Lifetime of Legacy!

Some things in life can’t be learned through reading and studying alone.  You know what I’m talking about, the things that we learn through life experience.  Things like learning to appreciate the moment and to savor life as it comes along in what it has to offer us at the time.

As a child, I loved all of my time on the farm. When I entered kindergarten we only went half days, so I thought “Alright I could do this school stuff.”  But then when I advanced to first grade, I had to be in school all day. I announced to my teacher, after a couple of weeks, that I just simply did not have the time to devote to being in school all day, most days of the week. I’m sure this amused and amazed Mrs. Danso. I remember her asking me what was so important that I just couldn’t make school a priority. I began describing that I had a horse to ride, a dog to play with, lunch with my grandparents and walking along the creek that I couldn’t fit in and attend school. Needless to say, her and my parents set me straight on my priorities that day. I quickly fell into line but the school years seemed to drag on and the summers flew by. As I approach my forties, I still long for those farm days of simple, slow, hardworking (but rich in value) days. As I return home on holidays, I spend every day walking and looking at my old haunts and find that they still bring me comfort.  I can still spend a whole day morning to evening in those woods.

Here as an adult I have deep feelings of self-assessment and retrospection.  How have I spent my life?  Will I leave a better place than I found for the generations to come?  Have I (and will I) continue to live up to my capabilities?  I put myself through school at Youngstown State University.  I began my professional adult life in management for large corporations (and was very successful for my age in these companies) but I just wasn’t passionate about it. So, I abandoned this (with my husband’s support) in search for what I was passionate about. I found that passion fairly quickly and it morphed into a business and a passion for movement.  All of which has brought me to the present.

I’m often asked, how did my business (Mind/ Body: Balance) aquire its name? Well, I had approached my husband with the beginnings of my business plan for personal training. He suggested that I try it out on a small scale and be open to allowing my business plan to take on different forms, if need be. I’m glad he suggested that, because I quickly found that my plan of meeting the client in their home or office wasn’t for me. I also knew that being a personal trainer in a gym wasn’t for me either because I felt that this system was failing Americans. He and I then went to a conference together. I attended the first “Inner Idea” and together we attended “IDEA World” in Las Vegas. I remember calling my husband from the inner idea conference and saying that I had found what I was looking for. 

My intuition was right.  There were 500 attendees from 13 countries and we were all on the same page.  We are going to become pioneers in the fitness industry and change lives. Needless to say, Nick was excited to meet me in Las Vegas. He worked the expo, talking with vendors and I worked the education tract. It was this weekend that we developed our business plan, philosophy and named the business. The name came from a course that I took taught by Dr. Ralph LaForge. He has a definition of what makes an exercise program a mind/ body exercise. We view the mind and body as a totality. We strive for a balanced mind/body exercise using three components: cognition, breathing, and physical movement.

 

MIND: Fostering mindfulness and a culture of conscious living, or being engaged in the experience of the present moment, connecting us to a deeper purpose.

BODY: Encouraging the integration of many pathways. Finding the practices that work best for each individual; encouraging a commitment to the essence of learning, discovery and mastery.

 

BALANCE: Cultivating the development of balance in all facets of your life as the centering principle for sustainable well-being.

Mind/ Body: Balance’s ultimate goal is for our clients to transform their mind and body; finding balance through learning and self-discovery.  So when I am looking at adding a service to Mind/ Body: Balance it has to represent most (if not all) of these principles.  As an integrative fitness professional; we realize our clients are a complete package.

What a wonderful journey it has been thus far; and how lucky I have been in making most of my life choices. As many newcomers to America remind me… only in America could I have taken this opportunity and experienced such a dazzling outcome. I married Nick in 2004 and I knew when I met him in 1996 that he would be a life partner that I could count on. I have been blessed to have him there as times have been tough; when I would have given up on myself and my dream.  He reminds me of how “great” I am when I’m feeling down, humbles me if I get too righteous, acts as my sounding board when I need to work through an idea or vent and is always there for a hug when I need one. He pushes me to be better. I have been blessed to start this business in a community that has given me countless customers that are great comfort and give me pleasure in ownership of my business. You’ll see these great folks, customers of Mind/ Body: Balance, dotted all over the United States. They have put in tireless work to change their lives, to improve their quality of life, to change the destiny of their family tree so that it can live long and prosper. They have shared their success and inspired others on their journey to success. I’m amazed at how far Mind/Body: Balance reaches in changing lives.

Remember, life is sweet and we shouldn’t squander it with “I’ll have time to nurture myself when the cows come home.” attitudes. The saddest phrase to hear is someone saying “If only I had…” after they have been diagnosed with a life threatening disease. What we do for ourselves in the form of nutrition and exercise affects our life on all levels.

Thom Moser once said “In spite of all our hopes, plans and dreams, all we ever have is now.”  My hope for my readers, followers, friends, family, clients, and “soon to be” clients is that among your current aspirations, that you will give yourself a gift of improving your quality of life (and taking back your life) through the purchase of a Mind/Body: Balance service. I know that you will pass this journey, this experience, this wisdom on from generation to generation.  Not only will you enhance your life and environment in some measure, you will become a part of the development process of our newest cutting edge programs. We inspire our clients to movement! What movement legacy are you leaving behind?