Yoga

I've always considered myself a physically fit guy.  Growing up I loved the outdoors and especially the water.  I was always boating, kayaking, or swimming.  In fact, even into high school I carried on my love of exercise and made the swim team where I swam varsity for 4 years.  After high school, I got into martial arts at college.  I began lifting weights, hiking, and running.  Even today I carry on these activities on a weekly basis, trying to stay fit and keep my heart young and healthy.  I've never considered myself an "athlete," but I've always considered myself in top-notch shape.... that is of course until I took an introductory yoga class last month.

Most people think of yoga and they think of people lying around stretching.  And while in the macro sense this may be true, it is far from the reality of the class I took.  Yoga is the practice of using complex stretching, layered with balance, and focused on controlled breathing to turn your body into an extreme machine.  While anyone can do yoga, including novices, it also will take the most seasoned athlete and make them struggle. 

When I walked into the door, what struck me was the fact that the "regulars" of the class looked like chiseled sculptures.  They were toned, athletic, and impressive.  As we began the class, I was soaked with sweat within 10 minutes.  After 25 minutes my core was already exhausted and my legs felt like rubber.  By the end, I had felt like I had run a marathon but I had never left the room!  I realized that after all my years of trying new exercises, that yoga may have been the toughest. 

It was an amazing workout and I loved it.  At times I felt weak and inflexible, but my fellow classmates were encouraging and welcoming.  I never felt out of place or self-conscious.  I only felt a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction as I struggled to pull of difficult poses and controlled my breathing.  All in all, it was a relaxing workout, which is strange for how much I struggled and perspired, and I love it.  I highly recommend trying out some yoga if you are looking for an alternative to the normal workouts.  I think you'll be surprised how much fun it is and how good of a workout it is as well. Maybe I’ll see YOU in class!

M.F.

A Little of This, A Little of That

When we started On Track Daily, our goal was to blog everyday week.  As you can clearly see, we've fallen a bit behind.  Sorry!  Sometimes life gets in the way and you get off track.  But that is the whole point of OTD, staying on track.  So here we are, back with gusto!  There is a lot to talk about so this blog will be a bit of a potpourri of ideas, hence the title -- A little of this, a little of that.

St. Malachi

Lets start with our Easter charity drive at St. Malachi's.  What an amazing day this turned out to be!  After 3 years of Easter drives, both Matt and I felt this was our best Easter mission.  Driving down to Malachi's we didn't know what to expect and weren't sure how we would be greeted.  Well, we were greeted with open arms. Kim, our contact at Malachi's and now someone we call a friend, showed us around and introduced us to the staff.  We were received like royalty.  The men and women who work there (they are all volunteers, keep in mind) were so happy and touched by all of your donations that they were all smiles.  They couldn't believe that we put this together and that all of our friends and family would reach out like that.  As they dug through the gift bags, the smiles only got bigger as they uncovered all the goodies.  Socks, socks and more socks were over flowing and the men couldn't have been happier.  In fact, as we were carrying in the bags and bags of goodies, a bunch of men came over to us asking for socks.  When the staff began handing them out, you could see the happiness on the men's faces.  It was truly a great feeling!

After this, Kim showed us around Malachi's campus.  What a beautiful church (www.stmalachi.org) and landmark for the city of Cleveland.  First off, the church itself was beautiful and still has a strong following today (which for an inner city Church, is quite a big deal).  Next, we saw the kitchen where they serve daily meals, the main kitchen where they do larger weekly dinners (www.stmalachicenter.org) and also an area where on weekends they allow the homeless a warm, safe place to sleep.  They also work in conjunction with another charitable group who help these men and women work towards there G.E.D. and even more.  They take people in and help them with a program to learn to read, write and work there way up to G.E.D. level if they aren't there yet.  Lastly, there is St. Malachi Center, which provides the opportunity for these men to shower, brush their teeth and have their laundry done.  These are extravagances that you and I take for granted, but these men NEED these services and St. Malachi's provides.  

After our tour, we went back to the offices and as we were walking, we saw men walking down West 25th street carrying our little Easter bags.  It was a great feeling to know that YOUR donations and love had such an immediate impact on the community.  And once again, we thank you for it!  But when we got back to the main house/office area, we noticed something that caught our attention.  Smiles.  The smiles on the faces of the workers at St. Malachi's as they helped their fellow man.  We were truly touched.  Not many people do what they do, and not many people do it out of love instead of a paycheck.  They are truly doing the Lord's work. 

Keep up the good work St. Malachi's!!  You are a treasure to the city and to your fellow man.  (If you want to help, check out this link -- www.stmalachi.org/volunteers/)

FENCING!

Next, we wanted to report back on our "March Towards Fitness" poll.  We asked our readers to vote on which new form of exercise we should try in the month of March, and fencing won.  So, last weekend Matt and I grabbed our swords and suited up in heavy cotton protection and went to war.  We went to a local place called Hooked on Fencing, http://www.hookedonfencing.org/.  We were instructed by world champion Walt Dragonetti and for about 2 hours got a great history lesson in addition to a great work out. 

Now I was hoping for crates, barrels, and other random objects to jump off of and to hide behind as Matt and I swash buckled and fought, but that was not the case.  Instead, we were hooked to electronic scorers and used blunt swords with a scoring device at the end that registered each hit.  The match is scored 1 point at a time and can vary from whatever "point match" you want.  Since we were new, our matches were just 1-point matches to win. 

Matt, ready for his next swashbuckling film role.

We fought at sweated and, I am sorry to say, Matt got the best of me and took me out to proceed to the finals.  Unluckily for Matt, in the finals he ran into one of our fellow classmates with a wicked left hand.  She stabbed Matt in the thigh to win the title of class champion!  If this were 1860, both Matt and I would have been bleeding and nursing our wounds, but since it is 2012, we finished class with a cold beverage and some laughs.

I will say that fencing was a lot of fun and we both really enjoyed it.  Plus, the next morning we were both sore from the surprisingly good workout we had had.  Both Matt and I may sign up to do more then the introductory class as summer approaches and we would tell any of you interested to contact Hooked on Fencing and try it our for yourselves.  It's a lot of fun and a great work out.  Which once again proves our point that you don't need to pound out minutes on the treadmill for good exercise, but grab a sword and stab your friend.... it’s much more fun.

Last Word

Finally, we just wanted to once again thank everyone for their participation during our Easter charity drive for St Malachi's.  We couldn't do any of what we do with out the support of our friends, family and readers of this blog.  Thanks for everything.  And remember, we can change the world and spread some love; we just need to do it everyday, in a small way.  We need to stay On Track, Daily!

-B.M.

Good Friday/Giving Friday

Thoughts and recap of On Track Daily's Easter Charity Drive:

On Good Friday, as Christians, we celebrate and remember a death from 2,000 years ago.  We think and remember the ultimate gift -- sacrifice.  We remember this as an act of love, of redemption, and charity. And this is the inspiration for On Track Daily's Easter charity drive with St. Malachi's in Cleveland this year.

Through the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, namely His death, we are able to live.  And this year in remembrance, through the sacrifice of or friends and families, we were able to help those who need it most.  We were able to help these people who needed us to live.

Five weeks ago we set a goal of helping 50 men.  Our goal was to provide 50 men with a freezer bag full of 1 toothbrush, 1 tube of toothpaste, 1 stick of deodorant, 1 razor, 1 bottle of lotion and 1 pair of socks.  Over the last five weeks we have received donations from multiple states and the Washington DC area.  We've received cash and toiletries from so many people that we were not only able to meet our goal we were able to go way above it.

Today we will be taking the following to St Malachi's in Cleveland.  64 individual Ziplock freezer bags filled with: 2 toothbrushes, 1 tube of toothpaste, 1 stick of lip balm, 1 stick of deodorant, 2 razors, 1 bottle of lotion and 3 pairs of socks.  In addition, we have in surplus over 100 toothbrushes, 50 razors, 25 bottles of lotion, 20 sticks of deodorant, and 100's of pairs of socks to give to the church.  Because of the love of our family and friends, we will be able to help hundreds of people feel like they are living again.  Men who haven't changed their socks in days will receive new socks.  Lips and hands that have been beaten by harsh Cleveland weather will be soothed with lip balm and lotion.  Men who feel like society have left them behind will once again be able to partake in simple hygiene that you and I take for granted daily.  All of these things are good and all of these things are an act of love that is the perfect way to remember Good Friday and a sacrifice from so long ago.

As we go to St. Malachi's with all the donations, I think of the men we intend to help.  The feeling they must get to know that some strangers joined together to help them this Easter must be a great feeling.  It will let them know that they are loved.  Not just from God above, but also loved by His children.

Thank you to all of you for the support and prayers this year.  We are honored to be able to call you are friends and family.

-BM

If the Shoe Fits

Feet

When I get home at night, the first thing I do is take my shoes off.  It's been a long, hard day and letting my feet breath feels great. 

Much like my newborn son, I enjoy not wearing shoes.  It keeps me cool and relaxed throughout the night.  Granted I don't like to chew on my feet like he does, but hey, to each their own. 

Each morning prior to going to work the last thing I do is slip on my most comfortable pair of shoes on and walk out the door.  And my question is, why?  If I enjoy not wearing shoes and feel more relaxed without them, then why do I wear shoes?  I suppose the logical answer is health and safety.  I don't want my feet to get cut or dirty, nor do I wish to run the chance of a cut or other problem turning into something more serious like an infection.  So, while I do not like wearing shoes, unfortunately it’s a must. 

I know you are thinking, what's the point?  This is all common sense, and you are correct, but stay with me for a minute.  I want to make the exaggerated leap from shoes and correlate this to exercise. Yes, you read that right, exercise.  I know many people who hate exercising.  Many of these people are close friends or family.  They often say, "Why should I exercise?  I am happy the way I am.  I hate running on treadmills and gyms intimidate me.  I am too old to exercise."  Yadda, yadda, yadda.  Same old story, same old excuses. 

The way I look at it is this, exercise is like wearing shoes.  You may not want too, but for your own health and safety you need too.  It's just a matter of finding the right pair to fit your feet, or in this case the right exercise to enable you to be happy while doing it.  I think a common mistake people make when they want to get their physical fitness in is that they automatically think of a gymnasium.  A large sweaty group of guys, throwing weights around and grunting like fools as they scream and lift 300 lbs weights.  For most people this is not how they want to spend 7 hours a week of their life – but there are alternative ways to exercise. 

Excuses don’t work anymore

The author, not taking excuses

 I didn't find my cardio fulfillment until I was 24 years old and got involved in Tae Kwon Do.  It's a fun and exciting way to burn off the extra calories and get my heart pumping.  I have friends that rock climb, fence, mall walk, play badminton, swim, weight lift, marathon run, practice Brazilian Jiu-Jit-Su, ride bicycles, etc.  Point being, there is no perfect pill for exercise.  Everyone is different, but just like wearing shoes; it's something that we all have to do.  Every day.  We can't make excuses; we need to just do it.  You don't have to force your routine into a cookie cutter mold of what you "think" exercise should be.  You need to find what is right for you and do it!  If you get a good sweat and get your heart pumping while dancing, then dance!  Cleaning, then clean!  If walking your dog backwards does it for you, then I say go for it.  The point is, using the excuse that there is nothing that fits my needs out there, doesn't work anymore.  If you want to live a nice long life, if you want to be happy and healthy, then you have to find a way to exercise and get your heart pumping!

As On Track Daily closes the March Toward Fitness (although the march itself is never really over), we implore you to find your right “fit” when it comes to exercise.  Try on a few different styles of exercise and find one that is right for you.  And if you find one, let us know what it is! 

-B.M.