“Karve Your Body,” Week 3: Breaking Barriers

Embracing Newness
One day this past week I opened up my weekly Lululemon e-mail. This week Lulu told me, “New possibilities: Newness breaks barriers. Reach for it daily.” I grabbed my pen and copied this down in pretty script on the back of one of my business cards. Then I added some little stars. Then I really broke some barriers and got it tattooed on my back.

Okay, I didn’t get inked but what kind and simple advice. Strive to break barriers and experience newness – every day. I am not interpreting this as, “Do something every day that scares you” because who wants to be scared every 24 hours?! My anxiety couldn’t deal.

Staying enlightened and inspired and breaking the monotony of life can be making small and subtle changes such as:

• Asking a new friend to go to dinner
• Shopping at a different Target
• Reading a new magazine after work instead of watching TV
• Cooking a new recipe with a unique ingredient
• Walking your dog at a different park
• Checking out Living Social deals for new ideas on how to plan the weekend

By taking classes at Karve Studio, I broke barriers.  I haven’t dropped a size nor have I developed perfect muscle definition, but I challenged myself to strength training and core strengthening, for example, which are exercises I never cared about. If you’re a runner, comfortable in your spinning class or content with yoga, you may be ready to explore some new possibilities, which can possibly lead to unexpected rewards and life-changing surprises.

Discovering Possibilities
Karve instructor Tara broke barriers when she started taking Karve classes. Tara used to go through workout spurts. She’d go to the gym for a couple months sporadically. She’d hop on the treadmill and lift some weights, but admittedly, she didn’t really know what she was doing. After a spinal fusion, Tara gained 25 lbs and started taking Karve classes, which accommodated her physical restrictions. She wasn’t permitted to do high-impact workouts, such as running and jumping. Karve was safe for her injury.

In the beginning, Tara would take one class a week.  She couldn’t even make it through a single class.  She was out of shape and not using weights. Through the course of one year, without participating in any other fitness program and without changing her diet, Tara lost the 25 lbs she gained from her surgery.

“Karve leaned me out,” Tara said as she described herself as tighter, stronger and more defined.

Eventually becoming an instructor, Tara recommends Karve because:

• It works for everyone and any fitness level
• Every exercise and stretch can be modified
• Room for improvement and new challenges are never ending
• It’s non-competitive; the focus is on you and not how advanced you or anyone else is

Break from predictability, experience newness and challenge yourself to exercise, a new type of work out or a ballet-barre class at Karve Studio. From class routines and exercises to results and improvements, Karve is unpredictable, as life should be.