During the Holiday Season, patience can be in short supply.

The ability to bear adversity, provocation or difficulty is patience. Long lines, hot tempers or lack of funds can tempt patience.

Be aware that our attitude to the little difficulties affects our overall attitude to life. If we want to enjoy life, let patience be a guide.

Bring out your “witness” when trials appear. Be non-judgmental and practice detachment to the difficulty. Trust that this too shall pass. Take a moment and reflect where in your life that more patience is called for.

Your challenge is to journal how you will add more patience into your life.
Enjoy the quotes!

“Patience is not active; on the contrary, it is active; it is concentrated strength. ” ~Bulwer-Lytton, Edward G.

“Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them — every day begin the task anew. ” ~St. Francis De Sales

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. ” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Much joy to you!

Georgia Lee London

Joy is the source of delight (see Day 3).

Joy is what lies underneath all other emotions no matter what happens or what you are feeling. The word joy originates from the word rejoice. It’s being in the power, in the flow of Spirit.

A delight in being alive! Joy is a Spiritual practice to tap into with faith, grace, hope and love.

When we feel abundance, pleasure and happiness, we are in joy. This feeling that underlies all other feelings can be brought forth at any time, be felt anytime (even in times of sorrow) and be celebrated!

Dance for joy, jump for joy are common maxims. There is no greater joy then moving the body, clearing the mind and finding ecstatic joy! The Sufi would twirl for joy.

In the Holiday Season, we can experience highs and lows. Find your joy this Season.

The challenge of today is to find a little joy. Put on some favorite music and jump, dance or twirl for joy.

“The joy of a spirit is the measure of its power.”  ~Ninon de Lenclos, French courtesan (1620 – 1705)

“I define joy as a sustained sense of well-being and internal peace – a connection to what matters.”  ~Oprah Winfrey, O Magazine, US actress & television talk show host (1954 – )

“Learning to live in the present moment is part of the path of joy.”  ~Sarah Ban Breathnach

Much joy to you!

Georgia Lee London

You may be wondering how “tiredness” became a focus in a Christmas fitness challenge.

One of the biggest challenges for my students is the issue of “tiredness”.

During the Holidays, almost everyone experiences some tiredness with the extra tasks we have.

First, find out if your tiredness is medically related.  There are many physical conditions besides the stress of the Holidays that can cause tiredness.  Rule out the medical cause by getting a physical by your personal care physician and completing all blood work that s/he recommends.

There are many situational (lose a job, divorce, etc.), emotional (anxiety, depression, grief, boredom, etc.) and non-disease related physical causes (not enough sleep, poor eating habits, use of too much alcohol/drugs, etc.).

Get really clear what is causing your tiredness.  It may include a combination of causes.  Then, activate your energy by changing your “tiredness” lifestyle habits to healthy, energy promoting habits.

Being tired (physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, in all ways) is just a nudge to pay attention to ourselves.  A very important nudge to listen to since too much tiredness leads to disease.

Let go of the Superwoman, be the woman who flows with life by her own direction, in her own way, and in her own time. I love to lustrate and luxuriate in my tiredness in a very hot, bubbly bath!

Take the time to recognize and be attentive to your tired feelings…the message is there…slow down, do less, be me, guilt, pleasure, anger, joy, prove myself, have to be the best…there are many messages of tiredness…what is it for you?

Writing out a personal message, a “anti-tiredness” affirmation is helpful.  Below are mine.

• I am full of energy and light
• I am full of the lusciousness of life
• I am a light being of magnificent energy
• I have a strong and powerful energy
• I am alive and well
• I enjoy my energy
• I am gentle and precious with my energy
• I am my energy’s caregiver and I treat her like a newborn child
• I am IN my energy
• I flow with the power of the Source energy

Your challenge is to write 3 “anti-tiredness” affirmations for your “self” or use one of mine!

Much joy to you!

Georgia Lee London

The word COURAGE comes from the French word “Coeur” which means heart.

When we ACT or SPEAK from our heart, we are in COURAGE.

Calling upon our inner strength to FACE FEAR is COURAGE.

Being brave enough to forego the commercialism of Christmas is COURAGE.

Taking a stand to create your own Christmas traditions takes COURAGE.

Letting go of the need to please everybody all of the time is COURAGE.

Taking time for your “Self” is COURAGE.

Giving your “Self” a gift is COURAGE.

Feeling the FEAR and doing it anyway is COURAGE.

Donating to a worthy cause or signing a petition to state your belief, to support the change you wish to see in the World is COURAGE. Go to www.change.org and “Be the Change”.

Your challenge for today is to read a quote or read a book about COURAGE.  Profile in Courage by John F. Kennedy is one of my favorites!

Below are some favorite COURAGE quotes.

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.” ~Mary Anne Radmacher

“Courage is being scared to death… and saddling up anyway.” ~John Wayne

Much joy to you!

Georgia Lee London

By now, you have come to see that ZENgevity is way more than an exercise program.

Our vision of fitness is holistic. Your body can’t become fit, if the rest of your “self” is not with the program.

Fitness starts with our commitment.  A full on commitment to our Body, Brain, Heart and Soul!

Look for more physical expressions of fitness in the second 12 Days starting December 25th. For now, let your Brain, Heart and Soul get fit!

My visit to NYC included a view of Rockefeller Center and the biggest Christmas tree I have ever seen. The ice skating rink, the children whooping with joy, smiles on the parent’s faces, the beautiful lights and the cool, icy snowflakes landing on my nose gave me a feeling of delight!

When we feel pleasure and joy, we sense delight. Whether we give pleasure, take pleasure or have pleasure in this Holiday Season it is up to us.

Visions of sugar plums, the charm of Santa, and the smiles on faces give me, delight. Even more delight when I put $20. into the Black Kettle and hand another $20. to the Bell Ringer to put in their pocket.

Surprise is an expression of delight. I invite you to find your pleasure of the Season and put some delight into your World.

Your challenge is to feel delight in everything you do today.

Born:  January 7, 1914    Passed: November 8, 2011

Age 97

Ruth Nason began her study of ZENgevity when she was 88 years old.  She was still practicing ZENgevity when she turned age 97.

Ruth will long be remembered by the ZENgevity community for her wonderful smile, her incredible enthusiasm and her words of hope and optimism for one and all. She always had a happy “Hello Dear” for everyone.

We will miss you Ruth.

Day 2: Hope

Today’s focus is on Hope. We define hope as the ability to expect with confidence that things will turn out for the best.

Hope is about cherishing a desire. Hope is different than positive thinking or affirmations.

Hope is when we really stand in that desire and know and truly believe that it will be better.

Below are some wonderful quotes about hope. Where do you need the most hope in your life right now? How can you bring more hope into your life?

Your challenge today is to create your own quote about Hope.

• “Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.” -Lin Yutang

• “In all things it is better to hope then to despair.” -Johan Wolfgang von Gothe

• “When you say a situation or a person is hopeless, you are slamming the door in the face of God.” -Charles L. Alan

• “Hope is the dream of the soul awake.” -French Proverb

• “Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without words, and never stops at all.”    -Emily Dickinson

• “Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better we can bear hardship today.” -Thich Nhat Hanh

• “Hope never abandons you; you abandon it.” -George Weinberg

• “Love comes to those who still hope even though they’ve been disappointed, to those who still believe even though they’ve been betrayed, to those who still love even though they’ve been hurt before.” -Author Unknown

Today I will focus on what I can do to start making my hopes become realities.

Visualizing the future, I have an attitude of hopeful expectancy.  I delight in challenges that bring out the best in me.

Join us tomorrow for the Day 3 Challenge: Delight

We can stay fit in body, mind, heart and spirit whenever we choose.

On this first ever blog post for ZENgevity, please join us for the 12 days of Fitness Challenge.

ZENgevity is not just about physical fitness, it’s fitness of mind, body, heart and spirit.

We’ve all heard of the 12 days of Christmas. There is the famous song the 12 days of Christmas and there is the original 12 days of Christmas which contrary to popular belief, these are not days before Christmas but are the 12 days from Christmas until the beginning of the Epiphany on January 6.

The Epiphany is usually celebrated as the time the wise men or Magi, arrive to present gifts to the young Jesus. In many cultures and in many church traditions, there are many ways to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas. So, whether you celebrate the 12 days of Christmas before Christmas or after Christmas or not at all, join us on this 12 days of fitness challenge at any time from December 13 until January 6.

We will post this challenge the 12 days before Christmas and the 12 days after. We will also post the eight days of Hanukkah challenge so check again later on this month for that. In our house, we celebrate both. Let’s begin.

Day 1: Charity

In ZENgevity, we always have a focus. The focus for day one is charity! How can we be generous and helpful especially for the needy and for the suffering this holiday season?

How can we give of our body, mind, heart or spirit? Remember it’s always just one step, one baby step. What is one small thing that you can do to help someone else in need today?

Below is a list of activities that would help someone this year.

•    Dance with the child or grandchild.
•    Donate used toy or a new toy.
•    Put some money into the Black kettle.
•    Wish the bell ringer a Merry Christmas.
•    Bring can food to the food pantry.
•    Leave an extra big tip for your favorite wait staff.
•    Read a book in the classroom or at a senior center.
•    Give a gift to anyone who has provided a special service for you this year.
•    Put up a bird feeder.
•    Volunteer time at a Shelter.

There are many activities and ways to be generous and provide charity. Choose one or create one. Most of all, always be generous and charitable to yourself, too!

Bonus Challenge:

We invite you to use the SOS strategy. “S” stands for self. “O” stands for others. “S” stands for society. How can you be charitable to your Self, Others and Society?

An example would be:

Self:        Take a 30 min. walk today.
Other:    Call a loved one you haven’t talked to for some time.
Society: Buy a goat for a friend. Go to www.worldvisiongifts.org

Join us tomorrow for Challenge 2: Hope