Posts Tagged ‘San Jose exercise’
Posted by terrepruitt on September 3, 2009
I wanted to share this with you just in time for Labor Day. This past summer I went to a barbeque and the hostess had made grilled bell peppers and feta. She had bought the bag of bell peppers that you get from Costco that have the different colors in them.
Well, I brought some home to Hubby and he liked them. Since then we have made them several times but we have been using the green bell peppers.
It is so easy. You just cut the bell peppers so they form a little boat. If they are flat that is ok, it just makes it more possible for the cheese to escape. 🙂 Then you grill them 5 minutes on each side, or if you like them less cooked just grill them on the inside for five minutes.
After you grill them either on the outside for five and the inside for five or just the inside for five you put feta in them. You can put as much as you would like. You can also use blue cheese. It is a litte bit more greasy so it is a little tricky to deal with, but it is good. I prefer the feta.
Then you grill the feta filled boats for five minutes. Yum. Nothing else is needed. No salt, no oil, nothing. And they are so yummy.
Recently we went to a barbeque and started talking about all the ways you can do them and there are a lot of ways. You can get elaborate and makes some pretty yummy concoctions, or you can just keep it simple. It is really good. This is an easy treat that is in a class by itself.
I don’t know if you have a Costco in your area but that is what we have in San Jose and the Bay Area where we get our large quantities.
If you end up trying this and make any variation, let me know how it works out. I would love to hear how different types of cheeses work. Although it is an exercise in will power to not over do it on the cheese. You know how I love cheese!
Posted in Vegetables | Tagged: bell peppers, Costco San Jose, exercise on Labor Day, grilled bell peppers, Grilled peppers, Labor Day, San Jose exercise, San Jose exercise class, San Jose exercise on Labor Day, San Jose Workout | 7 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 29, 2009
You know when you are feeling tired or can’t make it through a workout think about what you have eaten. It really makes a difference. We don’t have to rely on the experts to tell us that, just think about it. There are a lot of ways people can eat, vegan, raw, vegetarian, etc., but stepping away from a diet that has a name and just trying to eat less processed foods and foods that are less processed can really make a difference in how you feel.
If you pay attention to how you feel for a week or so, then try to cut out some of the processed foods that you normally eat you will notice a difference if you take note.
Sometimes you might not need to adjust your workout or the exercise it could be just fine, it could just be that you don’t have the proper nutrition to fuel your body. A blog is not the place to get informaiton on what your body actually needs because everyone is different. I am just suggesting that you take a look at your diet and see if you could make a few adjustments to get better NUTRITION and see how that affects you. If you want specifics you need to see a nutritionist or work with a personal trainer.
Sometimes we think we are eating healthy because the packaging claims it is “natural” or “wholesome”, but the truth is more processed foods are just full of chemicals. Just look at what you are eating. Check the INGREDIENTS, not just the big words on the package that make claims.
I believe that good nutrition affects your ENTIRE body: you physical body and your mental state. If your body has property nutrition you have more energy and you FEEL better. You can actually make it through a workout without just wanting it to be over, and then that makes your body feel good and then your mind feels great because you feel like you can conquer the world.
We were at a gathering today in San Jose with a lot of good food. Not too much processed food. A lot of vegetables. I am sure I am going to feel great tomorrow. Good nutrition makes a difference.
Posted in Food | Tagged: Good nutrition, nutrition, San Jose exercise, San Jose Personal Trainer, San Jose Workout, work out San Jose | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 27, 2009
I was making rice tonight and I thought, this is so easy, but not everyone knows about this funny little trick, so I wanted to share.
I was not familiar with a rice maker until I met my husband. I was accustom to Uncle Ben’s white rice you make in a pot on the stove. The whole point being to make it fluffy and NOT sticky. But my husband wouldn’t eat that. He only ate “sticky rice”. And he makes it with a rice maker. Since my apartment in San Jose was really small I received a small one as a gift. It was so cute. We don’t have that one any longer.
Anyway, the way he taught me how to cook rice in a rice cooker was to pour the rice in. To me it doesn’t matter how much because to me left over rice is fine. So, pour the rice in. And if it is white rice, rinse it. I hate this part. I always lose rice because in our present rice maker my hand is just that little bit too small that rice escapes when I try to get out most of the water. But usually I only lose a little bit so it works out ok. After you rinse it all you have to do it make sure you have enough water to cover the rice up to the mid-point of your first finger’s knuckle. What? Yeah, I know, odd, but it works.
You put your finger on top of the rice and make sure the water reaches up to half way up your finger only to the first joint. Always works. Rice comes out perfect. How, because Hubby and I have different size fingers, I don’t know. But it works.
But low and behold, that only works for white rice. We found out that you have to add more water for brown rice and then that also means it takes longer to cook. Took two times of waiting for the rice to be done and then having it be crunchy for me to figure that one out!
Sometimes I put a little bit of garlic olive oil in there or lemon infused oil (learned the lemon one from a friend—yum!). Either oil gives the rice a slight flavor plus helps it NOT stick to the pot. Love that.
As you can see from the picture there are measures on the actual pot, never used those. Sounds like an exercise in patience to me. I just dump, rinse, and fill. I rinse white rice well, but not the brown rice. What about you, do you use the finger water level method?
Posted in Food | Tagged: brown rice, fluffy rice, Perfect rice, San Jose exercise, San Jose Workout, sticky rice, white rice, Workout San Jose | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 25, 2009
Here are the main points to the 12 tips to help you move with Nia. These tips are taken from The Nia Technique a book written by the creators of Nia, Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas. The book can help you better understand how Nia can be is a great workout and can be just a workout or practice, like yoga and Pilates are practices.
~Use visual imagery to make movements feel natural.
~Combine small movements with large movements.
~Use your Base, Core, Upper Extremities, breath and voice to add energy and power to your moves.
~Use a variety of speeds.
~Use your joints to move energy.
~Use breath to start and stop the flow of energy.
~Add intensity to your movements by sinking lower and rising higher.
~Shift your body weight–don’t drop it—
~Add emotion to every motion.
~Use your fingers and hands to express how movements make you feel.
~Use your voice as you move, to activate your abdominal muscles.
~Lead your head movements with your eye movements.
While nothing compares to the energy of a live class, the book is a great way to get started or to get you acquainted with Nia.
These are great tips to help you get more from your workout yet also help it feel less like exercise.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: 12 tips, 12 tips to move with Nia, Carlos Rosos, creators of Nia, Debbie Rosas, exercise, Nia, Nia Practice, Pilates, Pilates practice, San Jose, San Jose exercise, San Jose Pilates, San Jose Workout, San Jose Yoga, The Nia Technique, The Nia Technique book, workout, Yoga, Yoga Practice | 8 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 18, 2009
You will notice that the numbers are not sequential, that is because this is just a few of the sixteen main benefits of Nia stated in the Nia Technique Book by Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas.
1. Nia increases the pleasure of living in your body.
2. Nia creates weight loss and proper weight maintenance.
6. Nia increases grace and flexibility.
10. Nia enhances sensory awareness.
11. Nia heightens sexual function.
12. Nia builds reservoirs of chi.
14. Nia improves circulation of blood and improves lymphatic drainage.
Please remember that these are benefits that people practicing Nia have had. I invite you to share your experiences and tell me what benefits you have gained from Nia. You can post a comment here or send me information through my site (you can scroll down the drop down menu to “share my benefit(s) of Nia”).
Nia is a journey where you are invited to discover the wonders of your own Body.
Nia is practiced in the Bay Area (San Jose, Mountain View, Cupertino, Los Gatos, etc.) and the East Bay (San Ramon, Oakland, Walnut Creek, etc.).
Posted in Exercise and Working Out, Nia | Tagged: Bay Area Nia, Benefits of Nia, Carlos Rosas, Cupertino Nia, Debbie Rosas, Los Gatos Exercise, Los Gatos Nia, Los Gatos Workout, Mountain View Nia, Nia, Nia Bay Area, Nia Benefits, Nia Debbie, Nia exercise, Nia Oakland, Nia Practice, Nia San Jose, Nia Technique, Nia Technique Book, Nia workout, practicing Nia, San Jose exercise, San Jose Nia, San Jose Workout, San Ramon Nia | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 13, 2009
The moment I read this I wanted to post it on my blog. But then I didn’t want to post someone else’s stuff on my blog. But then I thought if I gave full credit it would be ok and I knew that one of these days (whether it was today or not) I would be compelled to post someone’s something. So all day I have been debating with myself. And after teaching my class today at the Los Gatos Swim and Raquet Club I decided to post it.
To me, it is very “Nia“. We don’t dance for others, we dance for ourselves. And when we dance it is a workout and it is very much exercise, yet healing and spiritual, like Yoga.
The author had other reasons for writing it. I’ve read some of her other poems posted on her blog. She has been through a lot. She expresses it well. I hope you enjoy it:
We Have Come To Be Danced by Jewel Mathieson
We have come to be danced
Not the pretty dance
Not the pretty pretty, pick me, pick me dance
But the claw our way back into the belly
Of the sacred, sensual animal dance
The unhinged, unplugged, cat is out of its box dance
The holding the precious moment in the palms
Of our hands and feet dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the jiffy booby, shake your booty for him dance
But the wring the sadness from our skin dance
The blow the chip off our shoulder dance.
The slap the apology from our posture dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the monkey see, monkey do dance
One two dance like you
One two three, dance like me dance
but the grave robber, tomb stalker
Tearing scabs and scars open dance
The rub the rhythm raw against our soul dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the nice, invisible, self-conscious shuffle
But the matted hair flying, voodoo mama
Shaman shakin’ ancient bones dance
The strip us from our casings, return our wings
Sharpen our claws and tongues dance
The shed dead cells and slip into
The luminous skin of love dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the hold our breath and wallow in the shallow end of the floor dance
But the meeting of the trinity, the body breath and beat dance
The shout hallelujah from the top of our thighs dance
The mother may I?
Yes you may take 10 giant leaps dance
The olly olly oxen free free free dance
The everyone can come to our heaven dance.
We have come to be danced
Where the kingdom’s collide
In the cathedral of flesh
To burn back into the light
To unravel, to play, to fly, to pray
To root in skin sanctuary
We have come to be danced
We have come.
Thank you Jewel Mathieson for this might have been about your anger and your pain and your healing, to me it is also about joy and healing, and being one own’s self and being ok with that. Thank you for sharing, Ms. Mathieson.
I also need to thank Danielle Eastman for posting this on Facebook and bringing it to my attention. Thanks Danielle, I learn so much from you.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Danielle Eastman, Facebook, Healing exercise, Healing Nia, Healing workout, Healing Yoga, heaven dance, Jewel Mathieson, Los Gatos Exercise, Los Gatos Nia, Los Gatos Swim and Raquet Club, Los Gatos Workout, Los Gatos Yoga, Poem, San Jose exercise, San Jose Nia, San Jose Workout, San Jose Yoga, sanctuary, We Have Come To Be Danced, Yoga, Yoga workout | 8 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 8, 2009
You might have seen me “talk” about it somewhere. They have them four times a year in the wide Bay Area (and beyond) recently I went to my first one. Not only was it my first Nia Jam, but I was going to teach. Nice.
It is somewhat like a “Jam Session” we’ve all heard of, a bunch of musicians get together and play, sometimes certain songs, sometimes making stuff up as they go . . . whatever, it is a jam.
Well, with the Nia Jam they pick a focus and arrange the music to comply with the Nia Workout cycles and to assist in sticking with the focus. And then a group of teachers teach and just have a good time. Students that attend the jams get treated to a variety of styles and music. It is just like one big party.
It was so fun to be able to workout with all the different teachers getting a sample of all the different Nia classes around the area**.
The room we held the class in was awesome. It was in a open room at Stanford University in Palo Alto. The room was rectangle shape and there were mirrors on one of the longs walls and the other long wall opened up, it was glass doors. The floor was wood, I believe, I want to say it was cushioned because It felt somewhat like the floor at the studio where I teach in San Jose. We danced a lot and it didn’t feel like cement directly under the floor.
The wall that opened up, opened onto a patio we had all to ourselves. The weather was perfect.
The Nia Jam was fabulous, it was freeing, it was inspirational. I met a lovely group of Nia Teachers from around the area and beyond. It left me feeling really sweaty and alive. Very energized. I would like to invite you to our next one. When I have the details I will let you know.
**Check the main website for regular classes, if you don’t see one in your area call the nearest instructor, she might know about one that is NOT on the main website. NiaNow.com Or visit my site for current information about classes in San Jose and Los Gatos.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Jam Session, Nia Bay Area, Nia Exercies, Nia focus, Nia instructor, Nia Jam, Nia Teacher, Nia workout, Nia Workout Cycles, nianow, NiaNow.com, Palo Alto Nia, San Jose exercise, San Jose Workout, teach Nia | 3 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 6, 2009
I am thinking about playing this game every first Thursday of the month. Let’s see if that works out. I am not sure that I can come up with material every month. I know that I have sung and heard others sing a lot of wrong lyrics, but I can’t remember them.
I was thinking of doing it different ways, sometimes asking for guesses, sometimes just throwing them out there, but, always, of course, asking you to share. We’ll see huh?
What are the correct lyrics?
1. Don’t let go, if you cling to tightly your gonna lose your soul.
2. Strumming my fate with his fingers . .
3. It’s safe to dance . . .
So, on this rainy day in San Jose, these might not be a challenging exercise on your brain, but maybe coming up with of some lyrics you have sung incorrectly or that you have heard someone sing might be. So tell me what the correct lyrics are and share with me some other ones you have found out about.
Posted in Entertainment, Misc | Tagged: safe to dance, San Jose exercise, San Jose Workout, song lyrics, wrong song lyrics | 12 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 7, 2009
This past weekend we went to a park in Fremont, not too far from San Jose. I was thinking we would be in shade, but we were not so much. I was terrible and got sunburned and worse, I “let” Hubby get sunburned too.
Now we all know the bad stuff about sunburns. You got the whole risk of skin cancer increase going on. This, of course is serious because the sun damages the skin’s cells and when they try to rebuild if something doesn’t work out right that is when cancer occurs. Since most of us are immune to cancer (Ya know, “That won’t happen to me.”), maybe we can use some other incentive.
What about the other things that happen that might interrupt our quest for health? In comparison to cancer these things are really nothing but inconveniences, but sometimes that is what it takes for us to take action.
I am talking about being uncomfortable. I was looking outside and I wanted to go, but I knew it was too hot. Even if I didn’t go out in the direct sun, I knew just the heat of the day would be too much. So any normal activity you might do outside could be restricted.
What about sleep? One of the best things we can do for our body and one of the things that is absolutely essential to health, but ya can’t do it well when you are sunburned. The first night I think I woke up four or five times.
And exercise. How uncomfortable is that? Think about bending a sunburned limb into a yoga pose just gives me chills. I wore a big shirt to teach the day after (the sunburn occurred) because I was thinking a shirt with tighter arms would be too much but every time I lifted my arms I was in pain because my shirt rubbed on my sunburned arms.
And shower just plain hurts. Even if you opt for cold water sometimes just the water hitting the sunburn is enough to hurt!
So, I guess, I wrote this blog to myself, because I need to remember the inconveniences so that I remember the sunscreen not matter what.
The latest information is stating that products that block the UVA and UVB rays on the best. Products containing titanium dioxide and Zinc oxide. They don’t soak into the skin, they sit on top and scatter the rays. Also, I am seeing that it doesn’t matter what number SPF you buy, you should apply it often.
So, think not only about avoiding the BIG thing, think short term, think in the now, think about wanting to remain healthy by continuing your normal outdoor activities, sleeping soundly, being able to exercise, and, oh yeah, for the sake of the rest of us—shower! If you do get sunburned, what do you do to ease it?
Posted in Just stuff | Tagged: exercise outdoors, Outdoor activities, San Jose exercise, San Jose work out, San Jose Workout, San Jose Yoga, sun burned, sunburned, yoga pose San Jose | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 20, 2009
I am not a Twitter expert. But . . . I have picked up a few things from a lot of people who could be considered experts. Plus I have picked up some things from just doing it.
Recently I have connected with a bunch of wonderful people who have less time than I do to spend learning about this. So, I am going to share a few things that I have learned so that I can just point them at this blog instead of typing it all out individually (on my iPhone, mind you). Now, here is the catch, this is my opinion and my perception of how it works. If you have a different opinion or you know that it works differently please kindly share. That would be very appreciated and helpful.
For my friends, here is my advice:
-Put a picture up. Anything, doesn’t have to be you if you don’t want, but don’t leave that twitter box up. That is not good. I actually have to be really convinced to follow people that have that (or I have to know them personally and understand that they just haven’t gotten around to putting a picture up).
-Fill out your bio. Put something there. If you are Nia person, tell them about Nia, if you can’t think of anything else. If you have to, read OTHER people’s bios to get ideas. I have followed people just because their bio has made me laugh. Make up something funny. List your likes or dislikes, list what you will be tweeting about, share that you like to work out, share that you loathe exercise . . . .who cares what you write, just put something there.
-Put your web address up. C’mon, you have a website because you want people to go to it. Put it out there. MAKE SURE YOUR LINK WORKS! (Ya, that is a big deal.)
-Tweet. Oh my, this is the most difficult thing, but the most important. I am still challenged by it. But do it. If you are like me it is kind of intimidating. If you are following some major people (like I am, and I mean “major” as in they are “celebs” on Twitter) their useful information can make me wonder, “What do I have to add?” So I started by retweeting other people’s stuff. Then people would retweet my tweets and start talking to me. And then I would think of something to share and bam . . . . so it goes. I still retweet a lot because there is a lot of good stuff out there that I like to share, but I also share my own stuff. I also like to tweet about stuff happening in the area of San Jose (Willow Glen) in which I teach classes.
The following is easier said than done: don’t worry so much (I still do, sometimes, but I try not to). The people that you want following you are the ones that want to see what you have to say. Right? So say what you want and you will get people following you. People will come and people will go. That’s ok.
Ok, I will continue this on Tuesday because right now, my word counter is saying that I am way over my self-imposed word limit. Tuesday I will tell you what I understand about @, RT, and DM. And of course, if you don’t want to wait, I am sure you can find all of this information out there somewhere else.
Posted in Twitter | Tagged: @, Direct Message, DM, iphone, Nia, Nia Classes, Nia San Jose, retweet, RT, San Jose exercise, San Jose Nia, San Jose Nia classes, San Jose work out, teach Nia, Twitter, Twitter Celebs, Willow Glen Nia, Willow Glen Workout | 14 Comments »
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