NxtGen Energy

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8 (NKJV)

Meditation is an activity that helps me stay focused, stay hopeful, and stay positive.  My natural tendency under stress is to become anxious and agitated.  Rather than being able to work through that stressful situation, the anxiety just makes me less effective.  Meditation helps me counteract the natural tendency of my anxious thoughts to tell my brain “we are going down!!!”, which then leads my brain to tell my heart to race, my stomach to churn, and my appetite to disappear.  It’s an exhausting cycle.  Knowing that about myself, convinced me to try meditation as a brain exercise. Just like I exercise my muscles to become stronger and more resilient, meditation trains my brain to become more resilient to stress or perceived negative situations.

For instance, if I am working on a project, the deadline is looming, and I am not making progress, my mind begins to be filled with all the possible ways that I will fail.   To counteract this, I just stop for a minute and take a deep breath.   As I exhale, I begin to remind myself that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV)  I let the words from that scripture begin to crowd out the thoughts of failure.

When I get up in the morning, I like to take at least 10-20 minutes to sit quietly by myself.  Not praying, not reading, and not talking, I just sit.  If a negative thought comes to my mind about the day, a meeting I have to go to, a conversation I have to have but am dreading or some other challenge, I just keep breathing and recite scriptures in my mind that counteract those negative thoughts.  Sometimes, I can sit quietly and enjoy the peace.  Other days, I may have to recite John 14:27 (NIV), “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

I have found that the 10-20 minutes I spent meditating leads to a better day when I step out my front door.  And if something comes up during the day that I really did not want or expect to happen, I just take a few minutes to exercise my brain with a brief meditation on what God has to say about my situation.

“And we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”  2 Corinthians 10:5b (NIV)

In the book, “You Staying Young,” Dr. Roizen and Dr. Oz describe  ‘disuse atrophy.’  Drs. Roizen and Oz  state that as you cut back on physical activity or stop using certain muscle groups, your body shifts energy to other parts of your body.  Your body says, “we aren’t using that anymore, let’s not waste any energy trying to maintain that.”  And slowly,  that area of your body begins to atrophy.  This is what happens to astronauts when they spend long periods of time in space,  in the absence of gravity.  They don’t have to use their muscles the way they did on earth.  So, over time,  they lose muscle and bone mass.  A similar, but less dramatic impact occurs as we cut back on physical activity.  Muscle atrophy or disuse atrophy is a major cause of what we perceive as aging.

So at NxtGen Energy, we plan to keep our bodies moving!

Take a look at Dr. Roizen and Dr. Oz’s website by following NxtGen Energy Link to Real Age.

NxtGen Energy has adopted donation-based pricing for its adult, group fitness classes. Donation-based pricing allows everyone to participate, regardless of their ability to pay.   Bryan Kest, a popular power yoga instructor from California, created donation-based pricing over ten years ago when he recognized that the high costs of fitness classes were pricing out many potential students.   NxtGen Energy believes that personal physical fitness should not be a function of personal economics.  So, a suggested donation is set for each class or workshop.  Students choose their donation based on their ability to pay.

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