Having a great body and great health is awesome, but even more awesome is who you become on your way to having that great, healthy life.
As you embark on a healthy living / body transformation program, you are going to hit wobbles...you are supposed to. That's how this works, right?
And in that wobble is where all the learning is coming in, to expand your understanding and your self identity to be able to sustain a healthy, happy body and graceful ageing.
The problem is, when women hit a wobble...their emotions get the best of them and they head into a late night binge, or they fall off (again) on weekends, this is where the learning comes in.
And we beat up on ourselves, we are dipping back down into feelings of shame, guilt, despair...
And then the fear drips in, and we wonder if we will ever get there...
It's normal to feel fear or frustration when we stumble, but that is just because we have stepped outside our comfort zone. But the challenge is in our nervous system...
See, our nervous system wants things to remain the same. 'Let's not expend any extra energy guys, let's just keep everything the same', the brain says to the body.
Less change is better, really, in the eyes of your body and your brain. It's comfy here, in our comfort zone. All systems are humming along at the usual pace....nothing grande here, and that's what the brain and body wants. Less is more..
We are NOT wired for personal growth and fear is hardwired into our brains as a way to keep us safe and consistent... (psychology 101 lesson here...). So the trick is to learn to override this 'laziness' of the body, and etch into new territory, with fresh habits, and fresh thoughts to help us overcome the inertia.
So this is where we need courage to step in with a new strategy (and this is NOT where a new diet or training plan gets inserted, that's not what we're talking about here), and it requires 'stepping outside yourself'. I call it shifting....
An example: when I was competing, I was told that there was no way I could win a bodybuilding show drug free. In that moment, hearing all the voices repeating this, I began to think 'what if I DIDN'T buy into that? What if I chose to go another way, and BELIEVE that it was possible?"
So every night, I used the power of envisioning, meditation and quantum physics (really, I had NO idea what I was doing, but my years in the spiritual and metaphysical realm, healing my body from ill health and terrible toxic emotions led the way here). I could 'see' and 'feel' standing on stage, winning that trophy.
And I did so 4 times over.
See, I had to 'think' differently, and I had to learn to see obstacles as opportunities for growth, and when I stumbled, I didn't pack it all in, I didn't make excuses, I asked better questions: What can I learn from this and what skill am I being asked to learn, what 'inner muscle' am I being asked to build here?
And that is where all the growth is, it's in the moment, when you DON'T reach your goal right away (think losing 10 pounds in 4 weeks, or reverse disease), and that is where the shifting begins. That is where you learn to up-root your old 'normal' and begin to shift Who You Are.
After training for 40 years, I can honestly say that Who I am has become way more important than the trophies, the applause, even the great physique that comes from training for so long.
I have used these acquired skills that I learned along the way - tenacity, commitment, envisioning, faith, grace, forgiveness, patience and self love - in all areas of my life. It is not 'what I do', it's Who I am. And it has flowed into my marriage, my business, and has allowed me to stay in grace and ease, even when circumventing the ominous task of having a child with a degenerative condition, and seeing the gift and joy in it.
And this is what I teach women.
It is sooo much more than macro's and calories and cardio plans..
So consider this journey of health and healing, of creating a body transformation also a LIFE transformation, because they truly cannot be separated out, if you wish to stay on the path of healthy living for a very long time.
It is simply the best - and only way - to live! Strong, grounded, awake and inspired! Oh yeah...and you build a healthy, strong body with a robust metabolism too....even after 40!
XO!
