Parvati Magazine December 2013 - Remembrance | Page 14

FITNESS

REMEMBERING EARLIER FITNESS
And Loving Your Body Now

FITNESS

T

he definition of Remembrance is as follows: the act of remembering a person, thing, or
event; something that is
done or made to honor
the memory of a person, thing, or event. How
many of us take this attitude with our bodies and
their ability to perform
or lack thereof, when involved in fitness? As much
as I think I have “moved
through” this phase, and I
should “know better”, I do
in fact have days where
old, unforgiving habits
die hard. I am happy to
report, though, that the
moments in time where I
have these thoughts are
significantly
diminished
from my younger years.
There are times in our lives
when we have displayed
peak performance. We
may not have been
Olympic athletes, but at
our peak nonetheless. It
felt good. We felt like we
were on top of our game,
we felt strong, and able
to take on the world physically. We had energy to
spare and felt unstoppable. Then life happens. We

have a baby, tear a hamstring, gain weight, we
simply age or just stop acknowledging the fact that
maintaining a committed
fitness practise has amazing benefits. If we don’t
use it, we lose it. Whatever the reason is, one day it
happens that our bodies
do not respond with the
speed, recovery, flexibility
or strength they had before.

One day our
bodies may
not respond
as they did
before.

And we judge. We tell
ourselves we are no longer good enough. We tell
ourselves we are aging or
damaged, and will never
be the same again. We
remember how our bod-

ies used to lift, to stretch
or have seemingly unlimited amounts of cardio
capacity. Do any of these
thoughts allow us to feel
empowered? Do these
thoughts bring sensations
of joy? I can only speak
for myself, but my answer
is a loud and clear NO!
So I say drop those
thoughts and replace
with thoughts that fill
your soul with acceptance and peace. Observe more, judge less.
Every day on your mat,
or in the gym, will be different. Your mood, your
hydration level, focus for
the day will be different.
Showing up and committing to moving your body
daily is what will keep you
young and energetic.
Allow your thoughts to
support your body in the
process. You only get one
body per lifetime. Treat it
with the respect and love
it deserves.

Sandra O’Brien is mother to the world’s three most fabulous children. She
is also a Law of Attraction Life Coach, Personal Trainer, yoga instructor,
published author and Reiki healer. Her work has been featured on CityLine
Television, and The Toronto Star. She is owner of Muskoka Hot Yoga,
and Muskoka Goddess, offering hot yoga, tabata bootcamps, personal
training and coaching. She created the Goddess Creation system, a
female fitness program to blowtorch body fat, sculpt sexy lean muscle and
empower women everywhere to be the best version of themselves, inside
and out. She enjoys dancing, reading, hiking in the forest, meditation.
For more information on Sandra, please visit www.muskokagoddess.com