The term “fitness” can have different connotations for different people – not always conjuring the positivity I feel about it. Some fear it means they will be pushed too hard, shamed or even injured; others fear it’s a setup for failure. But I see it differently. For me, fitness is not some sort of challenge or obstacle to overcome. Fitness is a way of finding balance – mental, physical and emotional, and it’s as personal and individual as your fingerprints.
My own personal fitness journey is filled with detours. I was 12 when I discovered aerobics and fell in love with working out. I loved the feeling of being fit, of achieving goals and over the years, I found a community at the gym of others who felt the same way. The joy I found in exercise led to a lifelong passion. But I also struggled for more than 15 years with an eating disorder that nearly killed me. I wracked my body with incredible physical stress while depriving it of nutrition. While I destroyed my body from the inside, I strengthened it from the outside. I thought I was controlling how I looked with what I consumed. But it wasn’t until I was almost 30, when I was finally able to overcome my disorder, that I was truly able to marry my passion for fitness with my own well-being. As the saying goes … “doctor, heal thyself.” Today, fitness for me is all about positive control. I can control my breathing; I can control the use of my muscles. And while I can’t stop aging or the stresses of life, I can control how I age and how I process stress. I am as enthusiastic about exercising today as when I was 12. Only now, it’s as much about strengthening from the inside as the outside. I believe that physical well being and cognitive well being reinforce each other. When I work with clients, I not only watch what they are doing, I listen to what they are saying. When I hear negative thoughts, I try to help them turn around. Sometimes, the difference between reaching a fitness goal and not making it is just simply believing in your own ability to achieve it. Counting reps might help strengthen your body. But fitness also means healing, and that means changing your mindset -- and finding a healthier way to live your life. I have a client who was so depressed, there were days she didn’t get out of bed. She struggled with her weight, and pain in her legs when she walked. She struggled with her commitment to training. Recently, we managed to climb a huge hill. She never thought she could do it and there she was, at the top, opening up for the first time about other fitness goals she now wants to achieve. Because, for the first time, she believes she can. I love helping people get to their "I believe I can moment." Contact me now to get started reaching your fitness goals! ~Reena
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September 2023
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