Recently, someone who’s known me for more than 20 years described me as an old soul, and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve always felt that way, and that value is only becoming more clear and refined as I journey through this life.
Last week when I shared a very vulnerable post about my disordered eating habits, I think maybe I tasted freedom for the first time. There is something so liberating to let go of a secret like that.
One of my mentors talks about how much energy it takes to hold a bunch of beach balls underwater for a long time. It’s exhausting. And when you let them go and just float, life is a lot easier.
Maybe that’s why I made it public? Either way, it came from a place of wisdom I didn’t know I had.
The feedback I’ve gotten from women in my community is palpable. I can’t say I’m surprised that I’m not the only one who feels this way about my relationship with food and my body. Actually, it’s one of those things that is sad but empowering. It’s sad that we feel this way about our bodies, but it’s empowering that we can do something about it once there’s room for a conversation.
This week I wrapped up a 6-week Pilates Lifestyle class in my community with 37 amazing women. I feel a little nostalgic about it already. (Is that the “old soul” part of me popping her head up? Likely.)
It was so invigorating to revisit the core principles of Pilates, introduce principles of healthy habits, share them with a group completely new to the method, and come away feeling more empowered than ever to be an exceptional health coach.
Today I was reading a book a dear friend lent to me. It’s called “One Month to Live.” As the show-stopping title implies, it’s about what you’d do differently if you knew you only had 30 days to live.
The authors talk about a tombstone with dates marking the beginning and end of the soul buried there. The dates are separated by a dash. They’re talking about this dash as the place where life happens.
Think about it: if you had 30 days to live, what would you do? Who would you want to see? Where would you go? Why aren’t you there right now?
Does your dash – wherever you are right now – align with your dreams and values? What are your dreams? What do you value?
Because where I am today is far more in alignment with what I value than ever before.
I am a Pilates Coach with 17 years of experience, growing my practice as a health, wellness, and lifestyle Coach through Precision Nutrition and the Human Potential Institute.
I’m an executive and entrepreneur since basically forever. I’m a wife, sister, friend, daughter, aunt.
Here’s a photo of me teaching my mom Pilates. I just found it today. This must be 2004 after I moved back to Baltimore from NYC. Back then I loved teaching, but I was so lost on the inside. (Could you believe I hated my body back then…😕)
What’s my point?
Ask yourself: are you living your life in alignment with the person you want to be when it’s time to etch your tombstone? What’s happening in your dash?