Who Am I Not To

Who am I to to be brave, fearless, beautiful.. Who am I not to?? Fear is not knowing who you are but knowing what you could be..

Just experienced one of most emotional and physical weekend I can ever imagine at a Les Mills AIM2 training. The ultimate outcome is to get ” elite” status in whatever Les Mills formmat you teach, but my goal is to just improve my teaching to better help others in their fitness journey. 

Most people know very little about how many hours, sore muscles and tears it takes to be a competent instructor. I had the great fortune to spend this weekend with 19 inspirational instructors whose main goal was to get better teaching something they love.  The tears I mentioned have little to do with the muscle soreness and physical fatigue but about the soul searching about why we do what we do and questioning what gets in our way of becoming our ultimate selves. 

We were encouraged to push past our comfort zones, to go to places internally which make us uncomfortable in order to grow not only as instructors but as individuals. For me this meant taping into everything which makes me insecure.. Turning my “nots” into “nuggets”.  My biggest learning this weekend was acknowledging “who am I not to be brave, beautiful, fearless??” 

” When I dare to be strong, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”

I did

Amazing what happens when you take control of your life.  Three years of hard work, heartache and perserverience brought me here. Crazy I Know!! Who would have thought I could do this. Love every place I teach; each is different; unique. Being a small part of someone’s effort at being fit and healthy is a wonderful feeling. 

Always love the fall. Cool air, colorful leaves and yes the start of school. Doublely blessed be able to teach both eighth graders and group fitness . Taking care of one’s self is a process, a journey. There is no quick fix or magic pill. Everyday brings new challenges and needs a renewed commitment. But you are worth the investment. 

Just Imagine

Another first day of school begins tomorrow sandwiched in between CX classes. Continuing to seek the positive vibes..becoming, attracting, creating. 

An Amazing Weekend

Learning to Care for Myself

This August I did a pretty intensive overhaul of my sleeping, eating and drinking habits. Took a hard look at what I was doing and how that correlated into how I felt mentally and physically. Never a secret about my mental health battles or need for meds. But sometimes they aren’t enough.  Realized the above was getting in the way of how I was training, teaching and living.  

My crutch on alcohol to help me get to sleep was counterproductive. It helped with the initial falling asleep but then I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night. Also realized my tolerance level was increasing and it was taking much more to get to same level. With a history of alcoholism in my family I didn’t like where I was going so cut it out completely. First couple of days harder than I wanted it to be but payoff amazing. Better sleep, more energy and my mood improved. 

My gym life takes a huge toll on my body. Sleep is essential for recovery. Considering I teach at 6 am multiple times a week and that school is starting, I need to get to sleep early and get at least 7 solid hours of sleep a night. Eight is even better.  The 5 am wake tough but find myself ready to go at pretty soon after alarm goes off. Lastly I am eating more nutrient dense food at consistent intervals and HYDRATing. The hydrating almost more important than the eating. Our body is a machine and it needs to be fueled properly. 

The difference in how I feel both mentally and physically is profound. I realize that most of this is common sense practice. But knowing it and then doing it not always as easy as it seems. Also know what works for me may not work for everyone. This journey has been about finding balance and is ever evolving. 

A new school year starts tomorrow and want it to be the best one yet.so when this one decides that my body is the perfect place to catnap I enjoy the moment with her.