I want you to do something for ONE DAY.  I want you to focus on just two things:  smiling and your posture.  That’s it…end of article.

Seriously, I want you to focus on this all day.  Not for just a moment…all day.  You’re probably saying to yourself that you smile every day and you always stand up straight so why bother taking this challenge?  If this is true, that’s fantastic.  But if you’re like most people, it’s simply not the way we go through our day.  Look at the people you see on your way to work—whether you’re on a bus, in your car or on a train.  LOOK at them.  Most people look like they are dreading their day.  They aren’t smiling.  They aren’t laughing.  They don’t look happy.

Let’s start with the smile—an easy, happy smile.  You already know that it takes more muscles to smile than it does to frown (well, this has never actually been proven, but I believe it and it sound good).  But that’s not why I want you to smile today.  Smiling (like yawning) is contagious.  When you smile at people, they will usually smile back.  I find it interesting when I smile at someone; many times it seems as if I completely catch her (or him) off guard.  A small percentage of people will start looking at the ground and walking faster—like you’re scaring them.  The good news is that most people will happily smile back. 

What you may not realize is that you can change an entire person’s day with your smile.  It’s free and it’s powerful…so do it.  And guess what?  Smiling will make YOU feel better!  If you smile, even when you don’t feel like it, your mood will elevate.  Even though you may know you’re “faking” the smile, your body doesn’t know it.  So smile…you and everyone around you will have a happier day.

The second thing I want you to think about today is your posture.  It is so easy to not pay attention to the way you stand (which is how your present yourself).  Have you ever noticed what you do when you walk through a department store or any other place that has a lot of mirrors?   You immediately straighten up when you catch a glimpse of yourself.  This is because most of us have poor posture.  Why?  Because it’s so much easier to slouch than it is to stand up straight.

When you focus on good posture, you will look taller (duh), look thinner (awesome) and you’ll look more confident.  And there’s nothing sexier than a confident woman.

So, take the challenge today:   STAND UP STRAIGHT and SMILE—show the world your sexy self!  Then, turn one day into a week.  One week into a month.  One month into a year.   It’s NOT hard to do.

And for all my dog lover friends, you know that dogs smile…I miss my Samantha.  She smiled at me every single day of her life.  And guess what happened?  I smiled right back at her–every single day.

Be confident and share your smile,

Molly

Sometimes if something sounds too good to be true, it simply is too good to be true.  Then again, sometimes you stumble across great things with no strings attached.  Well, almost no strings…

Let me introduce you to Wexer.  Wexer stands for “World of Exercise” and is aptly named since it’s a virtual health club with instructors and members from all over the world.  Their vision is to raise the level of health and well-being on a global scale, by increasing the number of people who exercise regularly. 

Getting Started

To sign up, just fill in your basic information along with your current fitness levels and future goals.  Wexer then helps you select the exercise routines that would be the best for you.  Every class has 3 levels to choose from—Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced.  You can choose from the following classes:

• Strength—Body Toning, Strength Training, Neck & Shoulders
• Cardio—Aerobics, Kick-n-Circuit
• Pilates
• Yoga
• Dance
• Back and Posture
• Fit for Work
• Stretching

What I LOVE about this site is that many of the exercise videos are only 5 minutes!  That’s right—you can squeeze in some strength moves before checking your emails when you get home from work.  If you only have15 minutes until your kids come screaming in the door, then use that time wisely!  As you know, 15 minutes of exercise is much better than simply doing nothing. 

Have Computer—Will Travel

If you happen to travel a lot for work, you’re always a click away from your favorite workouts.  No more excuses about not finding time to exercise on the road.  And, if you’re a social creature, you can connect with other Wexer members from all around the world.

So what’s the catch?   Word has it that Wexer plans to start charging for their virtual gym soon.  But, if you join now, you’ll be grandfathered in as a member—for free!

So give Wexer a try.  You have nothing to lose and so much to gain.

Get Fit and Be Confident,

If you don’t remember this, it’s simply because you weren’t born yet.  The rest of us will never forget this brilliant line from a famous television commercial back in the early 1970’s.  The incredibly talented Ella Fitzgerald sang a high note while being recorded on a Memorex audio cassette and it actually caused a pane of glass to shatter.  When the tape was played back, the glass shattered again followed by a voice that said “Is it live, or is it Memorex?”

So was it real?  My answer would be yes because back in the 70’s, most things were real.  If you read something in the newspaper, it was a fact.  Models on the covers of magazines actually looked like themselves—not furiously airbrushed and retouched women. 

Fast forward to today.  For over 20 years, I was a huge fan of Self Magazine.  I always thought they wanted women to feel comfortable in their own skin…until I saw the cover with Kelly Clarkson.  I won’t re-hash the story (because you couldn’t help but hear it) but it seems like if we can’t trust Self Magazine to accept their cover models’ bodies then who can we trust?  Redbook? 

Well, I guess Redbook is no different than all the others.  Take a look at these retouched photos of Faith Hill on the cover of Redbook. 

I think she’s gorgeous just the way she is–but if you look closely at both photos you will see that they turned her normal-looking arm into a skinny stick, they removed the bags under her eyes, shaved the top of her back off, changed her hair color and added a bunch of make-up. 

Magazine editors defend retouching by saying that they do it to everyone and it helps sell magazines.  Well, I’m sure that’s true but at the same time these ads are wreaking havoc on the confidence of many young girls and women.  According to “The New Normal:  What Girls Say About Healthy Living” (Girl Scout Institute, 2006), 49% of girls 8-10 years old and 59% of girls 11-12 are concerned about being fat or overweight.  Is this how we want our daughters to grow up?

I recently became a registered facilitator for the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty.  They have put together an amazing learning experience for girls ages 8-12 years old.  These fabulous workshops teach girls at an early age to recognize and appreciated their own beauty.  The girls also learn that what they see in magazines and advertisements does NOT represent real beauty–because it’s simply not real.

Please take a moment to watch these fabulous videos put together by the visioinaries at Dove.  If you have about 10 minutes, please watch them all.  If you only have 1 spare minute, watch the film called “Evolution”.

After you watch them, please post a comment and let me know what you think.   http://www.dove.us/#/makeadifference/video.aspx/

Smile and be confident….and HAPPY ST. PATTY’S DAY!!!

Molly