To exercise or not to exercise...that is the question.
Never before have I exercised-on-purpose. Oh, when I was a child I ran and played. We played baseball in the vacant lot...and sometimes in our quiet street. In high school I was a cheerleader and in the marching band, so I got exercise that way. When my children were small I felt keeping up with them was sufficient. But now? Everything I want to do and everything I need to do requires sitting.
With aging comes health problems. As a young adult I had hypoglycemia...and had to eat small portions of healthy food regularly to function at my peak. Later I became pre-diabetic. I was already eating right...so the only other thing I could do to "back away from diabetes" was to exercise!
Enter exercise class. I reluctantly searched and found exercise classes at our local Community Resource and Recreation Center -- CRRC. I entered into them as though I were taking medicine...as a necessary way to keep myself from moving into diabetes.
Surprise! It was like entering a different world. Our instructor made it enjoyable, and soon I felt part of a new community. I give Hati credit for making the dreaded exercise fun. And healthy. And more.
She is full of energy and it spills over to her students as we exercise to peppy music and her encouraging words. She announces what each exercise helps as we move through warm up, serious exercise, slow down, and end with meditation. We leave refreshed -- if sweating -- and satisfied that we are, indeed, exercising for our health.
After several months I feeI am a part Hati's community...a friendly, caring one. All greet one another and visit while waiting for class. All set up and remove the necessary chairs and get their own equipment: barbells according to their strength and needs, a stretch cord, and a ball.
Watching the process daily, I wondered who our leader was and how she came to teach exercise classes in Canyon Lake, Texas.
So I asked.
Hati Diamante Cantu was born in the Philippines. She speaks three languages -- Tagalog, English, and Spanish. She earned her college degree in Elementary Education, focusing on math and English. No one could leave the country without an education.
Then she came -- alone -- at 21 to the United States. To New York City! I was impressed to learn that. As a small-town-girl I was afraid of the big city because of what I'd seen in movies. Eventually as an adult I did go -- I HAD to see my favorite icon, The Statue of Liberty. But here is a young woman who had the courage to go to another country...and to start her life here in New Jersey. Wow!
I asked what circumstances encouraged her to do that. She said her country had gone from a democracy to a dictatorship. She didn't like it, so she decided to leave. Also there were more opportunities for a young woman in the U.S. She was looking for a better life. After she became a citizen, she sponsored and helped her mother and sister come as well.
As she was getting settled -- for her own health and because she LIKED it -- she did body building. She also loved to dance. People noticed her. Her friendliness and her gift for remembering names helped her move into different jobs. Did I mention that she's quite attractive? She was very good at both exercising and dancing. Her exercise prowess gained her a part-time job in a gym; and her dancing ability earned her professional-dancing jobs for fashion extravaganzas and off-Broadway theatre productions.
This woman knows how the body works! I asked how she remembered which exercise was next in our hour-long sessions. She smiled and said she starts with the lower part of the body -- the largest part -- and works up. She needs no notes to know what comes next as she is so skilled at knowing which exercises help which parts of the body.
Eventually Hati worked as an accountant for a steamship company in the World Trade Center in the Twin Towers. We exchanged nods as we both silently thanked God that she had moved before the Towers were destroyed in 2001!
She met her husband, Roy Cantu, in New York. Both were working for Damon Aviation. Both are into exercising and body building. She ran and jogged, but she cautions that this can cause people to lose muscle and can be bad for the knees. So you must do body-building-exercises and weight training as well...to keep the whole body healthy.
They had three children -- one is a medical doctor in religion and two are psychologists -- while living in the northeast. When Damon had to downsize, they moved to near Los Angeles, California -- mostly for the weather. They were tired of ice and snow. Eventually they came to Canyon Lake and bought a house to flip. They liked it here and sold their California property to make this their home.
At that time they were making their living flipping houses. As Hati watched Oprah one day and heard about her trainers who helped her eat right and find the right exercises for her body, she realized she could do that kind of work. And she began her new profession, "Exercising for Your Health." She began working part time at a gym -- opening it at 5 a.m. while her husband worked on the house they were preparing to "flip."
I asked how she keeps her body in such good shape. Is it only because of the classes she teaches...or does she do more? She walks 30 minutes on the treadmill and does 30 minutes of weight training every day in addition to her classes.
Hati has lost cartilage as she aged and exercised. Noticing the occasional flinch while exercising arms, I asked if she plans to stop. She said, "Never stop! Keep moving, don't overdo. Slow if you need to. Sit straight -- this lifts the rib cage and shifts weight so your back won't hurt."
As we completed our conversation, I asked for "words of wisdom." She responded, "Take one step at a time. Do not give up. Eat healthy, reasonable proportions. Exercise -- do a regimen of daily exercises to stay healthy and happy. Exercise releases endorphins and makes you happy. Meditate five minutes every day! Then you can live a longer, healthier, stronger, happier life."
I have specifics, but I've run over my word limit. If readers want them, comment below this article and I'll do one with details. Today my purpose was to share information that can help you live healthier, happier lives...and to let locals know about this extraordinary teacher so they can join us at the CRRC gym in Canyon Lake.
Diamante -- Diamond in English -- a rare gem. This describes our teacher, Hati Diamante Cantu!