Don’t judge a book by it’s cover

It’s very funny how people “perceive” the health and fitness of another just by looking at them. You see someone strong and lean and immediately assume they have all their ducks in a row and everything’s good on the inside as much as it is on the outside. To a majority, that may be true as you can’t get that way by eating McDonald’s and daily latte’s but you certainly can’t pass judgement when it comes to their fitness level in general.

And I am the perfect specimen! As a result of my mini breakdown last week about my little friends that just wont go away, (This Sucks) I talked and talked and talked until I couldn’t hear myself anymore. And with all the great out-pouring of support, I listened and absorbed other people’s point of view – thanks for that!

But it was Tuesday of last week, when I was with a client (and friend) that I had a little slap in the face to not just change what I was doing on the inside, but change what I was doing on the outside as well. After crying on my friend’s shoulder, she said “Sam, maybe your fibroids are trying to tell you something. Maybe you are just training too hard and your body is stressed. Why not train your parasympathetic nervous system for a change and give your body a break.”.

It was like she was reading my mind. Why the hell don’t I? Here I am making huge changes in my diet but instead of shifting my exercise routine, I added more and trained harder. Huh? Although exercise is a positive form of stress on the body, it’s still stress, none the less. I know all the benefits of yoga and recommend it to clients but never really thought about it for myself. Maybe it’s time to “shock” the system and do something different for a change (shocking!). Hmmmm??

So I took her advice (you know who you are) and I got up the very next morning and bought a 5 pack of yoga classes at a neighbourhood studio and am I ever glad I did. But not without some sacrifice!

Wow did I ever get my butt kicked!! One might think because I have muscles and am a personal trainer that yoga should be a breeze – NOT. I just about died trying to hold some of those positions but didn’t allow myself to fall on my face as I am too proud. (this was Hatha yoga too). And as I looked around the room, there were several women who didn’t “look” the vision of fit that we are used to, but these women could hold, wrap and do things with their bodies with such ease, that all I could do was admire and hope to “someday” be as good as them.

Strength certainly comes in all shapes and sizes and now I have (just once a week to start) embraced a different way of training. Last week was the first time in a long time that I just concentrated on the task at hand. No thoughts of what I had to do when I got home, work, clients etc. Nope, it was all about me, the “zen” and trying not to lose my balance. It was a nice break for a change and I left the class feeling alive.

Who knew there was something other than the weight room eh? Well obviously, I “knew” but I was my own worst enemy and never practiced what I preached.

It’s time I listened to my own words so we will wait and see…

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