A New Kind of Endurance

My main goal for 2019 is more writing. It’s been a year and half since I’ve published a blog. This was one of the hardest stories I’ve ever written. I hope it brings meaning to your day. -Susie

There is a story I haven’t been telling. Not because I didn’t want to but because I didn’t know how.  It is a story of struggle and of loss but also of unexpected joy and newfound strength. It is a common story–though one I wish to hear spoken of more often. For this reason, it is a story I must now tell. It is my story of 2018…

How Was the Moon, Dude?

When you’re like me and you return from your first lap around the world, you’re an authoritative expert on basically every problem in the book. You have all kinds of motivation…

The Fear of Forgetting

I have never had someone very close to me die. I won’t pretend to know precisely what that is like. But I can imagine there would be a fear of forgetting…

Sights Unseen

You know you’re in a cool place, when you can get your eye poked out, and it’s still cool. Two Mondays ago at Red Rock beach in Melbourne…

A Mountain Is Not Merely a Triangle

We drove the dry, bristly foothills for five hours, enjoying the standard-issue Patagonian bus ride. Silent passengers. Plenty of backpacker BO. Not a building or soul in sight! But then we rounded what seemed like just another scruffy hill in a cosmos of scruffy hills. Except around this corner, Mother Nature stood waiting, silky lingerie at her ankles, shimmering in blinding glory.

The problem with some places, like Patagonia, Chile, is that…

The Price of Church

I’m sitting alone in the only cafe in El Chaltén that accepts credit cards. I’m out of Argentinian pesos…

Edge #1: Things Are Easy Until They Aren’t

To describe Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonian, Chile is like trying to explain, I imagine, the details of heaven to someone who has never been to the afterlife. It is impossible…

Southern Descent: The Journey to Patagonia

I knew my Spanish was rusty when I couldn’t retrieve the words, “Please step aside quickly, I need to throw-up!” Four hours into our longest flight for this continent–New York to Santiago, Chile …

Workout Inspiration: No Equipment Total-Body Strength

As a fitness studio owner, there are still days that I have to work out at home for the sake of time and convenience. Here is an example of one of my simple, no-equipment, total-body strength home workouts.

The Beauty of Being Shortsighted

I can faintly hear her laugh wafting down from the T.v. room that sits almost directly above my head. We are separated only by floorboards and a layer of industrial plastic that I’ve haphazardly stapled to the ceiling in my new “apartment” in my parent’s basement. It’s 12:30am on a Tuesday. I’m lying in bed, Chris is beside me and already hours ahead in the land of dreams.

Indebted

I was half-bent over bracing myself on the granite kitchen counter with giant watery eyes when my husband, Chris, walked in the door last Thursday. “What’s wrong? What happened?” he asked. I couldn’t steady my words. I just let the tears continue to roll down my face while waving three, hand-written checks in my right hand.

Censored: Community

My new roommate Ben says witty things like, “How can Eskimos have 50 words for snow and we only have one friggin word for community?!” And things like, “Jesus was probably having more sex than ALL of us!” Until I moved into my mother and father-in-law’s basement, we too-rarely got to have great conversations like these. I’m on the fence with his ChristoIogy, but couldn’t agree more with his etymology. Community is…

Somewhere Between Hell & Revolution

Two phrases will not leave me alone.

What the hell are you doing?

This is the beautiful revolution you hoped it would be!

I’ve tried to kick them out of my head. I’ve tried to get them to work out their differences. I’ve tried to choose one over the other. But they seem intent on staying. Both are real. Both describe exactly…

In Defense of Slow: Training and Living Against the Grain

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve published a blog and after reading this one you will know why. Take a moment in your day to pause … and read slowly. Enjoy!

Ultra Tripping: T minus 365

If you are in the world of running–or social media in general–you’ve probably seen this quote by famed Runner’s World columnist John “The Penguin” Bingham, “It’s not the finish line that matters, it’s having the courage to start.” I’m totally on board with that sentiment as well as Bingham’s positive messaging about overcoming the intimidating stereotypes of being a runner to just start running. But, the reality is, most people don’t give two shits about start lines, they value that finish photo. And you can’t really blame them. We are a culture that worships American Idol-style quick fame, winning Superbowl catches, Bill Gates-sized billionairism and the like. We are repeatedly bombarded with the idea that success is a single moment in time, involving lots of followers and, of course, mega-bling.

Workout Inspiration: We’ve Got Your Back

We’ve always got your back! But, today we aren’t only speaking in metaphors. We want to help make your actual back-body stronger. Check out the latest “Workout Inspiration” blog post for exercises that combat our everyday slouching, hunching over and head-forward nature in this technology-addicted world.

Thank you for subscribing to INHABIT! If you like what you are seeing, please share this with a friend or leave us a comment. We sincerely appreciate your interest and your help! -Susie