I have lived in Maine my entire 26, almost 27 years of life. I have been going to Fort Williams State Park AKA Portland Head Light since I was born. It became a family tradition very early on to visit Fort Williams with my mom, dad and my little brother, Sean. We would stop at DiPietro’s Market on Cottage Road in South Portland on our way to the park to get the BEST Italian sandwiches I have ever tasted & then a quick stop at The Cookie Jar to get cream horns! A little side note…I still stop at DiPietro’s on my way, but The Cookie Jar was a casualty of a storm in October 2006 that ripped off the roof & forced the closure of what had become a tradition for many. The bakery will be re-opening this June & I could not be more excited to get my hands on a cream horn once again So despite the lack of the famous cream horns, this adventure still makes for a spectacular afternoon. I have always been fascinated by the huge mansions that line Shore Road on the way to Fort Williams. I always tell myself, “Someday! I will own one of those homes”. & well I will…someday.
So about a month and a half ago my boyfriend Nate signed us up to run the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 2010 10K Road Race which is being held on August 7, 2o1o. I am now kinda sorta regretting what I got myself into. 6 miles?! That is further than I have ever run. Ever, ever. I do not like to run and to be quite honest, I never really have enjoyed running. Well, I didn’t mind it so much in high school when I played field hockey, but maybe it was more interesting to me because I was running after a ball, not just aimlessly running for the sake of running. This is the 10th year anniversary of this race. It is a 6.2 mile (10K) run, starting at Crescent Beach and ending at Portland Head Light, both of which are in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Last years race had 6,000 runners and approximately 10,000 spectators. Joan Benoit Samuelson, a native of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, won the 1st ever women’s marathon in 1984 at the Olympics in Los Angeles & is also the founder and co-chair of the 10K race.
Since becoming the owner of a Golden Retriever puppy about a year ago & living in the Portland, Maine area, I have made it a priority to find and seek out trails & hikes that we can explore & enjoy. I have always loved being outdoors. When I began to research trails and hikes in the area, I immediately discovered trails.org. AH HA! Just what I was hoping to find. This is the website is dedicated to the 50 mile network of trails in Greater Portland, Maine. There are so many options for trails in this area. There really isn’t an excuse to why you cannot get outside and get some exercise. (Well maybe if it’s raining) Bring your dog to enjoy the fun too! Mostly all of the trails allow dogs, but I grew up in the woods of Maine…well sort of…it isn’t as rural as it sounds, but as a young adult when I moved to Portland, I thought “Oh great, here goes my love for wildlife and nature.” Not true at all. I encourage all of you to check out the Portland Trails. Plus it’s free, so it really doesn’t get much better than that
But as they said…”BARELY!” On Superbowl Sunday, I brought 3 friends, one of which was my boyfriend Nate & challenged them to the 90 minutes of what they may now consider to be hell. I have been going to Bikram Yoga classes since December 29th & I am hooked. Almost everyone that asks what exactly it is and what they should expect, wants to try it. I would tell someone that hasn’t done it before that it is probably the most intense workout they have ever had. Seriously. I didn’t sugarcoat it at all, except letting them know that the benefits from this practice are nothing short of amazing.
We went to the 2PM class at Bikram’s Yoga College of India in Portland, Maine. We ate about 3 hours prior to class & made sure to drink plenty of water. I know from my own experience, that the first class is quite nerve wracking. You have no idea what to REALLY expect & all the anxious feelings do not help. I realized that there is a class full of about 30 other people that are there for the same reason you are & it really does not matter if you can or cannot do all of the postures. The important thing is that you got in your car, drove your butt to class & made the commitment to be there. The important thing is to just stay in the room which at times feels like your worst enemy at about 100 degrees Fahrenheit (but no more than 105 degrees Fahrenheit). All 3 of my friends achieved that goal & stayed in the class. There were a couple close calls when I thought I was going to lose them to the cool locker room, but I didn’t. They did an excellent job & maintained a positive attitude throughout the entire 90 minutes. I told Nate that if he remembers one thing to do throughout the practice, it is to be mindful of your breathing. You should breathe in through your nose and out through your nose & try to keep a CALM mind. I made sure to let him know that when you start breathing through your mouth, your nervous systems freaks the heck out & that is when you lose the mental concentration that you need to be successful in getting through the class without panting like a dog. I hope that everyone that tries one class, comes back! Don’t give up! It really gets easier the more you do it & the harder it is for you, the more your body NEEDS it! I think that my 3 friends were very proud of themselves for doing it, as they should be, but the question of the day is…Will they go back?
My New Years’ Resolution for 2010 is to be more healthy & more positive. I have been doing Bikram Yoga for the past month and have noticed a HUGE difference in how I think and go about doing things in my life & my body. After a few days of the Bikram yoga, I jumped on the scale, hoping to see the number that I am used to seeing, go DOWN! I noticed that the scale had gone up a couple of pounds, but my BMI (body mass index) had gone down? I saw a clip from the Today Show yesterday discussing women that are “skinny fat.” I thought to myself “skinny fat?” What the heck does that mean?!
After doing some research on this, I have come to the conclusion that I am skinny fat! I have what seems to be a normal weight (about 130 pounds…give or take), but according to Nate’s scale, I have a BMI of about 28%. Holy moly…so that means I am about 30% fat? Yes, that is what that means. Women that look skinny on the outside & have been blessed with “skinny genes”, are not necessarily healthy, which can be problematic later on down the road. I have realized that yoga is helping me switch the fat to muscle and that muscle weighs more than fat…so that would make sense to why my jeans are fitting better, & why the number on the scale has gone up a couple of pounds. Per my research & the video I have posted, I learned that the average woman in America has a body mass index between 25% & 30%. Yup, that’s me! I fit right in there. You SHOULD have a BMI of between 14% & 24%. And ONLY 27% of women exercise regularly! I think that there are A LOT of us out there that are skinny fat. Men & women! We seem to think we are healthy because we look skinny, but the scary thing is, that what is going on inside your body is very unhealthy. I have made a promise to myself to get my BMI down to about 15% by this Summer. I guess my message is that no one is going to get you healthy for you, YOU have to make the commitment to yourself & do it! Also, check out this to learn about what the Today Show had to say about being “skinny fat,” just yesterday. So girls & boys, get to the gym, go for a walk, take a class (I find that I have more motivation if I am in a class with other people suffering at the same rate I am, rather than trying to exercise on my own) and make a promise to YOURSELF to be a healthier & better you!
Check out this short video on Bikram Yoga. It gives a great little overview of just what the heck this yoga practice is all about. It definitely takes some getting used to, but if you are persistent and push through the suffering (literally, during the 1st class I kinda hated it…I could barely breathe half way through!) But you need to build endurance and strength and BREATHE through your nose only! That is the key to keeping a calm mind & remain positive and tell yourself that you can do it! Keeping calm when sweat is water falling off of you and into your eyes is a challenge but it is well worth it! By the time class is done you can ring out your clothes, so if you don’t like to sweat I wouldn’t recommend this class to you. But have an open mind & give it a shot, you won’t die, well it’s not likely. You never know, you may actually like it. It can & will change your life if you practice regularly. Oh and to top it off, I have slept better than I have slept in a LONG time since starting this yoga practice at the end of December.
I have lived in Maine my entire 26, almost 27 years of life. I have been going to Fort Williams State Park AKA Portland Head Light since I was born. It became a family tradition very early on to visit Fort Williams with my mom, dad and my little brother, Sean. We would stop at DiPietro’s Market on Cottage Road in South Portland on our way to the park to get the BEST Italian sandwiches I have ever tasted & then a quick stop at The Cookie Jar to get cream horns! A little side note…I still stop at DiPietro’s on my way, but The Cookie Jar was a casualty of a storm in October 2006 that ripped off the roof & forced the closure of what had become a tradition for many. The bakery will be re-opening this June & I could not be more excited to get my hands on a cream horn once again 
So despite the lack of the famous cream horns, this adventure still makes for a spectacular afternoon. I have always been fascinated by the huge mansions that line Shore Road on the way to Fort Williams. I always tell myself, “Someday! I will own one of those homes”. & well I will…someday. 
