Body in Balance

If I look back at my life I shouldn't be surprised that I eventually discovered personal training to be my calling. California is a state obsessed with physical appearance. But most of the obsession isn't healthy and it influences people not to look at themselves with acceptance but with an extremely critical eye. I, too, am guilty of this but my main competition has always been myself. I never needed my parents to push me to study or apply myself -- I was eager to do the best I could, and I put a lot of pressure on myself when I didn't perform up to the standards I thought I was capable of. I know many people are similar to me. Type A personalities tend to take for granted all the positive charateristics that make us Type A's and focus instead on all of our short-comings. This is the way I viewed my body as well. But exercise helped changed that and, more specifically, running. I began going on short runs when I was fifteen and away at boarding school for one year. Those runs became my escape from reality. I still run today, but the reasons have changed over the years. In my teens and early twenties, running showed me that just as I could push myself to study and get an A on an exam, I could also train and push myself to run half-marathons and then marathons. Mental stamina gave me physical stamina. All of a sudden my body wasn't something that was working against me but for me.

After having my daughter, I not only became much more accepting of my body but also empowered by it and, quite frankly, in awe of it. Other moms know what I'm talking about. In pregnancy, my perspective shifted drastically and I was really able to see myself in a completely different light. My priority became being the healthiest me possible for my baby. I not only felt better when I ate and exercised in a balanced and moderate way, but I also felt like it was my duty to give that to the child growing inside of me. I was extremely fortunate to deliver a healthy baby girl, and then twenty-one months later, a healthy baby boy. I may have had healthy babies even if I hadn't exercised throughout my pregnancies, but I do believe that fitness allowed me to better accept the many changes going on in my body. Once again, exercise remained a constant but the reasons for doing it changed.

My interest in personal training naturally progressed during the last few years as I realized the importance physical fitness has had in my life. I strive everyday to keep my body in balance, but it's a daily decision and effort. I know that when I do, I'm a better mom, wife, friend, and daughter. That's reason enough to keep working at it.