- A movement mentorship program -
Why would anyone be interested in volunteering to exercise?
Volunteering to exercise, especially with strangers, certainly isn’t everyone’s first choice, and it wouldn’t have been mine until recently. Many people pay handsomely for gym memberships, diet programs, and coaches, yet still can’t seem to find a reason to keep moving, so why volunteer? It wasn’t until 4 years into my career, humbled by the journey’s of so many strong individuals, that I realized I may have been pulling the ladder up behind me. Any success with my fitness after my competitive years was not because I found some “sweet spot” that made it easy, it was because my clients, lively-hood, and character depended on it. The limiting factor to improving your health these days, is not access to information or tools, it’s maintaining compliancy and discipline within the parameters of the plan. When you have no performance goals or event as your carrot, then what keeps you accountable? The idea of being a fitness coach wasn’t enough for me, I started to struggle just as I was hoping to start helping others.
Not all people suffer from behavioral disorders when they eat food that pisses their body off, or fall out of a fitness routine, but I do. My husband, people, and positivity slowly felt like an enemy, until one day I saw myself. Not me, or at least not who I wanted to be, but who I was being, and I felt deep remorse. My intentions were nowhere to be found in my behavior.
When it came down to it, I had to ask the hard question, what kind of person do I want to be?
I knew I didn’t want to let my habits cause me to be more consumed with myself, than the needs of others, I had been blinded by my own feelings of frustration and guilt. A well deserved free meal and/or lazy day is one thing, but it was another for me to be ignorant to the way some habits and foods changed me into someone I didn’t want to be. I wanted to be someone capable and willing to help others, not consumed with my own lack of motivation. It wasn’t until I was close enough to stories of courage, strength, and the willingness of some people to fight, that I realized I had no good reason not to show up as much as I could. There is nothing more humbling and uplifting than walking along side someone fighting a good fight, and in order to do that, I had to be IN the arena with them, not spectating and spitting or feeling sorry for myself. I am stronger every day because they are.
“We want to share that human experience by connecting people in the community through movement.”
Being human is hard enough, don’t wait for a reason to reach-up or reach-out, moments of shared suffering bring out the fighter in all of us, and that’s enough of a reason. We want to share that human experience by connecting people in the community through movement.
If you feel called to be a partner and mentor in movement, or you are in need of someone to encourage and help you fight the fall, please contact Miriam Long @ 360-761-8001 or Sarah McDuffy @ 253-561-4885