Fitness Author, Karon Karter

The Dallas Morning News May 9, 2003

Moms and Daughters: It all works out Women of two generations form special bonds as they work toward a healthy lifestyle together

By KARON KARTER – Special Contributor

On a hike with my mother through the awesome aspens of Colorado, I asked her about my birth. With a devilish grin, she said, "Darling,you entered this world with lots of drama." She described the beautiful January morning in New York - a day that began with champagne snow flurries - and how she awoke to what she thought was mild heartburn. By midmorning, both the snowfall and her belly pains had intensified. The flurries were the beginning of the blizzard.

And. the heartburn was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. "As she gripped her belly, my father maneuvered the Volvo through 26 inches of snow, making it to the hospital, only to spend the next 16 hours in the waiting room while my mother lay in bed, pushing to the point of exhaustion. vividly remember the wind howling, rattling the windows; it calmed me. I gave one more push, and then I awakened cradling a beautiful I baby girl in my arms," Mom recalled.

Looking back, my most cherished moments with my mother have been spent exercising together - at times,even our shopping sprees have escalated into cardio workouts.My mother, Victoria Zummo of Palm Springs, Calif., has gone to great lengths to show her love and support. When my Pilates book was published, she e-mailed Oprah Winfrey, asking her to mention the book on her show. (Gee, thanks, Mom.)

When I began teaching Pilates, she attended my first class, despite having no experience. I was a little nervous about teaching; so when my mother attempted to "roll like a ball" but flopped, we burst into laughter.

We get together once a month and we spend our holidays in Colorado,where we hike, ski, and do Pilates and yoga together. On my worst day, she stands behind me. On my best, she's my cheerleader. But it's our shared commitment to fitness that has strengthened our bond and given us warm moments filled with laughter. Other mothers and their daughters enjoy similar bonding.

Here are five Dallas women and their daughters whose love has grown while sharing fitness time. Moms are proud of their daughters, and we daughters are proud of the extraordinary women who have made us who we are.

Happy Mother's Day!

Mothers and daughters share a bond of healthy activity

The Pilates bodies: Alice Ann and Megan Dailey

Megan, 15, once thought Pilates was "strange," but now admires her mom, Alice Ann, 56, who owns the Oasis Mind-Body Conditioning Center in Dallas. Alice Ann remembers her pregnancy, when she could feel Megan kicking in her tummy as she taught class. Today, if her school schedule permits, Megan won't miss a mat class, and she's beginning her "Reformer" workout (exercises on equipment to tone and shape her body).

In years past, Megan's feet didn't touch the Reformer foot bar,but now she's the perfect size. I enjoy teaching my daughter because I just love her with me, plus I enjoy watching her explore her body. I see the light bulb going on when she gets it - understanding the difference between balanced body alignment and poor posture," says Alice Ann.

Exposure to healthy living has positives for Megan. She doesn't have to find a place to work out, and she's learning that daily exercise is vital for a healthy life. When she was little, Megan took advantage of her mother's studio and started exercising.

I like exercising with my mom because we spend quality time together. We set a date, time and stick to it. I've been trying new workouts like Pilates, which helps my body every day. I can jump higher on the trampoline and I enjoy riding my bike around White Rock Lake,"

Megan says. Mother's Day special: "My hope is for Megan and the Woodrow Wilson High School Band to blow them out of the water in band competition in Houston" says the proud mom.

The gym rats:

Kathy and Leslie Wall

Kathy, 49, and Leslie, 18, work out at Premier Athletic Club in Dallas every day at 5:30 a.m. But their workouts didn't start out that way. Since school has limited Leslie's time in the afternoons she, tried running before school. "But that scared me" admits Kathy. "It was dark and isolated, so I started running with her." But I slowed her down. The only solution was to find Leslie a safe place to work out in the mornings.

Leslie inspired Kathy to get in shape. Leslie kept asking her to come along. Kathy thought, "If my daughter rises at the crack of dawn to exercise, so could I." Kathy says, "I wanted to support her goals. But, she is really my inspiration for staying in shape; I think it's amazing that a teenager wants to get up that early. We enjoy running side by side on the treadmill, sharing stories."

Depending on the class schedule, we take body pump, spin or aerobics together. I love this precious time together because, as most mothers know, seniors in high school have very limited time, but we dedicate this time just for us." Leslie often asked her mom to join her in exercising. "I really wanted my mom to come with me so we could spend time together and talk about motherdaughter stuff. It's also fun exercising with my mom. Many times I want to sleep in, but I don't because my mom is getting up with me. Next year, I'm going to college,so I'll miss her, but I look forward to coming home for the holidays so we can run the Jingle Bell and Turkey Trot together," says Leslie.

Mother's Day special: Kathy will stay in bed for her morning coffee and her newspaper.

The yogis: Stephanie and Jessica Young.

This mother-daughter team shares a yoga business and a deep bond. "Since Jessica is an only child, we've spent many years together as one. Yoga was a natural extension of our love," says Stephanie, 56. "Although I started yoga more than 30 years ago, it was Jessica who introduced me to Vinyasa flow (power yoga) three years ago."

Stephanie became a true believer,and began taking Jessica's yoga classes around town. "I started going to her classes to learn from her and support her teaching," Stephanie recalls. "I was very surprised - being as old as I am to witness the dramatic changes in my body. With yoga, my mind became sharper and my body became stronger - both acting as if one.

"After opening our studio, Yoga Power [in Dallas], it was a natural progression for me to get, my yoga certification. During that time, Jessica kept telling me that I had mental and physical strength to go through the program."

We feel very blessed to have one another, on and off the yoga mat. We open our doors in the morning, give each other a hug and then teach yoga," Stephanie says. "Though Mom and I practice yoga six days a week; I wasn't into fitness until I tried power, yoga five years ago admits Jessica, 32 "My, mom tried to get me to exercise when: I was a kid,. But there was no way. She was big into aerobics but I never felt coordinated."

Today, Jessica and Stephanie share, ideas and suggestions, and in discuss ways to enhance their practice and business. They spend up to three to five hours a day together and most weekends, because yoga is what they love to do. Yoga brings us such joy," Jessica says. "We support each other a lot when it comes down to the teaching part of yoga. We like practicing together, because we both put 100 percent into our yoga. We each have our own way of helping our students, but we both love giving a new voice to our students. It's similar to a nature hike. We're on a path, heading in the same direction,but it's a different experience for each hiker."

Mother's Day special: "We never get the chance to cook together or eat lots of garlic for fear that we'll offend our students.Guess what "we're doing both," says Stephanie

The ballerinas: Patricia and Anna Roberts

Patricia Roberts, 45 has taken ballet all her life. She attended classes four to five times a week, even during her pregnancy. "Anna came out dancing," she says. "When she was a baby, I'd bring her to class - carrier, diapers and all. She'd fall asleep listening to the piano music. She never cried. By age 2, she dressed ballerina costumes to twirl around the house."

Patricia enrolled Anna in her first ballet class at age 4, and now Anna,15, is an accomplished ballerina.Mom and daughter love taking classes together. "I remember thinking I couldn't wait until Anna turned teaching 14, so we could take classes together," recalls Patricia. "I cherish having my daughter dance beside me. I leave the mother-daughter role behind, because in class we share the same challenges and experiences. Last summer, we were enrolled in ballet class, but I was diagnosed with breast cancer. So we put our dancing on hold during my treatments. Now that I'm in recovery, we're dancing again. "Having my daughter beside me has helped me heal."

Anna clearly remembers being mischievous as a little girl. When she was little, she'd go to her mom's Saturday-morning ballet classes. "The Houston Ballet had six huge ballet studios upstairs with windows facing the hall," Anna says. "So as my mom and the company dancers practiced, my sister and I would dance up and down the hall, waving and making funny faces at the dancers we knew. My mom would stop dancing and scold me for being too loud. I'd then have to sit and watch the class. But I didn't mind. I loved every part of going to class with her. Going to ballet class as a small child, I just sort of kept going.

Dancing lets me express and release all of my emotions in a positive way. "My mom and I love dancing together because we're doing something positive for our bodies. We used to go to dance together all the time, but this year was horrible. My mom got sick, but, we're back on track and have made plans to dance every day this summer."

Mother's Day special: Patricia hopes she's served breakfast in bed. Then they'll all work off those calories with exercise.

Golf provides precious links for one family

The golfers: Linda, Lila and Maggie Barton

Lila often sings to me: "Anything you can do, I can do better," laughs Linda, 46. "She began out driving me at age 11 and outplaying me at 13. We still laugh when I tag a drive and after measuring the drive's distance, we find Lila's ball still ahead of mine."

Lila, 13, played in her first tournament when she was 8. And Maggie, 10, is following in her footsteps. So Linda spends most weekends driving her girls to and from lessons, practices and tournaments. "If I can caddy for them in a tournament, then I do," Linda says; "Since I played competitive sports as a child, I can emotionally and physically prepare them for golf." Although tears are never shed, there are many consoling hugs.

"I know my girls appreciate the time I spend with them. Golf creates a family bond, on and off the course. I have the greatest respect for their hard work and dedication. These qualities will come in handy later in their lives. I'm lucky, because my children want to be with me, which is the biggest reward of all."

"I enjoy spending time with my family, sometimes choosing them over my friends," says Lila. "mom is always there for me, at my lessons and practices. In tournaments, she helps me get through hard rounds, and praises me when I hit the ball well." Maggie agrees: "My mom helps me understand what I need to do." But golf lessons are a two-way street. Lila sometimes gives her mother pointers. After all, it was a family practice session that helped

Linda got her swing out of a slump. And the girls seem to really appreciate the sacrifices their mom makes. Lila says, "Playing golf with my family has brought us closer. I look at my parents as friends, not just people who feed me. We've become best friends, and I always want to be with them." Mother's Day special: Lila will be playing in a tournament. Maggie and Linda will be hitting golf balls together.

Karon Karter is a Dallas freelance writer, a student of yoga and the author of Complete Idiot's Guide to the Pilates Method (Alpha Books, $16.95).

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