Saturday, July 02, 2005

Walking to save my life

I walked to the Stanford Dish last Sunday, around 4 miles round trip. A few years ago, three to be exact, I couldn't walk half a block. I was a completely different person, in a completely different body. I weighed 188+ pounds, and my Rheumatoid Arthritis was active -- I was totally miserable. Today I really saw that SuperSlow strength training and Metabolic Typing have saved my life. The strength training has created a body that has muscles I can use, muscles I can actually feel as I walk up the steep path to the Dish; It feels magnificent to be able to move!

At 62, I feel more alive than I've ever felt. While I could stand to lose another 25 pounds, I know that I am in great health. The healthy foods I eat based on my metabolic type, the SuperSlow strength training I do each week in our Alive! Fitness Studio, and the walking I do four to five times a week have all made a huge difference in how I move through my life, and how I feel about being alive.

If this is possible for me, it's also possible for those women approaching 60 who may feel the way I used to feel -- helpless, hopeless, and having no energy. It is possible to turn your life around at ANY age. I believe it all starts with loving yourself enough to start taking care of yourself, to start spending some money on your health needs, and to understand that you will have nothing to give others until you create a reserve of life energy in yourself.

I read something recently in my friend, Marian Van Eyck McCain's book, "Elderwomen: reap the wisdom, feel the power, embrace the joy", where she relates that she learned that " none of us really has anything to offer except the quality of our presence". It struck my heart as if a knife had pierced it -- I immediately saw the extraordinary truth in that simple sentence -- and I realized the quality of my presence had started to degrade because of my current lifestyle. I had become so busy with starting a new fitness business, taking coach training classes, working full time, and completing my BA that I had lost sight of the importance of just "being". I had reverted to an old, old pattern of doing and, in the process, had begun to lose myself again. I encourage every women who is "aging" to read Marian's book. It is a sourcebook of elderwoman wisdom, and a constant source of support in aging consciously.

My passion is to work with women 50+ to approach aging consciously, with joy and inspiration, creating a new life filled with passion for living, passion for making a difference, and passion for healing their corner of the world.

Taru
Trained Co-Active(tm) Coach
Life Coach
Health & Wellness for Alive! Women
http://wwww.alivefitnessstudio.com