working together

Get Happy – Join a Group!

by ultrapeg

Recently, I’ve been following a series called “100 Days of Lovingkindness” from Wildmind’s Meditation Newsletter .  Every day for the duration of the series an e-mail is sent out with a description of ideas and practices that the reader can try and, hopefully, incorporate into their lives.  Here is an excerpt from Day 66 – Appreciation is Contagious:

When. . .you become happier, . . . your friends become measurably happier because you’re happy. (This has been scientifically verified).

And your friends’ friends become measurably happier.

And your friends’ friends’ friends become measurably happier.

Happiness spreads outward into the world through your social network like a virus — although a rather beneficial one.

This may all seem rather incredible, but . . .the evidence for this [from a British Medical Journal article wonderfully titled “Dynamic Spread of Happiness”] . . . is based on a huge study carried out by Harvard Medical School and the University of California, San Diego.

Professor of Medical Genetics James H. Fowler and social scientist Nicholas Christakis, MD, PhD, have been studying social networks for years, using data from the ongoing Framingham Heart Study, which has been tracking the health, behaviors, and attitudes of tens of thousands of people since 1948.

The study measures many aspects of health, including happiness. Participants have been asked how likely they are to agree with questions like “I feel hopeful about the future” and “I feel happy.” And the study also tracks social networks, allowing the researchers to see how attitudes and behaviors spread.

Fowler and Christakis have found that if you have overweight friends, you’re more likely to be overweight yourself. If you have friends who don’t smoke, you’ll find it easier to give up smoking. If your friends are unhappy, you’re more likely to be unhappy yourself. And, crucially, if you’re happy your friends are more likely to be happy, and if your friends are happy you’re more likely to be happy.

In fact, if you’re happy you increase the chances of an immediate social contact becoming happy by 15%. And this effect ripples out into your friend’s friend’s relationships.

So it pays to surround yourself with healthy, happy people.  One way you can do that is by coming to a class!  (Yup – you knew I’d find a way to bring you back to that.)  Classes are full of people striving to improve their health and general outlook on life.  Be a part of that effort!  It’s contagious!  According to this study, just by showing up and being part of the group you have at least a 15% chance of becoming happier and healthier yourself.  And if your own well-being is not enough incentive, your association with healthy people may enable you to spread that health to everyone around you.  The more of us who participate, the more this spreads.  Just think what we can all accomplish!

The study also implies that if you’re not feeling particularly happy or healthy, you’re likely to pass those feelings on as well. So maybe these ideas will help you to just try rubbing elbows with a group that’s trying to improve their lives.  It can’t hurt and it just might help you feel better.  You don’t have to perform in any prescribed or specified way.  Just be there and be a part of the group.  If you keep it up, pretty soon all those you associate with might start feeling better, too.  What a concept!

Hope to see you all in a class soon!

 

Never Too Late

by ultrapeg

As most of you know, I recently decided to train for a new (for me) Pilates certification using the Reformer.  For those of you who don’t know, the Reformer is a piece of equipment originally designed by Joseph Pilates, the founder of the Pilates method, to assist with some exercises.  In recent years the Reformer has also become a tool that Physical Therapists can use as part of the rehabilitation process following surgery and/or injury.  Although I’ve been teaching mat Pilates for years, I became interested in the Reformer as my students (and me!) continue to age and develop special needs.

Deciding to undertake a new certification required some serious thought and preparation on my part.  For one thing, training is expensive – especially when it requires travel.  My resources are limited.  Training also takes time.  There is study time, practice time, travel time and loss of income while engaging in these activities.  These considerations meant weighing all of the possible outcomes.  Would the sacrifices necessary be worth the end result?  Of course, there is no way of being certain.

Those of you who follow my blog know that a recurring theme is daring to take risks even when the outcome is uncertain.  Actually, there isn’t much in life that is certain except for change.  Everything changes all of the time.  We all hate change, but it is constant – no matter what we do to protect ourselves from it.  Probably all of you have heard some version of the quote, “Insanity is repeating the same thing over and over and expecting different results”.   As much as we dislike change, if we want something to be different we can’t keep repeating the same behavior.

Change is a scary thing.  In my last post, I repeated something that struck me when I first heard it – change means loss.  We have to give up something in order to make something else happen.  To make the decision I was faced with, I knew I would have to give some things up without knowing what would be on the other side.  I would have to step off the precipice of the known and set foot on the uncertain surface of the unknown.  Was I ready to make that leap at this late stage in my life?  Would my feet sink into quicksand?

After much soul-searching and discussion with my husband, I decided to take that chance.  Helping people move has been more than a job for me.  It is a vocation.  Almost a calling.  My mantra for the last 20 years or so has been “move while you can move, because you never know when you won’t be able to move anymore”.  Although there is no way to know how this will all work out, I realized I would just have to make the decision, take the leap, and put one foot in front of the other.  Part of that decision means accepting the outcome whatever it is.  So that’s what I’ve doing.  For me this is an opportunity to fulfill a dream I’ve had for more than 20 years – to be able to work full-time at helping people move.

In November I began the first step toward fulfilling this goal.  Shortly after that I made another leap of faith and quit my part-time job at a local restaurant so I could devote myself to my training and my business.  Now here’s the amazing part – it’s all working out!  I’m taking it day by day.  No expectations.  But so far, it’s all working out.  I am so grateful to everyone who is supporting my efforts.

This week I received a very special form of support which is really why I wanted to write this post.  As an older, “non-traditional” student, I was encouraged to apply for a scholarship offered by the P.E.O. Sisterhood, an organization that supports educational opportunities for women.  A local branch of this organization sponsored my application.  Notification came this week that I was awarded a partial scholarship to obtain my certification.  There are no words to express how honored and moved I am by the support of this group.

What I really want to express in this post is that it is never too late to take that leap into the unknown and try something new.  A whole new world has opened up for me and no matter what happens, I have already learned so much – not just about Pilates, but about myself.  I am truly grateful to have this opportunity.