Once we realized how much we shared in regards to our ideas and philospohy with fitness and health, we quickly hit it off jabbing away on the phone for almost 2 hours. 

Heather and Damian run a fitness and nutrition business out in Arizona, and I wanted to share with you a guest blog from them about the dynamic flux of the female body. 

Heather has an incredible story about her experience as a figure model and how she was able to overcome Hashimoto’s Diseases by addressing the body on both a physical and energetic level. You can read more about Heather and Damian at http://e3energyevolved.com/

Honoring the Ebb and Flow of the Female Body by Heather and Damian Dube

Lets be honest, it’s not the same in a women’s body as a mans, it’s just not and it never will be.

As women we are simply built to be and function differently as a human body.

I have an amazing husband who supports me 200% in my goals and motivates me to no end with his example of natural conditioning at 40 years of age, but my body and his body are not equal and as women if we do not work to develop a different understanding of and expectation of our bodies, then we are simply missing the point and failing to honor their natural way of being.

I have learned over 39 years to see us both differently, and to develop my own unique expectations of my body, that are not equal to his of his body, because that is what achieving balanced wellness requires of us.

So many women athletes, competitors and fat loss seekers put up this inappropriate expectation on their body in my opinion as women. They demand of it to be in impeccable metabolically pushed conditioning year round and year after year, and frankly they pay for it with internal health imbalances and metabolic damage.

A women’s body is built first and foremost for the survival of the human race.

That is a black and white truth there is no way to get around, and no matter whether you’re prioritizing – fat loss or your athletic goals – internally your body is always calls the shots with your endocrine system in mind and the survival of the human race as #1, whether we want to admit it or not, whether we put our intention inward into our body enough to recognize this or not, it’s going on all the time underneath the hood.

Our sole purpose is ultimately to create human life. Man cannot do that, only we can, and we have a very hormonal endocrine system and reproductive system naturally built-in to make that very amazing act possible.

We also have naturally built-in monthly cycles or ebb and flow by which our bodies as women continually move through, over and over, round and round.

For 30+ Years I Never Fully Experienced Myself Because Society And The Medical Industry Teach Us To Numb Our Natural Flow With Birth Control Pills And Ignorance. That The Natural Flow Of A Women’s Body Is “Evil”, “Annoying”, And An “Inconvenience” We Must Eliminate. – Heather Dube’, Co-Creator E3 Energy Evolved

We are not stagnant, we are not straight-lined like men – we are up and down all the time – which is exactly why men are built as consistent and steady, to balance us women out in a very natural, foundational and healthy way.

What does this all mean to you? What I’m saying is step back and consider your health and body and the demands you set on it as well as the expectations you set on it. Also, question whether you are recognizing and honoring this natural cycle of your body in a multitude of ways.

Where are you not honoring your bodies natural ebb and flow?

Where could you do better to “go with the flow” than fight against it, and just let nature “be” as its meant to in your life as a women, and in your body?

Your body is brilliantly programmed to do what it needs, but often it requires us to get out of its way so it can lean towards its natural work and tendencies.

Here’s an example. For me right now, I’ve taken some more internal time and backed down my energy output through changing up my training frequency, workouts & intensity at times. Much of my energy is focused in my mind and creation of e3 Energy Evolved for you, and so that is drawing away from the creative energy and force in some ways I can redirect into my body with high intensity training…for now.

So I’m changing up my workouts and training in ways to adjust for that, fully know when I can release my mind and creative energies back into my body more fully again once more after e3 Energy Evolved is fully complete & launched for you, I will return to more heavy energy output training goal again that I also love and crave as an Ayurvedic pitta, when its time. Right now I am focused on the goal at hand which is creating a mission greater than ourselves to heal this world, and that effort is significantly harder and more demanding than it is to train naturally for NPC national level athletic competition frankly was for me.

Do I love being in very lean, strong physical conditioning naturally, do I love pushing my metabolic boundaries to grow them, do I love tapping my potential as a physical and mental being? Sure I do.

But do I believe that’s a healthy goal to have all the time in a women’s body without creating space of recovery time, without backing off, with out energy and balance restoration and recovery time, letting go of that outward push of energy for a bit?

At 39 years of experiencing and learning about the women’s body through competing at the national level as a natural figure athlete in NPC with advanced natural fat loss goals and beating rare chronic illnesses naturally over years, no I most definitely do not, because that is ignoring our natural ebb and flow.

Our bodies as women are so hormonally charged, we have an energy that is meant to go internal every 20 days or so with our cycle, going again in and out, energy in, energy out.

Keep in mind if you constantly “give give give” your energy out to others or to other creative or athletic processes with no energy in restoration, there are consequences.

Women again have unique needs of restoration with our bodies that men simply don’t have at the same level because the purpose of our bodies & how they are built differs, in my opinion.

We go through our journey in cycles, being into certain forms of training, then evolving into others, needing shifts. We move from self-focused fit times to selfless times of motherhood and caring for family, and we once again return to our fitness. We are strong and powerful, we are dominant, and then we may find for a bit we need to admit our weakness and softness again for a short while and seek that strength in our husband or someone we love nearby to bridge the gap til we find our strength again, while we rebalance.

We are women in a very unique body in a lifetime of natural ebb and flow, ebb and flow, ebb and flow.

I’ve come to a place in my life at 39, through naturally healing a life-changing & life-threatening auto immune illness in my body involving metabolic damage, that I now understand my bodies purpose and how to work in harmony with that purpose at all times, so much better, and it’s a gift to know.

It’s something for 30+ years prior I never felt or knew because of how society and the medical industry teaches us to numb our experience of the natural flow of the women’s body, with birth control pills and ignorance. That are natural flow is “evil”, “annoying”, and “inconvenience” we must eliminate, when in actuality it’s a deep part of our being, knowing our truest self, tapping into our power to create life and experiencing the feminine body in a healthy, balanced way.

It is part of celebrating the amazing gift we’ve been given with a body uniquely built to generate human life.

And unless you’re recognizing and honoring that ebb and flow as part of how you’re experiencing your body, you’re missing a big part of the gift, and a healthy balanced journey of what it means to be well.

What thoughts or ideas does this topic bring to your mind about your body experience so far as a women? We’d love to hear from you. Share your comments below.

For more of our unique approach to natural health, fat loss & fitness, become a part of our e3 Energy Evolved community by signing up for our e-newsletter, gifts & giveaways. If you’re experiencing challenge in this area and need support, we support distance and in person natural health, fat loss & fitness seekers in creating a better natural result and human body experience for their own unique body.

When I signed up my original intention was to grow my business, to learn all the tricks and tips to reach more people online, and to basically, make more money. Yeah, there were other things I wanted to accomplish, but this was, at the time, my top priority. We are a group of strong, ambitious, and heart-centered women from all over the US and even Australia and Canada. We meet several times throughout the year in NYC, San Francisco and New Mexico with monthly coaching sessions and accountability.

Since we’ve started, it’s been a slow unraveling at my seams. My weak and unsteady foundation that was built upon fear, anxiety, “should’s”, expectations, and compulsion began to crumble at my feet. I would never have expected that the amount of personal shit I would have to dig my hands into would take precedence over my marketing or business plans.

I’ve learned several powerful realizations thus far from our coaching sessions that I wanted to share with you in the hopes that you can find a deeper meaning and connection in your life, to help you become the highest and strongest version of yourself:

Lesson 1. We all need a tribe.

One of the main tenets of the mastermind is built upon the idea of “sisterhood”, or of having a strong group of supporters. I can honestly say that I did not fully understand or embrace this concept until I started in the group. In the past I’ve prided myself on being able to do it all by myself and found a sort of strength from being a “lone wolf”.

However, since leaning into the support of having a sisterhood, or tribe, or community, or whatever you want to call it, I’ve learned that we can’t do it all alone.

This is something I want you to really, I mean really, think about for your own life. Do you have a strong support system in your life that you can lean on? Where is your tribe?

If you know a thing or two about our energetic system you know that our root chakra is our base, and this energy center is directly tied to our community or our tribe. In psychology, this is the equivalent of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – without a strong and supportive tribe to fall back on, it will be quite the challenge for us to reach a higher level of self-realization.

I invite you to make establishing a community or tribe one of your top priorities. If you don’t have one, find one, make one.

There’s a reason why we used to hunt in packs. Today, we’re not hunting for prey, but hunting for a deeper connection, a spiritual path that requires the help of others.

Lesson 2. Your inner child is alive and wants YOUR attention.

A lot of our adult issues start in childhood. We may dismiss this idea, but this is HUGE. And through the group I’ve done a lot of “parts work” which includes tapping into our inner child – the part of us that likes to play, and the part of us that is genuinely US.

Our true nature, our real personality is found in this inner child. Over time, through schooling and conditioning we are taught to basically ignore this part of ourself in order to “grow up”. I learned, through many sobbing coaching sessions and tearful bouts in the shower, that my disconnection to little sirena has been the missing link to overcoming many of my self-limiting and self-sabotaging behaviors – like, not feeling like I’m good enough.

If you’re reading this email (still) chances are you are a seeker, and you are on a journey to better yourself, to become your highest version, to become stronger both inside your body and out.

And I want to offer this to you: That the KEY to becoming YOUR highest and strongest version is found in this inner child.

So I invite you, to please do not ignore this playful voice inside you. He or she, just like your son or daughter, niece or nephew, just wants to be heard, wants to be hugged, and wants to play.

Please, give this part of you a voice, hug her, love her, and let her shine.

3. Only YOU know what’s right for you.

We are all just trying to make our own way through this world. At the end of the day, we’re all in this together. Some of us may look like we have it more together than others, but when we break it down and really strip away the pretty photos on Facebook, we all have our own shit, and we’re all just trying our best.

Once I started to really get more in touch the deepest parts of myself, I’ve been able to empathize with other people more intimately, and through this I’ve realized that a lot of my intentions in business and in life, were set on the expectations of other people. Meaning, “So and so is doing xyz, so I should be doing xyz, too”.

However, when I stripped all of the “should’s” out of my mind, I realized that the only person who will ever know what is right for me, is ME.

And the same holds true for YOU.

We may follow people online, or read books from authors we admire, but at the end of the day, YOU have all the answers you will ever need. The books, lectures, seminars, and workshops are there only to help you see your own answers.

Remember, like a seed, you were born with everything you ever needed right inside of you. And to reach your truest heights, we need the support of a tribe, the love of our inner child, and the wisdom that we already know what we need to know.

Like a birth, it’s been a painful and yet very liberating experience to unravel at the seams. I for one, feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude to not only the women in my group, but to the friggin’ Universe.

I hope that you continue to bless me with a your time and your openess to share my journey and my experiences with you, in the hopes that it in turn, helps YOU become the highest and strongest version of YOURSELF.

She asked again, “Why is that important?”

I was stumped, and I sat in silence for a few seconds on the phone, a blank screen, and a bit perplexed. I had never thought of it that way before, that deeply.

I had never stopped to ask myself why it was important for women to feel stronger in their bodies, or why it was important to have better digestion, or more energy.

As I tripped over my words trying to justify my why, all I could think about was how much better my clients felt about their lives once they started feeling stronger, once they started having more energy and once they started feeling more in control of their bodies.

And from the conversation sprung this idea in which:

I believe when you feel strong in your body, you feel great in life.

This little statement carries a lot of clout and meaning to me, and embodies my entire practice; my mission; my purpose.

It’s important imperative for women, to feel strong in our bodies because when we are, we show up fully present, ready to rule our own lives.

When we’re strong externally, we can make it through a full day of work, confident and ambitious, with enough energy to take an evening vinyasa class.

When we’re strong internally, we can make it through all the shitty times in life – the breakups, the self-doubt, and the loses – without completely falling off our meal plan.

When we are strong in our body, we are better sisters, daughters, girlfriends, mothers, wives, bosses, entrepreneurs, and lovers.

I feel as women, it is our responsibility, not just to ourselves, but to those around us, to the communities we live in, and to a greater extent, the entire world, to develop a strong body both internally and externally.

Inner strength develops when we work through the “junk” from our past and begin to recognize harmful patterns in our life that are preventing us from moving forward. And then, doing something about it.

Inner strength means facing our demons and doing the “work” necessary to move on, whether that’s therapy, energy healing, working with a shaman, collecting crystals, journaling, meditating, or whatever works for you.

This inner strength means sticking up for what you believe in, for what you want in your life without apologizing yet being flexible and allowing yourself to bend with the wind rather than snapping in half.

Inner strength is the ability to take a moment out of your day to calm your nerves, and trust in your higher self; to trust in the Universe. It’s the ability to listen to your intuition to help you make the best decision for you and the ones you love.

Outer strength develops when we eat healthy food from a place of love and compassion; eating in peace and savoring the flavors of our food as opposed to rushing and inhaling our meals.

Outer strength means making the time to move our body, whether you do that by lifting weights, going to yoga, taking pilates, or just walking outside, it doesn’t really matter.

Outer strength develops when we heal our digestion and when we get plenty of sleep at night. Outer strength means not relying on coffee in the afternoon to make it through the day.

It means being able to go out to dinner with friends, to socialize and celebrate life without worrying about what you’re going to order.

When we’re strong on the inside/outside it shows on the outside/inside.

Which brings me back to my point:

I believe that when you feel strong in your body, you feel great in life.

I write this as an invitation to you. An invitation to commit yourself to developing a stronger body both inside and out. An invitation for you to show up.

To stop riding in the passenger seat and start to take charge of your health, your life and your happiness by putting in the time, the work, and the love back into yourself.

An invitation to start feeling great in life.

And I believe it all starts with feeling stronger; not only in how we carry ourselves but also how we think of ourselves.

Feeling great in life starts with feeling strong both internally and externally.

Not only do I believe this to be true, but I believe it to be true for you.

How do I know this? Because you’re here right now reading this. You’ve made it all the way to the bottom of this blog because this jives with you.

Something you read along the way kept you scrolling down. Perhaps you felt a pang of excitement or a quiver of fear, regardless you’ve made it this far.

So girls, why is it important to feel strong? Because -

I believe when we feel strong in our body, we feel great in life.

And when we feel great in life, we are better sisters, daughters, girlfriends, mothers, wives, bosses, entrepreneurs, and lovers.

Our families, our communities, and the entire world benefits from our strength. This is why it’s important to feel strong.

Here is her story!

How Rachael felt before coaching:

Uncomfortable, no energy, inactive, out of shape.

How Rachael feels after coaching:

Strong, peace with body, present, happy.

Major body changes after coaching:

Down 11 lbs., clearer skin, and no more stomach pains.

Hi Rachael! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this and for sharing your story with us. You rock!

No problem!

To kick it off can you tell us a little about yourself? You know, what you’re like, what you dream about, and what you do with your time?

Sure. So, first of all, I’m a Ph.D. student and part-time undergraduate instructor at Northeastern University in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. I’ve been working on my graduate degree for the past 4 years. I am a perpetual student, but I love that!

I feel lucky that I get to spend time reading, writing, and thinking about something I feel deeply interested in. I’m an urban sociologist, so I study things about peoples’ lives in cities. But I’m specifically interested in how globalization and urban development are happening at the expense of people’s land rights in the global South, and what we can do to change that. So, that’s what I spend a good deal of my time on. While I’m working on that, I teach undergrads at NU.

I’m not sure why I decided to talk about work first, because I’m much more interested in play. It’s a problem sometimes. But I’m working on balance. Anyway…when I’m not reading/writing/thinking/teaching, I’m doing yoga, eating, shopping, maybe cooking, dancing, or spending time with my girlfriend Meredith or our dog, Sidney.

I’m generally interested in having fun. That’s pretty much the most important thing in life for me. I just want to be having fun.

I dream about owning my own yoga studio and living on the beach– somewhere warm, where I can wear as little clothing as possible on a daily basis!

Thanks for sharing that. Let’s talk a little about rugby shall we. I know you played in college, can you share with us what that experience was like for you? What did you like most about the sport?

Sure. I played in college, and it was the first time I was actually pretty good at a team sport. Both of my sisters were really good soccer players when we were growing up, and I was just… not. I rode horses and liked to read and paint and take photographs. Sports were just not my thing.

And then, I went to college, and for some reason decided I was going to try playing rugby. It was the most random thing. But I just fell in love with it!

Truth be told, I loved hitting people. I was fairly good at it. It just felt so good, and I felt so strong. I played all 4 years in college and loved every minute of it (well, except the running sprints part—there’s nothing I hate more than running).

I think I loved it so much because for the first time in my life, I tapped into a part of myself, a strength, that I never knew was there. I also had a great coach and fun teammates. It was just an overall great experience.

After college, did you continue to play?

I played briefly for a women’s team in Boston after college. I experienced a pretty bad back injury about a year into playing with that team, and I just decided it was time to step back. I haven’t ever looked back.

I miss rugby a lot, but I don’t miss how my body felt when I played. I was sore, I had reconstructive knee surgery, and even though I was in great shape, it took a huge toll on my body, one that I’m still paying now. I still have issues with my right knee, I’ve had serious lower back pain, and have problems with both ankles—I fractured them each separately in college.

My experience isn’t representative of everyone’s, though. Many people play rugby for years and don’t get hurt and don’t feel the same toll on their body and I did/do. I just felt it was time for me to stop. I actually think my body was trying to tell me to stop way before I actually did, but I wasn’t really listening to it at that point in my life.

How did your health or body change after you stopped playing and started working?

Well, I’d like to say that it improved after I stopped playing, but it actually got worse. Physically, I went from being in good shape and feeling like an athlete to gaining weight and being pretty inactive.

I had spent the last 5 years not really having to worry about working out—it was sort of built into my life—and didn’t replace that with anything when I stopped playing rugby.

I also was not thinking at all about my diet. When I was playing rugby, this really wasn’t a problem for me. And, to top it off, I was also in a pretty unhealthy relationship and was not managing my school/work-related stress well at all. This all translated into one, pretty big disaster.

Enter yoga. I started regularly practicing vinyasa yoga about 2 years ago, when my lower back pain and stress level both reached a point that was literally intolerable. I had heard that yoga was good for both of these things, and I wanted to address my weight as well, so I took a class and was hooked.

I’ve been practicing 4-5 times a week since then. It’s helped tremendously with back pain (that’s gone!) and stress (better, but not perfect), and has allowed me to tap into the same strength that I felt when playing rugby, believe it or not.

However, I still wasn’t feeling physically great, in a holistic sense.

What was bothering you the most about your body and your health? And how did you feel about yourself before we started working together?

Even though I was practicing yoga regularly, getting a significant amount of exercise, I still had issues with my health and body that were bothering me. I wasn’t losing the weight (about 15 lbs) that I had put on, for one.

I also was having some pretty uncomfortable digestive issues, like waking up with stomachaches every morning. My skin looked bad, despite going to a dermatologist and trying everything under the sun. I was not getting a regular period and had not for years. All of these things bothered me—although I think they bothered me more than I knew then!

Mentally, I felt generally uncomfortable in my body and like I had no control over my diet and what I ate. I realized that so much energy was going into negative thoughts about my body every day.

This was by no means a new struggle—I was overweight as a child and had an eating disorder when I was in middle school. I lost my childhood weight, but not in a healthy way by any means. Before working with you, I felt like I was in a battle with my body, and had felt that way my whole life.

During our coaching, can you tell us some of the dietary changes we worked on and how you incorporated it into your schedule?

The first thing we did was to eliminate (or try to minimize as much as possible) soy from my diet. I was having a ton of soy. Soy milk in my (multiple cups of) coffee, soy milk in my oatmeal/cereal, tofu, soy sauce, etc. This, it turns out, was really fucking with my estrogen levels, and I think was the culprit responsible for my bad skin and irregular period.

This wasn’t a hard change to make—I replaced soy with organic, pasture raised ½ and ½ in my coffee and whole milk in other things.

We also adjusted how much and how often I ate. I was only eating a small breakfast, lunch (sometimes), and usually a pretty big dinner. I started making sure I was eating every 3-4 hours—breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack in between each meal. At first, this was difficult and required me to consciously think about eating and to plan meals for when I wasn’t going to be at home—because I’m a student/teacher, my schedule is inconsistent, so I had a different plan for this every day.

I started thinking about my food for the next day the night before and putting meals together ahead of time. At first it was hard, and felt pretty time-consuming, but it’s since become like second nature.

The third major thing that I think we worked on was making sure the content of all of my meals and snacks was going to be sustaining me and nourishing me. I wasn’t getting enough protein, and we made sure that every meal, even snacks, contained protein, carbs, and fat. I would sometimes have entire meals that didn’t have any protein in them.

At first, this was a little challenging for me, especially as someone who isn’t crazy about eating meat. But we worked together to think of proteins that I could live with—cheese, goat milk yogurt, fresh fish. These are staples for me now! And getting processed foods out. I’ve always been pretty good about it, but there were some small things that weren’t great—mostly my snacks. Replacing them with fruit and cheese has been something I can totally live with. I love cheese.

How did you plan your meals, or deal with going out to dinner?

Before we started working together, I didn’t give much thought to whether my meals were feeding my body, and was more interested in whether they were feeding my appetite, if you can understand the distinction I’m trying to make.

I think this was the biggest thing I learned from our time working together and was the biggest practical change that I made—making sure that, first, I was eating often enough for my body to sustain itself, and second, that the things I was putting into my body were feeding and nourishing it.

Before we started working together, I would eat breakfast, a small lunch, and dinner. We worked on eating every 3-4 hours, and I had to actually consciously think about eating as well as plan snacks to bring with me to work, etc. Interestingly, I’m actually eating more now than I was before and losing weight. And, making sure I was getting protein, carbs, and fat in every meal/snack was very different for me. I’d never thought of that before.

So, it required some planning in terms of shopping for groceries and also in terms of bringing meals and snacks with me to work, versus buying them in the moment and not really thinking about what they were doing for my body. I used to think that as long as something wasn’t hurting me (i.e. I wasn’t having ice cream for dinner), then it was good for me. What I realized was that this wasn’t exactly right—the things we feed ourselves can actually energize and heal us.

Going out to dinner– I love going out to dinner. It’s probably one of my favorite things to do. I love the social aspect, I love trying new restaurants, I love not having to cook and do dishes, I love getting dressed up for a night out. Everything. And that hasn’t changed! I’ve just learned how to plan my whole week around a big night out and that eating smaller portions when I’m out actually still leaves me satisfied.

And, probably most importantly, I’ve realized that not feeling bad about going out and eating a totally indulgent meal is ¾ of the battle. I went to San Francisco for a while we were working together, and I ate my way through the city for a large portion of that time. Bread, chocolate, pizza, etc. I lost weight. I let go of the guilt and just enjoyed myself, and my mind and body thanked me.

Aside from all of the food related stuff we worked on, did you notice any changes in your emotions or how you thought about yourself, and life in general?

Yeah, definitely. I think if I could assign one word to it, it would be clarity. I’m more clear on what it is I want my body to feel like, and also more clear about the fact that the first priority for me is to feel good, and if I look good in the process (which, by the way, I am convinced there is a direct relationship between the two!), then that’s just great.

I came to peace, I think, with the fact that this is the body I’ve been given, and I should love it instead of fight it, as I have been doing pretty much my whole life. I will never be a size 2. But as long as I’m putting healthy, organic, fresh things into my body and sweating it out in yoga class 4x a week, then whatever it looks on the outside is as it is supposed to be.

That feeling of clarity and peace, it seems, seeped into other aspects of my life. I’ve always been filled with a lot of doubt in terms of my career and what it is I want to ultimately accomplish in my life. “Am I doing the right thing?” was a question I asked myself daily, even multiple times a day.

I really hate a lot of things about academia, but I love what I study, so it’s always been a very difficult situation for me, and one that caused me a lot of stress. It turns out that focusing on this really took away from my ability to actually do what I was doing anyway.  I’m now focusing more on the fact that I’m studying something that I love, and trying to make paths around the things that I hate instead of focusing on how much I hate them… if that makes sense!

And, in general, I am happier! I am—and have been since we were working together—in a relationship with a woman I really love. But, I find myself more able to give and receive love openly because I am a happier person who lives in the present. It’s all good.

What physical changes have you experienced? Would you mind sharing with us how much weight you’ve lost or how many inches?

I have lost about 11 lbs. so far in total! I am not sure about inches—you have all of that written down I think! All I know is that I have some really sweet red pants that I fit into now and feel like a million bucks in. Before, I couldn’t even get them on. So, the weight loss has been noticeable, and it’s continued to come off since we’ve stopped working together.

But the weight is really secondary to how I feel overall. I’ve been sleeping much better, and I don’t have stomachaches every morning as I did before we started working together. This is really invaluable to me! It was not cool waking up feeling sick to my stomach.

I also find myself feeling happier, less anxious, and living with a greater sense of freedom. I am no longer obsessing over my body nearly as much as I was before. Those critical thoughts (I hate my stomach, I wish my thighs were smaller, etc, etc.) creep in from time to time, and I have some bad days where I’m super hard on myself and frustrated with my body. But these are pretty few and far between, and I generally feel pretty happy and accepting of myself because I feel so good and I’m consciously treating myself well.

Now that you’ve had all these awesome results, what do you want to do next in your life?

I’ve started to think more about doing the things that energize me and make me happy, and spending less time on the things that are energy sucks. As you know, I love to do yoga, and I’m thinking of getting certified to teach. I love teaching (sociology), and I love to do yoga, so why not combine those two things?

I’m going to continue to work on getting my Ph.D., which has been a difficult process and one that I’ve considered quitting many times. I’m sticking with it because it’s something I’m intellectually passionate about, but I’ve begun to consider whether or not I want to go into academia. I’m still working on that.

But, overall, I’m actually trying to let go of planning. I’m going to continue to dedicate myself to the things I love, let the path unfold, and let spontaneous action flow from there.

And finally, probably the most important question: Which are cooler, fairies or unicorns?

Unicorns. I grew up riding horses. If I had a horse that could fly… I’d be going to Bali a lot.

I originally met Erin through a past-LBC’er and a dear friend, Megan Atkinson. Megan and I have known each other for a few years, and so I was super excited that one of her friends would be joining us.

Erin is a theatre actress in Virginia and when I originally spoke with her over the phone, one of her biggest struggles was finding the time to make healthy meals for herself.

Since her rehearsal schedule can be a bit inconsistent, she was worried about not being able to stick to a plan. (In case you were wondering, that’s Erin on the left!)

Not only did she want to feel rested and energized on a daily basis, she also wanted to get into the habit of being nicer to herself.

Feeling better our self worth is a common theme I find in many of our participants, and with the women I work with in general – we tend to be so hard on ourselves, whether it is with food, our body, our relationships or our work.

Erin also wanted to focus on releasing tension in her back and shoulders from hours of being on stage in costume, jumping, walking, running, frolicking, crawling, skipping, laughing, crying, and everything else under the sun.  Her job is physically demanding so we developed a simple morning routine that included various pilates and yoga exercises to strengthen her back and boost her energy.

Over the course of 28 days, not only did Erin’s digestion, energy and confidence improve, but she also lost 9 lbs and 12 inches.

After the Challenge, when I asked her what was the most important thing she learned about herself she said:

“I have learned, without a doubt, that what I eat affects every aspect of my life and wellness. No matter how much I want to be a person who doesn’t need to pay attention to what I’m shoving in my mouth in order to live my best life, that will never be me – and that’s okay.  

Through the LBC I have learned to accept and embrace that fact. I have a newfound desire to take care of myself. To give my body the things that make it work better. Sleep. Fresh, unprocessed foods. Not only have I lost weight and mass, but I have eliminated a huge source of stress for myself – my digestion. All this is proof of a greater lesson – I CAN change my life.”

Erin is also a pescatarian, so we worked together on finding protein sources that worked for her and which gave her the energy she needed to last throughout 10-12 hour rehearsal days. After rehearsing for that long, the thought of going to a gym is downright exhausting, so for Erin the morning routine was just what she needed:

“The thing that has made me most grateful is the effect of the morning exercises (and not pushing myself to over-exercise in other ways) has had on my back strength. I have been recovering (unsuccessfully, I felt – until now) from back surgery that I had eight months ago to correct a herniated disc, and I was overwhelmed by the amount of information – most of it conflicting- that I was getting from several different physical therapists about what I should and should not do.

These simple LBC exercises got me up, got me moving, and got me strengthening in an easy, impact free, and gradual way that seems to have worked wonders. I just spent about 50 hours in a corset this past week – with heavy hoop skirts hanging from it – something I had been DREADING since I had my first costume fitting back in December- and yet, here I am – pain free after one of the roughest tech and performances weeks I have ever had. I am thrilled by this. Abso-freaking-lutely-THRILLED.”

Even with an inconsistent rehearsal schedule, and doubts of whether or not she could stick to a plan, Erin did it. She committed to herself to stick with a plan, and without any excuses did what she had to do.

This is what I find is the single most important factor to reaching goals and changing your body – commitment and doing whatever it takes to get there. And of course, it also helps to have an awesome coach along the way and a group of women to support you.

I am so proud of Erin and her accomplishments, and feel so grateful that she has shared her experience and has allowed me to go along this journey with her.

Erin, you rock girl!

Would you like to see results like Erin’s?

With the Lean Body Challenge successfully completed, my schedule is now open for a limited time to take on a handful of private coaching clients.

There are currently only 3 spots remaining for my private Nutrition and Energy Coaching for this round. Since the work in our coaching is deeper and more intense, I only open up my schedule a few times each year for private clients. And I hope that you’ll be one of them.

The private coaching especially works if you need the extra support and motivation since you and I will have weekly coaching sessions along with a daily food tracker and a customized meal plan and workout plan.

Over the next 8 weeks it’s completely possible for you to:

If the thought of this resonates with you, and if you can close your eyes and imagine these things for yourself, let’s do this together. Let’s get you there!

The deadline to enroll in private coaching is this Saturday February 23rd. To get started, schedule a free consult below or email me directly at: Sirena@SirenaBernal.com

—>>>Schedule a free 20-minute Nutrition and Energy healing consult here<<<–

I look forward to hearing from you!

This feeling proves to me that food is not just a way to keep us alive but is a way of keeping us connected.

Food carries with it very strong ties to our psyche, our self-worth and even our past. This weekend, as I cooked the chicken in soy sauce and vinegar, the smell triggered some very fond memories of being a playful 7 year old in the Philippines, skateboarding around the neighborhood in my Thundercats shirt and plastic flip-flops.

(You might be thinking, skateboarding in flip-flops? Yep. That’s how we rolled in the Philippines – everything in flip-flops.)

The fact that smell is the strongest sense tied to our emotions helps to prove this notion as the olfactory bulbs in our nose which detect smell, actually begin in our brain, and more specifically the limbic system-the same area that is associated with memory.

And seeing how integral smell is to our overall food experience (meaning we enjoy food more if we can smell it’s aroma), it’s no wonder that food can evoke such powerful emotions.

Although my dinner triggered very positive memories, I couldn’t help but think of the possibility of food triggering negative emotions. This idea pulled me further into this rabbit hole of thinking of food.

As these thoughts swirled around in my head, it left me further pondering how powerful food is in our lives.

Food is not just a way to give us energy.

It’s a way for us to feel. To feel connected to people, to feel connected to our body.

And a way for us to feel connected to the earth around us.

I say this to you because I hope that as you read this and as we get to know each other, you begin to look at food and your meals with a deeper appreciation.

I hope you begin to look at food not just as the end product on your plate, but to think of it’s source, where it came from, who raised it or grew it, and how it’s going to eventually become a part of YOUR being.

My challenge for you this weekend is to just think about these things while you’re cooking your next meal, while you’re out to dinner, and while you’re eating your breakfast.

Food is not just a physical experience. It’s an emotional one. A psychological one. Even a spiritual one.

Remember this the next time you eat.

Why are crystals used for energy healing?

Seeing how often I am asked this question, I figured I’d shoot a quick YouTube about the subject.

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, or if you know me IRL, you know just how much I looooooooooove my crystals. Not only are they very effective in energy healing and more specifically in grounding your energy, I just think they’re super cool.

In the video I also mention 2 webinars that I put together about energy healing and the chakras. If you are interested in learning more about these subjects, I highly recommend watching both so that you will gain a better understanding of the topics.

I love using the ideas of energy healing in my nutrition and fitness programs, and have found that they produce incredible results with clients in regards to weight loss and reducing stress. It’s not always about meal plans and workout programs. Your body has a very deep and powerful energetic system, that when is activated can help you heal your body better than any workout or diet plan.

If the idea of using your chakras and energy system intrigues you, I’m currently offering free Nutrition and Energy Healing Consultations through February 19th. To find a time in my schedule, please click the link below:

Whatever cosmic shift has happened in our Universe over the last year or so has taken a tremendous affect on me. I could feel the energy build up and fester inside me. It was almost as if anything I did that was not in line with myself began to become very, very painful.

Meaning, my love for personal training and teaching classes quickly began to dwindle. I had been feeling this shift happen for a couple of years but I was able to muster through the discomfort. What once gave me energy and purpose, was now feeling like a chore. And soon I was noticing that I was losing more energy and zest than what it was giving me.

This was when I decided to leave training full-time to pursue my own nutrition coaching business in the spring of 2012.

There were times during this transition where I would literally stand in the shower crying. It was as if I was going through a major break-up or if I had lost a close friend.

I knew that my time in fitness was coming to an end, and the tears were a mix of both sadness and fear. Sadness from the loss of a portion of my life that would no longer play a driving role; and fear from the unknowingness that laid ahead of me.

I wasn’t quite sure where this new path was going to take me, but I did know, with every fiber of my rectus femoris, that fitness was no longer my calling.

As I’ve stumbled my way through my career, from gym to gym, and certification to certification, I quickly began to experience the body on a deeper level.

Soon, the idea of meal timing started to trump lunge variations. Then endocrine issues took precedence over macronutrients. Books on emotional healing began to flood my Amazon wishlist, posts about chakras began to invade my blog, and before I knew it, I couldn’t give two shits about program design or interval training.

I had come out of the closet once already, and here I was feeling like I was coming out of another – the spiritual closet.

I kept my ideas to myself, afraid of what other people would think. I was scared of being labeled as “weird” or “out there”, loopy even. So, I held back.

However, the times when I did talk about these whacky ideas, I always received great feedback. And the more I posted, the more people responded.

And once I started to openly spread this information more frequently, the more comfortable I became, and the more confident I was in my decision to leave fitness. Soon I began to befriend other fitness peeps that encouraged and helped validate the pursuit of my ideas.

My first business coach, John Romaniello, who, despite my shaky self-confidence has always believed in me. Seeing his progress in the last several years and the impact he’s made on his community inspires me to continue to follow my passions.

Another notable influence is my friend Elliot Hulse. Whether or not he realizes it, one of our very first conversations was the spark that helped ignite my flame. For him I cannot pay back what he has given to me. So, Elliot – thank you.

And now with more fitness peeps taking an active interest in energy healing ideas, like my girl Liz DiAlto, and Jen Sinkler who always “likes” my crystal pictures on Instagram (thanks girl!).

Then there’s my buddy Rog Law, who has always shown a keen interest in my ideas, and someone who I now consider one of my closest friends. I love you, man!

I find it a bit ironic that the one thing that I am stepping away from is the one thing that has opened this door for me. For it was my time in fitness that led me to explore the body deeper, to meet friends like Elliot, John, Liz, Jen and Rog, all of which have helped give me permission to talk about my ideas.

So what is the point of all this? Well, I suppose I’m writing it more for myself than anything. A sort of self-declaration of independence. A chance to re-establish myself and point this blog and my business in a new, focused direction.

Meaning, you’re not going to find workouts, or exercise videos here anymore. I’ll leave that to the peeps above who do a much better job at that.

But what you are going to find here are ideas and resources to help you heal your body on a deeper level and things to help you explore your spirituality. So, get ready for a whole lot of chakra-love baby!

Besides, that’s the whole point of a blog, right? To talk about the things we want to talk about?

So now that I’ve gotten all of this off my mind. I’d LOVE to hear what you think about all this. Leave me a comment below of 1 thing you’d like to see me cover in regards to energy healing or spirituality.

True story:

When I was in college, I once ate 3 pumpkin pies, yes 3, during Thanksgiving weekend, Thursday – Sunday.

3. Whole. Pumpkin. PIES.

All by myself.

My friend’s grandmother thought it was the best thing ever because it meant she wouldn’t have much leftovers. But the thought of it now, gives me a tummy ache.

It has taken me far too many holiday feasts and a few years of studying energy work that I’ve come to the conclusion that overeating is a result of being ungrounded, or un-centered.

Since the idea of overeating is on the forefront of most people’s minds right now, I figured to take the time to write up a quick blog post about the subject.

What does being “grounded” mean?

Feeling grounded is an energetic term that means we are connected with the earth. And if you are feeling “ungrounded” or un-centered, your body will naturally try to find a way to feel closer to earth again.

Much like plants and trees are rooted in the earth, so are we in energetic terms. And when we are running around, expending our energy, and especially now during the holidays when we are traveling, we lose this connection.

And I am proposing that, in our culture, overeating is our body’s attempt of trying to feel grounded.

The more you eat, the heavier you feel, and the closer you are to the ground. Feeling grounded is a first chakra concern, since it is the chakra closest to the ground.

If you are traveling, especially flying, you are energetically gonna feel “off” since you’re pretty much being uprooted from your home, leaving you feeling un-centered.

Your body, in its attempt to feel more grounded will ask you to fill it’s belly till you’re super-full, thus making you heavier, and closer to the earth. However, we know this doesn’t help you feel good (or look good) in the long run.

How To Avoid Overeating During the Holidays

This year, in between your rounds of watching Love Actually and Elf, try these energy healing tricks to help you avoid overeating:

1. Try deep breathing.

Sitting in a chair, lying down, or better yet, sitting on the ground, spend a few minutes on your breath.  You don’t have to change your breath just focus on breathing, and actually tune in to the sensations you are feeling while doing so.

Pay attention to the air going through your nose, feel your rib cage expand and collapse, and sense any areas of tension throughout the body. Try to only focus on your breathing and how your body is feeling. Relax your shoulders, let your jaw hang loose, and just breath for a few minutes.

The purpose of this exercise is just to get you to feel in your body. When we are ungrounded, we are disconnected from our physical body, and overeating is just one attempt for us to feel ourselves again, since, when you are full you can totally feel it.

2. Walking barefoot outside

Kick off your shoes, and walk barefoot in the grass or sand if you can. Your barefeet against the ground is direct connection to Earth’s energy, and one of the best ways to instantly feel more grounded.

3. Take a warm shower or bath

Feeling the warm water on your skin brings you back to the physical, and thus gets you to pay attention to how you are feeling.  The warm water is providing you with a physical sensation, which is very important in the process of grounding.

You can sexify this up a bit by adding in some lavender bath salts, or epsom salt bath for extra detoxification and to help with tight muscles from traveling.

Since grounding is associated with the first chakra, which is also tied to our adrenal glands which produce stress hormones, finding time to relax and unwind will help quiet down the first chakra and thus bring more balance to our energy field.

4. Use grounding crystals

Grab some hematite, black tourmaline, or tigers eye, all crystals associated with the first chakra, which is where we connect with the earth.

You can hold the crystals in your hand, carry them in your pocket or purse, or hold them in conjunction with one of the exercises from above.

If you don’t have any crystals of your own, even using a rock or a stone from your backyard or the park can help.

Basically, anything that is from the earth, even just being out in nature, can help you feel more grounded.

Grounding Yourself this Holiday

All of this especially pertinent around the holidays since many of us are travelling, and being some-what uprooted from our homes.

Pay particular attention to how you are feeling and your food cravings and apetite if you are flying since being in the air pulls you even further from the earth.

You may notice that you will be craving different foods and have an increase in apetite, and that’s totes OK! Listen to your body, and before you sit down for your holiday feast, find some quiet time to breath, and feel re-connected to your body before you do it with food.

Liked what you read here? If so, I’m holding a FREE workshop this Thursday at 7 pm EST all about energy healing and how you can use it to help you improve your health and your body. It’s a great intro class if you’ve every been curious about energy healing, Reiki or crystals. You can sign up for the workshop by clicking below.

If you’ve been here for a while you know how important self-love is for your health, you know that taking care of ourselves first is the only way to truly have the body and life that we want.  I asked Eric if he would write something for us about self-love, and how we can use this practice to heal our body, so without further ado…

How To Heal Your Body with Self Love by Eric Hulse

When I was younger, I suffered a lot from headaches, digestive issues, and allergies.

As a fifteen year old I thought nothing of it and believed that it was just a part of life, that everyone was dealing with the same thing.

So I let it be and dealt with it.

However, it was around this time that I was going through the typical teenage angst of rebellion, depression, and self hatred.

I hated everything about myself from my B average to the color of my skin.

I spent hours loathing my life and the reflection I saw in the mirror as well as the “mean girl” voices in my head.

Needless to say, I was not a joy to be around.

It wasn’t until I was in college that I finally was able to breathe out my self loathing and breathe in self acceptance and self love.

I found my path through yoga and meditation.

I smiled more, felt a new sense of confidence and clearer mind.

Once I graduated from college with my “new aged” body and mind, I noticed something else different about my body.

My headaches were a thing of the past, my IBS cleared up (to the joy of my roommates), and I hadn’t blown my nose in what seemed like a life time.

Was my body healing along with my mind and soul?

Yes!

What I later came to realize as I studied functional medicine and holistic health as a health coach was how powerful the mind can be in both healing the body and breaking it down.

You see, the mind directly affects the hormonal responses in the body.

When we feel or perceive fear, anger, or hatred our bodies sense these emotions as stress!

It feels it needs to escape the situation or fight whatever is making it feel trapped.

That’s how we evolved.

We release a hormone called cortisol which gets our bodies ready to “fight or flight”.

Back then, stress was used to keep us safe from life threatening situations. It worked well and was our friend.

However, we now experience so much stress from everyday situations, including self hatred, that all that cortisol is harming our bodies and causing it to breakdown and become weak hence the headaches, gas, and allergies!

A little bit of stress = GOOD! A lot of stress = BAD!

Once I let go of all of the anger I had inside, my body stopped releasing tremendous amounts of cortisol and began sending out the healing hormones serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin all associated with love, well being, and healing.

Given half a chance, the body will heal itself. That’s exactly what I was doing!

I would spend hours in nature, walking in the woods, visualizing loving images like my mother, happy childhood memories, while listening to music that made me happy, unknowingly healing and repairing my body.

Now at the age of 31, I’m healthier and happier then I’ve ever been in my entire life.

The few moments a day it takes me to sit quietly and listen to my breathing, find one of life’s moments to be grateful for, and smiling at a stranger as I walk down the street, is setting my mind up for love and my body up for healing.

My challenge for you is to carve out a little time in your day to reflect on the thoughts in your mind. Monitor how you think, especially the thoughts you have about yourself.

Are these thoughts breaking down your body through hatred and fear or building it up through compassion and love?

The choice is yours!

About Eric:

Eric graduated from both the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and the CHEK Institute. He specializes in stress management, nutrition and functional medicine.

His Health Coaching practice is highly client centered and takes in the needs of the WHOLE individual to help heal their mind, body, and soul.

Eric is also an elementary school music teacher who has been known to spontaneously bust out in the moonwalk with his students and unapologetically owns every Christina Aguilera album!

Check out his blog at: www.erichulse.com and Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/EricHulseWellness