When I was a kid, I was a mischevious bugger.

One hot summers day, I took my Grandfather’s magnifying glass, and I used it to harness the sun’s energy for less than ideal purposes. My Grandfather had ants in his garden, and I would trap one, exposing it to the directed beam of energy provided by the magnifying glass.

When not subjected to this, the ants would cruise around unfazed by my presence. When, however, they were exposed to this column of concentrated energy, they recoiled in stress. Light equalled movement. Heat equalled immobility.

After confirming the normal responses, I then coupled the stimuli closer together: light, then shock; light then shock; light . . . until eventually, those simple ants learned to associate heat with pain.

I no longer had to trap them.

They already knew it was coming.

We humans are no different.

We are born to: – want the warmth of sunshine on our face – like the feel of soft grass under our feet – want to be our best – seek out the adoration of those who care for us

Yet, life can be painful . . . and we learn to anticipate the shocks.

Sometimes we work really hard to avoid ever being in a situation that makes us feel bad. Other times we brace ourselves with tension and stress . . . hardening ourselves against the hit in hopes that it will lessen the blow.

And in some cases, we get around the whole thing by just stepping out of our bodies altogether . . . remembering that helplessness to the emotional or physical violation . . . just to avoid feeling anything at all.

However you’ve adapted, you have trained yourself to be less than who you are meant to be. But there comes a time when that gets old . . . and we wary from living our lives in avoidance of a possibility . . . where we want to move towards something positive instead of away from something negative.

And we need help . . . because all we know is how to hide, by: – burying ourselves in work so that no one demands anything of us – letting our health slide so that we don’t feel good enough to do anything fun – allowing our beauty to fade so that we no longer look for affection.

But just as life springs forth through cracks in the pavement, our light is always waiting and looking for a way to penetrate the hardened exterior of our adult selves. Your job? To help chisel away the plaque of life so that your health can flourish.

Build back your strength and resilience to break through this outdated exterior Make way for your own beauty and success, and no longer be held captive to events that happened decades ago. Let the hardened chunks of your past fall behind you without any need to pick them back up.

And how do you do this?

By taking better care of yourself By eating better By exercising more. To rediscover your source of light, you must move towards it. As you pass through those old memories, you might flinch at the recalled pain.

But then you’re done. It’s over.

Go through that old and worn out gate . . . which is now holding you prisoner . . . and step into the sunlight. You were not born to hide. You were born to shine light into this world. And exercise is the fastest path there.

Join us to feel the warmth of the sunshine on your face . . . and remember what it’s like to feel beautiful again. Schedule your No Sweat Intro to make that happen.

I look forward to helping you get there. Coach Paul