Minorsan

Self Defense and Fitness

(831) 458-0900

Minorsan Has Moved!

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Minorsan has Moved and Morning Classes are at The Tannery

Minorsan-Has-Moved! - CA

Monday – Friday morning classes are being held at The Tannery!

Classes start October 3, 2016.

We are very excited about this collaboration with The Tannery. It is such a great space to just be, and a great space to move. See our online Schedule to see the class times/room. Please bear with us as we work through all the details of the Schedule. Some slots may change.

Our biggest change is for Wednesday morning: Zumba is at 11:30 am, and BodyPump is at 12:30 pm. (Now Wed & Fri Zumba both at 11:30 am!).

And we are very excited to begin evening and Sat/Sun morning classes on October 25, at Garfield Park Community Church! This is another great collaboration within our community. Another great venue to hang out, and to move our bodies! The Church and its entire campus has been revamped, renovated, and is now a beautiful space.

In the meantime, we are offering Tabata workouts (30 mins each) to all members of Minorsan, at 6:00 pm on the Garfield Park Church Lawn. The first was October 3, and it was a hit! Even if you have never taken a Tabata class, you are welcome to join us. Bring a friend and check it out together. It’s always more fun with 2, or 3, or 4 or 5! Bring as many friends as you would like. Anyone new to Minorsan can take one free! Anyone can do a 30-minute class…

We will update when we are open at Garfield Park Church for all classes.

Lessons from the Wharf to Wharf

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Lessons-from the Wharf to WharfThis past weekend I ran the Wharf to Wharf with a bunch of fun crazy ladies (and one gent, the Beekeeper) who were all promoting Hive & Hum, a new business on River Street, focusing on the importance of our winged friends…especially our BEES. (It is a beautiful store with lots of goodies for everyone!). Every single one of them has been to MINORSAN Self-Defense & Fitness. Crazy-fun crew. (Yes, I am promoting Hive & Hum, as I believe in their vision. OK…done. Just go there and check it out.)

So today, two days later, I am still feeling the ‘run.’ Have to laugh at this one, as many people do not truly ‘run.’ Many jog/walk and could care less what time we get to the finish line. (That is the best part of this local Santa Cruz event.) And either way, our bodies still feel it. I know it would be ‘smart’ to do many practice runs before this ‘race.’ I’ve ran it twice before this year. Each time, my muscles talk to me. It’s in a loving way, but they do talk loudly to me. I ignore them. I’ve had this lesson now three times. And I choose to say…’meh.’ No big deal. Muscles heal rather quickly. Mine will be good by tomorrow. Really, in the greater scheme of things, no biggie. (Throw this in with ‘first world whining.’)

I run now once per year. This is it. The Wharf to Wharf. I don’t even ‘practice’ for it. I just get out there and jog it. This year I walked a bit too cuz I was with so many other people, and we were all attempting to stay together. Everyone in the group of ‘bees’ did just that. We stopped and danced at many of the bands along the way. We stopped to take photos or video. Pure fun.

Turns out, lots of MINORSAN members also participated in this race. We were randomly dispersed throughout in small groups. Most are not ‘runners’ either. I used to run (years ago before I had any purely fitness workouts at my Studio.) I also went to local ‘gyms.’ Had to get in those weights and the cardio (besides doing my martial arts workouts, which are more anaerobic and work the muscles in an entirely different way). That’s when I used to run. All along West Cliff, in fact. These days, time is even more limited and I have to pick and choose my workouts. So running is a back burner thing. Random. Still, I love this little race called the Wharf to Wharf, from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk/Wharf to the Capitola Wharf in our little slice of paradise located in California. One of my favorite local events.

What got me thinking about this, is that so many locals participate in this this ‘race’ every year, and this year it sold out in 45 minutes! 16,000 people. That is phenomenal. You’d think we were purchasing tickets to see the most beloved person on the planet. Even more impressing was that all abilities were out there participating in this event. And so many local bands and performers were out there supporting the runners/walkers/joggers. The bands help make it so much more fun!

What struck me the most this year, was that there were people who’s bodies didn’t run, and instead, afforded them the ‘walk.’ They walked the entire time. And it was with effort. And they did it. One was in our very group. I also saw a gentleman who was ‘running’ his 44th Wharf to Wharf!!! Yes, he has participated every single year of this event! This time he was walking, and had the aid of two people with him, and he was doing it! There were no excuses. None. He was proudly displaying a sign stating that this was his 44th run of this little race. Simply amazing. Shows how powerful the human spirit can be when we want to achieve.

Yes, I get the lessons about the muscles (which I choose to ignore). However, this lesson from these people who have no excuses, are a bit less able than most of the others ‘running,’ and still get out there and do it, is such a huge inspiration. And a lesson to anyone who uses excuses for anything. At some time or other, we have all come up with excuses. Easy to do. Harder to do is to set excuses aside, thank those excuses for showing up, and then move on ahead, way past those excuses. Why thank them? Because they allow us to pass them up. When we pass up our excuses, we get stronger in mind and spirit. We find more power within. And that is what we are programmed to do. Find ways to accomplishment. Passing up our excuses is the first step to achieving.

This is by far one of the best local events ever. And I will continue to ‘run’ it every year (if I’m in town). And I will probably continue to ignore the lesson my muscles give me every time. After all, I could use that as an excuse. Besides…I’m not THAT sore. Thanks to my other workouts. (Check the rest of my site for what we do.)

So I leave you with your excuses. Me with mine. We can all choose what to do with them. Here’s to happy choosing!

Sincerely,

Clara E Minor
Master Trainer-Instructor
MINORSAN Self-Defense & Fitness
831.458.0900
contact@minorsan.com
1320 Mission Street, SC CA 95060

How Addicted to Sugar are You?

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My addiction goes back a long way…

At 2 months of age I was fed canned milk diluted with water. The milk was sweetened. That was the ‘formula’ at the time, if babies could not breastfeed, for whatever reason. I was so addicted as a kid, I would take the flower decorations on birthday cakes from others kids’ cake (who didn’t want it), and eat them all! They were made with food coloring and hardened sugar.

At the Santa Clara County Fair I would eat an entire cotton candy (ok, maybe not the whole thing, but most of it), a red candied apple, and a strawberry shortcake (yes, I was stuffed, wanted to hurl, and sometimes did when I got home…lol). I visited the dentist a lot.

And to this day, it is still easy for me to crave ‘sweet,’ so I do the best I can to avoid it. Mostly I can, and do, avoid it. I choose to find alternatives to refined white sugar. There are a lot of alternatives on the market these days.

 Most packed foods contain some form of sugar

If they are sweetened, then you are guaranteed there is some form of sweetener added to almost everything.In fact, sugar has been added to most packaged foods for decades. (See the link below to find the list of different names which are used in ingredient lists.) It is truly one of the hardest addictions to stop. Sugar is more pervasive than any drug or substance out there, as it is available literally everywhere.

You don’t see ads on television selling heroin, cocaine or cigarettes (anymore), or any other illicit drugs for that matter. Even though prescription drugs are a huge epidemic, again, they are not added to most of the packaged foods on grocery shelves.

And, yes, even ‘natural foods stores’ carry packaged goods that can easily contain some form of sugar. Most sweetened goods in these stores do contain sugar in one form or another.

In fact, it is hard to get any type of sweet packaged goods (cookies, pastries, pies, cakes, etc) that do not have any type of refined sugar. I often end up making my own. I’m very conscious of what I eat and avoid sugar most days. (I still eat it sometimes!) Very often fresh fruit will suffice.

And, no, it’s not easy to go from full out sugar addiction to eating just fruit to satisfy. It takes time, consistency, persistence, desire, and the willingness to check out different forms of sweet. And I know I am not alone in this.

We eat sugar because, mostly, we crave it. How can you change what your body craves? Keep in mind (if you didn’t already know), you crave what you eat the most…always. Check out what you buy when you grocery shop…every time. Most people buy the same things, almost the same brands, over and over and over.

If this is you, and you want to change your eating habits, but don’t know where to start or what alternatives you have, you can learn all about foods, and how to safely and most effectively make changes.

Members learn about this in Tabata Bootcamp. It really is the only program where we delve into nutritional guidelines, and educate people about their food choices. This is one of the essentials in our Tabata Bootcamp team meetings. These weekly team meetings are an integral part of each Bootcamp. You can find out much more about Tabata Bootcamp at the next Intro-Teaser Day. Click here to read more and sign up. For the list of sugars, here is the list:

Here is the list of the names of sugar

Contact me if you you want more info on Tabata Bootcamp.

Sincerely,

Clara E Minor
Master Trainer-Instructor
Minorsan Self-Defense & Fitness
831-458-0900