Saving lives

This post was inspired by two of my wonderful friends...

I thoroughly admire what they do. They're entertainers, they look like angels on silk ropes and have a very creative mind and very strong characters.
I look up to them and am inspired...

But for them, I am the one to look up to...

"Dona, you save lives" they say...
Yes I do, or better, I hope I will some day when all of my medical training will be finished but the point is this: I can only function if the people around me do their job too!

I need to sustain myself and I can only do that if I get to a supermarket or a restaurant, what would I do without a chef or someone stocking the shelves?
The reason why I'm in med-school is because I had teachers and trainers who taught me how to read and write and a good part of how to live life... I would be saving no lives if not for them!
I need my car to run well because that's my only way of getting to school and to the hospital, what would I do if no mechanics were working?

If I have a rubbish day, my head is full of thoughts, I need to relax and enjoy something beautiful I know there are people like Melissa Marie and Tad out there who can bring me to that special place.

So it's not me saving lives, it's all of us. It's a team of people none more important than the other. The only reason why there are doctors and lawyers and whatever other professions are considered "important" out there, is because around them there is a host of people who do their job too and do it well.

So thank you baker, thank you janitor, teacher, IT technician, entertainer... thank you because you're fundamental to my life as I hope I am in yours.

The only way to go on is by teamwork... that's the only way lives are really saved!

Kangoo jumping

While I was in NYC I got dragged by my friend Laura to the fitness discipline with the craziest name: Kangoo

"What the heck?" I thought... It sounds a bit like kangaroo ...and man I was the weirdest looking kangaroo of the bunch!!!
So, Kangoo is a new way of jumping around having ridiculous fun and staying fit.

As a matter of fact I attended a couple of classes and, despite wanting to die after just 10 minutes, (though I was assured that it gets better once you get used to the boots and the high intensity exercise) I thought it was the greatest workout I have ever experienced since I started walking!

So what's all the fuss about?

Here is a picture of me with Mario (the trainer) and our Kangoo jumps

The shoes are actual boots with resistance bands underneath set in a way that will allow you to jump quite high without losing your balance.

Mario always starts the work out by saying that the 2 most important things to do are to have fun and keep moving. I accepted the 1st one as a given and then only understood the 2nd one when I almost splattered my pretty face against one of the mirrors in the gym because the bottom of the boot is seriously curved and unless you DO keep moving standing up is quite a mission.

Because of this though, your core muscles are constantly engaged and I was quite sore everywhere at the end.

So, what exactly is Kangoo?

As taken from Mario's website: Kangoo is for people who are injured and can't run outdoors because of the high impact and for people that want to have fun and actually smile while they are working out. It's for people that have plateaued and want to take their workouts to the next level and for people who actually want to look forward to exercising. It's for people that want to run harder, faster, and longer without any pain to their knees, back, and other joints and for people with joint issues and people who never want to have any joint issues due to impact. Most importantly it's for any and every one that is not afraid to try something innovative, intense, fun, different, and new. Kangoo is the most fun and burns the most calories of any other cardio that you could ever do and the weight of the boot coupled with rebounding against gravity gives you an intense cellular workout that ultra-sculpts your entire body especially your core and legs!

I can certainly vouch for the fun and the intense workout and of course, there are numerous medical benefits that come with this kind of exercise.
The music used during the class is kick-ass high intensity, it's loud, it's empowering and takes you high without, of course, leaving out Mario's energy, charm and approachability making this discipline the absolute must for anybody who is wanting to try something different.

I am so sad that it hasn't reached Scotland yet... maybe I could be the one to help with that?

For the moment being I know I'll be back in that gym as soon as I set foot in NYC again and I may even get my own Kangoos... certainly I won't ever stop to thank Laura for introducing me to the hardest yet most exceptional workout ever!