Mom, Thanks for the Gift of Fitness

See Your Body as a Miracle

About 20 years ago, when Asha was a size 16, she started working out. "Exercising on the Stairmaster and lifting weights made the difference. I've been a size 10 since then," says the freelance writer. Her mother, Dolores, has always exercised; she now attends Gyrotonics classes, rides a stationary bike, and lifts weights. "I'm glad Asha found exercise for herself," says Dolores, a part-time headhunter. "I never preached to her; I knew that wouldn't work." Asha is applying that same sage technique to her daughter. "I want Nisa to see her body as the same miracle that I see it," she says.

"Teaching me to create a space for myself. I remember waking up in the morning when I was little and you would be practicing yoga. That was your time. Now I use my time at the gym as a way to be alone in my head and with my own body -- honoring it and taking care of it."
Love, Asha

Originally published in FITNESS magazine, June 2007.