
Carpe Diem.
Www.carlascoachingforhealth.com
AT SOME POINT WE NEED TO LOOK AT WHAT IT IS THAT MATTERS TO US.... NOT WHAT IS THE MATTER.
![]() Every day I am reminded how very different we can all be in our thinking, and it always gets me curious as to why?. I know that I am a product of nature and nurture, but irrespective of the origin of my thoughts I still need to take responsibility for them. One of the best pieces of advice a friend gave me once was “for goodness sake Carla, grow up and take charge of your life”... She was fed up with listening to me and my constant on going dramas, one after the other. After I got over the 'ouch' of her outburst I reflected on what she had said and (without admitting it to her) I started opening up to the fact that she might be right!. After all it was me that was at the centre of every single drama or incident, that surely couldn't be a co-incidence. There began a journey of many years of exploration down all sorts of paths, simply seeking a more peaceful way of living. Eventually it was neuroscience which joined up all the dots for me as it provided evidence, which I obviously needed. I learnt that our thoughts are not 'set' in concrete, and that our brains have plasticity which means we can create new tracks of thoughts and make them more dominant than others. I learnt that whatever I put my focus on or whatever I played over and over in my mind created my perceived reality. Every decision I made was made with this 'story' of who I thought I was, and this story plays in the background every minute of every day directing my every choice.. The discovery of neuro plasticity hasn't come quick enough for me, it confirmed things that I knew deep down but never had a practical way to express it or apply it. Science and ancient ways of healing at last are sharing common ground it's just that for me science made it 'real'. I realise it's easy for me to say all this in hindsight, but I dare not believe that 10 years of darkness was all for nothing!. I had to fight hard to get my quality of life back which was extremely difficult as depression is exhausting on all levels, and moving forward for me happened very slowly. It's also interesting that I seem to have done a complete cycle, returning once again to a holistic approach to my health. I know that I need to nourish my physical body with exercise and nutrition, (although the latter is a 'work in progress'). I also have to nourish my mind, and I accept and realise that my emotions are just a clue, they arn't the whole picture and they don't have to control me. The most important componant for me is my spiritual self, as without my feeling of 'connection' to something that is bigger than me, whatever that may be, I struggle with everything else. I don't follow any doctrine, and I don't meditate for hours either, my connection is simply found in very simple ways and I truly believe that spark that is within us is available to all, we just need to find a way to ignite it and Im very grateful to have found mine. Carpe Diem. Www.carlascoachingforhealth.com
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![]() Im very fortunate to have the opportunity of doing a job I love, which means I never have to 'work' another day in my life. My vision years ago was to somehow combine my physical fitness skills with my interest in mental health... well I believe I've finally achieved that, although in reality the two have never really been seperate or ever will be. It's all mental health no matter what way we look at things. One component can not be affected without affecting another, as nothing we do or think works in isolation. Looking back I've learnt so much from being a group fitness instructor. In the beginning it's all about learning technical skills to deliver a 'work out' but after a while it becomes very apparent that delivering and being part of a group fitness class is quite a holistic experience! Physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, the endorphins manufactured during my exercise times super charge me on all levels. Its a complex combination with all roads leading to increased motivation, which gets ridden like a wave pushing me forward and hungry for more. I can only presume that my class members are feeling something similar as they return week after week, year after year . As the instructor, it's my resposibility to give attention to the details and to ensure that my class leave feeling satisfied on as many levels as I can consciously contribute to. After years of teaching group fitness I think I can read my class pretty darn good, it's almost instinctual these days. Being acutely aware of all the subtle body language and sign posts gives me a huge advantage of being able to give a lot of attention to an hours exercise class. My classes all have a resistance component to them not only because it's one of the most effective ways to burn body fat, but a study conducted by Teresa Liu-Ambrose in 2012 investigated differences in the cognitive impact of different kinds of exercise. i.e. –toning, aerobic or resistance training. At the end of the six-month study, the resistance group showed improvements in traditional IQ tests adding to the argument that working out with some weight/s can be one of the most effective interventions that can change not only our bodies, but the way we think, and changing the way we look at things can make the things we look at change. Www.carlascoachingforhealth.com for class timetables. |
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