Tag Archives: fitness magazine

Life changing events – leaving work to focus on future opportunities and dreams

Fitness and Yoga, Marketing, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Last Friday was my last day as Managing Director of a company I helped to build from scratch over 12 years ago. I was one of 6 people who set out with 6 chairs and 6 mobile phones.For most of that time I was Marketing Director, spending the last year as MD. It has been an amazing adventure and experience. I have met and worked with some inspirational people.

I took the decision to leave and not face the complications of another internal restructuring. This will be the first time in 25 years that I do not have a full-time job, but I have 3 months garden leave to consider my future.

life changing events opportunities dreams
Best wishes.

As well as the day job, over the last decade I have also developed a successful sideline as a fitness and yoga teacher. My passion for yoga and teaching, plus my keen interest and experience in marketing, social media, speaking and blogging suggest to me a whole series of opportunities and dreams. And these are the areas I think I will focus my attention.

Offering consultancy services in marketing and social media, picking up some speaking engagements and of course teaching yoga, Body Combat and Body Balance sounds like an ideal combination – if I can get the business mix right.

I’ve already made a start. On my first day of garden leave I went along to a local club and covered a yoga class. It was a class I hadn’t covered before. In the studio I met 15 ladies who were quite surprised to see a male teacher. That’s hardly surprising as most yoga teachers in Edinburgh are women. An hour later I finished the class in my usual way and invited questions from the participants. Was there anything about what we had done today that they wanted me to explain in more detail?

One lady put her hand up and said, “I only have one question. When are you coming back to teach us again.”

I love that sort of feedback.

So I am sat in my garden, slightly nervous that I no longer have the safety net of corporate life to support me. But I feel very excited about leaving the politics and bureaucracy behind and looking forward to possibilities and opportunities of working for myself.

To quote from one of may favourite songs.

“I’d like to make myself believe.

That planet Earth turns slowly.

It’s hard to say that I’d rather stay awake when I’m asleep.

Because my dreams are bursting at the seams “

Your turn: Have you made a big leap from a secure full-time job into the world of consultancy or full-time teaching? I’d love to hear your stories. Leave a comment below or post a link to your own blogs or articles.

 

First impressions of Body Balance release 61 after Edinburgh Quarterly Workshop

Fitness and Yoga, , , , , , , , ,

After the sweaty excesses of the Quarterly Workshop for Body Combat 56, I staggered out of Virgin Active at the Omni Centre in Edinburgh and found sanctuary in St. Andrew Square for a couple of hours. It was lovely to sit on the grass in the sunshine people watching as my muscles recovered from all those “matrix kicks”.

But soon I was heading back to Virgin Active for the Quarterly Workshop for Body Balance release 61. Our trainer was Kathryn Cullen, a very witty enthusiastic lady who had us all in stitches during the education session. As the only male instructor at the session, I wasn’t as interested in her stories of the perfect bodies of some International Master Trainers she had met recently, but the ladies seemed to appreciate her graphic descriptions.

Here are my first thoughts about Body Balance release 61.

body balance release 61
Screenshot from the DVD Masterclass.
  • The class begins with a stunning piece of music by Delerium (featuring Aude Feuilerat) called Paris which sounds almost angelic. We build up a lovely tai chi sequence layer by layer until we finish with a very beautiful flowing set of moves. A great start.
  • Pink’s song Try is very aptly named for the standing strength track. You will really have to try hard to get through a tough set of poses including triangle, extended warrior and sun warrior.
  • If you have tight hips from running then you are going to love the hip opener track. The combination of cowface pose and modified half lotus is exquisite, almost pleasureably painful. I know us guys find cowface pose difficult for obvious reasons but stick with it. Flexibility will come.
  • The core abs track is a great bit ouch. This could be one of the toughest ever.
  • I like the way we use upward facing dog and bridge pose to extend our backs in track 7. We do it slowly and I found this a refreshing change from the more recent full back bends we have had to contend with.
  • Once again we have two forward bends tracks amounting to nearly nine minutes of hamstring stretches. I love the focus on the wide leg forward bends in the first one and then the seated bends in the second.

It seems that we have another tough but lovely release. I can’t wait to learn this and launch it to my classes over the next few weeks.

Your turn: Are you a Body Balance instructor? Do you agree with my first impressions of Body Balance release 61. Share your thoughts. Leave a comment. Participants let me know what you think of the class once we’ve launched it.

First impressions of Body Combat release 56 after Edinburgh Quarterly Workshop

Fitness and Yoga, , , , , , , ,

As the sun finally appears from behind the clouds in Scotland we are ready for the new summer fitness class releases from Les Mills.

The studio at Virgin Active in the Omni Centre was packed with Body Combat instructors wearing Venum shorts and sporting martial arts fighting gloves. Trainers Dave Cross and Aaron Davison led us on a sweaty journey of calorie burning kicks and an arsenal of punches.

A problem with the air conditioning meant that the mirrors clouded over and the room turned rapidly into a swamp. But all it did was make us work even harder and sweat buckets.

Here’s what I thought of Body Combat release 56.

Body Combat release 56
Dave Cross and Aaron Davison on stage – Body Combat 56 Masterclass
  • The lower body warm up feels like a whole workout in itself. Seven muay thai knees on each side repeated. Very tough.
  • They’ve brought the advancing side kick back.
  • The music in track 3 is Hymn by Tina Cousins. They used it back in release 28. The song was originally recorded by 1980s band Ultravox, best known for Vienna.
  • In over 10 years of Body Combat the artist they have used most is German rave band Scooter. Track 4 is a Scooter track with a pounding beat that will motivate you to kick harder.
  • The “matrix kick” is going to annihilate your legs.
  • Track 8 is immense. Long, relentless and just when you think it’s over, you fight on for a lot longer than you think.

I thought the class was hard, fun and the right balance of musical styles. Where else can hard rock, dub step and hip hop co-exist to create fitness magic but in a Body Combat class?

Your turn: Are you a Body Combat instructor? Do you agree with my first impressions of Body Combat release 56. Share your thoughts. Leave a comment. Participants let me know what you think of the class once we’ve launched it.

Coming soon to a club near you – Body Combat 56 & Body Balance 61

Fitness and Yoga, , , , , , , ,

Look what popped through the letterbox this morning. Yes my DVDs and CDs for Body Combat 56 & Body Balance 61.

body combat 56 & body balance 61
BC56 & BB61 Packs

The learning begins.