Let the Weight be Lifted

Spring!

Happy Spring! 

A time to celebrate new beginnings! The smell of freshness in the air, the buds on the trees and everything awakening from a well-deserved slumber. Each season has its own beauty.

But let me, for a moment, reference the other side of the world, where it is now Fall...

In Fall, the green foliage makes way for vibrant colors. Creation is beautiful. There is a time and season for everything.

So too, I find in our lives, things are revealed in due season after some actions are taken and when the conditions are right.

When I was growing up as a teenager, there was a point when I carried more weight than I should have. I hated the feeling. It made me sluggish and lethargic. I had tremendously low self-image and confidence. For a time, I thought, it was part of growing up and there was nothing I could do. But then my enquiring mind set out to find the truth.

Of course, there was no quick look-up as we have now – just a quick search on our phones. The only means of knowledge accessible to me, and thanks to my parents, were great books that they ordered from time to time, in addition to the monthly Reader’s Digest that was a delight to receive, and the daily newspapers. The library was too far for me to even make it there. Oh no! That would take out a huge chunk of my day, especially when we were loaded with homework without respite by the very industrious syllabus we had to follow.

My resolve to get over the sluggish feeling and improve my well-being and get trim and fit made me soak up all articles on Nutrition and Fitness. And, I did some experiments in terms of what I would eat and when, and the types of exercises I would do. It was no easy task though. Getting my heavy self to exercise was a feat in itself. I had to harness all the motivation I could. I had to be the Army of me. I was Captain, Sergeant Major, Corporal and Private – all in one.

Trying to find the right balance of what I was consuming was another challenge. But I was tickled pink when I found some of my strategies working. Then, I cut them out again just to see if I would revert to my old self. As soon as I felt even the slightest dragging of my feet, I knew I was on the right path. Following my intuition and listening to my body got me great results. I became a different person.

People who were used to seeing a bigger me block out what lay beyond got it into their heads that something was wrong with me when there was less of me to block their view. The truth was I had the weight lifted off and I was lighter on my feet. I had to counter their mistaken beliefs by telling them I never felt better before. I felt more energetic, vibrant, motivated, self-confident and filled with a new purpose in life. Wasn’t that the most important thing?

Over the years, I pursued more formal studies and even now I am always keeping up with research and strategies when it comes to nutrition and lifestyle. This is how I help my clients transform themselves by shedding what is not needed – habits, lifestyle practices and toxicities accumulated over the years. Think of that as the chlorophyll that was once useful or served a purpose for a time. Chlorophyll serves a purpose during the spring and the summer seasons when it almost hides the other carotenoids that are actually present but not visible. Chlorophyll then captures the light and is responsible for the plant undergoing photosynthesis, producing water and oxygen.

Being in a state of disease or being overweight can be compared to a season just like chlorophyll has a season. When the inadequacies of your lifestyle or diet and the toxicities are eliminated or phased out, then your true vibrance, your true colors emerge and you are a totally new being. You can function in a different way just like the carotenoids taking up their new role of primary photosynthesis factories. The new you is more prominent once the old you is left behind to be just a memory and a phase for reflection on.

In my practice I see many clients who are in certain situations that they either got into themselves or that they fell into due to their circumstances or their upbringing or their lack of knowledge. That state served a purpose for a time because it gives them the advantage of having been there and then coming to a better place.

I love guiding people through change and transformation to show their vibrant true colors and thereby be the source of inspiration and motivation for others. Now is the best time for a new season of transformation!