Not so very long ago, my life looked very, very different.
I was skinny, fit and felt pretty.
I thought the trajectory of my life was set. I was married to a wonderful man, I worked at the very top of my field in Manhattan, I had a beautiful home and lots of amazing friends.
Sometimes, life throws you a curveball, and the one I got was a doozie. It cost me nearly everything—the love of my husband, my house, many of my friends. The very short story of the ugly mess: I fell “in love” with another man, and he turned out to be a terrible person.
Fast forward to 18 months ago: Me, in a studio in Brooklyn, terribly alone. I didn’t drink or do drugs, so food was my pain-numbing agent of choice. I gained roughly 40 pounds.
It’s hard to look at pictures of that time because I don’t see myself in there at all. It’s like my eyes have gone dead, surrounded by masses of flesh.
As I began to slowly crawl my way out of a sugar-induced stupor, fitness-minded friends would try to help inspire me to exercise and eat more healthily. To be honest, though, I just didn’t care enough to try—I still looked as miserable outside as I felt inside.
Six months ago, in a bid to inject joy into my life again, I moved to L.A., and I adore it here. I love hiking in the canyons with my dog, I love all the fresh produce at the farmer’s market. I had begun to ever-so-slightly care about my body and my spirit again.
A couple of weeks ago—it was like a shot from God himself—I was presented with the opportunity to work with Spinlates. I took a killer Spinlates (Spinning-and-Pilates hybrid) class and then met with the studio’s effervescent owner Bambi Martin, and was immediately sold.
At the Spinlates studio, my heart was touched (by the kindness of the owner and the amazing instructors). I achieved difficult physical feats that I’d thought impossible. Most importantly, Spinlates got me back in touch with that girl who loved to exercise—because it felt great for her mind, body and spirit.
Bambi and her team are helping me to banish that heartbroken girl—the one who sat watching bad TV and eating ice cream right out of the container.
The moment I walk into the Spinlates studio, I feel that they can see the two Lauras: The out-of-shape, overweight one, and the beautiful, fit, joyous one. And I know that they want the right me to win.
Laura Vogel is a writer and editor who has written for Real Simple, Martha Stewart, In Style, The Washington Post and The New York Post. She just took her third class at Spinlates in July 11, and will be sharing her progress and other fitness tips in this blog every other week.
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