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Just like building a muscle, we can build our inner strength (Dallas News - 9/07) |
Monday, September 24, 2007
Leslie Garcia, The Dallas Morning News
Strength.
Strength to lift your baby or your spirits, your body in a push-up or half your weight on a machine.
Strength to deal with death or disaster, with personal sorrow or the weight of the world.
In its simplest terms, says Southlake personal trainer Anna McKinnon, "Strength is the ability for a muscle or group of muscles to generate force."
Yet its mental aspect especially intrigues her.
"When a muscle is asked to perform, like when you're lifting something, it works against resistance; that's how it grows," says Ms. McKinnon, who teaches at DFW Adventure Boot Camp. "This ties back to psychological strength. Isn't it an opposition and resistance to your old way of thinking?"When we use a muscle, it gets microscopic tears, which make it grow bigger, she says.
"Then the next time you call on the muscle, it's prepared. If we're not prepared to show up and start, the muscle will never grow, just like we'll never grow if we don't push to the edge."
Think of all the times we say, "I can't." Can't do all this work, can't lift another ounce, can't face another day. But somehow, we find the wherewithal. We build up to something we once couldn't fathom. And we're a little taken by and with our own strength.
In its purity, true strength melds all parts of who we are: That which we can hold, and that which we hold dear.
Fitness guru Todd Durkin, who conducted a kick-fanny boot camp at the recent American Council on Exercise (ACE) conference in Las Vegas , knows the importance of each. Though we tend to work on the physical aspect, strength runs much deeper, he says.
"We need to nurture our spirit and soul," he says from his office in San Diego . "We need to devote nearly equal time to our inner bearings through breath work, meditation, taking time off, focusing on inner strength."
It is a balance, not a battle, between our internal and external workings, between our physiological hearts and our emotional ones.
Think how you feel after a weight-lifting session, after a yoga class, after climbing stairs instead of taking the elevator: Rather empowered, rather strong. And if you're late for a meeting, or your kid left his violin at home, or you have just $37.89 till next payday, you can better deal with it.
Believe, achieve
But strength supports far more than life's daily stresses. It's what we call upon when we lose a job, or a child gets into trouble, or a loved one dies. Strength can't take those away; at times it sees to disappear, or at least not seem as stalwart. So we lean on the strength of others, until we are ready to push through the sorrow ourselves.
"We will face challenges in our life," Mr. Durkin says. "When things do go wrong, we have to stay in the positive mind-set. Thoughts are reality. Your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your flesh and your flesh becomes your character.
"When you believe it, you can achieve it. It's so important to believe and have the relentless pursuit of what you truly want to attain, regardless of the circumstances of what are or will be around you."
One way is by periodically tuning everything out: Turn off your BlackBerry, your car radio. Answer e-mails later.
"That's one of my greatest challenges," says Mr. Durkin. "As someone who thrives on energy, I realize I have to turn it off. If I don't, I cannot restore my energy and my balance. I view life as a sprint, not a marathon. I sprint hard; take time off. It's normal to be busy, but we need to take time to nurture our inner strength."
Joanna Zaremba of the Downtown Dallas YMCA sees yoga as a quiet way to unite inner and outer strength.
"It's about getting to know yourself, finding that place where you know your own peace, your calm. That calm is your power and your strength," says the personal trainer and yoga instructor. "The world and everything you come in contact with are your tests throughout the day -- your challenges, your storm."
Built over time
Becoming strong -- physically, emotionally, mentally -- takes time. But you think we on the give-to-us-now brigade can wait? Ha!
"People want a quick fix," Ms. Zaremba says. "But we need to lay a foundation for strength."
Much as we'd like, we can't just decide to get strong, then zip through some exercises and voila! Nor, when our lives steer us into darkness, can we quickly brush past the brambles till we see the sun again.
Like so much, this is a journey. One we can feel comfortable and confident taking till we're pushed, gently or otherwise, from the path.
At the ACE conference, Healthy Living editor Mary Dunklin and I learned something about the fickle nature of physical strength: That relying on our own muscles is a lot different, and often more difficult, than using machines at the gym.
She and I exercise regularly. We (usually) take the stairs, and unless there's a box of Cheez-Its nearby, we eat pretty healthily. So we think Mr. Durkin's 6:30 a.m. boot-camp class will be more than bearable. And initially, it is. Jogging, skipping, lunges, squats, sit-ups, basic push-ups -- bring 'em on.
Then Mr. Durkin, camouflage cap on backward and whistle at the ready, starts barking out orders for more push-ups. We soldier on. Then, with moments left in the class, he yells: "Just three more!"
We take a deep breath and figure we can manage a mere trio. We do not, however, take into account that he might have us do the longest, most drawn-out push-ups in the history of the world. He makes us slooowwwly lower our bodies, balancing halfway down, then come back up, go back down, go halfway up. Hold it. Hold it. Hold it -- till we can hold it no more.
And oh, Lord, that is only the first. We can't even look at each other for fear we'll either start to laugh or cry uncontrollably -- either way, losing what little balance we have left. Where is the strength we show in the gym? And why is this class where we rely solely on our own strength -- not on hand weights or barbells or gizmos -- so difficult?
I admit our weakness to Mr. Durkin later, and he explains our difficulties: "When we use machines, we modify the weights to isolate body parts and target specific areas." But the kind of exercises we did "typically require more stabilization, and therefore are often more challenging," he says.
"You are often forced to lift a portion or all of your weight, and most of us have enough body weight to create a great challenge."
That morning, we broke out of our comfort zone. In so doing, we could practically feel our muscles tearing so they could grow back -- yes, stronger. At the same time, we could feel our emotional muscles strengthen after having overcome something.
Taking what Mr. Durkin says a step further, yes, it is a challenge: To lift the weight of our bodies, of grocery sacks and dumbbells, of all that each of us carries inside.
But we can do it. We have strength. At times, more than we'll ever know. |
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