Live Fit Food Fitness Transforms: Gently Guiding You to Happier Healthier Living 1770842977, 9781770842977

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™

FITNESS |.» ‘TRANSFORMS Gently guiding you to happier ane

By

Arie M V Reyden BA MA Ed.D(c) ci Sharon J Cusack

www.livefitlivefood.com

wile

FIT LIME nn the Missing Link: 02

FITNESS TRANSFORMS Gently guiding you to happier healthier living

By

Arie M V Reyden BA MA Ed.D(c) & Sharon J Cusack

www.livefitlivefood.com

Copyright ©2013 Arie M V Reyden BA MA Ed.D(c) & SharonJ Cusack

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, and recording or otherwise — without the prior written permission of the author, except for brief passages quoted by a reviewer in a newspaper or magazine. To perform any of the above is an infringement of copyright law. Note for Librarians: A cataloguing record for this book is available from Library and Archives Canada at www.collectionscanada.ca/amicus/index-e.html

ISBN — 978-1-77084-297-7 Printed in Canada

&% on recycled paper -

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5-43

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ..000 ee cceecccceeee cece eeeeeeeeeeeeeeceeeaneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseneeeenenaas 1 CHAPTER 1:

We all want to be more FIT. .......eec eee eceeeeeeeeeeeeeeees 6

CHAPTER 2:

The challenges facing US. .........::seseeeeeeeseseeeeeeeeeeeees 12

CHAPTER 3: Being FIT

is a good

thing............ccccecceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees 18

CHAPTER 4:

What is motivating us? Or, what is stopping us? 21

CHAPTER 5:

GENTLY is the way. ISO-MUSCLE it. ......ee 27

CHAPTER G:

“GENTLY into the FLOW. an. sccscssicccs.cocstvcennscascat evans 32

CHAPTER 7:

The LIVE FIT PROGRAM:

CHAPTER 8:

LIVE FIT PROGRAM

CHAPTERS:

IDEALLY LIVE-FIT-FOOQD éniscctisciceremvencenscacoms 57

CHAPTER:-10:

SUMMARY

ISO MUSCLE................ 38

- the FLOW...eee 45

OF LIVE FIT ssisscssrecccecesvesveassecesnexeeerese 60

PREFERENCES! icsisccecwaceverecnecesnwanswetSreceessnsensevescteesasseneemnecdeemanseeecees 62

INTRODUCTION

‘Patterning your life around other people's opinions is nothing more than slavery.’ (Lawana Blackwell) ‘My definition of a FREE society is where it is safe to be unpopular.’ (Adlai Stevenson)

©

e

0908

Guo

©9008

There is an ever increasing awareness of the need for health and fitness. 28 ©

= «J

The evidence can be seen everywhere. Gym facilities are opening everywhere. Memberships are being promoted at discounted prices, special deals, sales, etc. to motivate people to use the facilities. And they all need your dependency on them to make money. Personal trainers are sprouting up like grass in spring, and training programs can be attended almost anywhere. And they like you best if they manage to keep you dependent on them. Yoga is being practiced by about 30 million people in North America. There are so many different styles of yoga competing for clientele that it is becoming progressively more difficult to know what type of yoga to choose for your particular and personal needs. Very confusing? Health has become main focus for women’s magazines, newspaper sections, and on the internet home pages of providers like Yahoo, Google, etc. Never ending information is sent out targeting the consumer. Most of it has become a complex confusing information overload. Pharmaceutical industries have jumped on this trend and are actively promoting their health solutions and health food stores shelves are loaded with a great variety of choices confusing the public. It takes a determined effort to stay educated and know what is available and what is beneficial.

The food industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and the medical industry are all loudly competing for the consumers’ attention and, their dependency

on them.

Since

all of these

industries

are

primarily interested in their own profit and financial gain, it has become difficult to know what is really in the best interest of YOU, the consumer, and the client who pays for their existence. With all this hype, technology, and marketing, surprisingly, we the consumers are still more tired, stressed, and suffering with diseases than ever before in history. What does make you FIT in the most effective and most economical way? What creates optimal HEALTH for us, the consumer? Our goal in this book is to address these questions: simple, effective, and most cost efficient. Because of the confusing information overload, we have tried to appeal to your common sense. And our primary interest is in assisting you to be motivated to become

FITTER, healthier, and independent. We believe that LOVE own

IS THE ANSWER;

Love and respect for your

body and the EARTH.

This is Sharon's story: February health,

14, 2003

| lost my

in that order

relationship,

all within

two

weeks.

my job, and My

world

my had

come crashing down. | was drowning. My only light was my angel; Alix, my daughter. The emotional, physical, and mental pain was unbearable. | was bedridden, couldn’t walk, or stand up. My lower back had corkscrewed in a car accident. | was in a very dark place. At times pity seemed to meet my emotional needs. My thoughts of fear, hopelessness, and despair were overwhelming. Fortunately | did know that eating healthy was key to my recovery!The question was though ‘this injury, a corkscrewed sacrum, how do | heal this?’ The western approach, physical therapy, x-rays, MRI's - the gambit, | tried in vain, there was no solution. And the pain was unbearable at times. My self image was caving in. ‘Who am I?’ | asked. ‘Am | disabled?’ My now 10 year old daughter was embarrassed 2

to walk with

me.

Her embarrassment

came

primarily from

others’ looks and stares of pity. For one and a half years | couldn’t walk, my sacrum was jammed, my left leg wouldn’t go back, my, heart was aching, and my desperation was growing, | needed hope. Then | stumbled across Dr. Brad Walllace a Dr of TCM. He was my hope — we started acupuncture and Chinese massage. For

months

three

days

a week

| stumbled

into

his office.

Whatever small relief | got from the treatments kept me going back. My goal was to walk again with a proper stride; however this took me three and a half years of more needles

and massages. Five years into my injury | was walking pretty normal, still in pain, but pain | could at least live with. | remember when | first met Dr. Brad and he told me ‘I was the healthiest injured person he had ever met’. That filled me with pride; | never lost my belief in healthy eating. No injury could take that way. My world had come tumbling down, but | could control what | ate, so | did. Ten years later | still experience weakness in my lower back. I’ve overcome the pain, and | will probably always be protective over my body, since | now know fully how vulnerable it can be. I've reflected on this journey and | am most grateful for my caregivers that opened doors for me, loved me, and gave me hope.

But most of all I’m thankful for the gift my pain gave me being ‘present’, The ability to appreciate the moment | live in, cherish every breath | take, expand

my intuitive self, and

to be able to share these experiences to help others who are suffering from pain and injury. This is Arie’s story: A/low me to tell you what influenced me and really changed my life. | lived in China for almost two years. This was shortly after the Red Revolution in the 1980s. Living conditions were tough. Things like a daily shower, LIVE FOOD that | was used

to, a car or motor-cycle just weren't available. A muddy bath every two weeks that was barely warm, food that was totally foreign to my body and a rickety bicycle was the best they could provide. | was teaching at Chinese universities. My teaching consisted primarily of trying to teach Chinese English teachers the

methodology of motivating their students to ‘speak’ English. They had a fairly good grasp of vocabulary and grammar, but their xenophobic attitude made it difficult for them to speak it. The Chinese government was pushing hard to make connections with the outside world and was into the ‘Four Modernizations Movement.”

A few

other foreign

European, and | ancient sites, an idea was to see in the morning.

teachers,

which

were

Japanese

and

were invited on a trip. It was to one of the old monastery on top of a mountain. The the moon rise in the evening and the sun | have forgotten the reasons why we were

invited to do so, but it seemed

like a nice break from the

routine. | was and of fitness the focus take this We

have always been an ardent student and practitioner and health. Martial Arts and Taoist exercise were of my research then. So | was highly motivated to trip.

discovered

when

we

got to the mountain

that we

had

to climb 5,000 steps to get to this monastery. | am not sure if we actually climbed that number of steps or this was just a ‘saying’ related to this monastery. What | do remember is that it took five hours of constant climbing these stairs to get to the top. | also remembered that after every hour we had to catch our breath for a while, rest, and deal with our perspiration. Then this miracle happened. When we were about half way a couple of Chinese monks would pass us. They were half naked, although it was cold and windy, they were balancing a stick over their shoulder

with a bag of cement in front and one in the back, and they were practically running up the stairs. | will never forget this.

Once we got to the top of the mountain | discovered how they managed to stay in such incredible shape: their diet consisted of raw fruit and vegetables, they did Taoist breathing exercises for about five minutes in the morning, and they practiced iso-muscle for several minutes early in the morning and before sleeping at night. And that was it: simple, easy & gentle! Because of my very limited Chinese vocabulary, and the monks not speaking any English, they had to show me their practice, demonstrate it as they attempted to make me understand. That was most fortunate. If it had just been a verbal explanation it probably wouldn’t have made that much impact on me. Showing me did.

CHAPTER

1:

Don’t we?

We all want to be more FIT.

"y *

| guess | can only speak for myself but | feel | am never FIT enough.

Checking with friends and ane anenis that they have the same sentiments. The response to my question ‘Do you feel you are as fit as you would like to be?’ is invariably answered by a resounding

‘No!’ Then an explanation follows. Women friends almost always focus on ‘I could loose a few pounds’, or ‘I've got to work on my butt’ or ‘| need to improve my posture a bit. The focus for them is on body

toning, appearance, improved self image, etc. Some men respond in a similar way but most focus on being more competitive (if they were more FIT), responding with ‘I need to work on

my

biceps’ or “a little more

stamina

would

help’ or ‘I need to

push a few more pounds’(referring to weights). Those of comments | get from them. They generally seem strength in order to be able to perform better. And

are the type to want more better usually

means developing their competitive edge over the other men who are participating in their sport or activity. Of course there are women who want more strength, and there are men who desire better body toning and better appearance. | believe in both cases sex appeal has a lot to do with it, in other words ‘curb’ appeal.

It is a small group whose major concern when it comes to fitness — or wanting to be more FIT (FITTER) — is to have more energy. This group is a mixture of both sexes and is made up of primarily career minded people. Although with career women it is primarily about not being so ‘tired’ when they get home and have little energy left for the family. Men are more focused on not arriving at work ‘tired’ or not being as ‘up’ for work or projects as they would like to be.

6

The need for being FITTER comes from the need for: 1.

Body Toning-which really means a better appearance and more sex appeal Strength - this translates into being more competitive

3.

Energy - usually people mean that they feel they get tired or worn out too quickly

The question then is ‘What does it take to become

more

FIT?’

So | ask that question to the same people that | asked the previous one. The response is generally the same: ‘More exercise!’ This is followed by ‘But | don’t have time’ or ‘I should've, could've ----” It is when | ask them to explain what they mean by that, the answers vary a lot. This is the most logical response due to the many choices for physical activity. Some want to run longer or more often. Others needs are for walking, still many express their desire to spend more time in the gym, where they pay the price of membership. And then there are those who just need the motivation to get started. Then there are the sport enthusiasts who just want to do more of their favorite sport activity. Many of them feel that the result of more of that activity will be that they become FITTER. Swimming, golf, hockey, bowling, soccer, curling, volleyball, baseball, it swings between highly active physically demanding sports and the physically more relaxed type like yoga and walking. Although, all of them are competitive, some of them are fiercely so. Then, when | asked why they didn’t participate in their favorite sport more often? Or, why they didn’t exercise more, they often, actually very often, indicated that it would be just too strenuous for them, or better yet too stressful. Their knees, arms, shoulders, etc. cannot handle the strain. With the pride of the last soldier standing, | was shown injuries, or scars and sores, or was told stories of their pain when they exerted themselves in those activities. This surprised me. At the onset body toning, me. | cannot or strength,

of my questions they all indicated they wanted better or more strength or energy. It seemed contradictory to imagine getting those desired results of more energy if one continues to experience injury or pain. Even

less can | imagine that strenuous or stress-full activity can result in

becoming

more ‘fit’ or even be enjoyable!

When the physical body gets tired or is in pain it tends to slouch. Any time | get tired or in pain | need to drag my body with me. | believe that everybody, or most people, experience the same.

So... ‘what does it take to become more fit?’ | found it astonishing that nobody ever answered my initial question with ‘I want to be healthier.” It seemed that health was the furthest from their minds

when talking about fitness. Now, as far as | am concerned, when | feel

feel energetic. And when

healthy | automatically

| feel healthy | feel | look good, it goes

hand in hand. When | look at other people that appear to be healthy, they seem highly energetic, both physically and mentally, and they

look great, they do have sex appeal. So there is a contradiction

here.

People

be

generally

want

to

more

FIT because

that

means

that

they will look better, and have more strength. However when they attempt to become more fit then they already are — FITTER — they abuse themselves in competitiveness, and experience anxiety, strain and stress. So the opposite of what they want is the result. That is a strange phenomenon.

mean ‘more HEALTHY’ , then they would automatically get the results they are looking for: body toning, strength, and energy = health. The program we are introducing in this book is called LIVE FIT. And this program is focused solely on becoming more FIT by becoming .

healthier.

Healthy

here

means

having

lots of energy

and

a well

toned muscular body. It also means that you don’t get sick and that your immune system functions extremely well. This can only be the result of all systems in your physical body operating at top efficiency. As we

move

forward

please keep in mind that everything

made up of living cells. The essence of health is truly very simple:

alive is

Health happens at a cellular level in our body For every cell to be healthy it requires lots of oxygen and nutrition Oxygen is the catalyst to burn nutrition energy to sustain life at a cellular level The heart pumps blood through to collect oxygen and nutrition

to create

lungs and intestine

Blood carries both the nutrition and the oxygen the cells Cells need a healthy distribution system oxygen and food and to carry off waste

to

to deliver

Heart

BODY MAP

| i

R

—

L

Lungs/Oxygen in take

Oxygen Arteries

eee All cells in our physical body receive oxygen and food from our blood. Food

__» |

Then waste products are returned to the heart in order for the blood to be

replenished. Small intestine

| Veins

Waste products

That's it! There is nothing complex about it.

a

(

We can deduct from this the simple logic that in order to become FITTER we need: 1.

More oxygen — Generally people use less than 30% of their lung capacity.

2.

Healthy nutrition — That means as little toxins, and, as many

healthy benefits as possible. 3.

A well functioning respiratory deliver oxygen and food.

In LIVE FIT - FOOD we do all three. 10

and

circulatory

system

to

In the LIVE FIT program we focus on getting more oxygen into our body, and to have a well functioning set of systems for delivery. That includes the muscles, the skeleton, the nervous system, etc. How we do that will be described and illustrated in great detail in later chapters. The bottom line is that we are all in the ‘pursuit of happiness’. And happiness and health are very closely connected. It is very difficult to be happy when our physical body is in dis-ease, distress, or discomfort. The good news is that when we are healthy we have: 1.

Aclean

body - that is not toxic but well functioning

2.

Aclear mind - not cluttered by doubt or distractions

3.

Peaceful emotions — which is the result of number 1 and 2

The question we need to ask is ‘How do we get there?” This book will provide you with answers that are based on common sense and basic logic. The crucial link in our body, this living organism, is that we need a well-functioning delivery system. That means that the body needs

OXYGEN

vFv e

(fresh, lots) + NUTRITION

(fresh, non-toxic) +

EXERCISE (efficient, effective, gentle) =

HEALTH AND HAPPINESS =

11

CHAPTER 2:

The challenges facing us.

‘Embrace each challenge in your life as an opportunity for selftransformation.’ (Bernie Siegel) What fun is there in living if there are no challenges?

Yet, sometimes people are put in circumstances where challenges become hard to overcome. To become more FIT takes really little effort providing we use the right method. And the right method is incredibly simple. So why then horrific?

are the statistics

of the

North

American

people

so

The causes of death in North America is a sure indicator of how’ out of shape’, or ‘not fit’, or ‘dis-eased’ people really are. When the physical body stops functioning properly, and the immune system collapses, then the following symptoms start occurring: First of all, the circulatory system collapses. There is a saying that ‘we are only as old as our veins’. That statement holds a lot of truth. When our veins, our venous system, collapse the waste-products from every cell in our body can no longer be released and the blood can no longer be replenished properly. No new oxygen can reach the cells and no new nutrition can be delivered. That means the cells die. And when they die, we die.

In that case the heart gives up. People die of stroke, heart disease, or other cerebrovascular or cardiovascular diseases.

Secondly at a cellular level we get abnormal cell growth. Again this is caused by not enough oxygen and proper nutrients being delivered to the cells. Toxins take over and abnormal cell reproduction starts. This creates abnormal, or intrusive, cell growth. Eventually this

becomes cancer.

Third, the respiratory oxygen. The body has cannot provide enough oxygen to deliver it to

system cannot keep up with the need for become toxic to the extent that the lungs oxygen, and the blood doesn’t have enough the cells in the body.

12

The three leading causes of death 2010 data available are:

in North America

1.

Heart and circulatory related diseases

+47%

2.

Cancer

+27%

3.

Respiratory related diseases

+12%

according

to

That means that out of the total number of deaths in North America approximately 85% dies of diseases that could have been prevented, or delayed to a more gentle exit by having a healthier body. And by a healthier body | mean a more FIT body. One of the indicators of being out of shape, or not being fit, is obesity. When people are overweight they carry a lot of fat. Fat is toxic, anything in excess of our natural need is toxic. Just put a 20 pound weight around your neck for an entire day and see how you feel. Fat build-up is directly related to the waste-products at a cellular level that are not being released from the physical body. Instead these waste products are being stored as fat. How do we know that? Well, a simple answer would be have you ever seen an obese deer in nature? Or any obese wild animal? Animals in the wild eat a LIVE FOOD diet that is naturally suited for their anatomy: their teeth, their intestine, as well as their circulatory and respiratory systems. Now let's look at what is happening when it comes to obesity:

to people

in North America

COUNTY: ......ceeeeeeeee ...% Of people obese

US .oecccccecessseseeteeeeeeeeees 31% ND ces ceeereeeeececenesewevears 23% Australia......cccccseeceeee 21%

NE ANY cosccaveaanvncenvnneevssvess 8.5% NORWAY wxcecnseseccaneactxere 8.3% Switzerland .............. 7% IG DAN ewe ceecxenexmoeesencpees 3%

KOLA ..ceceeeeeeceeeeeeeeeees 3% There is a direct correlation between FITNESS and obesity. Countries like Japan and Korea are somewhat fanatic about fitness. Many employers have regular fitness programs for their employees. The 15

European countries in the chart, with the exception of the UK, have

very strong fitness programs and are very focused on healthy diets. Life expectancy of people in Japan is about 6 to 10% higher than in the US. That means that people on average live about 6 to 10 years longer.

| lived in China for two years. ce

tT ie fs &

« Ry

While | was there | was lucky to be able to study the lifestyle. | was particularly intrigued by their martial arts. | lived at different university Campuses. Every morning, at sunrise, almost every citizen was doing about half an hour of Tai Chi to instructions that could be heard over

loudspeakers. At first | though that this was just a student thing. When | traveled through various cities | noticed that the same was happening practically everywhere. in some city centers of larger

cities often thousands of people were participating. While | was in mainland China | never saw one obese person. It was only when | traveled to Hong Kong that | noticed a few people being overweight.

| think that the North American diet is part of the cause. But | also think that sport and physical activity has become a spectator event for most people. And although professional athletes are paid outrageous amounts of money, the population in general is not inspired to stay FIT. So, what are the reasons for this?

| am

partly

speculating

here.

But

| think these

are

some

reasons: 1.

Diet. The typical North American diet is too rich and toxic, and too substantial.

2.

Oxygen.

So

much

time is spent inside and sitting.

This creates poor breathing habits. 3.

Exercise. There is not enough be physically fit.

14

incentive for people to

of the

1.

Meat and processed or cooked food have become highly toxic and very low in nutritional value. Most of what people eat is not natural to the human anatomy.

And

it has

become

highly

various types of processing

all wild

animals

eat LIVE

complex

through

it is exposed

FOOD

people

the

to. While

are eating

dead food that was never meant to be taken into their body and consumed. As a consequence a lot of the toxic substances are stored as fat. This causes people to be low in energy,

(and) motivation and their minds are foggy. 2.

The vast majority of people only use 20 to 30%

of

their lung capacity. On top of that, depending on the time of year and geographical location, people often spend 95% of their time indoors. If they are lucky the indoors is at least constantly replaced by fresh outside air. Unfortunately during working hours, sleeping hours, driving hours, and even shopping hours, people breathe air that has been processed, heated, and internally circulated. No wonder people are oxygen starved. Even the food people eat is starved of oxygen because it is dead. 3.

Both the poor quality of food and oxygen starvation have made it difficult for people in North America to have energy to do regular physical exercise. And when they do exercise chances are that the form of exercise may not be that healthy because it is too strenuous or creates stress which in turn releases additional toxins.

There are a number of ways for people to exercise. Unfortunately it takes a lot of motivation to start and even more motivation to continue and it is often too costly. There are many gyms and fitness programs. However without having the support of a trainer, coach, or at least a peer group, to keep up that motivation is challenging. It’s not only expensive but it is time consuming to maintain. So unless it is a high priority for people they are generally not willing to spend that type of money or time. Getting into shape is much more challenging than staying in shape. Depending on how ‘out of shape’ one is, it takes at least two or

15

three times the effort to get into shape then to stay in shape. That means it literally takes hours per day to get into shape. With the stresses of the North American lifestyle, including complaints of lack of time, most people don’t seem to have the time to commit to these exercise programs. So they end up doing a couple of hours

per week, which is OK to stay in shape but not enough to get into shape. A number of different programs are promoted for people to get into shape. Many types of equipment are promoted and marketed that promise people that with little effort they can get into shape. None of them live up to their promises and they miss their target by a long shot. How many of us have fitness equipment that sits

idle in a corner? The simple formula to get into shape, which means strength, and better body toning, is the following:

more energy,

S

%s9

Z°3

O2 + Healthy Food + Exercise = HEALTH = FITNESS = HAPPINESS O2 — means to increase oxygen intake. ~People generally only use 25% of their lung capacity

Healthy Food — means to eat the type of food that is rich in oxygen, fresh, and alive ~Most

people

eat dead,

processed,

or cooked

food

not meant for human consumption Exercise — means to stimulate directly heals immune system

oxygen

intake,

is low

stress,

and

~Most existing fitness programs focus on high stress and ignore oxygen and immune systems The fitness programs that people in general commit to, don’t address any of the most basic needs for getting and staying FIT and in shape. Health needs to be the target first! And this is why we wrote this book.

16

LIVE FIT meets all the requirements for becoming FIT and HEALTHY. Not only that but LIVE FIT is enjoyable and works on a physical, mental, and emotional level.

LOVE is the answer. Loving oneself enough to do what works best is the key.

re on” © We ask you to ‘Please open your minds and begin your journey ----- :

17

CHAPTER 3:

Being FIT is a good thing.

‘Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.’ (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

‘Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body; it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.’ (John F Kennedy)

t

A

——'

e

®

‘**e*

a

eo.

°@

Once upon atime ----We

told you

Arie’s story

in the

Introduction.

My

experience

and

learning from the monks that were into LIVE FOOD and an ancient form of martial arts. | started practicing the exercises they showed me. Because | had practiced yoga, the breathing techniques | quickly mastered. It was also easy to understand why the breathing exercise worked so well. The iso-muscle took me a lot longer to master. First of all | didn’t quite understand why they worked so well. | couldn’t grasp the anatomical rationale behind it. And it wasn’t clear to me why these exercises were practiced in that particular way. It took a fairly long time, years actually, of constant practicing and researching before | finally understood the reasons for their incredible effectiveness. | will try to explain it here. When people exercise they use two types of muscles or muscle groups that usually are paired, the flexor and the extensor. They are also called the ‘agonistic’ muscles, and the ‘antagonistic’ muscles. Any movement requires using those two types of muscles. Also, a muscle can only contract and relax. Or, which is closer to what really happens, a muscle can only contract or contract less. Muscles are never completely relaxed they are only contracted more or less, if they did totally relax our arm would dangle!

18

Based on those two basic principles people use equipment or weights to activate their muscles. That means that only about twenty percent (20%) of the muscles in a muscle group are being used in that exercise. For example, if you were to exercise all the muscle groups located in your arms you would need to complete a lot of weight bearing exercise in order to target all the muscles. This is time consuming, strenuous, inefficient, and difficult to achieve continuously. Our body has voluntary and involuntary muscles, about 50% are voluntary muscles, and the other 50% are involuntary muscles. Voluntary muscles are the ones that we have voluntary control over, like walking, lifting, turning, bending, etc. Involuntary muscles work on automatic or involuntary impulses, like our heart, lungs, intestine, etc. The monks, through the iso-muscle exercises, used all muscles simultaneously. And they did that for only short periods of time, combined with deep inhaling and holding breaths, and with great intensity. This means that in iso-muscle we use about 4 to 10 times more muscles than in any other exercise. Also through drastically increased circulation, a massive amount of oxygen is sent to those muscles as well as nutrients. The benefits of these iso-muscle exercises are enormous. It stimulates the circulatory system, the respiratory system, the nervous system, the digestive system, etc. As a result of course it stimulates and heals the immune system and all the natural body defenses against toxins and disease. It also squeezes fat out of the muscle tissue.

The result is strength, and and target in effective and

that we instantaneously increase our energy, our our body-toning. This is the exact results people want all fitness programs and they want it to be simple, economical!

Unfortunately the focus on most fitness programs is only on voluntary, gross muscles areas. This means that they are only about 20 to 25% effective in creating the desired results.

19

Besides that most Static muscles are use. This is what great upper body

fitness programs create highly static muscles. short and stiff and only targeted for a particular happens in most sports. People might develop strength only, or strong legs only, or — as in

bodybuilding — great looking muscles that are not very strong.

There are exceptions to this as in swimming for instance. But even in these exercises or activities health is often ignored and performance

is the

major

focus.

And

of course

the

involuntary

muscles — which consist of fifty percent of our total muscle mass —

are not targeted at all. LIVE FIT incorporates both iso-muscle and breathing technique. LIVE FOOD has incorporated the principles of eating LIVING FOOD. So the combination is exactly what the monks did and creates

these amazing and LIVE-FOOD is born

almost

instantaneous

results. Thus

LIVE-FIT-

In LIVE FIT we have also incorporated some very modern techniques that are closely related to the ancient methods. lso-msucle is a very naturally when they

natural exercise. All wild animals do them come out of rest or sleep. Even domestic

animals do them, providing they haven’t become too toxic through the ‘domesticated lifestyle and diet’. | know my cat does them. Loving

your

body

is the

answer.

Respecting

what

it needs

is

essential. Caring for it in a natural way will create energy, strength, and body toning, and thus, health and happiness.

20

CHAPTER 4:

What is motivating us? Or, what is stopping us?

‘Love and Doubt have never been on speaking terms.’ (Khalil Gibran)

“When in doubt, don't.’ (Benjamin Franklin)

What does motivate us? How that meets our needs?

do we

choose

the type of exercise

When it comes to making a choice we are constantly engaged in ‘inner dialogue’. We often hear about the inner voice that urges us to act, or, not to act. Well, we all have those voices. Most of the time not by choice, it just happens when we feel challenged. And that challenge is: Trying to decide, or, facing something that forces us to make a decision. Then, often, the argument starts between the voice that urges us to make one choice, and the voice that advises us that it might not be such a good idea to make that particular choice. | have drawn a diagram — MIND MAP -on next page that will help to explain what | mean. What motivates us to think about fitness? And this applies especially when we want to get in shape or become more FIT. | think it starts with tiredness for most people. The need for more

energy or strength directs them to a solution that they think might help. Since most fitness programs are stressful and somewhat strenuous they usually don’t last very long. The reason they started ‘tiredness’, became also the result only more so ‘more tiredness’. So they give up usually, unless they get very strong support or motivation. Others look at themselves in the mirror and don't like what they see. Depending on how ‘out of shape’ they consider themselves, they look for a program to improve their looks and sex-appeal. Again, depending a lot on how much overweight they are, or to what

extent their body is sagging or aging, it is a difficult battle to stick 21

to these time consuming, strenuous fitness programs they choose. Usually these people are on and off. For a while their enthusiasm keeps them on the program. And then they let themselves go for a while. Sound familiar? To motivate them they need to hire a trainer and then the cost becomes a problem Some people find motivation in their ailments, or pain. Often they consider themselves already in reasonable shape. Usually they already are committed to a fairly active lifestyle and fitness. For these people it is much easier to commit and stay with the program. Unfortunately they choose programs that are physically demanding, the ‘no pain no gain’ attitude. This invariably stresses the body too much and they end up with some type of ailment or sickness again. Often their motivation is based on irritation or anger with their own weakness or lack of discipline. That toxic thinking strongly de-motivates them. Finally there are people who strictly look to improve their strength. They understand that wellness and fitness are closely associated. They have the largest chance of succeeding with their program. Most of them are sport or gym junkies.

eiGHt Last there are those who are strictly interested in better health. For them there is no battle. Their own dedication to being healthy and FIT is like a ‘perpetuum mobile’ or ‘perpetual motivation’. Love, respect, and appreciation for their body keep these people motivated and highly active. We

all at some

time

or other

have

to face

our

doubts

situation. And | totally agree with the saying by Benjamin ‘When

in some

Franklin

in doubt, don’t’

When in doubt try to find out what makes you doubtful. Search and research for the answer. Once you find the answer you return to certainty and you are ready physically, mentally, and emotionally to act on that certainty. And if you find out you didn’t make the best choice you will at least be able to acknowledge that you ‘learned’ from the experience. You will base your decision on more certainty the next time that type of situation comes up. Doubt only invites irritation.

22

With doubt we can only regret that we have made a certain choice. That regret turns into irritation with our ‘weakness to give into temptation’. For example you have signed up for a fitness gym membership. At the end of the month when the next payment for the membership is due you realize you have only used the gym once. Now you decide that next month is going to be different. However when the time for going to the gym arrives, your friend asks you to go to a movie that you both wanted to see. You realize

the

pleasure

of the

movie

is much

greater

than

the

suffering,

sweating, and tiredness at the gym. After you have seen the movie and you are home the inner dialogue starts and you make another promise to yourself that you won't keep.

lf that pattern becomes persistent you end up disliking yourself due

to shame and you have fallen into the trap of ‘the promised land’ that the media will present to you. Just buy this piece of equipment and all your fitness concerns will come to an end. Or, sign up for that program and you will succeed in getting those abs you want. Just look at the pictures in all the magazines and printed materials you are ‘guaranteed’. This is confusing and self-deprecating. The more we become ‘ashamed’ of our weakness the more we become victim to the media manipulation, the curb appeal they hype. ‘So, what is the answer?’ you ask.

23

++++++++Clear questions Certainty

research

MIND MAP ¢——————.

DECISIONS

infooverload —_——_-» _ confusion

Agreement (inner)

-------Doubt

Argument (inner)

Gratitude

(Iirritation

40%% LOVE

Anger

JOY

Habitual behaviour

Fear

PEACE

Shame

SELF RELIANT/independent

ACI

| O

N

DEPENDENCY

EXERCISE

30%0 CHOICE

CHOICE

SELF CONTROL ¥

MEDIA FOOD

y

Al

E.

A

20% OXYGEN

Al

Ri.

10% Love

is the answer!

MANIPULATED

the building material)

>-

the essential catalyst)

Self love is a perception we need to create. That perception is that we CAN be energetic, strong, and good looking. And that it is easy and fun to create that perception. We are on our way to that desirable ‘curb appeal’. Common sense tells us that happy, healthy people attract happy, healthy people. Or, they attract people who are highly motivated to become happy and healthy. To become one of those people we need to reprogram our feelings. Ultimately all motivation starts from your emotions. Once you feel certain about something you act on it because it feels right. You've researched it. But, when the overriding feeling was based on doubt you will regret it and blame either yourself or — in most cases — circumstances or others. When the overriding feeling was based on certainty the outcome doesn’t matter that much. We cannot lose. The happy reward is either ‘learning’ or satisfaction of having made the best possible choice. Reprogramming your feelings is like learning a new language. The only way we learn that language is through constant practice. If that practice is pleasurable then we learn very fast, just like children in playing. And when the experience is pleasurable enough, and shows results, then we will be motivated to continue. We might even increase the frequency of repetition and practice more often. Eventually we will even increase the intensity of our learning experience. The exact same applies to becoming

FITTER.

With the LIVE FIT program we recommend repetition. Because the practice is pleasurable and shows results very quickly we increase the results by doing it more often. And then we increase the intensity if we want to be truly FIT. So it takes:

e

Repetition

Weneed

aconstant routine practice

25

e

Pleasure

The experience needs to be enjoyable and easy

e

Frequency

We

need

to do it as often

as we feel

motivated

e

Intensity

We

need to be focused and dedicated

to maximize

Anybody can do it because mind, and our emotions.

results

it is gentle and kind to our body, our

All you need is to love and respect your body enough. For a lot of people that seems to be a confusing concept. Self love is not to be confused with self-indulgence. The consequence of self-indulgence is typically always negative and painful. The consequence of self-love is healing and gentle. Self love or true love always acts GENTLY. And that love proves itself in respect and dedication and discipline to constantly make choices based on certainty. That certainty comes from logical choice as a result of questioning, learning, and researching. Doubt comes from ongoing inner dialogue that turns into inner argument. Then the side of the argument that accepts the media manipulation, the status quo, the peer pressure, the safety of being solidly ‘in-the-box’, will win and we are trapped in the cycle of selfdoubt. LIVE FIT creates certainty. We invite you to question and research our methods. They are based on science, common sense and a concrete logical approach to healthier living.

26

CHAPTER 5:

GENTLY ts the way. ISO-MUSCLE it.

‘Perhaps love is the process of my leading you gently back to yourself.’

(Antoine de St-Exupery) ‘You have to lead people gently toward what they already know is

right.’ (Philip Crosby) The LIVE FIT program is probably the gentlest way you can become FITTER. °° e

e

\

® ye

é&

‘

2 &

When we talk about being FIT we normally talk about muscles, energy, strength, and body toning. This basic understanding of ‘FIT’ is typically centered on the shape our muscles are in. But what are muscles, what do they consist of, and how do they function? Our whole body is made up of cells, which make up the smallest living parts of our physical body. These cells are kept alive and healthy by a constant supply of blood. Blood delivers the nutrition from our small intestine, and the oxygen from our lungs to the cells. The cell has its own metabolism and with the oxygen ‘burns’ the food to create our life energy. The oxygen is the catalyst. The cells remain healthy as long as the blood supply is constant, and the blood is rich in oxygen and delivers healthy nutrition. The cell simply dies if the blood supply is insufficient or stops, there is not enough oxygen in the blood, or the food nutrients are too toxic. And when the blood supply starts slowing down, or the oxygen in the blood is depleted, or the food is starting to become too toxic, then the cells become sluggish, abnormal and eventually cancerous. Some of the cells in our body become muscle fiber. Of course that muscle fiber is healthiest when the cells are healthy. The healthier the cells, the healthier the muscles will be.

27

To put this in a simple formula:

OXYGEN + PROPER FOOD + EXERCISE = HEALTH = FITNESS = ENERGY + STRENGTH + BODY TONING The crucial link in these equations

is EXERCISE!

And

not just any

type of exercise. LIVE FIT exercise! | trust we understand the importance of lots of OXYGEN. And we know that a healthy diet is essential to stay healthy. However, most people don’t seem to understand that the ‘right’ type of exercise is necessary to keep the blood flowing to our cells.

What does it take to keep the blood flowing? A

strong

heart

that

pumps

regularly

and

steady

through

clean

arteries and clear veins.

»

However a heart is also itself needs to be made oxygen, proper food, and body healthy and in good

f

a muscle made up of cells. So the heart up of healthy cells. This means that the exercise are crucial to keeping the entire shape.

What we call a muscle is a body of muscle fiber or tissue. On either side of the muscle we find tendons that connect the muscle to the skeleton either directly or indirectly. A muscle can only do one thing: contract.

Either a muscle

is contracted,

sometimes

to its extreme,

or it is less contracted or what we may call relaxed. Even in the relaxed state the muscle still has some tension otherwise when we relax our muscles would drop off our skeleton. The moment a muscle contracts it moves part of our skeleton. However if that muscle would keep contracting our skeleton would

freeze in a particular pose. And

sometimes 28

that is a good

thing.

Most of the time the skeleton needs to be stabilized by having a corresponding muscle which makes it possible for the skeleton to move back to its original position.

We

call those

another

name

agonistic would

muscles

and

be a flexor muscle

antagonistic and

muscles.

an extensor

Or

muscle.

lf you need to have this further explained then | encourage you to go online and Google these terms. There are many illustration and videos that you can access to understand that better. Let it suffice here that we understand that muscles come in groups. Like the arm, the shoulder, the thigh, the hand, the foot, the neck, etc. all those are muscle groups. When we lift a weight with our hand we engage only one or two muscles. You can check that yourself by testing with your other hand which muscles contract when you lift something. This shows that only about 10 to 25 percent of the muscles in a muscle group are engaged. Not only that, but the muscles that you do use are in a static position. lf you have done any weight training, just to work the arms we need to do many different exercises and lots of repetition: biceps, triceps, deltoids, brachialis, etc. And that is just part of the arm. Think about how much time and effort that takes. Here is where iso-muscle is so great. In iso-muscle we tense all the muscles in a muscle group. Isomuscle exercise uses 4 to 10 times more muscle and the muscles are engaged dynamically. That makes

iso-muscle 4 to 10 times more effective.

Si e Not only that, when we engage muscle groups in iso-muscle we breathe in deeply and hold our breath. Now the inhaled breath is nis ourconscious d through xyge anchore charged with oxygen.Thato decision and thus through our nervous system commanding it, sends it directly to that muscle group, as in a magnetic polarity. Logically, what we need most for the cells in those muscles, we are supplying directly i.e. 02 and food.

29

There is still more. In iso-muscle we send the command to the muscle group to contract, we program our body to respond to our command. In other words we take greater control over our muscles and we awaken the nerves in those muscles to maximum capacity. So circulation, the nervous system, and the muscles are exercised

and fine tuned systematically. When

the muscles

need to get stronger,

have

more

energy, and

become toned we are doing this with great intensity in iso-muscle.

And the result is at least 10 times more effectiveness and efficiency than we would get from traditional exercise regimes.

BREATHING + CONTRACTING = STRENGTH CIRCULATION ENERGY TONING WEIGHT LOSS Through iso-muscle we bring the muscles under voluntary control. Yet there are still more benefits to iso-muscle exercise.

Since we make ourselves muscles and hold while we to control and regulate our not just for our lungs, our

breathe deeply before we tense our tense we teach and program our body breathing. This offers incredible benefits respiratory system, our blood and our

heart, but it also stimulates our brain and thus our mental processes

and our emotions = HAPPINESS.

FUN And it exercises and develops the lung capacity! In the references | list the book Breatheology. It also has a website. Please research, investigate, and experiment with breathing. You cannot go wrong

providing you do it GENTLY.

lso-muscle also strengthens the heart!

The slow, controlled breathing and holding directly influences the heartbeat. It makes the heart pump strongly and steadily. And since the heart is also a muscle it sends fresh oxygen and food constantly to the cells of the heart. lso-muscle is very easy to learn!

Fas 30

The simple basic steps are described in the next chapters. | do strongly recommend taking about 8 training session with our coaches. This is primarily to learn to correlate the iso-muscle with proper breathing. The effectiveness of iso-muscle drastically increases when the breathing is done properly. Once learned, iso-muscle can be done anywhere and anytime. You only need about 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes in the evening to get and stay in shape and, most importantly to make you healthier. You want faster results? Do iso-muscle on the hour for thirty seconds. Short burst reprograms the body to be FIT all the time. Running for two hours once a week is not as effective as short bursts of running on the hour every day for five minutes. Try it and see how effective this is. Love is the answer. Love yourself results will speak for themselves.

31

enough

to at least try it. The

CHAPTER 6:

GENTLY into the FLOW.

‘During moments of strife and ‘dis-ease’, check your flow and direct your focus to that which is naturally good.’ (T. Hodge) ‘Feeling come and go...... Conscious breathing is my anchor.’ (Thich Nhat Hanh) ‘Remember to breathe. It is after all, the secret of life.’

(Gregory Maguire) Please hold your breath for three minutes. Cannot do it? How come we take this life energy or ‘secret of life’ for granted? It is such a gift! It always amazes me! ‘Check your flow!’ Indeed. The flow of your breathing and the flow of your life are closely correlated. What could be more ‘naturally good’ then breathing deeply and calmly. It energizes our physical body, it calms and steadies our mind, and it makes our emotions peaceful and joyful. Think for a moment how our emotions affect our breathing. Try crying and breathing deeply and calmly at the same time! Impossible! Breathing deeply and calmly is the key to being at peace.

DEEP CALM BREATHING =

32

As earlier indicated, most people use less than 30% of their lung capacityWe. all have seen the anti-smoking adds that show a person who can barely breathe because his lungs have been severely damaged by nicotine and tar. Respiratory diseases and causes of death are rapidly increasing. Toxic polluted air is becoming one of the major concerns for environmentalists. How did that happen?

We spend so much time indoors or in cars, traffic of cars and planes are adding daily to the toxins, no time is spent on teaching children or teenagers to breathe properly in physical education, most of our time we spend sitting or lying down, heating of all types creates dry, static, and stale air. How can we possibly get the proper quantity and the correct quality of oxygen through the air we breathe? In order to become and remain fit we need plenty of clean oxygen. How do we get it? This is where iso-muscle is combined with a posture flow. The most important part of the postures we teach is that your body automatically learns to maximize breathing and lung capacity. What we introduce is a way to program the body to do diaphragmatic breathing spontaneously and automatically. By far the most people do bronchial breathing. This incorporates only the upper part of the

33

lungs, the bronchi. The lower part of the lungs, which is about 70% of total lung capacity, is ignored and eventually atrophies.

On the next page breathing works.

is a picture

that

shows

how

diaphragmatic

In order for the lung sacks to participate the diaphragm

needs to

move downward in the ribcage in order to fill our lung sacks. This is accomplished by relaxing all the abdominal muscles. Remember muscles only contract or contract less. Inhalation needs to open and relax all the related muscles.

i)

j Ma

BREATHING

OUT

ee

([EXHALING)

WITH

THE

DIAPHRAGM

|

Cn

BREATHING

ag

ele

IN

“4

e

(INHALING)

WITH

THE

DIAPHRAGM

DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING Exhalation does the opposite. When we contract the abdominal muscles we push the diaphragm upwards which pushes the air out of our lungs. As you can see in the diagram the ribcage cavity

allows the lungs to almost double in size when we inhale properly increasing lung capacity by 70 to 90%. However when we only use the upper bronchi, and the abdominal muscles don’t contract and relax, we only increase the lung capacity

after inhalation by about 25%. Since our chest restricts contraction we cannot anatomically fill our upper lung bronchial breathing.

lungs to maximum

34

capacity with

Expiration

It is essential to take in as much oxygen as possible to become Remember O2 is the catalyst.

FIT.

It is therefore also essential to learn to breathe diaphragmatically. And that is quite easy. Our iso-muscle flow will program the body quickly to maximize our breathing and oxygen intake. The flow we teach incorporates the entire body but focuses on the spine and the abdomen.

Goo 8 ved a

Go

F_

Then, when we do that, something wonderful happens. Not only do we other benefits:

maximize

the

breathing

but the flow

has

1

It forces the body to breathe diaphragmatically

2

It heals and creates flexibility for the spine

3.

Itstimulates blood circulation, and heals, the intestine

4

It cleanses all vital organs through circulation

additional

blood

It strengthens the lower and upper back muscles It opens the energy centers along our spinal column It balances and aligns the spine Allow me to elaborate:

1.

The flow consists of about 7 postures. Each posture pushes the abdominal muscles first outward so the abdomen is relaxed and open. This automatically moves the diaphragm downward and expands the lungs as well as opens the rib cage and chest cavity. Next the posture pushes the abdomen inward,

35

many

the

abdominal

diaphragm

muscles

upward

contract.

This

pushed

the

and contracts the lungs and the

chest cavity. The movement between postures makes the spinal column bend. In the opening of the abdomen the middle

of the spine curves

forward

the same time the shoulders backward.

When

the

and

abdominal

and

relaxes. At

lower back curve muscles

contract

the shoulders and lower back curl forward while the middle of the spine curves backward. This constant movement massages each vertebra in turn and sends blood circulation to them. The contraction and relaxation of the abdominal muscles combined with the deep curving motion of the spine

deeply

massages

blood flow stimulates plaque from forming.

w'

bowel

the intestine.

Increased

movement

and

keeps

& o-

> ~» os

>

The constant movement also stimulates the lungs, the heart. And all internal organs like the liver, the kidneys, the pancreas, and the sexual organs, these receive a strong increase of blood flow. It also stimulates the organs’ functions through the deep massaging. Upper and lower spine areas, like the shoulder and lower back, are the areas where people hold tension. The muscles tend to become stiff and sore because of sitting at a desk, or driving for long hours. The posture flow massages these areas and consequently loosens the muscles. Many cultures believe that we have energy centers along the spine, seven in total. They are called chakras.

These

chakras

closely

relate

to the

areas

where major glands are located. So whether they are chakras or major glands, they are all strongly massaged through the flow. A common cause of fatigue is an unbalanced spinal column. How? If you were carrying a bowling ball,

36

how much more difficult would it be to carry it at a distance from your body than at your side? Your head weighs about as much as a bowling ball; if your head is off-center, “carrying” it can exhaust you! Also, your 24 movable vertebrae, sacrum, hips, and pelvis also need proper alignment in order to make efficient use of your energy. A modest unbalance (for example, a “short” leg) could translate into a considerable amount of wasted energy as the hours,

days, weeks and months add up. Our posture flow aligns the spine and balances the weight distribution from head to sacrum. The flow is ended with an inversion posture. It is the only posture that rests our heart and circulation. Inversion means to raise the lower back above the heart and head. In yoga there are many variations: headstand, shoulder-stand, plough, handstand, etc. In the LIVEFIT studio we use an inversion table. It is easier to invert the body on the table then in a posture on the floor. For most people inversion without the table is quite challenging. The great benefit of body inversion is the fact that the blood flow in our venous system is reversed. The venous system indicates how healthy we are, how young we feel. In inversion all the veins are cleansed and healed. There are many more benefits to the inversion. | encourage you more resources information but doing your body yourself enough

to research these on the Internet; there are many there to explain this further. | would provide this | only have limited space available. Inversion is a big favor. Love again is the answer here. Love to give your body that wonderful treat.

Give your heart a deserved break!

gr" > &§ oe

»

37

CHAPTER 7:

The LIVE FIT PROGRAM: ISO MUSCLE

‘There are risks and costs to a program of action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.’

(John F Kennedy) Love is the answer. Love is a feeling. When we feel love our thinking is guided to the right action. When we repeat that action regularly it becomes habitual.

Once

it is habitual

it programs

the results into our

body and mind.

For instance, you love the sound of the guitar. You think you might want to learn to play the guitar because you love it so much. You buy a guitar and sign up for lessons. You love it enough to go to your lessons regularly and you love practicing at home. You become a guitar player. You play regularly and people enjoy your playing. The results are that you became very disciplined, learned to read music as well as master the guitar, your body is programmed to play it, and you can now make money as a professional musician.

YOU WANTTO

BE FITTER.

:

Love your body and

Oe

health. Choose the best program

to become

healthy and FIT. Take a few lessons and practice sessions. Set aside a time and a spot at home to practice. The results will depend on which program you had chosen after doing your research and with love.

LIVE FIT is a fitness program that guarantees more benefits than any other fitness program. The program consists of two major segments:

1.

ISO-MUSCLE

2.

FLOW

practice

practice

38

results and

offers

Once learned the entire program only takes about ten minutes per day. And if you want better, faster results you can do them anywhere anytime during the day. In the office while working, while driving, during shopping, in your washroom break, before falling to sleep and just after waking up. Truly anytime any where iso-muscle can be practiced: GENTLY, joyful independence.

EFFECTIVELY,

AND

EASY.

LIVE

FIT creates

It cannot get much better than that.

There is no program like LIVE FIT that provides that many benefits. The ISO-MUSCLE practice consists of 7 progressive steps. However even doing 1 or 2 steps only will already show amazing results. The main thing is — just like playing a guitar — that you do it consistently and regularly. Program your emotions, your mind, and your body to be healthy and FIT.

Enjoy!!!

- @ e—

eee

esiil | @es

g ©

Step 1: 1.

Contract hand muscles only. a.

Since our hand is the most used part it is the easiest muscles to start with. to coordinate breathing. First, exhale take in a deep breath, and then hold

of our body Remember then inhale, the breath

while you tense all the muscles in one hand.

b.

Our hand is well coordinated. So finding the muscles in the right hand. Use your left hand to touch, discover these contracting muscles in the right hand.

c.

You will also notice that corresponding

muscles

in the lower and upper arm will automatically contract. Explore these also with your left hand. d.

Visualize, imagine seeing the muscles.

39

2.

é.

Exhale as you relax the muscles.

f.

Then repeat 1.a. to e. for the left hand.

Contract

muscles

in the lower

arm

and then

upper

arm. a.

Follow the same

routine as in step one, exhale,

breathe in, hold breath, contract and hold, exhale and relax.

Make sure to explore the muscles arm with the free hand.

in the entire

Look at a picture of the muscle groups in the arms and try to visualize what is happening in your arm as you contract the muscles. This is very important to learn to control the muscles

at will. 3.

Contract all the muscles a.

Again

you

in the entire arm.

will notice that it is difficult not to

engage muscles in the shoulder and torso when we do this. Try as much as possible to only

contract the muscles

in the arm. This way we

quickly learn to truly isolate muscles and control them. Make sure you keep the arm still as you contract

and visualize as well as feel with your free hand the muscles. The combination of visual and touch

(kinesthetic) speeds up the circulation. Visualize hugging someone, then pushing someone to find all those defined muscles.

away

You may also try to talk to yourself about what you are doing as in “| am contracting all the muscles in my arm.’ This ads the auditory aspect. When you engage the visual, the auditory, and the kinesthetic, it locks the program into your

subconscious. Try it. lt works amazingly. Step 2: 1.

What you experienced and learned now to large muscle groups a.

in Step

1 apply

Practice what you learned in Step 1 to both arms. Start with isolating the hand, the lower arm, and then the upper arm.

Next do the whole arm, one at a time, first right 40

then left, up to the shoulder. c.

Then do the leg by isolating the foot, the lower leg up to the knee, then the thigh up to the buttocks.

d.

Next do the whole leg, one at a time, first right then left, up to the buttocks.

Stay with Step 1 and 2 until you feel you have the isolation mastered. The leg, especially the foot, is more challenging than the arms. Step 3: ©

$e :

4

e

Ser

Yy

.?

1.

Next comes the face and neck

a.

Few people exercise their face muscles. Yet all our bodily instruments of perception are located there. Without perception there is no consciousness. We need to learn to find and isolate the intricate network of muscles of our head. Easiest is to start with the tongue. Tense it and then relax it.

b.

Next attempt the cheeks and the lips. This is easiest accomplished by opening your mouth wide while you tense the muscles, and then relax the muscles as you close the mouth.

c.

Next you need to explore the eyes, the forehead, and the scalp. Use your hands to try to move the scalp and feel the muscles contracting and relaxing.

d.

Finally the neck, try to isolate the front, the sides, and the back separately. Use your hands to feel and find those muscles. And focus on visualizing them.

Step 4: 1.

The shoulders, buttocks, and lower abdomen next target.

a.

are the

The shoulders can be isolated separately, always 41

first right then left side. We move towards the heart, just like in dry-brushing your body,

therefore

we

move

from

side. Then do the whole shoulders engaged.

the

right to the

upper torso with

left both

Buttocks should also be isolated separately first. Then do them together. Since these are very large muscles and directly correspond to the lower back don’t be afraid to contract them deeply. This will help to strengthen the lower

back and lumber area of the spine. The lower abdomen needs to be done as one unit. If you have practiced the flow then you will control the lower abdominal muscles fairly quickly. If you are having problems finding and contracting these muscles practice the flow more. . Visualize as much as possible here. Learn from pictures in your anatomy book and focus on trying to see what is happening in these muscles

groups. Step 5: ds

This is the most challenging area to learn to contract and control. a.

The chest, heart area, and the stomach

area are

for most people quite rigid. When you practice the flow daily then this area will open up quickly. It is most challenging to try to isolate this area in any way although it is very possible. With constant practice of the flow it will happen.

. VISUALIZE!! And don’t hesitate talking to yourself, out loud if necessary. It confirms and allows the program to sink in and become habitual. Step 6:

1.

This is a repeat of step 1 to 5 but we add movement.

42

a.

Start with one arm.

b.

Inhale deeply and hold the breath i. ii.

iil.

Contract all the muscles Move the directions

arm

while

in that arm

it is

contracted

in

all

Repeat the previous 3 and now move the arm to extreme positions forward, backwards, up an down, side to side, etc.

c.

Repeat point a. above with the other arm, then each leg separately, the shoulders, buttocks, face and neck, and entire torso.

d.

Visualize as much as possible. It adds so much to the effectiveness of the exercise.

Step 7:

C

am os©

©0000

1.

Thefinalstep incorporates the entire body contracting everything while moving.

2.

At this stage

iso-muscle

becomes

like a dance,

the

way my Chinese monks moved in their martial arts practice. It is a most invigorating experience. Make sure to combine it with deep breathing and breathholding. And relax on the exhalation. This isomuscle exercise is so effective that it only takes a few minutes per day to stay in peak shape. Just make sure that you have practiced the previous steps in order to learn to isolate and control the muscles. VISUALIZE. Imagine seeing what is happening in your body. SEE THE ENERGY OF OXYGEN AND FOOD entering every cell of your body. See it as light, feel it as pleasure. At this final stage it is a dance. And if you want to make this truly joyful then put on some music. Select the music you like. It doesn’t matter what type of music it is. The idea is that there is a correlation with pleasurable sound. When you visualize, and listen, and feel your body you are involving your total perception. The result of that is that you can be totally 43

into the feeling of pleasure, the emotion of joy. And that is directly sent to your cells. We know that the cells are strongly influenced by our emotions. Well here you make the most amazingly healing connection directly. LOVE FIT LIVE FIT LOVE FOOD It is the ANSWER

ae

LIVE FOOD.

to happiness.

ly

It is crucial to learn to isolate and connect to the breathing in LIVE FIT. We strongly recommend taking at least 8 sessions with one of our LIVE FIT coaches.

44

CHAPTER

LIVE FIT PROGRAM - the FLOW

8:

‘Love is the immortal flow of energy that nourishes, extends, and preserves. Its eternal goal is life.’ (Smiley Blanton) ‘May what | do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children.’ (Rainer Maria Rilke)

The Iso-muscle flow’'s main purpose is to stimulate the correlation between proper deep diaphragmatic breathing, and the consciously controlled

muscle

contraction.

For that reason the focus in the flow is on:

1.

To contract and close the abdomen and every other part of our body deeply during exhalation of the breath. To relax and open as much as possible the abdomen and every other part of the body during inhalation of the breath.

To illustrate these two points in order to learn this breathing technique quickly it is best to start by standing up and focus on the breathing from the diaphragm as explained in CHAPTER 6. These are the INSTRUCTIONS: 1,

Stand with hands on knees as shown in the photograph. Make sure the hands are in the proper position so the elbows are facing out. By crouching slightly allow the weight of your torso

to totally rest on your hands. The heavier this feels the better. Allow the belly, the lower abdomen, to completely relax so that it bulges forward and breathe in deeply. In this position you can take in a lot of air and oxygen. Maximize this. Next contract the belly, the lower abdominal muscles, and allow all the air to be squeezed out of the lungs. Make sure to contract all the abdominal muscles

45

right up to the sternum.

5.

Repeat point 3 and 4 about six times and then take a break.

This quickly teaches and programs the body into diaphragmatic breathing. If you are not used to breathing deeply this exercise might make you a little light headed. All that means is that you have

46

sent a massive amount of OXYGEN to all the parts in your body including the brain. And that is great. Just relax with the light-headedness because if you do this twice a day for a few minutes the body will quickly get used to getting proper amount of oxygen delivered. That is healing! Now you are ready for the FLOW.

There are seven separate flow segments that become progressively

more challenging and create greater results. But even when one flow is practiced already the benefits will be dramatic. You will notice the hands and constantly part closing.This is

only

in the illustrations below that the tongue, the face, the feet of Sharon, the co-author of this book, are of the contracting and relaxing, the opening and the very important. The hands and feet as well as the face

and the tongue are all maps

of our entire body. Not only that they

are some of the most important and most used parts of the body, yet they are usually ignored in fitness programs. Incorporating the hands and feet works like reflexology, we trigger the entire body. | don’t think | need to explain the importance of the hands and feet since we use those constantly. The face, as earlier explained, holds all our sensory organs, without them we wouldn't be able to see, hear, or taste, smell, and touch. So they need to be in peak shape and

need

exercise

and

proper

circulation.

Not

only that we

give

ourselves a muscular driven, oxygenated facelift! The tongue is a rather important part of our anatomy and thus needs to be healthy. The movement massages and stimulates blood circulation in the thyroid. Most people in our toxic world suffer from thyroid deficiency; this is especially evident in women. Here are the seven segments. They need to be done in sequence for maximum benefits but it is OK to do just the first one, two, or three when you get started. Take your time to grow into all seven.

47

SEGMENTS OFTHE FLOW: 1. COW TO CAT FLOW: a.

This posture

is called the COW

in yoga.

Inhale

and open and relax the body.

b.

Inhale while moving into the posture. (1) Flow from the COW posture into the CAT. Exhale completely and contract the muscles in the body especially the lower abdominal

d.

Flow

from

CAT

posture

back

muscles. (2) to

COW

while

inhaling and repeat these four steps for as long as feels comfortable, or continue with the next segment of the flow.

REMEMBER TO OPEN AND RELAX ON INHALATION, CLOSE AND CONTRACT ON EXHALATION. Contract and relax as much as possible every part of your body. We do recommend taking at least 8 sessions with one of our LIVE FIT coaches to learn to do this. After that you can do it for FREE forever. ave Sin

48

2. COBRA TO CHILD-POSE FLOW: a.

Flow from COW into CHILD-POSE position exhalation contracting belly and body.(3)

b.

Inhaling move from CHILD-POSE flow COBRA position relaxing belly and body.(4)

c.

Repeat each segment about four times. Position of hands and feet.

49

on into

NOTE:

3. CAMEL TO CHILD-POSE FLOW: a.

Flow from CHILD-POSE while inhaling. (5)

b.

Move/flow back into CHILD-POSE exhaling contracting. (6)

50

into

CAMEL

posture

posture while

4. DOWN DOGTO UP DOG FLOW: a.

Flow from CAMEL into DOWNWARD while exhaling and contracting. (7)

b.

Flow into UPWARD facing dog and relaxing belly and body. (8)

51

facing dog

while

inhaling

5. STANDING TO CROUCHING FLOW: a.

Flow from CROUCHING

UPWARD FACING DOG _ into position on exhalation and contract

(9). b.

Flow from CROUCHING

into STANDING

inhaling and relaxing. (10)

52

position

6. TABLE UPTO TABLE DOWN

FLOW:

a.

Flow from STANDING to TABLE on exhalation and contract. (11)

b.

Flow from TABLE DOWN to TABLE on inhalation relaxing. (12)

at

53

DOWN

position

UP position

7, YOGA MUDRA FORWARD BACKWARD FLOW: a.

Flow from TABLE

TO

UP to YOGA

YOGA

MUDRA

MUDRA

forward

position, contract on exhalation. (13) b.

Flow from YOGA MUDRA forward to backward position on inhalation and relax. (14)

54

The speed of the FLOW is determined by how controlled and conscious you can make it with constant deep breathing. In a sense the speed is determined by the breathing. But also, make sure your contraction on exhalation is concrete, and the relaxation on inhalation is complete. Both contraction and relaxation, or closing and opening, need to focus on the lower abdomen but need to involve the whole body especially the hands, feet, face, and tongue.

| strongly recommend taking a few sessions with our LIVE FIT coaches. Remind yourself constantly to do the FLOW consciously controlled. Avoid that it becomes mechanical and automatic thus un-consciously.

and and

It really helps to get to learn and practice the ISO-MUSCLE FLOW well so you receive all the benefits. Or, purchase the CD that shows both the ISO-MUSCLE steps and the ISO-MUSCLE FLOW segments.

Remember that LOVE ISTHE ANSWER.

a)

Practice with LOVE live in: your body.

in your heart and devotion to the miracle you

Last but not least the last step of the FLOW: the INVERSION. As long as the hips and legs are higher than the heart any inversion position will work. But having an inversion table is the easiest and gentlest way to practice inversion. They are easily acquired on the internet, or speak to one of LIVE FIT coaches. We can advise you on your selection and use.

09

Your HEART will be so HAPPY when you invert your body position.

s"I* It is the only way to truly give the heart a break. And it is the most marvelous way to revitalize the circulatory system. And remember it is the veins that determine how long and how happily we will live.

iiNverit 56

CHAPTER 9:

IDEALLY LIVE-FIT-FOOD

‘Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart.’ (Washington Irving)

This is why we wrote this book, we want you to: 1.

Become healthier

2.

As aresult you will be happier

3.

Become

4.

Get it for FREE after initial investment in learning it

5.

Support the EARTH and our ENVIRONMENT best possible way by

6.

Spreading the word about the benefit of the LIVE FIT PROGRAM

7.

AND, motivating people to eat primarily LIVE FOOD

independent in your practice

in the

That's it! How do you do that? Well reading this book or participating in sessions of LIVE FIT is a great start.

What we really would like you to do is set up a home studio. It doesn’t take much of an investment. What we recommend is the following equipment: A yoga mat or exercise mat that is fairly thick. A couple of small weights, 2 or 3 pounders are fine. A fairly large mirror so you can observe your FLOW and correct it. An anatomy book with pictures of systems, especially the muscle groups.

af

the

various

5.

Asmall trampoline.

6.

And, if you can afford it and have room, an inversion table.

All of these can be acquired fairly inexpensively plenty of price ranges and choice. The trampoline we recommend for a few benefits the lymphatic system better than it stimulates blood circulation through the rebounding and descriptions and benefits Google it.

online. There

is

minutes of jumping. It any other exercise and entire body. It is called you can find on line just

The small trampoline can be purchased in many department stores

for as little as $59. They are easily assembled and some of them are portable. There is a picture of an inversion table on this page. Start on the inversion table with a fairly horizontal position with the hips and legs just slightly higher than the heart area. Already in that position you are doing wonderful things for your venous system and your heart. Stay as long as you feel comfortable.

The body heals best when you create pleasurable experiences for it. Just like children, pets, and you and I, we all learn best when the experience is pleasant. Breathe deep and slow and allow the body to relax. The more you relax the greater the benefit.

Then gradually allow the decline of your upper body to go lower. Make sure you feel comfortable at all times. Eventually you might be hanging straight up side down. And that is probably the best

58

position. You will need to experiment with the heels. | recommend wrapping a towel around your ankles when you feel pressure. Are you concerned about our EARTH? Then the most wonderful thing you can do for it is to be healthy and happy. | don’t know a better way to get there then with the exercise of the LIVE FIT program. And supply the best possible building blocks to your body by eating clean. LIVE FOOD is a blessing to you and to the EARTH. It is by far the most environmentally friendly way to eat and to be a consumer. Read our book FOODTRANSFORMS if interested. Do you want your family to be healthy and happy?

g

©

@00 a

ce ¥e@

tk

6

C

oe

)

eo

Mor

Well the titles of our books are FOOD TRANSFORMS and FITNESS TRANSFORMS. Our message is ‘introduce it GENTLY’ That includes you. Most of all you! Whatever is done with LOVE is done GENTLY. GO FOR IT! LOVE YOURSELF. LIVE FIT and eat LIVE FOOD and the universe will

transform to a happier place.

59

SUMMARY OF LIVE FIT

CHAPTER 10:

We want to be FITTER.

Pretty well everybody has at some time or other expressed their need to be more FIT. For most people this means they want either improved looks, or better body toning. For some it means more strength or energy, for a few it means they want to be healthier. It is challenging to become more FIT. Our society has a large number of obese and out of shape people. A lot of this is due to poor diet and low activity life style, we sit too much. Also, to become FIT is for many people expensive and time consuming. OF course when we are healthy we automatically have more energy and strength. Health depends on how much OXYGEN we take into our body, how clean and nutritious our food is, and to what extend we are active, or exercise. What is stopping most people is the fact that we are ‘trapped’ in a belief systems that has been created by advertising and the media. There are a number of myths created by industries that benefit from

it: The food industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and the medical industry. If everybody was healthy then these industries would be out of business and certainly not make the profits they are making now. LIVE FIT offers a program that has a number of benefits:

reYS

Easy to learn FREE, as in ‘independency’ no cost once you learn it More effective and efficient than any other program It creates health and fitness simultaneously especially if LIVE FOOD is incorporated

5.

The program consists of ISO-MUSCLE and a posture FLOW

6.

It promotes setting up your own inexpensive studio to benefit you and your family

home

LIVE FIT uses a gentle method to introduce the program and to learn the benefits of the program. ISO-MUSCLE can be done anywhere at anytime once it has been learned. And the benefits are incredible.

60

LOVE

IS THE

ANSWER.

Only

if we

love ourselves

enough,

and

respect and appreciate our body can we create optimum

HEALTH.

This LIVE FIT-FOOD program is the friendly program you can practice.

and

most

LNe Fut Le Paok

61

sustainable

eco-

REFERENCES:

Most of these books you can get online through Amazon usually at a very good price. | always buy used because once read | rotate them back into used book stores. Title:

Author:

The Smoothies Bible

Pat Crocker

Cleanse and Purify Thyself 1 and 2 The Holy Science

Shri Yukteswar

Transcending Levels of Consciousness Eat to Live

Ray Moynihan and Alan Cassels

More Natural Cures Revealed

Kevin Trudeau

Any book that shows the systems clearly.

Breatheology Yoga

David R Hawkins Joel Fuhrman

Selling Sickness ANATOMY

Richard Anderson

Stig Avall Severinsen Any yoga book with clear illustrations

62

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