John S:
I guess my best response to this great question is with pictures. I'm proud of myself for having the courage to "invert" in my yoga classes. Slowly but surely I'm finding more stability in my shoulders and core and can even, at times, kick right up to a handstand without needing to touch the wall with my foot. It feels so good.
David W:
I think so much of our physical strength is determined when we are children. If we run around, are encouraged to explore, climb trees, swing from tires, do outdoor chores, we naturally get stronger as our muscles grow. My childhood, on the other hand, consisted of collecting stamps, coins and sports cards, watching various sitcoms and eating copious Hostess products. As a result, I was never very strong as a kid nor as a young adult. I was strong in Brady Bunch and Partridge Family reruns and the faces on 1971 Topps baseball cards. So it was kind of a big deal in the fall of 2013 when I started CrossFit at the ripe old age of 50. I finally decided to get stronger, physically. I had never done a pull-up (still haven't) and my coaches have continually had to modify each exercise (read: make them waaaay easier) just so I could do them. But, as with all things, over time, things changed. My muscles changed. I changed. And after a year of CrossFit, I had spread enough strength around my body to rid itself of little aches and pains in my back and my knees. I felt more nimble. More confident in my abilities. And, most of all, I grew more confident in pursuing my ultimate dream: completing an Ironman. So for 9 months, I trained. In swimming, biking, running and lifting. And on June 28, 2015, I started the Coeur d'Alene Ironman. Alas, I only finished two legs of the race, missing the cutoff for the marathon and not finishing. It's alright...so I didn't get the medal. Nobody can take my strength away. So now, after a month of disappointment and dessert, I'm ready to re-focus my strength and re-start the workouts in the knowledge that one year from now, I will be even stronger. And then, that Ironman medal will be mine.
I know Strength. I make my life's work out of helping others find it.
Strength can be physical or mental. It can be loud or it can be quiet. All forms of strength share one essential element: going toe to toe with your fears, acknowledging them, and making a choice to work through them.
In that choice lies all that strength is.
This schema manifests itself in the work I do. The loud work of lifting and building physical strength is an outer representation of what happens inside.
Within my work I am always aware of the inner strength which runs alongside the outer, like a quiet benefactor, supporting humbly, developing quietly, but suddenly, there for you when you need it, sometimes taking you by surprise.
I take joy in finding my own limits, and even more joy in helping others find theirs. I've had the sincere pleasure of seeing marathons run, knees, feet, hips, hands, and backs recover from surgery, brains recover from stroke, and babies be born.
I've seen people strength train through diabetes, lupus, Sjögren's syndrome, hepatitis C, cancer, and HIV.
Watching the moments where the physical strength and mental strength cross over are where stars shine for me. When I see it, I know it instantly. A spiral of glowing light and euphoria fills me. I feel a sensation I am within the person and can feel what they are feeling. It's a warm feeling which I struggle to fully describe. It's as if I am in a flock of birds who effortlessly move as one giant shape and undulate magically together, without ever hitting each other, but flowing in infinity symbols and spirals. It's magic.
I have learned through life
experiences that I can walk through what some would call the "dark night
of the soul" and still be able to hold onto a thread of light to find my
way back. I have learned that I can be thrown into the midst of the most
heart-wrenching experiences, and have the ability to remain calm and look for
the the gift that is inherent there for me. I have learned that I am
stronger than I ever think I will be and that the will of God will never lead
me where the grace of God has not gone before me to prepare the way.
My strength grows daily along
with my spiritual work. At times when I did not feel so strong, I have
learned that I have a spiritual community that will hold me up in a spectacular
way in the midst of anything until I find my own footing. I never have to
do this alone and that provides enormous strength for the journey.
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