Nothing to Lose...Everything to Gain

Sometimes I struggle with all the changes I've made in the last three years.  It can be overwhelming, the path to transformation.  I'm not saying I would ever go back, I can never go back, that girl doesn't exist anymore.  But, she's a part of who I am, a part of what helped me make it this far.  So, what do you gain by losing?  I know, I stole it from a TV commercial, but I really like it.  For me it was freedom.  As the pounds came off and the body started doing what it was designed to do I became FREE!  Free from the bondage of an overweight, out of shape, old lady body.  I have days where I regress into that cocoon of the old lady body, hibernate in my bed, become lazy, but what I've gained from training jiu jitsu is a desire to be the best Mrs. Ibarra I can be.  A desire to see just how far I can push this old body.  I've discovered that we don't give ourselves enough credit.  Our bodies or our minds.  We are capable of so much more.  I feel like I am living, breathing proof of that.  Just three years ago I was a slave to pain medication and invasive medical procedures for chronic neck pain.  I couldn't have imagined in my wildest of dreams that I would be doing what I am doing now.  I didn't think that I could ever train jiu jitsu.  When I first began I thought that I would make it a few months and my neck would say no more.  Then something miraculous happened, my neck didn't stop me from training.  I had tons of aches and pains, tons and tons of aches and pains, but my neck never stopped me from training.  So I kept training.  I stopped all pain medication.  I haven't had an invasive procedure on my neck in over three years!  Sweet!!  I didn't give my body the credit it deserved.  It was capable of so much more than I ever thought.  I discovered acupuncture along the way and if you're interested, I've got a great guy!  Acupuncture gets me through the tough times, with my shoulders and knees and for those times when I'm super stressed.  So, give your bodies and your minds a little bit of credit, they are a lot stronger than you think.  Don't count yourself out before you even start.  Take that first step, that big giant leap of faith.  I promise, you won't be sorry.  I know I'm not.  This strength that I discovered, it was inside of me all along.  Jiu jitsu just helped me bring it to the surface.  :)