Writing success

Monday 26th September 2011..Kenilworth..Warwickshire..UK
Writing is a endurance event..

No matter who you read, or who mentors you the one thing that comes through time and time again is that writing is an endurance event. It takes long term planning with short term goals. It takes dedication to put your fifteen, twenty, thirty minutes or more of writing time into a busy day. But on the 26th September 2011 I saw a feat of performance that acted as real inspiration to me and it came from a snail.
My mentor..

The back of my house is an unlikely location for what may be one of the most outstanding feats of endurance I  have encountered and certainly one that took my breath away. The walk through my garden takes me through a trellised arch of grape vines which rises to about three metres from the ground,  with the leaves and grapes hanging above my head.

On that  morning I was looking at the number of bunches hanging above me which I hadn't noticed before and something  caught my attention on one of the leaves above my head. I guess right now, your wondering how this ties in with endurance? I saw a snail hanging onto a  leaf slowly eating it's way across the "track." It's shell wasn't that big and it barely covered the size of a thumb nail, but there it was three metres off the ground.

How did it get there? 

How did the snail, carrying it's own house get there?

There was a small trail at the foot of one the post holding this part of the trellis up, but who's to say it was laid by this particular snail. As a traveller, as someone with a touch of the adventurer inside me am I wrong to give this hero the benefit of the doubt. What guts and fortitude it must have taken to begin that climb. What were the dangers of doing a night climb, or was it undertaken over two or three days? I smiled and passed on by.  But I had that little thought to myself that success comes from "keeping going", that sometimes reaching the means of feeding yourself takes great endurance and single mindedness.

What do you think?

And if you have any ideas on how it may have got there apart from climbing, I'd love to hear from you at www.balancehealth-fitness.co.uk

@ErnieBalance on twitter

Video Presentation

Paste this link and be taken to my video testimonial shot in beautiful Chinese location. Then come back to reality when I tell you that the whole presentation was shot on location in a studio on the top floor of Victoria House, Leamington Spa. UK..by one of the leading video and photographic studios around.
Productions like this are now recognised as the way to introduce your business.
The whole process was filmed, produced and edited by Images2Inspire at their Leamington Spa studios.
Everyone knows that video and head shot pictures are now vital to growing their business. And most people know that professional productions are now required to even get a second glance at their profile.

• You need a producer rather than a photographer.
• You need a professional not just with a camera but with the studio, range of cameras, lighting and sound to make every shot stand out.
• You need a director who doesn't accept second best from you or from themselves.

You need Martin and Dominic Grahame-Dunn of Images2Inspire 
Martin is world renowned for his photography and mentoring programmes while Dominic has spent most of his working life around computers in the business and armed services sector.

First Position..Standing Still...and Learn to Rock

Hi Again

I hope you've been able to follow the first stage of our programme on using T'ai Chi Exercise to "Move More Easily."
We introduced you to the 1st Position and Learning How To Stand.
In this session we will look at learning "How To Rock." Finding our centre by rocking forward and back; side to side and rotating right and left.

Learning To Rock

In 1^st Position breath in and sink into your feet. Breath out and rock forward from the naval. Feel the weight shift onto the balls of the foot.

• Don't rock forward from the shoulders or lift your heels off the floor.
• Relax the upper body.
• Make sure your feet stay in contact with the floor so that you don't lose balance.
• Repeat the movement x  4  and finish back in the centre position.

Rock from side to side:

Still in the 1st Position breath in and sink into your Right foot. Breath out and move across to the left.

• Bend the left knee and move your centre to the left
• Focus on straightening the right leg
• Repeat x 4

Breath in and move back to the centre..Breath out and rock to the right.

• Bend the right knee and move your centre to the right
• Focus on straightening the left leg
• Repeat x 4 and finish back in the central position

Rotate to the Right: Rotate to the Left:

From the centre position.. Breath out..bend the left knee and turn your centre to the right:

• The weight moves onto the left leg but don't just turn the shoulders, turn from the centre.
• Keep your arms open and relaxed

Breath in to the centre..Breath out..bend the right knee and turn your centre to the left:

• The weight moves onto the right leg and rotate your centre to the left
• Repeat x 4 and finish in the centre.

These exercises help us to find our centre by teaching us to move our it (the navel) and our upper bodies through the plains while maintaining good connection with the floor.

Welcome to 2013..and Moving More Easily

Welcome to 2013 and the new T'ai Chi Exercise workbook from Balance Health and Fitness.

The first days of the New Year can be the most inspiring of the year as we all look forward to a more successful year to come. In reality we all know that they can also be the most difficult. (Perhaps a personal note here: two of my relationships broke up on the first week of a new year.) 

The difference for me came in 2002 when I sat in a bedsit in Coventry knowing that I was one month into owning Balance Health and Fitness as a new company with no start up cash, a few reliable (and great clients) who stayed with me and just the knowledge that it was make or break time. But, I had been training in T'ai Chi for four years and shiatsu or two. 

I had learned to breath more deeply which brought with it relaxation; to move more easily which brought new energy and endurance and more empathy with people who came to me with emotional unease which put my own problems into perspective. The training I received, and the training I now offer has enabled hundreds of people from all walks of life and all levels of fitness to gain and maintain a level of fitness and health which stood them in good stead in times of distress.

Top Tips To Improve Your T'ai Chi Exercise

 Every week we'll go through an aspect of our T'ai Chi session and build a content book of our own we can use whenever we want. The first exercise simply deals with our 1st position and the stance we use to begin all our practice:Instruction:

• "Don't look down." This is the first thing I say to all my group members as they stand for the first time and contemplate the next session. Looking down will change the whole dynamic of what comes next. Simply look ahead and be aware of the comfortable position of your feet. (See 1A) 
• Relax your knees as if you're about to sit down. (Feel your weight sink down into your feet.)
• Tuck your hips under (the tailbone points downwards, not at an angle)
• Relax your shoulders (bring the shoulder blades down) 
• Your arms hang loosely down by your side with a space under your armpits. Fingers open
• Breath in through your nose (a steady count of 4) Breath out through your nose or mouth ( a slow count of 4) I've heard both methods used.
• Let your eyes relax (but not close) I've heard it put as "look through your lashes)

Exercise: Stand in this position for 6 breaths (approximately 1 minute) Build this up steadily until you can "stand still" for five minutes.*
* At first you may find this difficult because of:

1.  Stiffness in your neck and shoulders.. 
2. Your hips and your knees
3. Your ankles and feet

You may also find it very difficult to concentrate on the steady breathing because your mind wanders...

My next thing I tell members is "Not to try...and not to become frustrated. By not "trying to try" I want to make sure you relax into the position and let your muscles become conditioned to standing still. You have the rest of your life to improve your T'ai Chi performance. Lets take it one step at a time.

Begin the next 7 days with this exercise...but if by 7 days you're still unable to stand for 5 minutes, stay here until you can.

Our next article will look at the second stage of the exercise: Rocking:
If you want more tips on "How To Move More Easily" stay with me and add any comments on my e mail: ernie@balancehealth-fitness.co.uk