OFF THE CUFF : Resolve to Discover the Joy of Fitness
The holidays are past but not forgotten. Check your waistline or hips--there it is, a chubby reminder of all that feasting since Thanksgiving. What to do about it?
Start exercising, of course , but also lighten up, says Kim Matheson, executive spa director of the Spa in Costa Mesa.
“Don’t get stressed after the holidays,” Matheson says. “Ninety percent of us have not stayed committed to our normal regimen. And if you didn’t start your New Year’s resolution to go back to the gym on Jan. 1, it’s OK. You can start any time. Walk. Or if you have a gym membership, use it. If not, make some kind of commitment to yourself.”
Matheson, who has been in the spa biz for seven years, says she fills different needs for her clients: fitness or beauty adviser, nurturer or just someone they can talk to.
This is another in a series of first-person columns that allows people connected to the image industry to talk about their encounters.
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All of us start the new year resolving to make our life different. We vow to find time to give back to ourselves. We may set a fitness goal, pledge to be a happier person or make the effort to meet new people. Or maybe our goal is spiritual.
We expend so much energy trying to meet demands for the lifestyle we’ve built that we forget to give to ourselves. If we do that, we feel better, and family, friends, business counterparts and racquetball partners all benefit.
We need to take the time to relax and rejuvenate ourselves. Step into a whirlpool, take care of our skin, have our nails done. There are so many different things that make us feel good.
We also need to give ourselves meditation or spiritual retreat time. We can experiment with yoga or t’ai chi, or just spend time being by ourselves in the steam or sauna. Or let our minds wander. I walk my dogs every day.
An important element to fitness is to have fun. It should be a joy, jumping on a treadmill or working out with other people.
We have a few high-powered executives who came to us stressed out, overweight and so into the power scene that they had not taken care of themselves. There is a lawyer, CPA and financial analyst who have been working out here, and they all share a common story.
All have lost at least 10 pounds, and they feel proud they’ve taken the bull by the horns and are saying, “I’m taking charge of my life.” They feel good about working out--sweating, doing business on their bikes, reading reports or just letting their minds wander. They look better and feel better.
Other harried business executives come in here feeling uptight and ready to explode like a time bomb. Working out is a form of release, a catharsis for reliving the day’s tension.
When they get a massage, they get that glazed-over look and their hair stands on end. To maintain that state of relaxation, we recommend that they don’t make plans right afterward, but cherish that time they have created for themselves.
For the new year, I suggest that everyone get a new haircut or change their hair color and have a make-over. Or spend time with a professional trainer who’ll walk them through the fitness steps.
We should all be the best we can be, not something we’re not. Beautify from the inside out. Take mud baths. Sweat. Go in whirlpools and saunas. Walk tall.