Exercise can make you feel good.Possibility and potential are two words which, when I die, I hope people will associate with my mahi.
Whether it's mental health or our physical health I am driven to help others see they are more than "who they think they are" or "what they think they are capable of".
I don't know where this drive comes from but I do know that it is through this drive that I am here to tell the tale. Ten years of living in darkness led me to the point of having to look at myself and at my own beliefs. Clearly those beliefs weren't working for me and I set out to change them at a very deep level.
My life now simply gets better and better because of my ability to keep questioning, owning and transforming those beliefs.
Nope, it doesn't mean #$%! things don't happen to me or that I don't hurt, it just means that I have learnt to allow that pain to turn into something that serves me instead of limits me.
My korero and mahi with people must always start with the readiness for change and from there we can move to what's possible and potential.
I share how to turn that negative narrative into a positive one enabling people to change their trajectory. It is possible, I've done it, and no clinical expert can take that experience away.
I was anorexic as a teenager, which is another story, but my late mother said to me once during my dark years, "Carla, if you are strong enough to starve yourself then you are strong enough to get through this". She was right!
This is a great example of how our intentions (be they negative or positive) can turn into our realities. It's all in what we choose to focus on and why.
Increasing exercise is another effective first step to creating a positive feedback loop. We need to grab these loops and develop them when they occur, thus changing our filters, thus changing the stories that we tell ourselves.
As an exercise provider of 30 years I am a big advocate of any sort of exercise. To take care of one's body is also to take care of one's mind. We all know endorphins are released when we exercise, especially exercise which raises our heart rates.
We release our "pleasure substances", which help relieve stress and anxiety. Exercise is nature's own "drug". Why wouldn't we be doing it is the question to ask ourselves.
