True health starts with a strong sense of self

Sometimes I just get plain tired of reading about the next best way to get fit. I'm guilty of falling into trends sometimes, yes. Sometimes I exploit these trends to get new folks into the studio. I have a much broader definition of health than some fitness professionals might have.

This tendency to focus on a myopic view of what it means to be fit is really just plain boring to me. Albeit knowing how to choose exercises and how to coach each individual in a personalized way is extremely important, that's the easy part really. The true work is in helping people get in touch with their true selves again, the part of them that shines, blossoms and experiences increased joy in life. That can come through sweating more for sure but continually moving forward with what I consider to be true health requires work that keeps going deeper and deeper beyond our muscles and skeletons and right into the centre of our hearts and souls if you believe in such a thing.

Now this brings me to what I mean by sense of self. To be honest, I don't know exactly because as I continue to work on being the person I was meant to be on this planet, I keep coming up with more questions.

Developing a sense of self often means undoing much of the damage done in our childhood. I know all too well about these things. I admit my scars run pretty darn deep. But becoming aware of them is a really important first step. As you can gather, doing push ups and lunges won't necessarily help with this particular endeavor.

I found this excellent explanation of what it means to develop a sense of self.

No one is perfect. Nor can one ever hope to be. What we can do is to become more truly who we are. We can strive to accept our limitations and to enhance our strengths. It is also possible to sculpt ourselves into an individual to be proud of, in accordance with our personal concept of success, and thereby being more satisfied with who we are. Forming an accurate picture of whom we are is difficult. Identifying the personality is different than determining an identity. We may project an outgoing personality when being evaluated by the outside world, yet could have a preference for quiet contemplation. We may be a mixture of both. Yet who we are when there is no one and nothing judging us is the core of what we must strive to uncover and to develop...and to accept.

The struggle to understand ourselves is to a large degree an exercise in discovering who we are, where we fit in, and deciding if our identities are in line with societal expectations. Many times, we define ourselves according to who we think we should be or who society thinks we should be rather than what our nature dictates. The identity is mistakenly tied to an occupation, role, or the expectations of others. We formulate a false identity by assimilating or rejecting the belief systems around us based on their prominence in the environment.


We are inundated with people living in a false sense of self everywhere we go and every time we turn on the TV, buy groceries or sit in corporate meetings. People are rewarded with fame and fortune for creating images and personas. Celebrity is all about worshipping the false sense of self. Fake tits, plastic surgery and airbrushed magazine covers are a perfect example.

So why am I going on about this? I am by no means diminishing the importance of exercise in the process of self discovery. It is an essential part of self care and can help root us in healthy routines. But self care and deep personal work are two different things. Without balanced self care, it's next to impossible to have the strength to move forward in a lasting way. And without doing personal work on ourselves, it's harder to make decision to help us stay true to what we really need.

What I see more and more in this world is a sickness in that people create a split between their true selves and who they are trying to project out into the world. The more ingrained this split becomes the more difficult it is to get back to our true selves. I've seen many clients just coming out of major health crisis, relationship disasters and splits and major personal struggles. These life events often become a catalyst to us finding out who we really are and dropping our projected image we would rather be.

But if we can engage in regular self care and work towards self exploration and self awareness, chances are we will find an excellent balance in our minds and bodies. To me, the quest for this particular type of balance is what leads people towards better health in the long run.

Peace,

Jane