Being Me

Pin It GUEST BLOGGER: SAVIRA

Savira is an empty nester with a passion for life and teaching yoga. She is curious about life and yoga and is ready to face what each have to offer with compassion, respect and humor. She focuses on 'Living, Laughing, Breathing’ her way to wherever her destiny may take her.

I recently had my first consult with a Fitness Coach. She began to tell me about all the possibilities that are available for me, from becoming a personal trainer to a nutritionist. She talked about the various machines and their benefits and so on... Honestly, I lost her from the very start.

I sat down and she began to take my blood pressure and monitor my heart rate and explain to me the importance of the two. We then proceeded to do the body fat test/analysis. It is here where she used a device to squeeze my fat - waist, thigh, triceps, and so on. Each place is done twice and plugged into a computer. The average is calculated by the very same computer and - voila! - my results appear.

The computer had nothing new to tell me. I had known what the results would be. My heart rate and blood pressure were beyond excellent. Everything else was in the medium zone except for my body fat which was in the FAIR zone! She nodded her head and proceeded to tell me what I could do about it.

Please don’t get me wrong. The Fitness Coach was just doing her job – but I would have loved it if she was a little more personable and was not looking me over like I was a misfit.

I am a person and did not want to be a percentage in some sort of general statistic. I belong to a different culture and my build/body will always be different from others. I will never be the perfect size for my height or age. I can only be ME and I acknowledge this with every breath I take. No computer or person is ever going to tell me otherwise. The changes in my size are a reflection of my journey from single hood to lover, then wife, mother and so on. It is a reflection of my growth, my self-realization and spirituality. It is what makes me the person I am today.

Every wrinkle or curve has a story to tell, some happy and some not so happy. I would not trade it for anything. I will take care of and nourish my body to the best of my ability. I am unique and want to stay that way.

When I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror I look at the person staring back at me and say to her, "Let the beauty and strength within shine through". Nobody can dictate how I should look and I will not let them do so. Have they walked in my shoes? Have they seen the ups and downs of my life? Have they cried and smiled like I have? I think not… and hope they never will. I say this because my life experience is mine and mine alone. My experiences are my strength and I will not let someone take them away from me by dictating the way I should look.

I will soon be 50 years old and I am very proud of my age. Each year of my life has been filled with happiness, sorrow, growth, love, marriage, disappointments, achievements, kids, friendships and so on. I have worked hard at being comfortable with where I am in my body and the person I am today. I nourish myself with love, eating healthy and doing yoga. I also work hard at being non- judgmental about my body. I only have one!

I will be ME and I am BEAUTIFUL.