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This month's Speaker Profile : Keith Jeffery
"4 Minute Fitness" is the title of a program packaged on videotape and DVD by Dr. Keith Jeffery. My initial reaction on hearing the title was not positive; it sounded like a shortcut for people who really don't want to exercise. I was wrong. "4 Minute Fitness" distills the essence of what Keith has learned in his 30 years of teaching and practising positive mind/body performance.
Professionally, Keith was trained as a veterinarian, which gives him an interesting perspective on the human animal. However, for many years his passion was T'ai Chi and gradually he devoted a greater and greater proportion of his time to teaching traditional and complex T'ai Chi. He was frustrated that many students who successfully completed a number of his courses, and who experienced the benefits of T'ai Chi, seemed unable or unwilling to make T'ai Chi an ongoing part of their lives away from the stimulus of the teaching program. To address this problem Keith created "T'ai Chi for Busy People", which proved to be a solid, practical and commercial success. The demand for his workshops was huge and Keith gradually let go of his profession as a vet, and professionalized his passion.
As a wellness practitioner, Keith criss-crossed the North American continent and made a number of trips to Asia. He continued to study and created his own wellness regime, which, in addition to running, included deep breathing, Yoga and aspects of sports psychology. While practicing T'ai Chi on the beach one morning, Keith had a Eureka moment, which I'll let him describe.
 "All of a sudden, the whole concept just came into my mind, why not layer the practices of T'ai Chi, Yoga, Qi Gong, deep breathing and positive affirmations? Bring together the best of the best, for people to perform SIMULTANEOUSLY rather than one after the other. Make it easy, make it powerful. Imagine...in 4 minutes you will move almost every muscle and joint in the body, breathe deeply into the depths of your lungs, focus on the positive aspects of your life, feel the pulsation of life coming back into your body, and then at the 4 minute mark throw your arms up in the air with an enthusiastic YES, YES, YES!!! Now imagine, taking 4 minutes a day and replicating those feelings anywhere and anytime."
The concept worked and Keith's video/DVD sales now approach 30,000 copies. "4 Minute Fitness" is really like a thinking persons 5BX (the amazingly successful Canadian 5-minute program from the late 60's). [To order a copy of '4 Minute Fitness' from our wellMart store, click on the image to the left.]
Seeing is believing, and the best way to understand the structure and philosophy of "4 Minute Fitness" is to see Keith in action. He is a great presenter who uses humour and interaction with the audience so that people leave his workshops informed, entertained and empowered. I can guarantee that Keith will energize any conference or group that is lucky enough to experience his presentation.
Real teachers are rare and it's worth going out of your way to see Keith in action and he can be booked through Speakwell (see our Speakers section on our web site). To find out more about Keith and his wife, Krisanna, with whom he often works, go to www.4minutefitness.com.
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