VOICES

I’m too busy. I have to take care of everyone else. I can’t afford it. I don’t have time. My body will never change. I‘m too tired. My family comes first. My life is out of control.

Any of these statements ring true to you? Really? Take a moment and ask yourself if they really, really do.


So often we get caught up in the daily stress of life that we don’t even recognize the negative thoughts running around in our heads. Negative thoughts are having a pity party—a “poor me” fest at our expense. And there is a HUGE cost for these negative thoughts. The BuddhaBabes live the philosophy of Henry Ford “whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

What is your attitude about working out? Do you enjoy it? Are you fully present while doing your cardio, or are you reading the gym’s picked over gossip magazines and instant messaging? Do you look forward to your Pilates sessions, or do you find them a chore? And what about those voices in your head? Is your internal monologue saying “Yes—I can do this and MORE!” or “I think I want to kill my trainer... I should cut this session short so I have time to drop off my laundry.”

We’re not saying that you need to police your every thought, but why not start to become aware of what is going on internally? Pilates is a mind/body practice; you can’t have one without the other. What you’re thinking about INternally will certainly impact you EXternally. If you constantly hear yourself saying “I can’t!” or “I don’t want to!” or “I’m tired!” or any other limiting thoughts, take that voice and turn it around. Start affirming, “I CAN!” or “I’m strong now!” or “I can do more!” Say what you need to hear to help get that annoying, negative little voice inside you a little quieter, and eventually it will be gone for good.

Ok, you may feel a little silly or find this “self talk” a little bit hokey, but it really works. Simply thinking positive thoughts and feeling positive feelings will make a change in your attitude. Don’t just read this, shrug your shoulders, and forget it. Put the affirmation in the NOW, not someday or in the future or after your kids are teenager—now! Say it today, say it tomorrow, maybe feel it next Thursday and but believe it NOW.

Affirmations don’t take a lot of time, and it doesn’t mean you have to necessarily talk about it, either. The BuddhaBabes live in NYC where some days can feel like the negativity surrounding us can literally swallow up…if you let it. For prevention, we take our affirmations with us on the subway! The point is, there are so many reasons why we CAN'T do something. What if we really examine all the things we CAN do?

We all want our lives to be in balance, but if the scale is tipped solely on the external side of fitness, it is not balanced. We assure you that you WILL look better and feel better if you get those voices aligned with your external goals, strength, stamina, a firmer booty, a sexy posture…whatever your personal goals are. It’s so much easier to stick with your Pilates and fitness lifestyle when your mind is aligned with your body. Think of it right on top of the crown of your head. Maybe it’s a crown of positive energy, radiating inward and outward as you maintain that balancing act.



The secret to true fitness is to keep doing it! Do it often! Do it well! Enjoy yourself while doing it!

We dare you to try focusing inward as you work your body on the outside! Notice what happens, and let us know.

Tracy Campoli

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving

We just celebrated Tracy’s birthday – good friends, great food, delicious cocktails, and most important: no guilt.

Why? Active dancing and fresh ingredients.

Our advice? Go ahead and indulge this holiday season with these two thoughts in mind:

Ingredients – keep it fresh and simple by making meals yourself or choosing prepared foods without unnecessary additives. Using bountiful seasonal produce and experimenting with herbs and spices are perfect substitutes for processed food and high sugar options.

Movement – during this busy season, it’s easy to make excuses for skipping work outs – after work parties, busy days at the office, family obligations, travels, sniffles – these things catch up with all of us. Try to sneak in some activity by walking from point A to point B when time and climate allows. Choose the stairs over the elevator. Before you hit the shower and shampoo, hold plank for 60 seconds. You’d never skip your conditioner, so why not earmark a minute for your middle? Take advantage of the holiday spirit by dancing. Give up your seat and choose to mingle!

You’ll thank us later!

Unexpected Error

Finally – a weekend without an endless to-do list. Daylight savings time makes it easier to get up early, and on Saturday, I’ll just get up when I get up.  It’s easy fitting in a run or a yoga class around brunch or a movie. I’m looking forward to relaxing for a change. Yeah, right.

The first sign of things not going as expected was the “spinning beach ball of death” icon on my Mac. I’d been having some issues.  Hmm, why no Firefox? Oh, I’ll download it. After it fails to start 5 times and quaintly “quits unexpectedly” I start to get a little agitated.  After a couple hours, I have almost no programs, and my blogging hour is long gone. So is my planned run. I barely make it to brunch. Ten hours later and I’m wide awake, so I try to have a go at the blog. I click open Word and I get an “unexpected error” – I’ll say.  I attempt to read the help documents and fix it myself. When that gets me exactly nowhere, I call the help line, which is remarkably fast in the wee Sunday morning hours. Nearly two hours later, my help experience ends with a gray screen and apologies from the other end of the toll-free number. Diagnosis: bad software install or dead hard drive, and I decide to be first in line at the Genius Bar at the Apple Store on Sunday morning.

I figure three hours is plenty of time to get live computer help, get coffee, and get to noon yoga. I set out, and my throat’s got that tickle. I better not get sick. I don’t have time for that. I'll cure myself with a steam after yoga and then I’ll pick up something for dinner. Easy. After about 90 minutes, the genius solves the problem – the hard drive is irreparably damaged. He advised me to take it to Tekserve, for cheaper service.  There, the technician confers, and I'll have a new hard drive by Tuesday. He congratulated me for backing up, and gave me a cough drop. I barely noticed that I barely had a voice. At this point, I’m clearly not feeling well.  I also realize yoga started 20 minutes ago. ugh.

OK, I’ll just walk to the gym, do the arc trainer, and steam. I haven’t worked out since Thursday when the Yankees parade blocked me in my office at lunch time. I missed my Saturday run. I missed yoga today. I have to do something! I better pick up the pace. But I’m sluggish. I keep walking past the gym, and all the way home.  It’s official. I’m sick. But I have to do something! Does this count as “fitting in fitness” – yes, it sure does. 

See, I’m kind of a stickler about my fitness routine. I have to laugh when others find me flexible, as it’s not really my natural state – on the mat or off. But I do what I can. I’m not good at picking up the signals (that I’m tired, that I’m sick, that there aren’t enough hours in the day to do what I’ve planned), and when my plans don’t go as, well, planned, I get really irritated. I tend to run my life a little close to the bone – a few too many appointments, a few too many to-dos on my list, and always a few things I never get to. Rarely do I fail to cross “work out” off my list. But I’m trying to be more… flexible.

My friends think I love to work out. True, I don’t hate it, but given the choice, I wouldn’t mind sitting around eating bon-bons. I’m just a pragmatist. I like to eat good food, I like to go out and have a few drinks here and there, and I like my clothes to fit well. Working out is a trade off. I really do think that yoga and pilates make me more calm, more, present, and more strong in every way, and I like that feeling. But also, I know how good I feel after a run. It’s one of the few times I’m alone, where I can let my mind wander. I get ideas.  I relieve a little stress. 

But every now and then I can’t get the class or the run in, and I’m mad.  But today, after an exceptionally annoying 12 hours nearly consumed with my laptop woes, I slowly continue that stroll home. I’m trying to roll with it, to be flexible, to take what Sunday’s handed me. With nothing on my agenda today except a few tasks I created, I didn’t miss out on anything, and the accountable person for that to do list is just me. I can give myself an extension on, well, everything.  I don’t need the gym or the steam, and I think we’ll order in some take-out.

Motivation taking a vacation?

As much as we are loathe to admit it...we BuddhaBabes are human. No, not super heroes in our orange and pink tank tops, with matching capes flying over NYC, spreading the word on fitness, health, fun, and a life of balance. No, we are actually JUST LIKE YOU. Really, exactly like you. Sometimes sticking to our workouts and eating healthfully is a breeze and we feel so good we just want to shake the whole world and say...HEY WORLD! Do this, and you'll thank us later! But there are times when it's not so easy. 

 Tracy here, and right now is one of those times for me.   I’m feeling not-so-motivated. Fall is in the air and I’m such a beach lovin' girl, that I feel a little blue when I know the leaves are turning and the weather starts to get cooler. After all of those years in school, I’m programmed to feel like autumn is really the beginning of the year. The Type-A part of me is feeling like I "should" have accomplished more by this time of year. Before long, Thanksgiving will be here and it’s such a challenge to complete things, let alone squeeze in workouts (not to mention into my tightest jeans) before New Year’s Eve.

Thankfully my job dictates that I work out. I’d feel like a big (fat) fraud if I don't work out, but honestly, while I’m up and out the door nearly every day to meet with clients and get them motivated, I’m having a hard time getting fired up for my own work outs. How can I motivate my students and get them excited about working out when all I want to do is snuggle up with a blanket and catch up on the guilty-pleasure reality shows that I'm just too embarrassed to view in front of others? I’m feeling not-so-secretly lazy.

In times like this I know that I need to stimulate myself in ways beyond my normal routine. I negotiate with myself. Okay, watch your reality shows but only while jumping on your mini-trampoline so you’ll burning calories while feeding your dirty little TV habit. What else? Dancing always refreshes me. Taking dance classes doesn't feel like exercise, and the next thing I know   I’m DRENCHED in more sweat than if I maxed out on the toughest cardio machines at the gym. Sometimes I dust off my rollerblades and take a ride along the Hudson River and see how much the city has changed since I first moved here. I might get a new exercise DVD, take a yoga class at a studio I have never been to, or just mix it up and go to a different branch of my gym. The point here is to do something.

Sure we want to look better, but feeling better is the best result of getting active. Ask yourself, what makes you feel your best? When do you love working out and moving? While I’m on vacation I find   I’m very active. I love to hike, to bike, to surf, practice yoga, things that I often don’t have time or the space in my New York day to actually do. These are clues! These are things that I do with joy! Don't get me wrong, I love Pilates and I love working out. Sometimes I just need to mix it up a little and find new ways to stimulate and challenge myself.

Notice when you feel this way, and without judgment just say, okay, it’s time to mix it up! Make it a game. What's one way I can change up my workout? Run a different route, try a new machine at the gym, try a class that intimidates you—like boxing or kettle bells, adding Mat classes to Pilates, trying hot yoga. And on the flip side, know it's temporary. Change up your work out and get-up and go! You will feel like a super hero! You'll thank us later! 

FITTING IN FITNESS

You enjoy working out, but sometimes....a lot of the time...  it’s so hard to FIND the time.  We all know we SHOULD be working out, just as we know we will FEEL better after stretching our limbs and challenging our limits. But life often gets in the way, and just like that, it’s another day with another missed workout. If “work out” is at the end of your seemingly never-ending to-do list, then FITTING IN FITNESS is just for you!

 Rather than letting yourself get overwhelmed and frustrated, we will help you squeeze in some power-packed, multi-tasking exercises that actually work. Or if you are looking for a flowing sequence or some suggestions on building strength, you will find those, too. Along with some of our favorite tried-and-true moves, we’re going to tell you a little bit about ourselves and what we do – both on and off the mat and the machine. You’ll hear about how we fit in fitness for ourselves. Check back with us frequently, follow us on Twitter, become our friend on Facebook and learn to sneak in a little time for you –time to feel stronger, leaner, healthier, happier… fitter. Time to fit fitness into your lifestyle.
You’ve got a busy life. Leave your fitness to us. 
Tracy and Jen (The BuddhaBabes)
Fitting in Fitness
Pilates / core / yoga
Buddhabelly2beachbabe.com