How STRONG is your WHY?

Living fit is only part of the journey, having a holistic life brings every facet of your BEing into balance. And balance isn’t perfection it’s grounding. Which leads me to the title, “How STRONG is your WHY?”

This journey called life is meant to challenge your WHY, but if you lack foundation & balance then your WHY will crumble under the weight of L-I-F-E. So let’s talk about your why as in why live healthy, holistic & happy.

Do you deserve healthy, holistic & a happy existence? None of us deserve or are entitled to it but we can earn it. I once heard a wise elder say,

You were given the gift of life, now you have to earn your living.

In other words we don’t wake up winding a dial that’s attached to our heart. The heart has its own intelligence, that’s the gift of life. Yet how we take care of our hearts is an example of us earning a living.

Your why is the emotional connection between appreciating the gift and earning it. It’s your anchor ⚓️ into everything you do. This is the secret sauce to having a powerful why, the type that moves mountains. [That’s why I’ve created the MERMAID e-news to stay connected.]

I started this blog to encourage my sister through stage-4 cancer and one of the harshest chemo treatments, confessed by the nurses, they’ve ever heard of. You can read my why here but to summarize we did a complete 180• and changed everything.

Somewhere in the mix they wanted to remove her uterus because that’s where the cancer was. It started as a molar pregnancy that spread into bladder and lungs. However after a combination of modern, ancient & holistic therapies she was deemed cancer free by her doctor. While looking at her X-ray he & the nurse said it was one of the most beautiful uterus they’ve ever seen.

Q: What was her why?

A: That’s simple her children.

Q: But I’ve heard that before. So what made her why so different?

A: The energy she put behind it!

Q: Did she do it alone?

A: No, she incorporated a team & consciously surrounded herself with love.

Q: Is it safe to assume that her why needed help?

A: Yes, all of us will face moments when our why requires a little boost. That’s when we enlist the energy of others to carry us through. This can be emotional support, teachings or reading something to encourage us.

I’m excited to announce that I will be going full-time into my WholelisticFit coaching helping other women regain the power of their why and thrive.

Which brings me to another announcement: My sister just gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Both a miracle and a confirmation of our Spiritual foundation.

I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken…

My husband adoring a bundle of grace, mercy & unconditional love. [ALOHA] I’m sharing this, very private, moment with you to encourage YOU, yes YOU. Miracles do happen! You have all the resources, tools and knowledge at your fingertips. All you have to do is put energy behind your why.

I took a snapshot of the scenery outside of the birth center & tons of baby pictures. But the purpose of this blog isn’t to show off my nephew, it’s to testify to the power of WHY.

There are steps to connect to your why.

I’ve grown to understand and appreciate the process of reconnection. And I was also grateful that my sister allowed me to coach her even in the delivery room.

There in the delivery room both her life and babies life faced hurdles. My sister’s body had grown tired and weak. The midwife’s assistant was concerned because her water broke, baby was in the birth canal but her push wasn’t strong enough. Meanwhile a host of family members stood in prayer.

We all go through moments of doubt, which is why a coach is so important.

And then I spoke, “You can and will do this because your Savior has brought you this far and HE can do anything but fail. Stop fidgeting and use the contraction to push baby out! Short sips of air into your nose then exhale him out.”

See him in your arms and send your energy there.

Sometimes we have to refocus our why.

Partner with a coach that can see your potential, remind and hold you accountable. It’s their job to ignore the excuses and condition your mind for excellence.

This is the type of WholisticFit coach I’ve become. Through trials and personal tribulations becoming a student to the teachings of L-I-F-E. My goal is to connect women to their power of why which is MANA WAHINE. Women of power. This power doesn’t stand alone, it’s a culmination of experiences. The life lessons taught overtime from one generation to another.

Seasons of change… for the better.

I’ve enjoyed blogging here and I feel that it has become a testimony to the circle-of-life. [Enter the Lion King theme.]

Through this blog I’ve shared, stirred the mind & supported a place of growth. And now it’s time to open my arms to the future of sister-hood. Create a virtual space of excellence. I hope you will transition with me and become a MERMAID to receive my e-news. Also I’ll be posting on my blog WholelisticFit regularly and creating content for women who pave the way. I look forward to seeing you there.

PS: As a sweet parting gift here’s a 60min course I created called BALANCED BEAUTY. Use is in good health and share the link with others. PEACE Be the Journey.

3 Fit Summer 💦 activities you can do.

I have an active household and majority of what we do is accomplished together. My husband and I talked about sports and extracurricular activities and how it would affect our family. In the end we didn’t want to be too busy being busy. The thought of driving around hysterically trying to make practices, events & meetings would drive me crazy. Then I had a brilliant idea 💡…

I’m a fitness professional, I should just host events that they can participate in!

So I worked with my STSTAHZ (also fitness instructors) and coordinated a summer Sistahz Session. Here’s three (3) other types of fitness events you can host. (Remember to keep it simple, the goal is to promote healthy movement.)

BBQ & Basketball 🏀 Host a mini-basketball tournament. Maybe a 3:3 session for 15min spurts. Everyone brings meat to grill and choose a grill-master. While the meat is grilling everyone else plays. WINNERS get to make their plates 1st and go to the front of the line. [Parks are perfect for this event.]
Field Day & Fiesta 🏆 Set up mini-obstacle courses & games in your backyard. Then invite your guest to bring fiesta type foods. Ingredients to build-a-burrito, nachos or tacos. 🌮 It’s basically a potluck with a purpose. You play than you eat.
Splash & Subs 🌯 Basically its similar to #2 except everyone is bringing ingredients to create their own sub-sandwich or meat wrap. However the activities are water associated. Games like water-balloon-toss or dodge-ball with water balloons. Maybe add a sprinkler obstacle course.

For my event I used the studio on a normally closed day, Sunday. It was a 90-minute workout and potluck. This was my third Sistahz Session and each time I see new faces. I introduced STRONG By Zumba and ran a full set. It was fun. In the end we sweated and smiled! It was worth the planning!!!

If you need help scheduling things out start the free course BALANCED BABE on my holistic fit website.

Above is the digital flier I created to promote my STRONG class. Find a STRONG class near you. Click here.

How Fear became my Friend ;)

There were a few things that use to scare me! Like eating clean, working out 2-hours a day or meditating for an hour. I built up serious resistance to these in the form of excuses. Like…

“I can’t eat CLEAN because buying organic is $$$ expensive.”

“How long & what I do during my workout doesn’t matter, besides there’s not enough time. Unless there’s 26-hours in a day.”

“I meditate when I sleep 😴 so that’s like a two-for-one-deal. Besides meditation isn’t necessary.”

The culprit behind my list of excuses was fear. My complacency was a comfort zone where I allowed my fears to hold me. Instead of using that fear to spark my actions like a catalyst for positive change.

I decided to acknowledge my fears and use it to motivate me. Yes I said that my fears motivated me. Here’s the breakdown…

Not eating clean > fear > expensive > LEARN > found out that there are many affordable solutions > CHANGED MY PERSPECTIVE
Two hour workout > fear > loss of time > LEARN > I waste more time on social media. Also, I learned to communicate my goals & got support. > I CREATE TIME
Meditation was silly > fear > didn’t understand its benefits > LEARN > started simple & joined a class > I FEEL BALANCED

Then I took this fear thing to the next level. I’ve always seen myself as a dancer but not a buff (slang for strong) person. High intensity workouts scared me because they challenged me. Then one day I decided to become STRONG By ZUMBA instructor. OMG!!! 😲 (Why?) I was tired of being afraid. I purchased clothing that actually said “STRONG” and “INSTRUCTOR” on it. Can you imagine.

I became a STRONG instructor in October 2016 and then in April 2017 my sister became one too! [Above are pictures from her class, below are mine.]
I have to say that I had the coolest group ever! They were from Hawaii, Texas, California, Idaho & Washington state. We still keep in contact to encourage one another. After all this wasn’t an easy class. Imagine doing a HITT training for one hour and breaking down each module for the next five to six hours. OUCH!

Above is my graduating class of STRONG instructors and a beautiful group of ladies. We all had our doubts and fears but we took it one movement at a time. And I think that’s the key to dealing with fear.

Use fear to motivate you by…

Acknowledging the feeling.

Discover “why” you feel that way.

LEARN and gain knowledge because it is powerful.

Break it down to smaller task and write it down.

Keep it simple and only do one task at a time. Don’t skip or think about the next task. Focus on ONE.

Above is Madalene Aponte, Zumba ZES and an amazing instructor. She trained my sister and myself. If you’re interested in becoming a Zumba instructor I suggest you check her out.

I’m living the dream of a fit life and you can too. In fact I started monthly gatherings to encourage other women to join the movement. All of my guest are moms like me & I luv it.