Letter from Muriel

Hello everyone,

Our Oct. 3rd meeting was very pleasant. We are pleased to introduce 6 new members: (Names deleted). Welcome to our group and we know you will improve your health by becoming more fit. . However you must do a few things such as writing down your goals and putting up the 6 week calendar in a visible spot. Do not start of over the top with your fitness routine. Make doable goals! You will be surprised how these few things can keep you focused. Also you can check out the website www.feelfitforever.blogspot.com. You can view the SMART goals on the power point on the site. Plan to attend as many meetings as possible to help encourage others.

We had a wonderful turn out for our Oct 3rd meeting. The cafe put on a wonderful lunch and our speaker Sara Dubeau was perfect. The topic of homeopathy is very intriguing and Sara just opened the door for many more questions on the topic.

Our visit to the gym and spa was also informative. Good luck to all the new members at the gym. Remember a gym is only as good as the people who go to it. So make the most of your membership go often. Also I am teaching yoga at 8:00 on Wed. at the new gym. I will be also continuing to have my own classes at my house.

We have a new member looking to buddy up with someone who does not have a buddy. Let me know if you would like to keep in touch with a young new member.

In the mean time stay fit, stand tall and stay healthy. I am going out for a walk in the much appreciated sunshine.

Next meeting is Nov. 14th. 12:30 pm. we will let you know details shortly.

Fitfully Yours,

Muriel

Oct. 3rd meeting

Hello Everyone,

I am so looking forward to seeing you at our Oct. 3rd meeting at the Cafe. We have had a very good response to lunch at the Cafe and our speaker Sara Dubeau, Doctor of Homeopathic medicine. We are also visiting the new spa and fitness center in town. It should be a wonderful day and a great chance to get re motivated or to share your good motivation with us. If you have not called or emailed and still want to join us for lunch at 12:30 please inform me by Wed. I give my count to the Cafe by then.

Susie our very skilled line dance instructor is starting a session of 12 weeks on Friday evenings between 7-9 at Albert's Hotel on Calumet Island. The cost is $60.00 and 20 people are needed for the class to go ahead. So if you are looking for something to do that improves your body and mind come out Oct. 1st for the first session.

Also Oktoberfest is on next weekend in Ladysmith. Hope to see you there!. If we get a good response for Sat. evening Susie might lead us in a line dance on the floor. It would be a lot of fun. Let me know if you plan to be there and wouldn't mind dancing. We could set a time of say 9:00 to be on the dance floor.

I know the weather isn't great but try to get out and enjoy the leaves as they are turning colors quickly. In the meantime stay fit, stand tall and stay healthy.

We are also putting in a display for Feel Fit at the Women's Health Day in Renfrew on Oct. 23rd. It is in St. Joseph's School from 9:00-4:15pm. (no admission) I have attend this conference two years ago and found it very informative. So if you are free that day and wish to attend and or would like to man our display for an hour let me know.

Fitfully Yours,

Muriel

Feel fit meeting -Aug. 22nd

Hello Everyone,

I hope the rain didn't spoil your plans today. We were going paddling but I guess that will not happen. We might do a little yoga instead. It is also a great day to stay in and read a good book. I love to hear what other people are reading so let's start and share titles. The book "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows is a good read about the occupation of Guernsey during the 2nd World war. I am reading it now and it is easy reading.

This has been a wonderful summer and I do hope you are all continuing to follow your goals also making new goals every 6 weeks and putting them on your calendar. Which brings us up to the meeting next Sunday. Please call Connie at 819-647-3939 (if you haven't already done so) on attending lunch at 12:30 at Norway Bay Golf Course..

We always welcome new members and if you wish to resign for this year please let the girls know next meeting. If you wish to be deleted from this email let me know.

Here's hoping you have good health and happiness. Stay fit and stand tall!

Fitfully Yours,

Muriel

Feel fit & feel happy!

We had a great day on Sunday and thanks to all who came and danced in the heat. Thanks to Diane for her interesting talk on her experience with the Olympics in Beijing. Thanks also to Lulu for explaining the web/blog. I would like more people looking and adding their positive comments to the page. It is free to sign on so be brave and add what you are doing. Also a big thank you to Susie for leading us in line dancing. Susie and Lulu are now honorary members of Feel Fit. We also welcome Mary De Toro to our group. Mary lives in Norway Bay during the summer and enjoys line dancing.

Our next meeting will be at the Norway Bay Golf Course on Sunday Aug. 22nd. Please let Connie (819-647-3939) know if you plan to attend the lunch. Lunch is at 12:30 and we will have a guest speaker(to be announced) at 1:30pm. Hopefully the weather cooperates and we will have a walk afterwards.

We trust everyone is following their fitness goals and have your calendar in full view in your home. If we write down our goals and can see our progress we are more likely to follow our plan. Don't forget to motivate others and try to attend the meetings as they are very informative.

We are also applying for a "New Horizons" Grant for seniors. We plan to increase our "Feel Fit" presence in the Pontiac. We are hoping to target three areas: Chapeau and Calumet Island, and Otter Lake and trying to partner with their Golden Age groups. We'll keep you posted on this venture

Stay Fit, healthy and happy.

Outdoor lunch

Speech time

Fun Line dancing

Feel Fit event on July 11th

Our next Feel Fit meeting will be on Sunday, July 11th at Coronation Hall in Bristol Quebec.


We will have lunch together at 12:30 and the meeting starts at 13:30.
There will be a guest speaker and at 14:00, we will have a line dancing section with Sue.
She is an excellent teacher and is great with beginners and people with two left feet~ :)
Please let Muriel know a week in advance so Norma can prepare the correct amount of food for us.


Date: July 11th, 2010
Location: Coronation Hall (Click to get directions)
Timetable:
12:30 Lunch by Norma
13:30 Feel Fit guest speaker
14:00 Line Dance with Sue


Hope you are Feeling Fit and keeping up with your goals.

Feel Fit Meeting Dates

It's time for our celebrations for another year!

Check the Feel Fit Meeting dates in the following chart.

Welcome to join us anytime~

Just contact Muriel via email in the bottom of the blog:

MurielDav@gmail.com or call 819-647-5447

You may find the event details in 'Events' posts.

Feel free to email any questions or ideas to us!

Beginner's Bliss

Posted from Yoga Journal

Did you feel less stressed after your first yoga class? Scientists have pinpointed why.

By Linda Knittel

Often, people who take up yoga report that they feel more relaxed almost immediately. And science now says there's a physiological explanation for that: Yoga can reduce levels of cortisol, the so-called stress hormone.

In a recent study conducted by Thomas Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and the Yoga Research Society, 16 healthy new yogis participated in a 50-minute yoga class every day for seven days. On the day prior to their first class, they were instructed to sit quietly--reading and writing--for 50 minutes.

The subjects' cortisol levels didn't change appreciably during the sitting period; they showed just the normal decrease that usually takes place in the late morning. But when the researchers measured the cortisol levels before and after the yoga class--which included postures such as Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand), Salabhasana (Locust Pose), Vrksasana (Tree Pose) and Halasana (Plow Pose)--they discovered a significant decrease after the class.

In the scientific world, results are considered noteworthy only if they can be repeated. This particular study attained a "p value" (a measurement of the probability of attaining the very same outcome in the future) of .001, which means that if the study were performed 100 times, the probability of getting the same result would be 99.9 percent.

The study's results don't surprise George Brainard, M.D., a professor of neurology at Thomas Jefferson Medical College. In 1995, he conducted a similar study, which also showed a significant drop in cortisol levels of subjects following asana practice.

"When I did the first study, I was very surprised that a single set of yoga poses could make a significant change in cortisol," Brainard says. "Now that we have repeated it, we have seen enough promise to consider studying it in challenging situations like chronically ill patients who have abnormally high levels of cortisol, such as those who suffer from depression, type 2 diabetes, Cushing's disease, and high blood pressure."

The findings suggest that practicing yoga--even for the very first time--can normalize cortisol levels that are either too high or too low, says Vijayendra Pratap, Ph.D., president of the Yoga Research Society in Philadelphia. "My hypothesis," he adds, "is that yoga brings the body to balance."

Exactly how it does this is still not clear. But Jennifer Johnston, yoga director and research clinician at the Mind Body Medical Institute in Boston has a theory. "The deep breathing we do in yoga elicits something called 'the relaxation response,' which invokes the restorative functions of the body," Johnston says. "Yogic practices also help to reduce muscle tension and deactivate the stress response."

So in addition to renewing your mind and spirit, yoga has now been proven to provide real benefits for your body. No longer do the everyday stressors of deadlines, a hectic schedule, and other pressures have to wear you down. Simply stop at the nearest yoga studio and let your tension decrease along with your cortisol.

Linda Knittel is a nutritional anthropologist and freelance writer in Portland. She is the author of The Soy Sensation (McGraw Hill, 2001).

Our Relay for Life night~

Feel fit girls gathered together for Relay for Life and raised more than $3,000 for Canadian Cancer Society for Pontiac last Saturday.

The activity started from 7pm at night to the 7am the next morning.

We camped on the spot and took turns to complete our goals of walking for the cancer fighters and the past away cancer patients.

We put on our pink coat and walk, chat together over night. By the dawn of the next day, we were tired but happy. It's a meaningful day for all of us.