I like to think I’m immune to celebrity endorsement. But then, a few years ago, I heard about a yoga teacher who counts Cindy Crawford, David Duchovny, Courtney Love and Annette Bening among her clientele. And she was coming to Vancouver. Quick as a paparazzo snapping a shot, I signed up.

Gurmukh Kaur Kahlsa teaches one of my favorite styles of yoga: Kundalini, a fast-paced, dynamic style of yoga that strengthens the nervous system (and, if my aching muscles were any indication after my first session—your entire body). Classes with my Kundalini teacher had not only helped me get in shape, they’d enabled me to tap into an inner strength I never knew I had.

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If my parents had chosen a few adjectives as my middle name rather than Marie, then perhaps they would have selected: Ambitious. Impulsive. Can’t-Take-No-for-An-Answer-Type-of-Gal. I would have changed my middle name ASAP…which would be a dead give away of one of my worst characteristics.

I admit that these tendencies of mine lead to an issue I have with working toward small goals. I have this all-or-nothing approach when I set goals or, say, see a new workout system on infomercials. My fiancé recommends that I just try using one of the 800 workout tapes I already have… I shake my head and tell him that, “If I only had this (insert money-wasting-piece-of-machinery-here), then I really would be in great shape. Don’t you understand?”

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On my to do list is to find joyful exercise. To sweat with dignity. To tone and firm and be ludicrously fit.

My progress report: ….is in progress.

I can talk myself out of virtually anything. Including exercising. It’s not for lack of trying. It’s just…I haven’t found My Perfect Exercise yet. My husband is an avid squash player and gets regular workouts without thinking of them as workouts. He’s got: a game he loves, a skill he’s perfecting, and a night out with his friends all in one. I want that.

My quest for The Perfect Exercise goes way back to the days of The Twenty Minute Workout - remember that? Bess Motta, lip gloss and absurdly large hair? That worked for a while until I felt like I was training to be an extra in a porn flick. Once I had that image in my mind, there was no way I was going to do  “…just three more…(breathe)…and two more…(pout seductively)…aaaaand one more…”. I just couldn’t do it and not laugh. Mind you, laughing one’s ass off would be My Perfect Workout if I could actually laugh my ass off.

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In 1968 my twin sister, Nancy, and I watched Nancy Greene win a gold medal for Canada at the winter Olympics. I was nine years old and in awe, inspired to compete with the best in the world. I now had a dream, I wanted to go to the Olympics. Naturally athletic my sport of choice was track and field. At ages 18 and 19 I was ranked second in Canada for my event, I was on my way. Got a great coach and trained my ass off. Actually I ignored my body, my intuition and over-trained. I was one of those athletes that never lived up to my potential.

Things every athlete should know

1. 1.Don’t over train, listen to your body, it will tell you when you need to rest.
   2.Don’t compare yourself with other athletes, those doing more mileage, those that weigh less….
   3.Most Olympians take 12- to 13-years of talent development from their introduction to the sport to making an Olympic team. Slow and steady is the journey.
   4.Find a mentor, perhaps a retired athlete in your sport. Someone to support you, to nourish you.
   5.Sacrifice means you a giving something up, if it is a passionate commitment there is nothing to give up. It is a choice.
   6.Do it for you, not your parents, not your coach.
   7.Have fun, losing is part of the game. Learn, move on, nobody died.

Life is a sport. These lessons apply as much to training as they do to living.

People often ask me, “How do you stay so slim and fabulous-looking?” And I say…nothing, because that’s a total lie.

People don’t, in fact, ask me that question, but since I got whistled at on the street last week, I feel imminently qualified to dispense dietary advise. Yes, I have let it Go To My Head. The last time I got whistled at was 1994, so you can understand why the novelty of it has made me think that I now hold the key to my own arsenal of knowledge I like to call: Weapons of Ass Reduction.

I do pay attention to what I eat, and I am at a body weight that makes me feel comfortable in my skin. This is inarguable because I gave up sugar.

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

Eat in Reverse

People in my corporate job would often comment on the “weirdness” of my breakfasts. (Of course here in the studio, there is blind acceptance of anything out of the ordinary, and usually respectful inquiries about the rationale behind these personal choices.) What caused the fuss was the fact that I eat dinner for breakfast. If I have it my way, which I often don’t, I eat breakfast for dinner. Nothing makes me as happy as a plate of spaghetti bolognaise for breakfast, and some eggs or a bowl of cereal for dinner.

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