“I don’t know what to say, except it’s Christmas and we’re all in misery.”

- Ellen Griswold, Christmas Vacation

The holidays are supposed to be the happiest time of the year.  Yet, finicky lights and finicky family frame a month filled with last-minute shopping, bungled culinary undertakings, and piles of tattered gift wrap and unpaid bills.  Somewhere buried underneath that heap of holiday stress is the magic that makes it all worthwhile.  It’s what helps siblings call cease fires and in-laws seem human.  It’s what makes mail bags burst at the seams with well wishes and donations hit annual highs.

The easiest way to tap into that holiday magic is by giving back.  In 2008, Americans volunteered for more than 8 billion hours.  A staggering number that, with your help, will continue to grow year after year.  The best way to get involved and stay involved is to volunteer or donate to a cause that inspires you.

For those of you that want to be a part of this season of giving back, Moji has compiled a list of charities that speak to your personal passions as much as your passion for giving.  Get involved yourself or give a charitable donation as a gift to your favorite weekend warrior.  We bet that it will be the best gift they’ll receive this year.

Ten Ways to Celebrate Your Passion and Share the Love

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Give from your feet. Hey all you pack rats out there! You only need a maximum of two pairs of old, trashy running shoes for lawn mowing, house painting, and those irresistible muddy-day runs.  TWO.  If you are one of the many that purchase new shoes every 500 miles, you have loads of extra kicks. Get yourself more closet space and give others much needed foot support.  Not into sharing shoes?  At least help out the environment by recycling correctly. Runner’s World has put together a great list of shoe donation and recycling resources.

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Be a coach. While most coaches come from the ranks of parents lining the field, you don’t need a kid on the team to bear the proud nickname of Coach.   Sports are a means for kids to learn discipline, time management, and stay fit! Take your athletic expertise and arsenal of war stories and go have some fun.   Every city/town/village has volunteer coaching opportunities.  The names of the best places to look will all sound familiar: Little League Baseball and Softball, American Youth Soccer Organzation, Youth Basketball Organization of America, YMCA

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Be a part of something special. Though most people have heard of the Special Olympics, not everyone knows exactly what it is. By offering more than thirty individual and team sports to persons with disabilities, the Special Olympics has become one of the most prestigious 501(c)(3)s in the world. Find out how you can use your athletic skills to help others at the Special Olympics website. Five minutes on the site will change your world. And besides, no one else can say they have the World’s Largest Truck Convoy.

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Run for a cause. Running for charity is one of the fast growing athletic trends we are proud to get behind.  It’s no shock that cause-related race sign ups are growing exponentially.  As a charity runner you enjoy camaraderie with others, the joy of helping others in need and, of course, that beloved runner’s high.  Run with a purpose this year. Read about where all your hard work goes, some of the most inspiring charity runners, and then sign up for a race or, better yet, join a team: Holiday Runs, Run for Water, Team in Training, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Team World Vision

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Links of love. Golf prides itself on being a gentleman’s game, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t great for kids, too.  In fact, golf teaches time management, discipline, and attention to detail – all skills that will help these kids in their future careers.  Share some tee-time with underprivileged youth and give them the mentorship they need to succeed on the links and in life.  Check out Kids on the Course, Girls Golf, or any number of local charities.  We especially love Midnight Golf in Detroit and Girls in the Game’s annual golf tournament in Chicago.

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Donate a bike. Hey cyclists and triathletes! You know that you have at least one bike chillin’ in your storage space or garage glaring at you every time you stroll by, wondering when he or she (depending upon its gender) will be put into action next. You don’t have the guts to tell said bike that you just won the latest Fat Cyclist contest and are getting a new Madone or plan to invest in something just a tad bit shinier.  But evade no longer! There are plenty of organizations out there looking for old bikes, some to fund projects, others to ship overseas to people who need them.  Click here for a list of donation locations by city.

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Dig in. Do you have a green thumb?  Whether you have prize-winning roses or can grow squash larger than most toddlers, you can put that talent to public use. There are a plethora of organizations that improve rundown areas, facilitate natural habitats, and turn concrete jungles into breathable green spots, like Philly’s Neighborhood Gardens Association, Bette Midler’s New York Restoration Project and the Green Guerillas whose motto is, “It’s your city, dig it.”  For a patch near you: American Community Garden Association.

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Shop for good. As much as you’d love to do all good deeds for the holidays, you probably will need to make some purchases for friends, family and co-workers.  Luckily, now you can do both!  At Good Shop and iGive you can find coupons for major brands while donating a portion of your purchase to your favorite charity.  Alternatively, you can give the gift of giving.  Just Give and Charity Choice allow you to buy gift certificates that will enable your friends and family to go online, learn about charities, and give the money to one or more of those causes that touch their hearts.

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Give shelter. Want a good workout?  Build a house.  Habitat for Humanity International is a great way to cross train for whatever sport you may love.  After a few climbs up the ladder and a days-worth of hammer usage working to build a home for a family in need, all your muscles will be feeling it…including your heart.  To date, Habitat for Humanity International has built over 350,000 homes around the world.  Be a part of this amazing tradition and sign up as an individual of do it as a team-building activity for work.

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Put your money where your heart is. If doing isn’t in your schedule this year, then consider donating.  All of these organizations as well as thousands of others accept your hard-earned dollars.  It’s the season of giving back, so give it all you’ve got.  Go, do-gooders, go.

Do you have a favorite charity, race, or donation?  Let us know below and we will add it to the list so that other can get involved, too!

]]> http://www.gomoji.com/education/season-for-giving-back/feed/ 0 http://www.gomoji.com/education/cycling-warmup-video/ http://www.gomoji.com/education/cycling-warmup-video/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:56:31 +0000 Team Moji http://www.gomoji.com/wordpress3/?p=1583 Andrea Metcalf with Sean Lee
Fitness Experts

[flashvideo file=http://www.gomoji.com/filebin/flv/CyclingWU.flv /]

However, as evidenced by this stunning video, inspiration doesn’t always have to come from mainstream sports.  Danny MacAskill, who rides for the aptly named Inspired Bicycles team, does stunts that other bikers have never imagined possible -  maybe never imagined, period.  He approaches bike riding with unparalleled determination, skill, and artistry.  With these talents and a truckload of imagination, Danny transforms the streets of Edinburgh into an urban obstacle course and skillfully battles gravity, reason, and probably local law enforcement.

As kids, our own imaginations turned community ice rinks into Olympic arenas and backyard tosses into Super Bowl winning throws.  These fantasies gave us endless energy and the drive to pursue our dreams.  (To be fair, they also caused us to do some stupid things, which led to bumps, bruises and broken bones.)

Though we are older, wiser, and much more cautious, that doesn’t mean that we can’t find inspiration through imagination.  Perhaps if we let our minds transform that next run, ride, or swim into an unimaginable accomplishment – be it a 2:30 marathon finish, a late-in-life personal PR, or an Olympic win – our legs might feel a little lighter, our arms a little stronger, and, who knows, we might just find ourselves on the precipice of the real-life version of that accomplishment someday.

Our training sessions might not be as exhilarating and magical as Danny MacAskill’s rides, but with a little imagination, they could be a helluva a lot of fun.

Apparently, a better night’s sleep.

Meet Fitbit, the latest in health and wellness technology.  This diminutive device packs a big data punch for those of us who love to crunch numbers.  Moreover, it brings to the forefront one of the most essential components of getting fit – recovery.

Fitbit, whose website launches tomorrow, tracks your fitness through a similar motion-sensing technology to that made famous by the Nintendo Wii and seamlessly uploads that data onto your personal web-based account through wireless technology.  Just clip it on your clothing or the Fitbit wristband and you can instantly track calories, distanced traveled, and even sleep quality.

Yes, that’s right.  Strap on this little sidekick overnight and Fitbit will give you stats on how well you slept – when you went to bed, when you actually fell asleep, how frequently you woke up at night, and how long you were down for the count.

Since we are into science and technology here at Moji, we would probably be so excited about our nightly results that we would hardly be able to sleep.  However, like Fitbit, we understand that every bit of fit counts – even those that aren’t instinctively seen as fitness activities.

Sleep is an essential component of staying healthy and active.  It is the body’s and mind’s opportunity to recover from all the activities of your day.  While you sleep, your body’s pit crew makes much needed repairs through the secretion of HGH (yes, the notorious Human Growth Hormones) and metabolizes energy stores.  Disrupting these natural processes will make you groggy, lethargic, disoriented, and susceptible to injury.

More importantly, your body won’t recover from exercise as readily, causing you to forgo fitness gains you could have achieved with more high-quality shuteye.  You get stronger during recovery phases, not during workouts.  It’s healing stronger and better that build muscles and replenish energy stores. (For more elements to recovery read Sean Lee’s account as to how to “Recover Like the Pros.”

The first step to getting sleep help is admitting (or understanding) that you have a problem.  The Fitbit does that exceptionally well.  However, there are other ways to analyze your sleep.  For instance, you can find similar sleep-tracking gadgets on the market.  David Pogue of the New York Times reviews ZEO, one of several devices designed to monitor sleep habits.  Alternatively, you can go to any of the hundreds of sleep centers endorsed by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, (yes, they have an organization just for sleep) and get testing done.

Be it through a Fitbit, ZEO, or a professional clinic, understanding how you sleep is as important as understanding any other component of your day that fuels your active lifestyle.

There are a multitude of sources to learn more about how sleep affects recovery and your ability to thrive.  Our friends at the Running Times discuss the importance of sleep for runners and some hints for getting better-quality sleep.  Likewise, the Mayo Clinic’s website for features the “10 Tips for Better Sleep.”  Or, if you really love science, check out this 2008 study by Dr.  Emmanuel Mignot, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Director of the Center for Narcolepsy at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Whatever tools and tricks you use, consider sleep an important component of recovery and learn more about sleep be it by any of the aforementioned experts or one of the most beloved doctors of all time.