Who’s Your Guru?

I read the tragic story of the Spiritual Warrior retreat held by James Arthur Ray, where 2 people died, and 19 were taken to the hospital after being in a sweat lodge. This was a 5 day retreat where people paid 10,000 dollars (that is NOT a typo folks) a head. Quick math, that would be 2000 dollars per day. Why??? What possible knowledge could be imparted, that would be worth 2000 dollars per day? A once in a lifetime vacation or experience may be worth that. But paying someone else to look for answers about what my life is supposed to be about? Don’t freakin’ think so!!

Now that’s a weird statement coming from a Health Empowerment Coach. There is a difference…I help clients find what they need within themselves, as opposed to looking for answers outside of themselves. People want the quick fix, the easy way out, so they want to be handed the answers. And people spend big bucks for that promise of getting those answers, a promise that rarely delivers.

How do I know this? I was one of those people. I never paid 2000 bucks a day, but I didn’t have it. If I did, who knows…but I can’t honestly say I wouldn’t have. I tried all kinds of diets, programs, shakes, supplements, gyms, personal trainers, exercise equipment, and classes. AND…they all cost money, and none worked. Why? There’s a few reasons: #1, I wanted the quick fix and didn’t get it, so I gave up; #2 Boredom with programs, and lack of coordination in exercise classes got the better of me #3, my self esteem was so bad that I couldn’t deal with the scale, another device of extreme torture. If I was weighing myself, I’d get on the scale numerous times during the day, because of course I must have lost weight during the day, if even an ounce or two. If someone else was weighing me in, the subsequent statements which followed were just more torments: “Oh guess you had a bad week”; “Hmmm, you only lost 1/2 of a pound”; “Are you following the program correctly?”, etc. The lack of self esteem also made me prey to those skinny personal trainers I wanted desperately to look like, so I took their word as law, only to find out later after injuries and bad information, that they probably knew little more than I did, they just looked a lot better. {By the way…always do your own homework and ask lots of questions when hiring a trainer. NEVER assume they know what they are doing.}

There is no quick fix…it took me a long time to realize that. I put the care of my body into other people’s hands, people that told me I would achieve all my goals and make my life infinitely better, by listening to what they had to say, by following their program, by using their product. All my gurus, and I followed them faithfully and blindly, believing their every promise, because they would provide what I didn’t have, which was the life I dreamed, the happiness I sought, and the seemingly elusive body I desperately wanted. Those things, I learned, are not found in a bottle, but from within.

So who’s your guru? Think long and hard about that, because the guru you should be listening to the most is yourself.

Health and happiness,
~T*

Tags: coaching, empowerment, goals, Health, james arthur ray, life, men, mindfulness, tami rac, weight loss, wellness, women