Peloton – Thoughts From The Passenger Seat

2026, life

What’s a few pounds?

Posted on August 7, 2026 by nancyb422

I’ve been doing one particular 30 minute routine for the last week. Faster pace, lighter weights – right where I like it. I don’t feel so “thick” when I’m done and I’ve seen the numbers on the scale sloooowwllly declining.

I was keeping it lighter even on the lunges. Four rounds of 16 lunges (8 each side) and thrusters I was using 12 pounds.

I decided after 2 rounds to kick it up a notch to 15 pounds on the lunges, so I picked them up and off I went! Whew that was tough!

Then I realized I had been using the 10 pounds and not the 12! I was a little breathy, but the second time around, it was ok. Slow and steady.

That of course got me thinking about the weight we carry around every day. Google tells me that for EVERY pound, while you walk on level ground, your knees feel 1-1/2 times your body weight. Stairs? 2 to 4 times. Squatting or kneeling? 4 to 5 times!

How are your knees? Is it time to lighten the load on them? My knees feel pretty good, I think I’ll keep up the good work!

2026, thoughts

Opening Doors

Posted on June 26, 2026June 26, 2026 by nancyb422

This week’s mediation with Dennis Morton on Peloton is again, visualization. I think it’s all month actually!

He says to imagine a door – make it double doors – and as you breathe in bring yourself closer to the door. As you breathe out, the doors open and you go through them. Over and over again.

This is hard for me because I just want those doors to open and to come out on the other side, like to a babbling brook, not to another door!

My doors are big doors, with rivets framing the edges and a metal pad where you would put your hand to push it. Sometimes they are blue and remind me of the double doors leading out to the stairwell at my elementary school. There’s a rectangle window in each one so you can see if someone is on the other side.

Sometimes they are doors like in my mudroom, stained wood with rain glass in the window panes you can’t see the mess on the other side. Except they open out, and would crack me in the head.

What would your door look like if you wanted to bust through one while meditating?

2026, Writing

Visualization Meditation

Posted on June 2, 2026 by nancyb422

Every morning I meditate for 10 minutes using my Peloton. A few months ago, they started a program in which you do the same class for 7 days. A variety of instructors and a variety of types of meditation. This week, with Anna Greenberg is self-visualization, and I am really enjoying it more than any of the other types.

My mind immediately heads outside to our garden and an arbor that my husband recently built between four raised planting beds.

It’s the perfect spot to spread a blanket and hide away for someone my size. Outside, but not exposed. Cozy, but not cramped. I can lean against a planter and read a book, or lay down on the blanket and look out at the sky. If my husband is working in the garden, he’s nearby, but doing his own thing.

It reminds me of the Cinderella song by Rodgers and Hammerstein, “in my own little corner in my own little world, I can be who ever I want to be”.

*The arbor and my husband working on his roses*

Do you have a place you go, either real or in your mind to get away?

2026, thoughts

A New Year

Posted on April 23, 2026 by nancyb422

My birthday was yesterday and with that always comes my thoughts for my “new year”. It’s a nice little reset four months into the actual new year.

A couple of things I’ve noticed. I spend too much time reading other people’s blogs instead of writing on my own TWO blogs. This one and my family one.

I spend too much time, again reading, trying to “figure myself out” through astrology. It has given me an understanding of myself but I want to make sure I don’t lean too hard into it. What happens when I finally figure it out? Like the dog who catches the car. Will I be any happier? Not likely, so maybe I’ll try to keep some of that mystery alive.

I continue to work out every day but it’s only been since last week that I am coming to grips with my diet. What’s the old saying? It’s 10% exercise, 90% diet. I reinstalled the My Fitness Pal app and have been tracking my food. Keeping it realistic to lose a 1/2 pound a week and that appears to put me at the healthy part of my diet overall. Of course, with my first weekly weigh in, I gained 2/10th of a pound but I’m blaming it on the soy sauce with the sushi for my birthday dinner. I just have to stay realistic. Overall though, I feel great!

We haven’t started any biking yet this year and I’m looking forward to riding on my Specialized that I bought last September. I managed to sell my first bike, the Salsa, last week and I’m glad that someone starting out will get to enjoy it. With that said, I’m going to take each opportunity that comes up to ride without thinking about what’s on my desk or that “I need to be there”, when it’s likely I don’t really need to be there.

Overall, I’m pretty pleased with the first four months but I always appreciate that birthday reset!

2026, life

A Mantra for Monday

Posted on February 2, 2026February 2, 2026 by nancyb422

This morning in my dark workout room, the soothing voice of Chelsea Jackson Roberts flowed around me. “I Will Do My Best”.

10 minutes to repeat that thought to carry it with me throughout my day.

What is my best? For today it is:

Ignore social media not relevant to my work
Start with the hard things or “swallow my frog” first thing
Be present – which is another one of her mantras!

Being present can sometimes be more difficult than doing difficult things or ignoring social media. I look too far forward, or try to solve this problem or that before it even arises. Wasting my present time over the future.

Will I succeed? I don’t know but,

I will do my best.

2026, Healthy Living, life

A Different Lens

Posted on January 12, 2026January 12, 2026 by nancyb422

I’ve been starting my morning workout with a 5 minute Peloton meditation. My favorite instructor is Chelsea Jackson Roberts. Her voice is so calming.

Some days she has a mantra and today’s was “Today I choose the lens of love in how I treat myself and how I treat others.”

I carried that with me forcing myself to not beat myself up for doing a low impact cardio right after a lower body workout! Should have done a core workout!

I will focus on carrying it with me through my day. Some days I get in the office and all thoughts of kindness and goodness fly right out of my head. I need to remember that we all come from different “places”. How we were raised, how we were taught, even how our last boss or ex-husband treated us. We’re just all here trying to do the best we can.