December 27th , 2011 → 10:57 pm @ Coach Heather // No Comments

So I just want to chat openly for a minute about a word that is critically important in achieving true balanced health: perspective.

I spent from late 2009 / early 2010 through end of 2011, almost two years, incredibly focused day in, day out on my athletic competitive goals in the sport of figure.

The amount of time & energy that had to be daily dedicated to this goal if I totaled it would move mountains, and it speaks the the results I felt really proud to showcase on the national stage for my first national level NPC competition as a natural athlete.

But I’d be lying to you if I didn’t share the incredible amount of sacrifice that goal required – sacrificing time from my husband, from my family with a 3 yr old niece I’ve yet to meet, a grandmother whose health is aging normally with time and I’ve not had time to see, a household that literally rarely got cleaned , and a business that my husband and I could have had much further ahead at this point in time had we not actively chosen those national level athletic goals. That form of disconnection from the world, social occasions, and life as most people know it, while intensely focusing all your mental, emotional & physical energy on the body is something only a figure athlete whose trained for long, long periods can comprehend. There are moments it can break you, and it’s often why even as a coach ourselves, we enlist other coaches to champion us through the intense progression. No sport is harder to train for mentally, without a doubt.

Coming off that journey this fall after NPC North Americans in Ohio, I’ve had to let go of the reigns a bit to be quite frank on my fitness & physical goals, and dedicate time to our growing business, to our in person & distance coaching clients, and put back some focus & energy on all those things that waited patiently for my return during my two years of focused training.

As someone who worked really hard for that length of period to earn a physique I was really proud of, letting go of that for a bit right now is admittedly not easy on the psyche.

But it’s important to remember in these times that life goes in natural ebbs and flows, and it’s healthiest to go with them, then to continually force energy in 1 direction, and never allow it time to naturally regenerate itself.

There are so many other things in life that contribute to our body and minds overall ability to achieve true wellness — and when we disconnect from them for long periods, things like our natural human relationships, time with our friends, other areas of our life that stimulate us for example my personal studies in nutrition, our partner or spouse relationship, spiritual time …we can easily create unhealthy physical imbalances in our body & in our lives, and we need to recognize this.

When it’s all said and done there are 3 things that are the most precious things in life we can never put a price on – our health, our family, and TIME.

Don’t get me wrong, there is a driven competitive athletic spirit inside both myself & my husband that is very healthy & will always be.

But from time to time, we need to hit the PAUSE button & find health in just BEING for a moment.

We need to pull back from the “athlete persona”, from the intensity, from the competition, from whatever the goal. We need to look at ourselves from the outside, what we’ve achieved, take time to express gratitude & reflect on hard work accomplished to be truly a balanced healthy person that’s making the journey 1st and foremost about health. We need to honor the body & thank it for all it has done for us that we’ve asked along the path of progress, allowing it the space to BREATHE.

And that means letting go of perfection for a little bit & being our best, or constantly & ONLY focusing on our fitness. And that means reenergizing the areas of your life that give us other wellness – spiritually, mentally, emotionally as human beings – with many health needs that exceed just the physical to live well.

It means giving yourself PERMISSION TO BE HUMAN for a moment again, which we see so many athletes struggle with – defining themselves only as ONE thing, by their athletic work, but allowing emptiness to creep in in other areas of their lives while the athletic focus ramps up.

So when the lights go down, the ‘flash’ is over, & everyone’s left the stage, they crash into depression emotionally coming off the competition high, because they’ve forgotten that they aren’t an ‘image’, they’re a human being with many other areas of their spirit and health that cannot be forgotten or devalued along the way.

It’s okay to allow yourself that space, to recognize that a body is NOT what defines a healthy spirit or a lifetime. In fact, it is and will always be only 1 piece to the puzzle of a very enriched, healthy multi-dimensional, and truly happy human being.

Don’t forget to create the space that allows for the “pause” to put it all back into healthy “perspective”.

This allows us to recharge mentally & emotionally so when we’re truly ready to make our physical comeback, we come back healthier, better & even more balanced & prepared than before.

I felt the need to share my perspective on this topic as both an athlete & a coach, because many of the coaches in our industry are male – but women are unique creatures – we have very different emotional & hormonal needs that some male coaches may or may not fully understand or know how to support as effectively as possible. Also, we experience the competitive prep process quite differently than men as well, so it’s an area that needs more attention in my opinion in our industry, and a supportive holistic perspective that allows for the mind AND body to heal from a truly intensive physical often imbalance-creating athletic process, before returning again.

And that is where I’m at today on my journey of being a coach, competitive athlete, industry educator, but also all the other things that make up my healthful, blessed life. I’m okay, sitting in the pocket of the holistic, healthful, balanced, energy-recharging PAUSE.

On Fitness, World Physique, Fitness & Physique Magazine & Livestrong.com Industry Expert Writer; National NPC Figure Competitor; Holistic Health & Nutrition Practitioner; BA, NASM CPT, ACSM CWC

Look Better. Feel Better. Perform Better. TM

http://www.youandimprovedcoaching.com

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Tags: athlete, athlete emotional health, athlete mental health, athlete mental strategies, Damian Dube, figure competitor, goal planning, Heather Dube, holistic competitor, industry writer, mental health, mindbody, mindset, national athlete, national figure competitor, natural competitor, natural health coach, NPC, post competition blues, post competition depression, spiritual health, You & Improved Coaching