How working out transformed my soul (beyond physical looks)

If there was a recap at the end of my life, working out would definitely be one of the things that I am glad I did. 

Growing up, I was bullied several times for being “skinny fat.” I had always felt insecure in my body and myself in general. I remember how I would avoid wearing shorts ever because my aunt commented that I had “elephant legs” once. And at school, I would try extra hard in academics because I felt like I had to make up for the lack of physical looks (or at least that was what my childhood bullies used to tell me). 

My self-loathing insecurities persisted until I came across strength training, after a breakup in my sophomore year of college. Back then, my motivation was to make my ex partner regret through my body transformation. *heh* Little did I know that my life would change in even more honorable ways… 

And now looking back after almost a decade of working out, I have witnessed even greater transformations from working out. The transformations transcend the physical as they are also mental and spiritual. Not only that, as an entrepreneur, I can also totally see how working out helps in building+growing a business. Below are some ways of what I have witnessed:

1). Allows you to fully express your creative feminine 

During my childhood days, I have always wanted to feel like a barbie who expresses herself through an endless array of styles, aesthetic, and clothes. But when it comes to expressing myself in real life, I did not have the confidence to even have a photoshoot. Nor I thought that I would look good on everything and anything. 

However, working out (particularly strength training) has made me feel differently about my self-expression. It has not only given me the physical looks, it has given me the confidence to not care about what others think. Working out has also deepened my experience of beauty within and outside of myself. It’s like my inner feminine can now finally merge with the beauty of the Universe around me through my body. I know it’s such a strange description! But this transcendental feeling is how I feel whenever I am in a creative photoshoot: it’s like my inner feminine now finally feels safe to express herself anywhere and everywhere, as she is also a part of the beauty of the Universe. 

2). Deep mental focus

You may think to yourself that you are busy and don’t have much spare time for working out. But slogging through hours of work without attending to the needs of the physical body is like trying to chop wood with a blunt saw. Without taking care of the the needs of our physical body, our spiritual+mental aspirations simply becomes limited.

To me, I personally think working out was one of the big reasons why I have been able to get a phd dissertation done in a year– which to most people takes 2-3 years. This is not to say I am smarter than most people (in fact I chose a dissertation topic that is easy for me *winky face*). But regardless of it, I notice how every time I have worked out, I sleep better, eat better, and can therefore get into ‘flow state’ more easily thereafter. It does not matter how long you work out, even if it’s just for 5 minutes, it’s like hitting a “refresh” button on your entire system.

3). Belief in your Self

Our abilities to receive feminine energy (such as through creativity/intuition etc.) does depend on the strength and persistence of our belief in the Self (i.e. masculine energy). Without a sturdy basis of inner masculine within us, we can only channel so much feminine: just as how water can only flow so much when there is a direction led by the boulders and the winds.

For me, my inner masculine (self-belief) has served me in ways, such as the ability to stick to my visions through thick and thin, regardless of what my immediate reality may show me. Through being consistent in actions, such as working out, the habit of consistency also bleeds onto other aspect of life, as in consistency with how you show up in your business. It is through both inner alignment (feminine energy) combined with self-belief, or I’d like to say the belief in the Divine (masculine energy) that allows the desires of the soul to ripen.

4). Become more intuitive

Have you ever had a gut feeling about something even before they happen? Or you knew what a person is like even before you personally knew them? These are some examples of intuitive moments– when our bodies tell us answers before even our minds do. 

In my experience, intuitive encounters happen more often as you begin connecting to your body, such as through working out. One of the things that I was aware was how, working out has helped me use the spiritual gift of clairsentience (aka clear feeling) where I would feel sensations in my body about people/places/things before I even mentally know them. For example, when a client of mine is holding back her expression in business, I would feel a restriction in my throat before she tells me about it.

Coming back to the main topic on why working out is life-changing, being more connected to your body (and therefore your intuition) is such a sacred gift of being more in touch with our truth. It leads us to live your truth, be in your truth, and make decisions in accordance with your truth.

5). Better emotional regulation

As sensitive feminine beings, our ability to sense subtle emotions (energies) can be a gift but also a burden, if not healthily regulated. Working out is one of the ways how we can cleanse/regulate our emotions, so we can express our creations in prolific ways, without being a strain on us.

In fact, as part of my phd dissertation, this was one of the findings that my research study found— in our study, it was shown that even 5 weeks of strength training was sufficient to statistically decrease perceived stress in female college students. The results on reducing stress and improved well-being were found to be even more profound especially when spiritual modalities (in this context, mindful hypnosis) was added on top!

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Above are all those reasons why in my coaching + courses, I focus on the physical body as one of the key pathways for facilitating transformation. I believe that whenever we feel good in our bodies, we can enliven any aspect of life: may it be our business creations, emotions, or intuition. Our bodies are what allows us to embody all the visions that we aspire to bring forth on this earth.

Love,