When I take on clients, I know that the toughest part of my job is not necessarily teachings them how to lift, what kinds of exercises to do, or even how to eat well. The toughest part is helping them to see how their inner beliefs may be limiting their best efforts.

Us trainers repeat our mantras about the importance of ‘commitment’, lerning how to ‘prioritize’, and staying ‘on schedule’, but these things can conjure up more feelings of pressure and guilt.

Let’s dig a little deeper.

The successful client is the one that sees her training and clean eating from another perspective: an empowering one that says it’s good – no, necessary – to train and eat well.

I made this shift awhile ago…yes, I had always been interested in good health but it was also about looking good. But when my son was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy years ago, I was struck with the undeniable truth that he would soon lose all function with time. 

Despite my fit body and clean lifestyle, I was overwhelmed with fear, sadness and guilt – guilt at being able to strengthen my body while I watched my son’s muscles slowly deteriorate. How dare I be so selfish? I didn’t train for a full five years.

Then, one night while he lay sleeping, I sat beside him, stroking his tiny chest, and I made him a vow – to do whatever I could to support him in his journey.

And that’s when it shifted for me: I had to stay healthy for him, in order to help him through his years of declining strength. My being able to train was a gift to him, to all of us. I got rid of the guilt and replaced it with something greater: if good health was my gift, then I could use it to help him.

Today I teach women everywhere that training is the greatest act of self-love you can practice. Park your guilt at the door, nix the excuses, file your doubt away and go in and ‘love yourself into health’ with every lift.

To love yourself means being healthy, whole and all you can be. And that means committing to keeping your body strong and capable.

Do it for them. But mostly, do it for you. And know that you deserve it.

karen

We’re all feeling it these days…more strife, more challenge, more chaos. People are angrier that usual, more selfish, more steeped in fear and anger. Relationships are breaking down at an unprecedented pace. Perhaps yours is one one of the many casualties.

I certainly have been feeling it the last year or so…loads of challenges in my personal and public life, like you. People are less patient, more gossipy…heck, people are even laying on their car horns more these days! It’s like living in Mexico!

It’s all written in the stars. Has been for a long, long time. Some call it the Culmination. Others call it the Time of Reckoning. Still others call it The End.

I call it 2012. That’s when they say the world will change….indeed.

What’s going on? Well, seems we’re shifting from the Age of Pisces, which lasted 2,160 years, to Aquarius, whose birth is taking place as you read these words. In other words, we are in an astrological twilight zone where one age is overlapping with another: one age is dying and another is being born, the old and the new will exist side by side for a time.

The two opposites are colliding: an awakening of the spiritual is hitting up against our traditional material world of power, force, control. This is the root cause of all this madness we’re feeling. For a while, it will feel as though we are being pulled in different directions…crazy, out of line. However, with time, the influence of Aquarius will become stronger and things will settle in. 

I see it as a time of sifting out, really: when all is said and done, there will be two camps – those that elevate into the New Way will live with fresh eyes and a new set of values and beliefs based on inclusion, peace and, yes, love. 

And for those that fight it and stay in the lower energies – anger, control, fear – well, they’ll be having a tough time of it all. 

You may not believe all this stuff but it’s not magical. It’s all quite scientific, really. Mathematical even. It’s like gravity: whether you believe in it or not, it still affects you. Just read your history. Study astrology. No need to be surprised…it’s been predicted for a very, very long time. These times are a’changin’…

How will I weather the storm? Well, I’m practicing bucketloads of forgiveness, trying to stay grounded, trying to stay open and be responsible with my words and actions. Easy? Nope. Necessary? It is for me. How about you?

So hang on my dear friends. It’s going to be a very bumpy ride indeed……

Karen

PS And please, lay off your horns!

When I first started weight training, it was all about the physical…building nice arms, tighter glutes, raising my metabolism, and losing weight.

Then life knocked me off my feet, and my training went with it. After 8 years of ill health, I came back with a fresh persepctive and new appreciation for all things, including my physical health. I made training my spiritual practice.

Most people in the gym want to zone out, to get it over with, to be on their way. After 30 years, I’ve learned to muscle into every moment – both in the gym and outside – with focus and thankfulness. I’ve learned to make my workouts my Zen practice, and you can too.

Enjoy my 4 pointers for making your lifting a true body – mind – spiritual experience which will take you, and your training and results, to new heights.

– Lift because you want to be well.
– Lift to connect to something greater than yourself.
– Lift out of a reverence for all life.
– Lift because you can.

I can always spot them – the traditionalists in the crowd. During seminars, when I hand out my breakfast recipes, there’s always someone that comments on my tuna recipe. “You can’t eat tuna for breakfast!” they reply. I ask why not? “Because you just don’t! Eeewww…”

Really? Hmmmm… I can see we have some work to do….

People often ask me my secret to living a healthy life. It’s simple, really. I’ve learned to buck tradition. 

What I mean is this: if you want average results, do what everyone else is doing. But if you want to create a unique life, with profound results, don’t follow the crowd. 

In my early life, I certainly followed the crowd. I did what I was supposed to do: I went to college, had a 9-5 job, good pay and good benefits, went on the traditional twice-a-year vacations….

But I was itching for more…my spirit was thirsty, and I needed to quench that thirst. And therein started my search for a real life. I started to carve out a life that worked for me, one where I could feel free, empowered and excited! 

Today, I live what some would call an unusual life: I train with the seasons. I don’t eat bread. I don’t do cardio. I don’t text. I don’t answer my home phone. I’m asleep by 9 pm. I eat raw meat and eggs. I don’t plan my weekends. I rarely watch the news. And I eat tuna for breakfast. 

To the average person, I live an unusual life, but to me it works beautifully. I try to teach this to my clients: live outside the box, stand convention on its head, question everything. There’s freedom outside the box. It’s liberating, and you can carve out your own life with your own set of rules, ways of living that better support you. 

If you’re living a traditional life, just ask yourself why. Does it keep you feeling safe? Accepted? Included? Is it easier? See, for me, tradition used to mean constriction, predictability, sameness. Today, living an untraditional life means freedom and individuality, and it honours my body and my spirit.

If living a traditional life means you are empowered and free, then by all means keep on keepin’ on! But always check in: ask yourself it you’re excited by your life. If you’re not, change it. You don’t owe anyone the ‘perfect life’. You owe it to yourself to live your best life, and in doing so you can show others how to do the same.

karen

I have several sets of wind chimes hanging outside my home, and yesterday morning, as I sat on my deck with my morning coffee in hand, they were all singing in the wind!  Then I spied a large spider scurrying across my kitchen floor. It’s official – I thought – fall is here.

I love fall. It’s my New Year, and I get inspired and excited by its arrival. Not that I don’t love the summer. I do, but the Fall always sees me moving forward in new ways and taking on new challenges.

This year, I’m focusing hard on bringing what I want into fruition – my business, travel plans and some other juicy bits. I’ve re-connected to my metaphysical roots (thank goodness) and I’m on the path again. I needed that. The world as we know it is changing, and I plan on riding that wave of change.

How are you planning on living the next year of your life? Just take the time to write something down. Wishful thinking never got anyone anywhere…planning and focus always does. That’s how it all works.

Don’t forget to factor in yourself, while you’re making your wish-list. Get back in touch with your physical self. Get healthy, and feed yourself well. treat your body with respect, because your body is the portal to other parts of yourself – your mind and your spirit. You deserve to be healthy and happy in all these places!

See you at the gym!
Karen

PS – There’s only 5 days left to sign up for my popular 10-Week Best Shape Challenge…only 6 seats left! My popular in-gym Lift n Lose starts Sept 12th, and I’m creating an Advanced Best Shape Challenge for those wanting to get in serious shape!. And my Healthy Living Program, with its monthy workouts, eating and lifestyle teachings, is growing, with 80 members strong!

PSS Grab my September Breathe Newsletter, and enjoy my audio – Top 10 Tips for Getting (and Staying) in Shape!

And join me on Facebook, for tons of free tips, tidbits, videos and more!