a real sweat and takes me into another concentration zone.

Danette · 1 year ago

Nia, absolutely. Dancing alone in my studio to Missy Elliot. Hula Hooping in the grass to some nice chewy trance music.

Roxane N Nickeo · 1 year ago

At 6:15am each day my 2 Wolfhounds and I go for a 1.5-2.0 miles of a jog and/or walk around the lake in our neighborhood. Then in the evening we venture out again for a 45 minute leisure walk. It stimulates productivity, good health and thoughts. It also offers a vehicle to socialise my Wolfhounds in an urban setting. And above all the three of us enjoy the gifts of nature and the architectural elements of the city.

Chantal · 1 year ago

Hiking with my dog in the high altitude and endless horizon of New Mexico. Being so close to the sky I can almost kiss it.

Lisa D. · 1 year ago

When my man gave me ballroom dancing lessons for my birthday several years ago, I wanted to marry him on the spot. We connected and laughed so hard at ourselves in the beginning classes. We loved them. Rumba, Cha Cha - Latin dances are so sexy!
Walking clears my head and gives me quiet time to enjoy spring flowers and pray.

Jill Curtis · 1 year ago

Running outside. I live in one of the most beautiful spots in the world on Cape Cod and running along the marsh and near the ocean is a joy. This is also my best creative thinking time.

Kundalini yoga. We have a terrific Kundalini community here. I go to a 3 hour class on Thursday nights and I am trying to develop a consistent sadhana practice. This yoga helps me deal with just about anything. (I went to a live class with Gurumukh on May 18th and it was transformational!)

Xai Vicente Charles · 1 year ago

Walking is my favorite form of exercise because it forces me to observe the things around me and gets me out of the cocoon I sometimes create for myself. I especially love early morning walks when everything seems new.

Xai Vicente Charles · 1 year ago

I cannot believe how much energy one gets out of the Hot Yoga sessions. It feels as if through perspiration you've rid yourself of all the troubles of the week in just one session.

Emily Cline · 1 year ago

Working out on an eliptical machine with movies! My husband hooked up the DVD player in our gym, bought a big beautiful machine, and I have never been in better shape -- and this is going on 25 years of exercising! I've worked out with Mrs. Doubtfire, Forrest Gump, even OO7 himself!

Emily · 1 year ago

I like to mix it up. As a personal trainer I am always trying new activities and incorporating new moves into my weight training routine. This helps keep things fresh for me and my clients :) I also just signed up for a half marathon running clinic which I am super excited for! I just moved to a new city so joining the group is a great avenue to meet people with similar values. For me a day without activity is like a day without oxygen.

Ann · 1 year ago

Hard to choose! I love walking with a friend, running alone and my 3x/week step class - at 6am!

Ellen Falkenberry · 1 year ago

Yoga - not the hot kind. The gentle, peaceful, serene kind. I also like playing in the water - not swimming, necessarily, but frolicking...

Jen · 1 year ago

I just did my first boot camp last night (after a year of barely any activity), and it was amazing! The hour before I went was spent worrying and a lot of "i don't wanna!" but I went. And finished it! For me having the support of others around me and seeing that they are having a hard time (it's not just me!) but continuing on really feeds my confidence and desire to do more. And makes it more fun. It helps to have a great instructor who kicks butt, but is also super supportive.

I've also recently started cycling again, and there is something about being self-propelled in that way that connects me to a higher power - a higher power outside and inside myself.

Julie C. · 1 year ago

Swimming, I love to swim but haven't been able to find the time or a place close to me, good to think about it, time to make another attempt to get in the pool! I also love to ride my horses, need to take more time to do that, really clears my head and makes me smile!

Lynn · 1 year ago

I love walking in a beautiful watershed near our Pennsylvania home, early in the morning, by myself with a great pair of binoculars that my husband gave me years ago. I never walk with my I-pod because I want to hear the birds every moment I'm there. It also means I am not distracted as I use this time to get centered and think deeply. I also love to hike in the Wyoming mountains with friends and family, taking a picnic lunch - and my binoculars, of course!

maya batki · 1 year ago

i love to ride my bike at night. i feel so free, like i'm a kid. after my son is asleep, and my husband is not going anywhere for the night, i get on my bike and fly through our city.

Elizabeth · 1 year ago

undoubtedly running - the solitude, the air on my face, the meditative beat of my feet against the ground

Ngonzi Truth Crushshon · 1 year ago

Hip Hop dance class at Lou Conte dance studio on Wednesday nights is great! We laugh at ourselves, jump around. feel the music and have good ole fashioned fun! I'm usually sweating after the initial warm-up stretches....who knew dancing was so invigorating! It renews my whole persona and helps me clear my mind. I joined the class 15 weeks ago yesterday w a friend. CONGRATS to us for making it this far!!! (Before this, I didn't excercise at all) Now I excercise twice a week. HIP HOP DANCE CLASS is 75minutes and I excercise at least 30 minutes every Monday at the YMCA gym w my coworker/sister. (what makes this so fun, is that we vent about the issues of the day). Collectively excercise is most fun for me.

sharon smith-swan · 1 year ago

walking, walking, walking - particularly in the early morning or later evening and expecially beside the ocean - even if i can only carve out 10 min in an overscheduled day i grab the permanent runners from my car trunk and walk and that's all it takes to reconnect my mind and body to universal intelligence
p.s. your interview on city t.v was excellent - focused, fun and left me wanting more!

Romana Mirza · 1 year ago

Weight Training I love the process and structure of it all, it represents my constructive side. My style statement (constructive graceful) sent me on a journey to discover my graceful side. That's when I found Nia (www.nianow.com). Now I have two favourite forms of exercise.

Tina Woodlee · 1 year ago

Walking, walking! I think I could walk around the world.

Daniel Gibbons · 1 year ago

For me it's hiking in the wilderness. There's nothing like clean air and solitude mixed with heart-pumping exercise. Of course, my challenge is I'm too competitive by half, so no-one will ever go hiking with me more than once.

Chuck Vidalin · 1 year ago

Sports...any kind of game that has even a modicum of activity involved with it. I find it nearly impossible to motivate myself to go exercise for the sake of it. The funny thing is, I enjoy doing the exercise once I get going, but I just never make the time, it seems. However, tie a game to the activity and I am all over it. A friend of mine invited me to his boxing match last week...White-collar Boxing it is called. Maybe have to give that a try. Nothing like the fear of getting pummeled to motivate the workouts!

stella tinglin · 1 year ago

YOGA.

Susie Hutchinson · 1 year ago

I have found walking to be my salvation. It doesn't matter how stressed, how tired, or where I am in the world I can walk for hours. I fell in love with city walking when I lived in London, never a dull moment. The same is true of Vancouver, how could you ever tire of looking at the ocean.

Larissa · 1 year ago

My absolute favorite would have to be dancing. My favorite part about it is there are so many ways to go about it depending on how I feel. Structured classes, showing off at a nightclub, alone in the den to the radio, formal with a partner, or silly craziness with young children- it goes beyond excercise and becomes a huge life experience.

Krystl · 1 year ago

I love going for long walks around the city with my husband and dog - there is always something new to discover, or a new way to see old things. That's one of the things I love about living in a city, especially this one! I've also been enjoying wii fit lately! It is good for the side of me that enjoys making lists and racking up points. And it makes me laugh.

Danielle LaPorte · 1 year ago

Nia is so on my list of Wanna Do's

Katie Kay · 1 year ago

Walking Greenlake, for sure. My iphone has 450 songs, so I plug in and I'm off. The serene beautiful view and all the new baby critters popping up in Spring, really helps me feel connected to the earth. I smile the whole 3 miles.

Katie Kay · 1 year ago

My kids are prodding me to get the Wii fit. Is it really a good workout? I am a gamer from way back in the early 80's, I bought my kids a Nintendo when they were 3 & 5 and I played it constantly, Hee Hee. Would I look forward to working out everyday with the Wii?

Steve Harvey · 1 year ago

Golf...without question. And no, not when I am driving around on a cart. I usually walk when I play. With clubs on my back, specially playing the mountain courses, it is a great workout. It is truly amazing what a good course designer can do with the landscape - always some form of beauty to look at and inspire you. After 18 I usually walk away with better insight and visualization skills, a full body workout, and new found techniques to remain calm - getting me through yet another round without tossing my 5 iron in the trees!

Natasha · 1 year ago

Pilates! Works your mind and body through intentional movement and breath. Classes go quickly and I leave feeling stronger, taller and more at peace. Creating beautiful lines offers an opportunity to admire your body. All this results in wanting to do it again! What more could you ask for in a workout?

Marissa · 1 year ago

Dancing--especially polka. I think it's my German heritage there. My grandparents told me about polka parties they'd attend with their siblings and sibs' families years ago (my grandma was one of 17!) and how much fun they had, and I didn't get it until the first time I tried it and I was hooked. Trends be damned, I dig the polka.


But I also love walking with my dogs, in a still part of the day when the majority of activity around me is birds flying and breezes blowing. I also feel like a goddess after a great yoga session, or a free-weights + eliptical machine workout.

But nothing will ever beat dancing--polka, ballroom, goofy freestyle like I used to dance with my daddy when I was a little girl and he'd play The Temptations... dancing is my spirit gettin' groovy with a melody backdrop.

Bevin · 1 year ago

I love hiking in the mountains. Nothing makes me feel stronger, more in touch with nature or more my best, most self-aware self.

Sharon · 1 year ago

Hi Danette!!! I love NIA. I miss it. Where I am currently living there are not any NIA classes or instructors. Was thinking of taking the white belt training.

Michelle and I are going out to buy hola hoops today!

Beth C. · 1 year ago

Hot yoga classes at Sunstone. It's an hour and a half of grueling and focused work. It's the only time my mind and spirit are truly quiet. Then it's followed by time laying on the floor in corpse pose.

MelissaM · 1 year ago

I just discovered hot yoga 10 days ago and I'm hooked. I've never felt so good. Running is my tried and true friend though. It comes in and out of my life when I need it to.

Kat the Drumming Diva · 1 year ago

dancing. yoga. hand-drumming. and riding my bike!

carla morales · 1 year ago

dancing to old school madonna...better yet, dancing to school madonna with my puppy, elliot, skittering about...

Andrew · 1 year ago

I'm totally with you on this one. If it's a game, I'm game. If it's a run, or gym workout, etc I can't get motivated. My current passion is squash, 3-4 times a week at lunch. A fantastic way to stay fit and break up a day spend mostly staring at a screen.

Krystl · 1 year ago

I've really enjoyed it, and yes, it makes me sweat. The balance board is surprisingly sensitive and actually useful in correcting alignment, particularly in yoga poses. It is gently encouraging and for a gamer, really gets you feeling competitive. If you work hard, you open up different exercises and extra reps, and it marks your progress. Plus, some of it is hilarious. I just giggle straight through the hulahooping. This morning I did a short run, two sessions of hulahooping, some strength training (push-ups into side plank - brutal!), and cooled down with some yoga and deep breathing. It feels a little slow at first, since the first time you do each exercise it walks you through a demo, but as you repeat exercises it flows better. There is a lot of variety built in. So far, it's good!

Darcey · 1 year ago

I'm an active meditator so just sitting in silence doesn't work for me. But being in active movement where my mind is distracted and my body is engaged does. If you find yourself in that category i strongly recommend kickboxing! your body and mind are engaged, the dicipline is distracting yet calming and you will rarely work harder. oh, and the gloves make me feel bad-ass!

Krystl · 1 year ago

Ok, i've been thinking about this question all day, and had to post again. I also love yoga, for the mind and body engagement, and the possibility to always be learning and perfecting. And dancing, for hours, finding my way through the music. I can really lose/find myself in dance. To quote a favorite dance track: "This is not a mind trip, this is a body journey." Boy, for a couch potato, there are certainly a lot of activities I enjoy. I guess I should get moving. :)

Caroline Armijo · 1 year ago

Tai Chi - I have an 87-year-old instructor. He is amazing and makes every session extremely entertaining. I have been practicing for almost a year now. I can tell a huge difference. My husband says that I am more relaxed, skinnier and funnier because of my great stories and quotes.

Michelle · 1 year ago

If its a game or a class, I'm in. Solo exercise usually feels like a struggle though I did do a couple of 10K runs a few years back. Ah, but I was signed up for a training program for the first one. Anyway, my latest disocvery is Zumba and its rockin' my world. My explanation is that its a dancefocussed fitness class. A major cardio workout based on Latin dances i.e. salsa, merengue, cumbia and fabulous music. The class is 99% women and its a beautiful thing to see all the hips swinging, butts struttin' and boobs shakin'. So nice to have a place to play with the sexiness of the dance.

Composed Cherishing · 1 year ago

I've just returned home from my twice-weekly tai chi class. This art is something I've wanted to do for over 30 years, but I let career and family get in the way. Now that I'm retired, this is my most joyous activity. In thinking about today's question, I realized how closely aligned this exercise form is to my Style Statement, especially the Composed element. Now my intuitive attraction to tai chi is validated and it all makes perfect sense! I see myself doing this when I'm 100 (about 38 years from now).

Jacqueline · 1 year ago

Sex

Kristen Bond · 1 year ago

What inspires me...
...dancing wild and free, with friends, in the warm afternoon sunshine, at midnight, in the middle of the night and on into sunrise. The friends and shining faces that dance along with me, to celebrate, to feel our way through the body without using words to express our-selves.... to dare to dance to celebrate the freedom of movement in the physical until the body feels and knows itself as the temple of the spirit soul....yum. This rejuvenates me and gives me the strength to continue to inspire my self, to see inspiration everywhere. Thank you to my friends for being my mirror on the dance floor. Thank you to Creation for showing me this way. Big Mad Love, Kristen

Jennifer · 1 year ago

I love walking or jogging on the treadmill and doing weight training exercises.

Kelley Burrus · 1 year ago

Yeah, I know I just turned 40 but I swear the feel of my braids thumping as I roller blade every morning is just not something I ever see giving up.

It is meditative and many a time I've unscrambled work-life-self challenges on these 2 mile jaunts.

Beth · 1 year ago

Walking. Walking alone, preferably in a park, or in a neighborhood where there are flower beds in the front yards -- the presence of green and colorful growing things restores me. When I'm walking, I get back into myself, and I do some of my best thinking -- a morning walk brings me home invigorated and filled with dialogue/plot movement for my novel that must be written down.

I hardly ever take walks like that any more -- too afraid of West Nile mosquitoes, and unable to use repellant -- as I've been thinking about walking today, I realize how very much I miss it. My writing misses it, too.

Tory · 1 year ago

Boxing. I love the physical and mental challenge of pushing myself with my trainer and friends in the gym. I'm even thinking of doing an amateur fight - just for fun! And the release and satisfaction from a few good rounds on the bags - somehow, the stresses of the day become very distant.

Carrie McCarthy · 1 year ago

My girlfriend raves about this! It's on my list.

Carrie

Carrie McCarthy · 1 year ago

"exercise traditions" I love this! Although in our family that tradition might lead to massive injuries!

Carrie

Carrie McCarthy · 1 year ago

There is nothing more sexy than a man who knows how to dance with his woman!

Carrie

Carrie McCarthy · 1 year ago

007 would inspire me to move!!

Carrie McCarthy · 1 year ago

I agree!!

Carrie McCarthy · 1 year ago

Thank you.

Carrie

Carrie McCarthy · 1 year ago

what a perfect combination!! so you!!

Carrie

Danielle LaPorte · 1 year ago

Forty schmorty! Blade on!

Carrie McCarthy · 1 year ago

I have a fantasy of training to be a boxer. Not be a boxer but do the sweaty skip rope pummeling. Let me know how it goes Chuck!

Carrie

Mini Jacques · 1 year ago

My favourite exercise is when I walk and hike. I forget the effort and the burning of calories and enjoy the scenery.

melody biringer · 1 year ago

i love to walk with girlfriends and new friends. i schedule at least 3 days a week to catch up and brainstorm new ideas.

Kellie Burns · 1 year ago

Yoga with fiance, running on the beach with the dog, gardening with the cats and the dog... these allow me to give thanks to myself, the beautiful world in which I live and those that I share my life with.

Paul · 1 year ago

Absolutely running...running as free as the wind. It's even better when it's cold outside.

Bronte · 1 year ago

Definitely any kind of dancing.....to music preferably. When beaches or forsts are near-at-hand, walking alnong/through them is always magic!

Sarah · 1 year ago

Depends on my mood...3 top: yoga, running, cycling.

Molly · 1 year ago

Any sort of movement for me....Yoga, Running, rowing....bike riding - dancing.... I love it all - and I need it. It makes me feel balanced and in-tune with myself.

Elaine · 1 year ago

I'm a golf addict and through the season I start to jones for it if I'm not out at least once a week. But for a more active workout though my favourite has to be Beach Volleyball. I get to enjoy the being outside (although I still enjoy my indoor league during the fall and winter), it's a social outlet and all that running and jumping in the sand helps keep me fit.

Tamara · 1 year ago

When it comes to exercise, I am a "cherry picker." Varying what I do gives me greater results. However, I must work up a sweat to feel any accomplishment. To do so, I might spend time on an eliptical while reading; or, I might run along a path while listening to a lecture on my iPod; or, I might enjoy a hike up the mountain with my family; or, I might gather with friends for a guided aerobics class. And, yes, I usually multitask to get more of what I desire from the unforgiving minute... always finding a sense of joy in body and in spirit.

Catherine · 1 year ago

Until about 6 months ago, I would have said distance running - doing a long run at a steady pace set me straight and gave me the endorphin rush that I needed. However, I have switched to a different type of running, more intense, less time consuming. I now run for no more than 20 minutes in 1 minute sprints, 1 minute recovery - so incredibly intense during the time I'm sprinting that all I can experience is the moment and nothing else. I love it and the feeling of total satisfaction and relief when I am done stays with me the whole day. It is totally addictive!

Carrie McCarthy · 1 year ago

Wow! isn't running like the wind the best!!! go girl go!!

Carrie

kerrymac · 1 year ago

I love yoga as well...I don't make it to a studio much so I use DVD's as well. Rodney Yee is beautiful to watch, his couples yoga with his wife is a really nice way to connect with my man. Also for a little more fun I love the Yoga Booty Ballet DvD's with Gillian and Teigh. The Burlesque one is super fun, a great mix of dance, core and yoga.
In Maui this year I met a wonderful Yogi names Ava and she has the best yoga website at hathayoglesson.com . It explains lots of techniques for all levels, she also offers online lessons. I plan on doing a yoga feature soon, it's in the works... www.snickerdoodles.typepad.com

chris - refined feminine · 1 year ago

Lifting weights/resistance training. So many women are intimidated by weights but you really can be strong and beautiful. Strong does not necessarily equate to big. I love the look and power of a healthy well toned physique. The high after a good, intense training session is the best. It also encourages you to eat well. Due to bad knees, I am an ex-runner. But the high (known as runners high) is one I have not been able to replace. Maybe spinning.

Nancy · 1 year ago

Dancing foolishly around my house. Rollerskating a bit with my Sister. Bicycling someplace fun. Walking my little dog. :)