Yoga: The Most Underrated Exercise
By Cheval John
I had done yoga and pilates with my weight training while I was in college for two years.
Unfortunately, I didn’t keep up with my exercises in the final years of my undergraduate education.
When I started weight training again in 2018, I didn’t even think about doing yoga until watching the episode of Wagle Ki Duniya-Nayi Peedhi Naye Kisse (Wagle’s World: New Generation New Stories) focusing on yoga during the “international day of yoga”
In searching for yoga videos on YouTube, I found a channel called Yoga With Adrienne.
She had videos from beginners to advanced yoga.
Since I had a busy schedule of working full time while running this company, I decided to do the mini-sessions which lasted for 23 minutes.
Afterward, I incorporated yoga into weight training.
Later, I found another channel called Sara Beth Yoga which had 10 minute yoga sessions and 14 minute yoga sessions for beginners.
This fit better for me.
Then I decided to challenge myself to do yoga consecutively for 30 days after my birthday after watching a video on those who did yoga consecutively for 30 days and 365 days, respectively
I ended up doing yoga for 67 consecutive days.
What I can share after doing yoga consecutively for 67 days is:
Yoga calms the mind and block out the noise
Yoga relaxes the body.
What it also did was allow me to do my exercise routine the right way.
Now you might think you don’t have time to incorporate yoga into your exercises.
With the internet and social media, anyone can find the time to do yoga at the comfort of your home.
Starting 2021 On The Right Foot
By Cheval John
I knew that 2020 was going to be an interesting year because of synchronization.
I was thinking of the roaring 20s where things was booming in that era.
At that time, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and show my face more on Instagram.
I figured the best way to do this was to showcase my home workout routines put together by my coach, Monique Rondeau.
When I started working at the small hotel in 2018, I knew I had to started exercising again.
At that moment, I had to hire a coach to guide me.
And I saw a lot of fitness competitors on instagram and Monique stood out to me
So I had hired Monique because I had a hunch she would be the right person to guide me and started the workout routines she put together for me from May of 2018.
All of the workouts were from home because of the busy schedule at the small hotel which didn’t give me time to go to the gym.
I didn’t know this would be helpful because of the lockdowns due to the “pandemic”
It was not difficult for me to transition due to the home workout routines years prior.
The only thing that was difficult was doing my walking exercise around the hotel because we could not leave during the temporary lockdowns in Texas.
It was really inspiring to see how the majority of fitness competitors and non-competitors were able to convert a part of their home into a gym to keep up with their workout routines.
One in particular was Eden who did her fitness training in preparation for competition when it was allowed.
Once the competition occured, she ended up earning her pro card.
I honestly believe this year is the best time to start exercising because it will be beneficial for your health and indirectly for your career/business.
When people see you taking care of yourself, they will most likely want to do business with you because in their mind, they see you as responsible.
And if you need guidance, here is a list of personal trainers who can help you:
Janet Lynn West
www.janetlynnwest.com
Julia Marie
www.hammerfitness.com/coach/julia-marie
Stephanie Rutko
www.allanglestrainingco.com
Meagan Cormier
www.hybraletefitness.com
Nichelle Laus
www.nichellelaus.com
Magda Banas
www.blogtalkradio.com/vallanomedia (podcast)
Jean-Jaques Barrett
www.tulumstrengthclub.com
Michelle MacDonald
www.tulumstrengthclub.com
Tania Atkin
www.taniaatkin.com
Monique Rondeau (my coach)
Vicki O’Neill: Host of Connect The Dots Podcast
By Cheval John
Podcasting is still an important medium to get your message out to the world.
According to these statistics compiled by Convince and Convert:
75% of Americans are Now Familiar with Podcasting. …
55% of Americans Have Listened to a Podcast. …
Podcast Listeners Have Grown 37.5% in 3 Years. …
37% of Americans Listen to Podcasts Monthly. …
Monthly Podcast Listeners Have Grown 54% in 3 Years. …
Half of Americans Ages 12-34 Listen to Podcasts Monthly.
Podcasting is still the lowest medium out there because they are about 500 million blogs in the world.
The blogosphere is over saturated.
If have a blog, it can be very difficult to find the right audience because it seems like everyone is talking about the same topic.
Combine it with a podcast and you have a much better chance to grow your business.
Vicki O’Neill took advantage and started her own podcast, Connect The Dots, which interviews business leaders on marketing strategies.
I had the opportunity to interview her on What’s The Word? to find out what led her to start her own podcast and how entrepreneurship helped her to be a better business professional.
Suzanne Brown: Author And Founder Of Mompowerment
By Cheval John
Suzanne Brown returned to What’s The Word? to share about her vision for her business, Mompowerment.
This episode was recorded on Blue Jeans Network before the “pandemic” happened.
Suzanne shared about livestreaming and the resurgence of LinkedIn.
She has written two books and recently published an article in The Harvard Business Review called, “https://hbr.org/amp/2020/09/how-to-identify-a-family-friendly-employer?__twitter_impression=true.
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Below is a sample of what Suzanne shared on the show:
Whether you are on LinkedIn or having a conversation with somebody you have just met at an event, it’s about the relationship building.
You wouldn’t meet somebody and say, “Hey, do you want to buy my book?”
That would not be your approach if you meet somebody in person.
So why would that be your approach online?
I think a lot of times, people think, “Oh, it’s online, therefore, it’s a different set of rules.
Nobody wants to be sold to.
LinkedIn is a professional setting.
So it goes by the same rules that you would have in a professional setting.
If you were selling something to somebody, you would learn a little bit about them.
Maybe there is an article that you both responded to and you really liked what they had to say.
That is a great reason to connect with that person.
I think it’s also really important to use the functionality where it allows you to send a note.
Just change the generic note and personalized the message.
That first engagement is key because it makes them think, “Do I want to connect with this person or not.”
If your immediate thing is to spam, chances are you will start losing people.
On The Comeback Of LinkedIn
I think all of a sudden, people have discovered or rediscovered LinkedIn as a platform because for a really long time, it was an online resume.
Now people are realizing this a great way to build business relationships especially with those who are not in your typical network.
You can connect with people all over the world.
You can connect with people from different business industries.
I think it’s a really great platform.
I think that influencers have really great wins on LinkedIn
Now they are saying, “This is the platform to use.”
All of a sudden, these newbies are coming to LinkedIn and they don’t necessary understand the platform.
So they are using what is essentially bad habits.
So being able to start coaching people and say, “I am glad we connected. I am not interested in this message, do you like to continue this conversation?”
You can find nicer ways to doing that.
Or simply unfriend and overtime, people will figure out, “Oh, maybe I shouldn’t done that (spamming)”
So it all depends on if you want to mentor somebody or if you want to just give them the boot.
Lessons Learned In 2021
By Cheval John
I am thankful for 2021 because of the valuable lessons we have learned.
Earlier on, we saw the protocols of the “pandemic” being applied to many activities.
From the limitation of fan attendance in many sporting events
To college football at the FCS level, volleyball and other winter sports being played in the spring time which was a double work load for the administrators in the conferences.
As the year progressed, they allowed full attendance in the majority of sporting events.
September 3rd’s matchup between North Carolina and Virginia Tech was a full house.
And the atmosphere was electric.
That was when I knew we are getting close to being back to normal.
Then the tradition of Wisconsin Football’s fourth quarter stretch of “Jump Around” really made us feel we are back.
As we enter 2022, here are some of the lessons I have learned along the way in 2021.
Your Health Is Very Important.
Getting enough sleep, exercising, eating in moderation and walking in the sun will allow your body to fight off any illnesses.
The United States of America Is The Unique Country In The World
I took for granted how important this country.
I had the opportunity to live in Mexico and Chile for extended periods of time and I enjoyed it.
I am curious to see how others see the world in through the eyes of their culture.
I thought it was better to live overseas due to believing the “narrative” racism is happening in the USA for most of the 2000s and 2010s.
When the “pandemic” started last year, I was thinking I would have been better off being in the countries where they were doing the lockdowns.
Thankfully, I woke up in time last summer to realize this wasn’t as bad as it seems.
This “crisis” really allowed many of us to understand the uniqueness of the USA as the governors of the 50 states and territories shares the same power as the federal government.
And we have seen the results of those decisions.
Florida has more people moved to their state while California lost a bunch.
The Importance Of Being Around Like Minded People
Though it is important to have disagreement, the main thing you should have in common are core values.
If you want to improve your life and you hang around people who only sees negativity, then you will not get anywhere.
Thankfully, social media has allowed many of us to find like minded people who wants us to succeed.
The fitness community has been beneficial to me since I am not around many people who are making an improvement in life.
Time Is Valuable
Working full time while running my business has taught me the importance of time management.
It allowed me to understand if I really want to get something done, I will find the time to do it.
Since I have limited time, I am able to do an average of 20 minute weight training and 30 minute cardio.
And I was able to do a yoga for an average of 12 minutes thanks to videos on youtube.
In conclusion, it is important to prioritize your time to the best of your ability because if you don’t, you will not be able to get that time back.
Happy New Year
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