Hello from New York City!
I’m so excited to be contributing my first international post for the amazing Yoga Hub. My name is Natalie Rado (soon to be Natalie McClure in 6 short weeks). I’m a Certified Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and owner of Be Well: Fitness by Natalie. I’ve been running around this great city for 8 years, training my clients in their apartments, apartment building gyms, personal training gyms and at an investment bank. I’ve become great at training in really small spaces (if you’ve never been in an apartment in NYC, just picture a walk in closet or perhaps a shoe box with a bed in it and you’re good to go),  proving that fitness can be done anywhere! I’ve also become a regular contributor to Women’s Health Magazine. I write a fitness blog of my own  and my sister and I also created a blog together called Hangry Chicks where you can find healthy recipes that will make sure you never get so hungry that you get angry–HANGRY. So enough of the intro! Let’s talk about wellness…
Lately, I’ve been thinking about what makes me happy in my life as far as wellness goes. Wellness is defined as “the quality of state of being healthy in body and mind, especially as the result of deliberate effort.” I also believe it to be the place where you land once you have balanced both health and fitness for yourself. Balance is the key to being happy and I’ve been thinking about what that balance is for me. I’ve been trying to define my own wellness while letting go of some of the “shoulds” in my life and adding more of the “wants.” Sometimes, the two go hand in hand…If you want something, there are things you should do but you have to ask yourself, is it worth it for your own personal wellness?
What do I mean by that? Here’s an example: I had a client ask me how he could look like the hard-bodied movie stars he saw on the covers of his favorite magazines. I told him that if he wanted that look, he would need to work out at least 5 days a week, follow a regimented diet, and cut out any alcohol he was currently consuming. He laughed in my face. With his workaholic kind of schedule, 5 days a week of exercise wasn’t an option for him unless he cut back in the office (which, at this point in his career, he wasn’t willing to do). Also, as an avid foodie and wine connoisseur, he didn’t want to make the sacrifice of cutting out his frequent restaurant visits and nightly bottles of wine. In this instance, he should have taken my advice to get wanted, but he had to settle for balance instead. He would work out 3 days a week, enjoy his food and wine, and be proud of the trim body he could maintain, six-pack or not. That was his personal wellness.
Maybe your personal wellness is sacrificing simple pleasures like food and alcohol to maintain a cut figure. More power to you! Eat clean to look lean and mean. Maybe your personal wellness is making sure to exercise daily and eat whatever your heart desires (please don’t eat fast food, though). Define for yourself what is and don’t let anyone else decide what that is for you.
As far as my own wellness goes…These days, I am getting ready for my wedding on June 14th. Not only do I want to feel fit and healthy on my wedding day, I am also getting married on St. John in the US Virgin Islands so it’s going to be bikini time all the time in front of a lot of wedding guests. Eek! But honestly, oh well if I don’t have a six-pack (and I won’t). I still have to live my life! I am not depriving myself or getting to an unhealthy place because I will be getting married or because I will be a bikini. My wellness is working out, eating well, and indulging here and there so I don’t go insane. I want to look my best self my wedding day, but I don’t want to look back at wedding photos and think “That was the best I ever looked!” I want to look back and think, I still look and, more importantly, feel that good. It’s important to take care of yourself every day and be your best self while you can. You never know what will happen tomorrow! Life is meant to be enjoyed and I’m trying my best to do just that…enjoy. I hope that you’ll enjoy by your definition of enjoyment/wellness and be well!
*Image courtesy of www.mcdcwv.net
