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I think Reader's Digest, as well as those of you who will choose to read my profile will appreciate that I picked their periodical as my standard.

It was slightly over a year ago that I met Michael at what I then believed to be an inferno for those with strong masochistic desires wishing no more out of life then sweating away into nothingness. But now 45 pounds lighter then when I first walked through the Neptune Beach studio doors, I can't help but smile and feel a strong debt of gratitude to both Michael and Lisa.

I can easily remember the first few classes with Michael, how he glided around the room as he effortlessly segued from one pose to the next never missing a verbal command as I tried my very best to pretend that I wasn't fat nor that I was bothered by the fact that I was fat. I listened, I breathed, I postured, and I sweated through each class. During Lisa's class she took the time to explain, with the patiently slow enunciation of one addressing a shell shocked infantryman that it was not only okay to smile in class, but yet one more example of body and mind working as one. As time went by some would comment that it must be hard to practice so often. But the reality was it was harder not to come everyday. When you do something in your life that causes you to be a better person how can you say "No"? I listened to what Michael and Lisa lectured as I postured during each new class. "Listen to your body." What great advice! Not listen to your heart. Not listen to your brain. Listen to the body. I learned. My eating habits changed. Instead of doing what I had been accustomed to doing, that is eating three meals each day with snacks, I changed and started to eat the foods my body wanted and even sometimes would crave. What a difference in my energy and as a bonus, some weight loss to go with the newly found nutrition. Not to mention that I was now eating exactly what my body needed.

Perhaps for some students the ninety minutes of class is what is important, but for me, what I take home and use each day is equally important because it continues to made me a better person, inside and out.

When asked which posture helped me the most or which posture I like the best or even which posture is the most difficult, I have no answer. I do know the ninety minutes that I spend posturing during class while listening not only to directions but to the care of mind, body and soul are important. And maybe just as important is the energy in the room that comes from those around me who choose to come and workout, to make their lives better.

So with my sights set on another 300 classes I have to ask myself before I move on, "Is my life better now?" Well I still can't get a date but I am getting turned down by a better class of women.