continuing education

one day i was talking about handstands with a friend of mine after taking a yoga class. i revealed to him that my tense shoulders were what made them challenging for me and that coming to classes really helped me find methods to relax them. he responded by asking, "a pilates teacher has tense shoulders?" i said, "why yes i do!"

teachers all around are human beings too, with strengths and weaknesses just like everyone else. we are all results of heredity and conditioning. my students come to me for my expertise and i do my best to provide thoughtful and customized coaching. conversely, i seek the same in my teachers. specific to the above-mentioned case, i do attend yoga and pilates classes partly to remove tension from my shoulders.

when looking for a teacher or a coach, i find it best to find those who continue to challenge themselves and stay open to learning. the human body is a magnificent wonder, with the potential to reach some incredible states - both in health and disease. if you really think about it, our bodies are perpetually in motion, with cells dying and regenerating everyday. we must continue to evolve as our bodies do every day; therefore, there is no finish line when it comes to learning or teaching. there are endless corrections and progressions we can make with our wellness and daily existence.

so to my friend who questioned my tight shoulders, please remember, teachers need to be taken care of too. john wooden, one who inspired so very many beyond basketball, really said it so well - "it's what you learn after you know it all that counts." better believe that those teachers and coaches who stay open to learning are the ones that will take care of you the best.

why we need cardio

so this past weekend saw the next cooking class fundraiser that i put together for the charity where i currently work. this time, the class was led by the incredible chef antonio mure of ado ristorante in venice, ca. for this lesson, chef toni was accompanied by food historian/author linda civitello - who, as a graduate from vassar and u.c.l.a. (as well as a slew of other speciality schools in europe) enriched our guests with a ton of fun and interesting food facts.

i love watching great teachers teach, and you could tell that chef toni was a great teacher who cooked with alot of heart. he was animated and charming, but also was humble - it was fun to see how he and linda worked out their disagreement of where pasta came from though! he asserted it came from china, whereas she asserted it came from italy. the truth is, is that the idea of the pasta noodles certainly came from china, whereas the flour used to make traditional pasta came from italy...so in this sense, both were right...

the class was taught demo style and all of the guests enjoyed the three course meal at the end of class. the menu featured a butternut squash soup starter, filet mignon with risotto and barolo truffle sauce entree and crema di vanilla dessert. needless to say, i broke my nutrition guidelines by enjoying alot of sugar, butter and meat- but heck, i worked hard and deserve to enjoy the perks of this job!

at the end of the day, over $1500 was raised for the culinary training program and we made an impression on more new people. chef toni and linda both enjoyed their audience, the ctp students got a very rare chance to work alongside a very well-established chef and i had a chance to make people look good and do good for a cause. now bring on the crema di vanilla!!