Taking risks has always been a big part of my personality. Whether it was jumping off a 50 foot cliff, paddling out after a hurricane attempting to surf enormous waves, walking on to try out for a division 1 football team, or starting my own business, I was game. My motivation has always been a desire to overcome my fears and insecurities. I really can’t come up with a better explanation except that whenever I was faced with something that scared the life out of me I felt compelled to go after it anyway. It didn’t take someone to persuade me or push me either, there was just this undeniable need to do whatever it was that was challenging me. Some of my earliest memories are the ones where I went to battle with my fears. Fear has always been my biggest nemesis, but facing those fears has taken me places that I never would have dreamed of going. I can’t imagine what my life would have been like if I didn’t take on some of those risks that presented themselves. So with that said, I want to share with anyone and everyone out there some words that will hopefully encourage you to take risks. I’ve noticed that many of us humans, myself included have a tendency to make mountains out of mole hills. We allow ourselves to think in worst case scenarios way too often. Don’t allow irrational, pessimistic, or delusional thoughts to cloud the reality that all things are possible. If you can dream it you can manifest into reality. So my humble advice to all of you is to take those risks and go out there and create the life that you so desire. And have fun doing it. Tell old man fear to come back around some other time, you have something important you’re doing and it doesn’t concern him. Go ahead and be a risk taker, you won’t regret it.

There are so many things to consider when thinking about the word flow. Here in America one of the most significant would/should be blood flow because of the overwhelming number of U.S. citizens that get struck down by heart failure every year. If I’m not mistaken, heart disease has held the top spot on the cause of death list for quite a while. Within the last year, two of my very good friends, both well under the age of fifty, took a shot to the heart. One had to have quadruple bypass surgery and the other had two stents put in when he discovered one of his arteries was 100% blocked after he had a massive heart attack. Both of these problems were caused by lack of flow. Insufficient flow within the human body, whether it’s blood flow or energy flow can cause big problems and has sent way too many people to an early grave. The good news about this seemingly dire situation is that in many cases, disaster can be avoided with adjustments to the diet, some consistent exercise, and a lesson or two in stress management. When it comes to creating optimal health for ourselves there’s something fundamentally important that needs to be considered and that is Chi flow: the life-force energy that resonates within our body. Similar to the vascular system we have meridians throughout our body where the chi flows. Being sedentary, eating poorly, lacking stress relief, bad habits (alcohol, drug abuse), fear, anxiety, and having a negative attitude can all impede the flow of this vital energy. When we neglect to take care of ourselves and aren’t mindful of what is required to prevent illness it is only a matter of time before something wicked will come along and try to take us down. Keeping the Chi flowing is a big part of what we do at my studio in Red Bank. I was very fortunate to have spent several years studying with a man that was an expert in understanding the energy system of the body. He taught me a variety of exercises that elevate our body’s vibration, break up blockages, and increase the flow. So for those of you that live in Monmouth County come on down to The Power Center and get your chi flowing!

Last night I was listening to a seminar and the speaker used the word relentless two different times in his speech. Both times it caught my attention, leaving an impression strong enough that it inspired me to use it for my blog post. I have an understanding of the word’s meaning but I looked it up in the dictionary anyway because the dictionary’s definitions always offer a much clearer and detailed description, which can often prove helpful when using a specific word as a writing topic. The definition I came across for relentless is this; “showing or promising no abatement of severity, intensity, strength, or pace.” Now here’s where the dictionary definition proves helpful. I most likely wouldn’t have thought of the word ‘promise’ if I hadn’t looked it up and promise is the perfect word to elaborate on in regards to the question I pose to myself and all of you. In order to be relentless with our well-being making a promise to ourselves and each other, especially our loved ones is paramount. A promise to approach taking better care of ourselves. Putting forth a determined effort promising not to let up, to stay committed and to follow through with our efforts. Intensity and strength are two more perfect words to acknowledge with this topic. When you think about the potential dangers that were faced with day in and day out it’s imperative that we remain strong and intense. It’s gotten to the point where letting your guard down could very well lead to a very dangerous place. Our environment has become very toxic in a variety of ways and not only to we need to take precautions but we also need to do our due diligence in order to know what were up against. We need to ask ourselves why there’s such an onslaught of deadly diseases running rampant, diseases like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes to name just a few. What can we do to prevent these unforgiving killers into our lives? Well one thing that’s for sure, if we remain relentless in our efforts to stay healthy in body, mind and spirit at least you’ll give yourself a fighting chance to avoid the suffering that comes with poor health. So why don’t we all start to take matters into our own hands and reverse this overwhelming trend of sickness and disease. Collectively we are capable of anything we put our minds and hearts to. So I’ll leave you today with a question: What on earth is more valuable or more important than your health?

Science tells us that everything in the Universe is vibrating and that includes we humans. This was something that my mentor had shared with me many moons ago. He is a practitioner of Chinese medicine which uses herbs and acupuncture to help the healing process. During my initial consultation with him he placed three of his fingers on my wrist and sat there quietly, staring intently, as if he was listening to something. This technique he used, to be perfectly honest seemed a bit bizarre. As I sat there wondering what he was doing he proceeded to explain that I had several different issues that needed to be addressed. One being something with my heart, another with my kidneys, and yet another with what he referred to as a hormonal imbalance. I sat there wondering how on earth he came up with these ailments just by grabbing my wrist. Although his methods were quite odd and different from anything I had ever experienced, for some strange reason I trusted him, believed him, and wanted to know what he was doing. After that initial diagnosis I decided that I wanted to be treated and that’s how our relationship began. It wasn’t until years later that I learned about his ‘wrist grabbing’ technique from another Doctor of Chinese medicine that explained in much greater detail what he was doing. She explained to me about vibration and how our body and all of it’s components give off a certain “frequency” that she and others, trained in this “pulse reading technique” can zone in on to determine ailments or weakness inside of us. Herbs and acupuncture were but two of the many methods my teacher used in his treatments. Another way to fight, heal, or prevent disease is to raise our vibration. A large part of the time that I spent with this eccentric and fascinating healer was dedicated to learning exercises that did exactly that, raise the vibratory frequencies of the body. I share these amazing exercises with my clients at my studio in Red Bank, NJ and soon I will be sharing them with the rest of the world via a book I’m very close to finishing. There are other ways to raise our vibration as well, like meditating and practicing Qi Gong. Two practices that we are now offering at The Power Center in a class called ChiFlow. So if you live close enough to Red Bank I suggest you come in and join us and get yourself a nice dose of chifull energy.

Change your body and your perspective in only 7 weeks as you experience the proven methods found in this incomparable program that are guaranteed to have a profound impact on your life - let us lead you on a 7 week life-changing journey that will illuminate your mind, empower your body, move your energy, elevate your spirit and help you master your emotions.

The 49 day program can assist you in overcoming obstacles and challenges in your life: some of the benefits are:

• weight loss

• increased energy

• mental focus

• alleviation of symptoms of depression and anxiety

• spiritual connection

• physical strength and stamina

• personal insight

The foundation of this 49 day program is the commitment to 7 weeks of Living the Seven Disciplines: Nourish, Move, Breathe, Pray, Serve, Study and Connect. Learn how you can break through your own personal barriers with these tools and  John Nies’ exclusive CHI training protocols that are designed to train the mind to go far beyond your perceived physical limitations while elevating your energy levels to unimaginable heights. Modeled on John Nies’ own experience training under an 8th Generation Doctor of Chinese Medicine and a 21 Degree Grand Master of Martial Arts that irreversibly changed his life’s trajectory, and coupled with a comprehensive nutritional program based on whole foods and superfood natural supplements and weekly spiritual inspiration, the 49 DAY TRANSFORMATION CHALLENGE promises to change your life and get your mind, body and spirit functioning at optimal levels.

• unlimited EAST WEST CHI CAMP/HOT YOGA

• one hour small group personal training sessions once a week

• 49 days of  CHI Training exercise protocol

• use of facility including 2 sauna treatments per week,

• training room for private use

• Nutrition consultation and eating plan

• superfood supplements

• weekly assessments

• CHIFLOW meditation/visualization exercises

• exercise and food journal

We are a very peculiar bunch, aren’t we? Especially us men - how often do you hear about a person ignoring or neglecting their health? Even when we know good and well that something just isn’t right - we often avoid going to the doctor like the plague and it seems to be a common practice to wait to the very last minute before doing something that will promote healing. I am of the opinion that this is an issue that needs our immediate and undivided attention. We are faced with a very serious problem, one that’s been getting worse and worse. This isn’t something that just needs to be addressed by the individual - this problem belongs to all of us, the entire human race because not only do we humans need healing but our earth has fallen quite ill and is desperately calling out for help. Our problem is multifaceted - we need healing on a physical, mental, and most importantly a spiritual level.  All of the disease that’s running rampant is merely the result of the self destruction and self abuse that we’ve invited into our lives - our problems run deep and it’s going to take a consorted effort to make things better - the good news, or better yet– the awesome news, is that we can do it. We have the power– the power to change our ways, our attitudes, our reality– instantaneously! When we fall ill and are faced with dis-ease, on any of those three aforementioned levels, it’s an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to take back what’s been stolen from us. Presently we are faced with an enormous challenge, we have the option to give up and allow the invader to take us down or we can tap into the God given ability we’re born with that gives us the power to heal, beginning with ourselves.

Join us wednesday, March 23 at 6:30 to learn some of the tools you can use to heal what ails you by Living the Seven Disciplines through our “49 DAYS” transformation program and let the HEALING begin.

Live the 7,

John Nies

Many prophets have walked this earth imparting insight that’s been passed down through many generations - There is one particular prophecy that we might want to be paying attention to - an alarming fact about it is that this forecast isn’t coming from one individual, it’s a common perspective shared by several indigenous tribes from around the world - They acknowledge a big and powerful society that has forgotten how to live according to the laws of nature - The prophecy speaks of these people having no regard for the welfare of the planet and that their way of life is destructive and starting to threaten their ability to survive - Several representatives of these tribes have been speaking out trying to shed some light and open the eyes of the people that are living this way -There are warnings that say Mother Earth is no longer able to sustain the abuse that this way of life is causing - Her solution is what these prophets refer to as ‘the great purification’ - this is how Mother Earth will protect herself - by way of earthquakes, floods, tsunami’s, volcano’s and the like she will rid herself of the cancer that is destroying her health - The prophecies say that the purification process is already underway and it seems quite evident that this is true, considering the severity of the natural disasters that have been reported from around the world over the last several years - we have been witness to some of the most powerful and most deadly earthquakes including this latest one in Japan - how can we ignore the hurricane in New Orleans and the tsunami that struck India? The intensity and the severity of these forces of nature have been some of the worst in recorded history - So the obvious question we need to ask ourselves is; Should we heed these warnings? According to these prophecies that’s exactly what they are - warnings! More like a wake up call - a call to action encouraging us to reconsider our way of life - an opportunity to change and to rediscover how to live in harmony with Nature - they say it’s not too late - well I say thank God for that.