Wow!  Just like that they are gone.  I haven’t been posting much lately because I have been training in Zumba and to get my wellness coaching and personal training licenses.  While in process of this journey I have uncovered my personal story as to what lead me down the fitness path of coaching and how I’ve been maintaining my fitness.  I want to share my story so here it goes:

In 2013 I was heading towards a destructive path quickly.  I had suffered a couple of great losses that lead to using alcohol to cope with my pain.  I worked a job that demanded more from me than I was capable of giving at the time and it is was high stress, constant crisis.  I was dangerously close to snapping and didn’t know it.  I went on a road trip with a friend and by divine timing, we ended up in Moore, Oklahoma exactly at the same time as the 2013 tornado did.  We went into the bathroom at the corner store, and came out to destruction.  I had never been in a tornado before this and I was completely freaked out.  The tornado I believe saved my life because it was a physical manifestation of what my life had become.  I weighed about a hundred pounds more than I do now and was severely over weight, I drank too much, and I was isolating myself.  I lost two very important friendships on this trip, and knew I had to make some changes.  I quit drinking shortly after this trip in July of 2013 and have been sober for three years since then.  I also was a chain smoker starting at age 12 and remained that way for 29 years.  I quit smoking shortly after I lost my best friend to cancer; the catalyst that lead me to abusing alcohol to cope.

I knew I had to replace these destructive behaviors with new habits so I delved into working out every day and full time school.  I started by walking and I now dance, teach Zumba, run, lift weights and swim. I remember the first time I ran 10 miles, I cried because years ago, I was in Jamaica in a dangerous situation that required running to get away from it which I couldn’t do because I smoked too much and I promised myself that I would one day run so that I could save my life if ever need be.  Now if I go one day without working out, I feel like I’ve lost a friend and activity calls to me; it’s a burning inside my soul and I know when I have missed a day.

I have run a couple of 5k’s but next year, my goal is to run a half marathon and to be teaching Zumba to children.  I cannot tell you how much exercise plays in my sobriety.  It has replaced my destructive behaviors and keeps my moods balanced (along with proper nutrition) and brings my joy levels up.  Exercise also keeps me busy and focused.  I cannot tell you the enormous benefits that being active gives a person, there are so many.  I highly encourage anyone to adopt exercise and activity.  Especially if you experience depression, chemical dependency, or find it hard to focus.

I am so thankful that I have found physical activity and have adopted it as a lifestyle.  I hope that you will also find your story of recovery through physical activity.

Sincerely,

H.

here’s a video of after the tornado.  She was an F5

CNN iReporter Brenton Leete took these unbelievable photos of the EF-4 tornado on the ground in Moore, OK on Monday, May 20, 2013.

A survivor sign is shown written on a home in Moore, Oklahoma, Tuesday, May 21, 2013. A massive tornado swept through the south Oklahoma City suburb Monday afternoon. (Brad Loper/Dallas Morning News/MCT)