's MOTD Tue 7/10/2007

[Guest guest]

's Daily Message TuesdayJuly 10, 2007WHO HATES EXERCISE?

You do? Oh, come on, tell me you`re making that up!

Okay, I`ll tell you a little secret. I hated exercise once and I don't use that word, "hate," very often.

Wanna know something? I never really saw anyone exercise when I was a kid. Oh, I saw lots of drunks, strippers and people dipping pralines down on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, when I was a kid. But I never saw anyone actually working out down there.

Exercise was first introduced to me in grammar school. I was in first grade and all of us students would march out to the school yard. One of the nuns would divide us into teams and we played ball against each other.

Well, everyone was moving so fast and, hey, I wasn`t a fast mover at all. Then my asthma would kick in and I`d begin wheezing. All the other kids would make fun of me and the nuns would have me go sit on the bench as everyone else continued to play.

Shucks, what was there to love about running around and kicking a big rubber ball anyway, huh? Where was the love in getting all sweaty, out of breath and finally, for me anyway, getting an asthma attack? So not only did I start out hating exercise but I actually feared it, too. I feared that every time I tried, I`d get sick.

I continued hating exercise all the way up to 1972. That`s the year I came to Los Angeles and began taking jazz and dance classes, both of which I learned to love. No kicking, no throwing a ball and no nuns putting everyone on teams. Just me and a bunch of other people like me, who loved to move! That's when my idea was born to open my own studio for people who not only wanted to move but who wanted to lose weight, too.

Exercise really is a wonderful thing for your mind and body. It keeps you thinking and healthy. Many people write and tell me they just can`t even get motivated to exercise in the first place. Well, if you start exercising and start seeing those great results then, trust me, you`ll get hooked and learn to love exercise, as much as I do.

I believe many of us learned movement through those competitive sports we played as children. But as I told you before, team sports are not for everyone. But I do think dancing is!

Here`s what those of you who hate the "E" word have to do. Give this project another try. Write down a few exercises that you have interest in. Make a long list. Swimming, walking, jogging, ballroom dancing, cardio-classes, toning workouts, yoga and stretching could all be on the list. Now, which ones would you like to try, huh? Find one that suits your fancy and try again!

But this time, try with a new attitude. Remind yourself why you are doing this. Remind yourself that this exercise business is going to help tone your body, have better posture, give you a stronger heart and lungs and help you lose weight! And if all that`s not enough, exercise is going to help you shed a lot of the stress that bogs down your mind, too.

Just wait until you see how much better you'll feel at the end of your workout, too. Get that body of yours moving and have fun while you`re at it. I know you have some tapes or DVDs of my workouts. When`s the last time you used them on a regular basis? I don`t know of any other way to have that much fun while, well..."Dancing Your Pants Off," literally!

What exercise will you be doing today?

Love,