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"I Was Born This Way" - Lady Gaga

I know what you might be thinking... how did he wind up beginning this post with a title of a Lady Gaga song. 

Here's how it happened.

My mother phoned me yesterday with great passion about the live Lady Gaga concert from Madison Square Garden that is currently showing on HBO.  She went on to share how she finally gets Lady Gaga now after watching this special.  What really spoke to my mother was how on and on throughout the program, Gaga emphasized over and over her message that it is ok for each of us to be exactly who we truly and really are.  Our individuality and the unique gifts of our being, are a thing to celebrate and rather than shame.

I can't say that I listen to Gaga's music, however, I do have a tremendous respect for her courage and admire what she has been able to accomplish being who she feels she truly is at this time.

Her message is actually quite relevant to this post as I reflect on what it will take for me to achieve my goal in the month of June, to drop 30 more lbs by July 1st.  Yes it is a lot and YES it IS possible.  One of the key requirements for me to succeed in this endeavor is getting to the gym every day this month.  And once I am at the gym, I will be in MOTION.

Now many us "plus size", "skinny minnie" and every thing in between sometimes if not often have some hang ups about getting to the gym.  Usually around something called "Body Issues".  We go to the gym and we see sights in the locker room and on the floor that we never faced in such volume so up close.  Physiques of  "Michelang-ian Excellence" if not right off the set of the movie "300" (and quite literally if you live in Los Angeles where some of these movies are made).

I know for myself, many times I've been the "fattest dude at the gym".  Yes, absolutely many many times it has been a challenge to ignore the glances, gazes and stares from others while I'm in the men's locker room.  The "battle scars" on my body that at a time once weighed nearly 350 lbs are considerable.  What has been interesting for me to witness in myself is the dance of having "blinders" on while at the gym as to not only not be concerned with what others are thinking about me, it is also me not being obsessed about thinking about "them" and the comparing my mind begins to spin with. 

It appears that most of us humans at this period in history have become very skillful in comparing ourselves to others.  It is one of the most obvious traps and one that most of us aren't used to choosing to opt out of.

Very unfortunately, it is our feelings about ourselves around our current image of our bodies and in comparison with others and our "projections" about them, that very often keep us from getting inside the gym or the "dojo". 

If we are going to achieve radiant and vital health, we will have to learn to move our body more than we currently do.  Obviously, you don't HAVE to go to a gym to do this.  However, it helps considerably.

So, if you are feeling a perceived "stuck-ness" around getting in motion, there are some incredibly effective techniques to dissolve this and get your ass to the gym! : )

1. Parts Alignment Meditation: From my perspective, this is one of is the most brilliant contributions NLP has made to the world of Self Improvement.  In my second blog post I went into more detail about what this is and how I learned it.  Actually, that post was so well received that I have been asked to teach more about Parts Alignment and I will do so later this year.  In the meantime, feel free to refer to that post for further clarification.

2. Remember the mantra "I HAVE CHOICE" - too often we are in such a state of "being run", we have temporarily forgotten that WE HAVE CHOICE.  Wake up, and CHOOSE to use your mind to change your mind around any beliefs of "body issue" moment to moment.  (I understand it is easy for me to say this now.  Yes, I am well aware and certainly through my own experience I am learning more and more that this skill improves with daily practice and it absolutely DOES work.  Try it more and more).

3.  The main and NEW technique revealed here and the heart of this post, THE PLAYLIST.  In particular, the WARRIOR'S PLAYLIST.  I have found no external resource more effective in assisting me in getting to the gym and having a fulfilling experience once I am there, than the power of MUSIC.  Perhaps one of the greatest inventions of the modern era is ipod or mobile mp3 device (as a stand alone or in our phones etc.). 

If you truly desire to have an extraordinary and deeply visceral experience while you are moving your body, develop and create a WARRIOR'S PLAYLIST.  What I am meaning is, create a "mix tape" for yourself SPECIFICALLY for moving your body and for any kind of resistance training.  Have a specific selection of music to choose from that gets your heart pumping for cardio workouts and for weight or resistance training.  I advocate separate playlists for each.  Invest in an excellent pair of headphones (I suggest Bose in-ear headphones... a little on the expensive side yes, however they will pay for themselves a million fold as we begin to enjoy our experience more and more as we move our body and become our own living proof of vital and radiant LIVING health).

When you have music blasting through your system that accelerates and contributes to a feeling of strength and invincibility, I've found that it really doesn't matter who may or may not be staring at me (it's probably all in our own heads anyway... and at the end of the day, who gives a F&%K what other people think.  WE are the ones who have to walk in our own shoes, and if we didn't get to the gym because of a story we made up about what other people think, than the only "losers" in this game were us.  The fact is, most people just care about themselves and aren't even noticing us as we work out.  Really.)

As my man Damion Suomi says in his song "Save Your Ass" (and this should be one of the first songs that you download off iTunes or Amazon.com MP3) is "Nobody's gonna save your ass, except for you".

Music is a passport to divine inspiration.  It instantly blows us into a universe of emotion that we never could have accessed with such clarity in lighting speed.  LEVERAGE THIS GIFT AND MAGNIFICENT RESOURCE.

Also, when we are feeling invincible and "amped up", we will be amazed by what we can achieve with our body.  If all you can do right now is take a 15 minute walk around the block, then start there.  Then get to a gym and just show up.  Begin to MOVE the body.  BREATHE.  Then you will be amazed by what begins to happen.

Like I detailed in my post about my mentor Rick Rubin, he started from a place of not being identified as someone who moves his body and thus was limited in how much he exercised.  In the course of over a year, he changed his beliefs and took off over 100 lbs and became an athlete by learning how to go to the gym and MOVE.  Now, he has "abs" and is in the gym holding his own with world famous body builders and strength trainers.  We must begin at the beginning and follow the clues one step at a time. 

Here is a fantastic resource about resistance training that is VERY do-able and will leverage dramatic results, courtesy of my man Tim Ferriss as he details the art of the Kettlebell Swing (something that has dramatically changed the course of my life and beliefs):

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1EyIzI/www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2011/01/08/kettlebell-swing/

And please, create a WARRIOR'S PLAYLIST and get to the gym and let it RIP!!!!!!!!!!  BLAST OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!