Relaxed mind equals a relaxed body


White Horse legend of the Central Plains


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arly one summer in the 1690s, a band of Assiniboines was camped on the banks of the Assiniboine River, about 10 miles west of present-day Win- nipeg. They received a visitor. A young Cree brave from Lake Winnipegosis came to their camp and asked if he might marry the chief’s daughter.


In return, the young Cree offered the chief


a beautiful and spirited snow-white steed, a Blanco Diablo, of the famed Mexican breed. The two came to an agreement. However,


Jodi Knopf gets a high score in her first try at a side plank. Her feet, though, should be together, side by side. The exercise works the side of her abdominal muscle.


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lose your eyes, take slow deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. Try to imagine a warm, comforting bright light filling you – starting in your toes and making its way up your legs into your stomach, through your chest and finally spilling from the top of your head and out of your finger tips. As the warm, comforting light leaves you it takes all your stress, all your negative emotion and leaves you feeling cleansed and joyful. Now that you’re feeling relaxed, we continue our morning workout, adding of course to the exercises we’ve already been doing. Building on the “plank”, which we worked on last month, (see video at the be- low address), we are ready to go into the side plank after lying face downward toward the ground for one minute. From the plank position, roll onto your side, balanc- ing on the one foot and arm still on the ground. Extend your free arm straight above you as if reaching for the sky; hold for three minutes.


Ceder Finnie Fitness Plus


Re-centre (back in the plank position) and hold for one minute, then switch to your other side for three minutes, returning to the plank position. This will continue the strength-building of your core and start to visibly define your muscles more clearly.


Once we’ve completed the series of planks we will move into crunches, or situps.


There seems to be a lot of confusion as to what a prop-


er crunch is. In my opinion a proper crunch is one that offers no chance of injury. Lie on your back, knees bent and toes pressed firmly against a wall if possible, or even under a couch. This will stop your legs from extending. Here is the part that gets confusing: To do a crunch and ensure you have no injuries, your back must be com- pletely straight. Lift your upper body off the ground us- ing only your abdominal muscles. Stop well before your


head reaches your knees and hold for the count of five. Lower your body back down but not allowing your back complete contact with the floor. This will keep your core (abdominal) muscles tensed and supportive. Repeat this motion 15 to 30 times, depending on your stamina. Your long term goal for crunches should be to do 100 in a row. It may be some time before you can accomplish this. However, that will be time well spent. Jumping Jacks was our cardio workout previously, and


truly a whole lot of fun! This month we will become even more in tune with the inner child that’s just bursting to get out.


We have all skipped rope at one point or another. I don’t expect everyone to have a jump rope lying around, so we will make do with an ordinary piece of rope. Again, please only push your body as much as it will allow. If you have bad knees or any injuries, please adjust to a pace and height that is comfortable for you. Fun fact: five minutes of skipping is the equivalent of a mile-long jog. I’ve talked about the importance of the morning rou-


tine; our night routine is equally important. Finishing off your day in the same manner as you started it, with a healthy meal, can make all the difference in the world to your well-being. One of my personal favorite meals is either boneless, skinless chicken or turkey breast. Combine extra vir- gin olive oil and spices of your choice, lightly baste the poultry and roast in the oven. When it’s about half-way cooked, lightly baste one more time.


Serve the cooked poultry with some delicious fresh vegetables, and enjoy your meal. Do you have a question about fitness matters? Wheth- er it’s about the safety or appropriateness of the exercise you’re doing, about a safe, effective exercise to meet your personal body needs, or perhaps about a food and its nutritional value, ask Ceder Finnie.


Ceder is Western Canada female champion in light-weight mixed martial arts and has a rich knowledge in matters re- lated to body fitness. She invites you to email your queries. She will answer the questions in future columns. (Ceder will take you through the exercises in the March to May issues on our website. The columns are at: http://lifestyles55.net/category/fitness-plus.)


Joined his Cree hero in his afterlife. this agreement upset a


Sioux brave from


Devil’s Lake in North Dakota, who was also in love with the chief’s daughter. He and a band of followers vowed to cap- ture and torture his rival under the pretext of a reprisal for past wars. Aware of the dan- ger, the Assiniboine chief saddled the white horse and advised the couple to escape un- der cover of darkness.


When the Sioux learned of the escape, they followed and eventually overtook the couple on the west bank of the Assiniboine River a few miles west of where the St- Francois Xavier parish church now stands. They attempted an escape, but in the ensu- ing chase, arrows killed both the warrior and his bride. Their white horse did escape however, and according to legend, contin- ued to roam the neighbouring plains for many years.


The Assiniboines believed that the spirits carried the horse to a world where he was reunited with the Cree brave. The aborigi- nal peoples named this land, “where the white horse ran free” in honour of the pow- erful animal. A majestic statue of the white horse, by Winnipeg sculptor George Barone stands on the north side of the TransCanada High- way, just past the junction with provincial highway 26 en route to St-Francois Xavier.


MAY 2013


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