12 - Week Transformation: WEEK #5

I know Week #5 ended a few days ago, but I just haven't had the energy to write.  I don't really have the energy today, but my soul is telling me I need to write, to express what is on my heart.  Since yesterday the word "balance" has been going through my head over and over again.  Is it work-life balance?  Is it how to balance my needs with that of my family? Or is it something deeper than that?

Right now I am struggling with the possibility that my soul and spirit and heart are out of balance.  Do you believe that when those aspects of yourself are not in sync, that you feel it in a way that keeps you from living your best life on a daily basis?  This feeling has manifested itself in me as a total lack of physical energy.

In order to explain I must go back to Valentine's Day weekend.  Without getting into too much of the personal, my husband and I have been experiencing some "challenges" with our relationship.  We decided to have some time away from home by ourselves, as many couples do, for Valentine's Day.  It was after that weekend that I began to feel deep within me that something was not right, something was out of balance.  It was an emotional feeling that translated into a physical feeling.

So, how does this relate to my 12-week transformation?  I believe that if your mind, heart, soul and spirit are not healthy or in sync, that everything in your life gets thrown off balance.  For me, it manifested itself physically as a lack of energy.  Despite that feeling, I worked out five days during week five, including one hour of personal training, a one-hour aerobics class, and three days worth of cardio, weight and strength training.  But at the end of that week, I had only shed one pound and decreased my body fat by less than one percent.

My real point is that every aspect of our being -- heart, mind, body, soul, and spirit -- is intertwined like the strands of fiber in a rope.  When one aspect is out of balance, so will the others be.  When we are working to better ourselves, be it my 12-week physical transformation or related to some other part of our being, shifts begin to occur in every part of our lives.  Transformation cannot occur in one area without affecting another.

This is such an interesting and incredible journey.  Looking forward to seeing what the end of this current week brings!