 BECAUSE I CAN As with all things I believe transformation is holistic.
As I transform any one part of me... all of me is being transformed. Yesterday I was out walking the dogs. We walked briskly for 30 minutes and it felt amazing. The rain was falling, the dogs looked a bit cold but I could tell they were happy to be moving. I stopped half way into the walk noticing the beauty of the creek and the plant life in the park. I took in a deep breath and gave thanks as I inhaled deeply as if breathing in the air and the view. I felt in aw as I often do when gazing upon nature. Right as we were walking a bit more, I could feel the shift in my muscles that happens right when the walk becomes a workout and I can feel a slight pain. I suddenly remembered how the year before I could not reach that kind of "good" pain as the "bad" pain in my bones and muscles was all still far too intense from the car crash in May of 2007. I suddenly realized that the walk that took me 45 minutes a year and half ago now takes me about 10 minutes and so I go beyond that in time and length to walk 30 t0 60 minutes. It hit me deep down to my soul how much my body and my mind had transformed. I stopped for a few seconds as I began to cry. I was walking!!! I was walking briskly and I was enjoying every step... no worries of falling, no worries of not being able to make it back, no worries of pain (injury pain aka the bad pain), no worries of functioning afterword, but I was experiencing FREEDOM... true freedom! The decisions I have made to invest my time, my focus, my energy, my resources on healing my body, my mind and my family... and on continuing our education in health and wellness and to have FUN... is paying off! My focus is: What CAN I do? What can I do right NOW? What can I give, teach, learn, receive, be grateful for, experience, enjoy? What movement can I accomplish with my body? What Different food choice can I make in THIS moment? I ask myself; just for today, or just in this moment, what healthy choice can I make, and then I DO what I CAN. Perhaps the choice is to walk across the room 3 times because that is what I KNOW I can do. Or perhaps to see how many exercises I can do at a steady easy pace while waiting on the tea? What can I do instead of watching another show on Netflix, what documentary on health and wellness can I study? One choice at a time... one more movement... one more opportunity to move my body that I couldn't do a year before, a month before or even a week before. I don't spend much time counting my "failures" or unhealthy choices.. rather... I keep my chin up and my eyes on my goals. When I make a choice that is counter productive, I try to stay in the lesson of it and ask myself; "ok, that was that, in the future, what can and will you do to set yourself up for success?" I starting finding solutions such as keeping apples in my car instead of buying fast food, or wearing a jacket instead of saying it's too cold to go for a walk. So many "I can's" have been discovered in this mindset. A little over 5 years ago I could not hug my loved ones. My arms were also damaged severely in that car crash, i could not feed myself or breath on my own for long periods of time (over a few hours) without needing a breathing treatment at the least. But yesterday, I was out walking BRISKLY with my dogs.. one of which struggled to keep up with me. I was taking in the cool air and feeling the burn in my muscles. 5 years ago, I couldn't walk but 10 - 30 steps on my own without sever pain. I have far more clarity of thought, far more joy, far more awareness of the beauty around me and far more abilities to get out and experience the joys of life. All by doing what I can, when I can, not more than I can, but definitely pushing the edge of what I can in order to expand what I can. Today, not only do I get to invest in my health and wellness and that of my children. Today I get to participate in their lives, earn money to support us, earn money to support out goals and dreams and I get to hug my family as much as i want, because I CAN. I am so very grateful for all of those that take my AHA courses, learn EFT tapping from me and that participate in the Body by Vi challenge.... all of these things contribute towards the transformation I am experiencing and that which I get to assist my family with. As well, we donate money to endangered species and to local community charities... because we CAN. :) The first year and a half that I was co-teaching AHA courses it was a very difficult thing for me. My family and I had been in such poverty, surviving on public assistance and no support from the community as the doctors insisted there was no chance for me and as some doctors insisted that there was still a chance I would not live long... community services do not invest in folks with that kind of outlook. BUT a couple of friends decided to assist me in learning how to teach these classes and to support me until I could do it on my own. We have been off public assistance now for nearly 2 years and earning enough to cover our basic expenses on our own. We have overcome the barriers regardless of the "NO's" we received and kept looking for the yes's and the what can be done... as a family... we have come a long way and are still moving forward. I'll write more in this another time. :) Thank you so very much for supporting local businesses. <3
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 Like most journeys, mine has been a long and detailed one.
In the 1980"s my dream was to be a fitness instructor and nutrition specialist. By the 1990's I became a social worker. Things change. :) I experienced my first mild heart attack while running in the gym. I was 21 years old, 5'8, 135 lbs. I was in GREAT shape. I worked out about 1.5 -2 hours a day. I loved being fit and enjoying the benefits of a fit young body. But that day I woke up with my shirt cut open and a bunch of men standing over me and a horrible pain in my chest was an eye opener to say the least. The fist thing I did was to try to assault the men, once they helped me understand that they were saving me and not there to hurt me I then calmed down enough to ask for the time. My daughter was in child care and I didn't want her worried if I was late picking her up. I later learned that even though I was in a size 3 jeans and fit as could be, the years of malnutrition as a child, as well as the illnesses I had as a child and the years of anorexia as a teen had all left strain on my heart. I also learned that even though my fat level was very low my bad cholesterol was 335. I jumped into my studies to find out why it was high and how I could lower it. I brought it down that year to 186. I stopped all of the fried chicken and the other fried foods that I grew up on and rarely went back. When I had surgeries later in life, each time I was told I had mild cardiovascular episodes. In May, 2007 I had a horrible car crash that left me dead at the scene and over the next several months (10 months to be exact) I had been pronounced dead 5 times all together and brought back at least 6 more times. My body was crushed, all of my large bones shattered, many other bones broken and most of my muscles torn, plus my spleen and lungs were punctured. I was life flighted from Salem to Emmanuel Legacy up in Portland. I spent about 2 months in a medically induced coma and up to 6 months in the hospital, most of which were in ICU or in the Track Unit. I spend the majority of the first 3 years bed ridden. After the first year and a half I could walk enough to go to the bathroom on my own or to the car (a few yards away). But if I walked to the car, then I was in bed needing help up for at least 3 days after that. I spend about 14 - 18 hours a day in bed unable to do much more than to make it to the bathroom. There is far too much detail for that accident for me to describe, I'll save it for my book. :) Here is what I want my family and others to know from this:
There are a ton more to this too.... I'll save that for another time as well. Here are some of my goals with this health and safety business:
I'm sharing this with you so that you know this is not just a corporation with robots running the show. This is a small business with a real person with a real family and real dreams. At this point I weigh about 211 lbs. I started at 278 two years ago. So far, I have finally gone from the rehab level of fitness to actual beginners level (aka: normal) of workouts, which means I'm healing and releasing fat. Whoop! My goal is to release another 40 lbs in the next 6 months or so and to increase endurance. The biggest focus for the last 2.5 years has been changing the emotional and mental state with EFT tapping, Changing my nutritional intake with EFT tapping, study, and making healthier choices daily. I've been able to make dozens of nutritional changes as I advance my education and release emotional blocks. I have also began to rebuild muscle, flexibility and endurance. My doctors said I'd never... and then they often had a LONG list of never agains. However, I have surpassed ALL of their limits and will continue to do so. Be well and be kind to yourself. Jody G. |
Jody GonzalezWhat health safety and success means to me; how I have been impacted, the journey towards healing and improving health, safety and holistic success. ArchivesCategories
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