Hey there, Superhero-in-Training!
I'm Maya G., and I'd like to help you tap into your own power source and discover your warrior within.
I know that sounds hokey and unnecessarily dramatic, but the journey to and through positive transformation is an unbelievably powerful one. When you give it your all, no words can exaggerate how awesome you are going to feel as you cross personal finish lines and reach milestone after milestone. One cannot overstate the true empowerment of pushing past things you "can't" do and achieving your goals. Physical fitness is just one possible aspect of the personal revolution that can take place when you decide to make Big Changes and give yourself a chance to transform. When you really change your mind, the rest will follow.
Life is tough and it always will be, it's up to you to decide if you're going to be tough, too.
Bruce Lee famously had this to say about it: "Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one." Let go of victimhood and fight back. Learn not to fear the obstacles in your path once you know you're strong enough to take them on.
First thing's first: Get strong.
And then: Get stronger.
Oh, and I do happen to know a thing or two about survival and feelings of weakness and defeat.
My driving force:
In December of 2011 I gave birth to a baby boy. His name was Orion, like the warrior in the stars.
He was stillborn.
My heart didn't just break, it exploded inside of me like a hundred nuclear bombs and ripped me completely apart. I wanted to die and die and die... but I didn't. Mothers have a strong drive to take care of their children, and eventually I figured out that all that I could do for my child was that which he wasn't able to do: Live. So I decided to start living as vibrantly and powerfully as I possibly could in tribute to the little warrior boy who never got to be.
But I was depressed, I was grieving, I was broken, and I was physically and mentally weaker than I knew a person could be. I was lower than rock bottom and if I was going to climb up out of that pit I was going to need help... guidance... coaching...
Rather than therapy (which everyone suggested), I dragged my weary mushy self and all my dark clouds into a martial arts school (Elite Martial Arts). That decision saved my life. Saved it, recharged it, and completely turned it around. It took time, patience, a lot of sweat and yes- a fair amount of pain, but my revolution started to happen. I became addicted to the hard work, obsessed with the power of transformation, and hooked on the feeling of intensifying and feeding a strength inside me that I never knew I had- certainly not in the sorry state I started out in.
That was the winter of 2011. I was depressed, defeated, powerless, 170+ pounds with no muscle and zero experience at anything remotely athletic, entering my fourth decade of life.
3 years later I'm a martial arts brown belt, a certified personal trainer and I'm starring in a short film about a superhero.
I'm not saying everything is all roses and sunshine because I get exercise. That's not how it works.
Life will always try to kick me around, but I'm a fighter now-- so I kick back.
Experience:
Today I am a brown belt (advanced) in a mixed martial arts program at Elite Martial Arts, Austin TX;
I participate in Spartan Race (obstacle course racing) events every chance I get (so far I have completed 7 of them);
I completed a personal fitness training coursein the summer of 2013 at U.T. and am now a certified personal trainer, continuing to study and renew my education so I can keep learning and growing.
It feels good to feel good...
It is awesome to feel awesome...
It kicks ass to kick ass...
and I desperately want to pass this feeling on.
There are no shortcuts or quick fixes or magic pills. Big Change is hard as hell. It takes work and dedication... and very often it takes help. I know I couldn't have done it alone.
If I can help keep you motivated and inspired in any way at all, then please take that from me and run... and then YOU pass it on!
Thanks for being here. I can't wait to see what we can power through together!
~Maya G.