Jazz on Tammy's ride

This summer’s motorcycle journey was one of self-acceptance. A new appreciation of the opposite and expansive forces of Yin and Yang riddled every curve in the road. Experienced outside of myself, Yin and Yang were separate and opposing forces, but experienced within myself they became a unified expansive force. The open road, nature and humanity… made me a Buddha Biker!

Heading north out of the heat of New York City, my first stop is a log cabin with a view of the Catskill Mountain range to visit my cousin, her husband and 2-year old little girl Becky. With big brown eyes that always made contact with mine, Becky showed me her life and shared her toys always watching to see how I would react. She would look at me with such pure wonder, as if trying to see inside me. Her affection had depth and tenderness. I rode away feeling touched by an angel… a Yin experience.

Next stop, the welcomed cooler temperatures of Montreal. A home nestled in the most amazing cultivated garden of my friend, her husband and 3-year old little boy Jazz. Met with a shy uncertainty, Jazz interacted with his parents mostly, giving me occasional glances that matured slowly into a slightly daunting stare. After a nights rest, however, Jazz was ready to play… it was power play. Swords, bats, fists, the arsenal of little boy weaponry mounted until the umbrella point poised to stab me with came out… Dad stepped in! Thank goodness. Once we rested Jazz says, “come on, you want to fight again?” His affection was expressed by choosing me as the subject of his conquest. I rode away feeling overwhelmed… a Yang experience.

Now to the heart of my journey, riding through the northern lakes of the Adirondack Mountains. The trees majestic in size make me feel small while the awesome silence makes me feel an integral part of the whole. I weave through the Olympic Village of Lake Placid feeling like an Olympian, a child of God. Supported by the Great Mother Earth and guided by the Heavenly Father. The peace of the big mountains penetrated my being. As I arrived at my friend James’ home on the hillside of Lake Champlain I felt both empowered and stilled.

Greetings, a few stories shared, good food and red wine conclude the day. James and I sit staring at the stars, feeling the cool northern breeze, and suddenly my body feels this spiraling sensation. I don’t know this feeling! What’s happening? Within thirty minutes my body is spinning with nausea and by the nights end I loose, what appeared to be, all nourishment I’d ingested since I rode out of NYC. I was down!

For the next two days I feel fragile, tender footed. I stay close to the mountain, I lean on my friend and I experience a part of myself I wasn’t familiar with. A weaker, slower, soft-spoken girl who needed help was now expressing herself. The tough tomboy who’s just biked through the wilderness and has dominated my life is a bit bewildered by my affectionate response to this new persona within. I like her. And the more I like her the more empowered I become. Still dazed, my entire being is expanding until a hush calms my bewilderment. Becky’s tender depth and Jazz’ over whelming need to conquer both live within me. As I accepted both the Yin and the Yang of myself, without judgment or distain, I could stop trying to be more me and could start simply being me. I was overcome by a presence. It felt as if I embodied the awe of the mountains.

My journey home had a soft strength. As I reenter my life I feel changed by this cathartic experience. I am more I than ever before.

I thank all who supported the journey and all who witnessed it. In love and light, Tammy

The typical Beach Workout focuses on Abdominals, Chest and Biceps, leaving you with your belly in, chest up and arms pumped! When referencing the BodyLogos Psyche-Muscular Map you realize you are simultaneously connecting to what you intuitively know through your abdominals, what inspires your heart through your chest and what you want to pull closer to you through your biceps. What a perfect recipe for entering the boardroom the next time you have a big presentation or to prep for your next job interview. Trusting what arouses your heart and feeling inspired to pull it toward you is useful in business and social settings.

Start your workout with an Abdominal Series and focus on experiencing your body’s weight rather than producing a large movement. Slowly carry your weight with grace instead of throwing it around. Experience your strength as power and your weight as groundedness.  Be the mindful person who’s in charge of his or her own destiny.

Now that you’re connected and centered inwardly, alternate between Chest and Biceps Exercises.  Start with the big muscles of the chest. As you connect the lift of the chest to the resistance/weight feel like you are leading your life from your heart. Let your chest solidly make contact with the weight before you start moving it and allow your shoulders to relax back.  With each repetition you will feel as if your heart was literally moving forward in the body.

Maintaining this forward lift of the heart, follow the chest set with an exercise for the smaller muscles of the biceps. As the biceps meet the resistance/weight, feel the chest like a helium balloon rising upward as the biceps muscle raises the weight. As you slowly return the weight to it’s starting position, feel as though the heart was smiling. Visualize what you want to pull into your life today as you complete the set.

As you alternate between Chest and Biceps Exercises feel the intuitive knowing from your abdominals rise up through the open smile of the chest and pull the image of today’s vision inward. The quiet knowing of your abdominal center will infuse your movement and generate the belief needed to bring that vision to fruition.

The mind body relationship is always in tact and always responding to the stimuli you present to it, be it through your thoughts or your actions. BodyLogos Active Meditation brings thought and action together to create your life.

BodyLogos Fitness is a mind body approach to movement and posture. The Tao of Strength Training DVD has three half-hour mind body workouts that introduce you to Active Meditation – spiritual fitness.

Natural Beauty Day – NYC
Alskling Dress Boutique
228 Columbus Avenue (bet. 70-71St) NYC
Sunday, July 18th 2-5 pm

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Traditionally, when one imagines meditating, it is done seated quietly. The discipline of meditation focuses one’s thoughts in one specific direction, directs one’s attention toward one phenomenon, reflects or ponders over with intention. Deliberate use of the mind brings the body into alignment; deliberate use of the body, as well, brings the mind into alignment. The ancient disciplines of Yoga and Tai Chi are examples of Active Mediation, while Nia and BodyLogos are modern day examples. Nia brings uplifting reflections into aerobic dance, whereas, BodyLogos brings personal contemplation into the repetition of strength training.

Meditating is a deliberate focus of one’s attention, be it in movement or stillness. Meditation gives a sense of being rather than doing. In the experience of being, there is clarity and a sense of right action.

Where in your life do you experience this beingness? It is in these actions that you are in alignment with your higher self.

When the bike is running clean, I’m hugging every curve in the road and the sun is shining, there is a feeling of satisfaction in having created such a beautiful moment. When the bike is coughing, rain soaked clothes are clung to my body and traffic is chaotic, it feels like the Universe is having it out with me! So it feels empowering to take credit for the good days and blaming the Universe for the bad days gives consolation. This raises an interesting question. Where does our responsibility for our own life begin? At the moment the Universe offers us an experience or at the moment we start attracting that experience?

Being that a thought is a higher vibration than its material counter-part, it is logical to assume that your inward thoughts attract an outward experience. This belief is the underpinnings of mind-body therapies. Changing your thoughts changes your life. What are the thoughts that create unhappiness in your life? Exploring into this question is the act of taking responsibility.

There is a journey within us to explore.