Females Only - A Guide to Empowerment

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How good does a female athlete have to be before we just call her an athlete?

While it is true that women athletes are becoming more visible and team sports are viewed as more of the norm, we still have a long way to go. For instance, do you feel inclined to wait for your husband to teach your daughter how to ride a bike, rollerblade or how to throw a ball? (Daughters, who taught you these things?) What if we could turn that around and create a situation where women felt adept at these skills themselves, and mom's would feel confident teaching their son's as well as their daughters!!

When I Was Growing Up.

Women working out was unsusual and now it is not. My neices play soccer, run track and lift weights along with me. However, their mother, my sister, is a soccer mom (she brings the snacks), but their father is a soccer coach, though he doesn't know the sport any more than she does. This got me to thinking about why that is, and what steps we can take to change the dynamic.

I'm not going to suggest that all women become athletes, jocks or compete in any sport of any kind. Nor is this bout losing weight or getting that "Dream Body". The challenge I am presenting is to get our minds in touch with our bodies through all types of physical activities. I am going to assume in this article that you have read my last article in which I have discussed how to throw out all the excuses we give to not work out, and that we are beyond that now. (You can still reference the old article if need be). I'm also not trying to lash out at males, or demand equal rights. What I am presenting is new ideas about a way in which we can get a dialouge going between our physical and mental health through movement, with other women. What I hope is that women working out with other women- friend to friend, mother to daughter-will create new bonds beyond the traditional activities, and that these feelings will empower us in all areas of life.

So how to get from here to there? WHAT? You weren't an athlete in school, and in fact you were picked last for the kickball team AND you always got hit in dodgeball. Furthermore, the only blue ribbon you got in track was for the gunny sack race. WAIT!!! I am talking about me! But if there is nothing I have learned, and no statement I can utter too much, It is never too late to turn it all around . Now, I co-own a gym, lift weights, box, kickbox, spin, run, do pilates, study yoga AND I teach other women (and men) how to do all these things too. I will not pretend that any of it was easy, nor is learning a new technique a snap. But it can be done, by anyone, in any condition, at any age.

The first step is to take a step. Take a step outside walking, running. Call a girlfriend, your mother, your daughter and do it together. Maybe a game of tennis, or kickball (It's back you know), go for a hike or a bike ride OR go to the gym together, take a class in pilates, spinning, boxing, or self defense. You could get a group together and hire a Personal Trainier for a group weight training session. Afterwards you could go shopping (what? you didn't think you would give up shopping trips?) or have tea together and discuss boys or your strategies to run for President!!

Seriously, what I truly believe and want to impart to you, is that we are too often critical of our bodies and what they are capable of. A good friend of mine has a daughter who won't do anything unless she is good to perfect at it. If she doesn't pick it up right away, she stops trying. I think many of us fall into that trap too often. It is hard to get our bodies to connect with our heads and very hard to get our heads into getting to the gym or out for a run because we are so busy doing other things. But if you plan your workouts with a friend, with a trainer, as a group, or you all decide to take a self defese seminar, you will go. And you will feel great and your friendships will grow stonger.

You may wonder why I think you will feel less stress after a boxing lesson or a pilates session or why you will be able to think clearer, sleep better, and feel better about yourself inside and out. Well, I think this because committing myself to exercise helped me and continues to help me, slay demons... stress, hormones, exhaustion. Furthermore, it has the same affect on every woman I know who makes the journey to empowerment through physical activity. You can find this power inside you too and when you do, you WILL be able to connect to yourself better and what's more, you will be able to connect to others in a more real, intimate way. You may feel so empowered that you decide to change your own tire, or demand a raise. Then you will want to spread your power to teach your daughter, your neice or your friend, how to kick their personal demon's butts.

I Will Be Honest.

Getting from there to here is far from easy. But to put my money where my mouth is-so to speak- I have co-founded a monthly workshop series for women and girls that will facilitate mother's and daughter's, or girlfriends and girlfriends growing more powerful together, through activities such as boxing, spinning, self-defense, just to name a few. I guarantee that as you workout together, learning new skills and gaining new confidence, that you will feel good from the inside out. Women are a force to be reckoned with. So let's get empowered.

In health and peace,

Julia