SAMIA: Hello, Salam, Shalom, Namaste, Sat Sri Akal, Aloha, Holah, Ciao, Bonjour, Buna and Privet! It's really really good to be with you again and I'm so excited today because I have a wonderful guest with me... It's Jana Barrett who's a fitness and movement coach. And oh my gosh I can't wait for you to listen to our conversation today because I know it's going to be extra fabulous. Welcome Jana...

JANA: Thank you so much Samia, so lovely to be here with you... 

SAMIA: Yes I'm so happy… you know last time when we were talking we had such a fabulous and deep conversation about fitness and movement and all of that... So I can't wait to dig into all of that with you today...  will you just start us off by telling us more about who you are and what you do...

JANA: Absolutely… thank you for the introduction... So I'm a fitness and movement coach and my passion in life is… both my professional and personal life... is to help women, specifically women in midlife, feel amazing... So I help women with exercise... so mindful movement and exercise that makes them feel strong and powerful, amazing, full of energy, kind of glowing goddesses… that's my vibe... I basically help women to go for sometimes what could be a very challenging time of their life in midlife and pre-menopause and menopause into thriving and feeling like… yeah… glowing goddesses. Let's go with that...

SAMIA: I love that... because you know when I think of the idea of a goddess and you already sort of mentioned this also... that we're not just talking about the like goddesses portrayed oftentimes you know it's really beautiful and awesome in that sense… but they're also really strong... have so much power. And so for us as women to tap into both of those aspects of our identity... that is so cool. And I love that you focus on both. 

JANA: Yeah thank you... No it is very powerful you can kind of see it. It's more shining from I think within then just the exterior… which we often in our society and modern life focus on more... but I think there is nothing more alluring than a woman that is really confident and strong and powerful and full of energy, you know… Because we need to tap into the what's beautiful about our feminine energy and how to wake it up in ourselves in a world that values mainly masculine kind of achievement and energy... So that's what's beautiful about my work.

SAMIA: Indeed indeed... and when you know like talking about masculine energy feminine energy and the differing values that the world at large tends to place... I mean that's such a... I mean it's really one of those issues that really... the what's the word... 

JANA: Or cue... 

SAMIA: I mean you know it's just based on such limited thinking you know… because when we think about women as a group... there's so much diversity, you know. Or even if you think about men as a group... there's so much diversity within us. And then to take all of that and then to just box it up into being like... no you can only be this… or only this little bit of who you are is actually feminine or actually masculine... but come on that just... 

JANA: Yeah...

SAMIA: It’s frustrating… it's annoying...

JANA: Yeah it is really limiting... and I think we need a little bit of both. You know like I am… you know when I'm at work and I'm coaching people I'm often in my kind a little bit more masculine energy but I you know I love being... And the type of exercise that I like doing is the exercise that it's not the hardcore weightlifting... It's more about movement and breath …and you know the movement that I do with some of the ancient tools… I would describe it as something between martial art and a dance and a warrior weapon training and you know such a beautiful kind of blend of all... and I think that's what I want women to realize that there is… we're still following the fitness trends… like I was shooting some content today and I was like well how did we get into from the kind of the Jane Fonda Aerobics you know like weird... to like now CrossFit games, you know… and women like wow... we can be like men and you know... And like there's a lot of choice in between that we can tap into and… and I think you just need to find something that speaks to you and your kind of your body and the way you want to move because you know we don't need to follow what other people tell us to do... We can just choose and find something that speaks to you and this kind of training I've discovered only recently, and it really speaks to me. It's... it's enjoyable it's not a chore, it's empowering and it's you know the focus is being taken from the weight loss and it's more into just waking up the… yeah, the inner goddess in you through exercise and breath and movement. And exercising in sync with your body rather than pushing it into some workouts that it doesn't really want to do… because we are different than men and we often are being trained as men… and that's... that's not cool because that often leaves us exhausted and injured and...

SAMIA: Yeah…

JANA: And then you know it doesn't suit our bodies because our bodies are different... They really are...

SAMIA: Right, it's like I can be strong… I am strong… and I'm not like a man... and I don't have to be like a man to be strong. I can find strength and create strength and grow my strength in ways that are very me... very feminine... very woman… and a...

JANA: Yeah… 

SAMIA: Like a... I love...I just love that, love that about your approach…

JANA: Thank you yeah... no it's good, it's fun... it's fun. And seeing the transformations in women that work wit h me you know going from maybe not so confident and you know kind of out of touch with their bodies… I think there's a lot of women walking around the world that are really out of touch with their bodies... they don't like their bodies, they are hurting, they're in pain, they are struggling with hormones, struggling with a lot of things… and I think just seeing you know... you suddenly put a tool in a woman's hand and it's kind of like “oh…” you know, then you kind of wake her up and it's not just the physical strength... but it's the mental strength. And suddenly they're walking taller and they say no a little bit more and they’re setting healthier boundaries… and I think that it's their kind of mental resilience that I think it's so not spoken about exercise… it's all of the other benefits of the right exercise… it's not just the physical, it's not just the toned muscles, it's not the cardiovascular fitness, the strong bones, the strong muscles, and ligaments, it's about... the mental strength... it's about emotional and mental health. I mean there's so much research now coming out about how exercise is actually sometimes more effective in treating a lot of mental health issues like anxiety and depression than medication is… and that's really powerful... 

SAMIA: Yeah yeah oh my gosh... you just made me think of my experience… this was back in my college days. And at that time you know I was still very much in the process of the early stages of my recovery and healing from being a survivor of child sexual abuse... And I remember... oh… you know in those days, I was so… I just felt so unsafe in my own body. And I didn't believe I had what it took to put to be able to protect myself... and I remember you know not even feeling free enough to take on an open posture… like sometimes I would be like just watching my fellow students on campus just lying on the grass and you know taking in the sun... and I was like I wish I could do that… but I didn't feel safe to just lie back like that and just let myself go... And one of the things that really began to shift that feeling of powerlessness and helplessness in me was when I got the opportunity to take a self-defense class on campus… and the interesting thing was that… I mean, I took the class… we were, you know, it was for about four months… that's how long our semesters over here is... And so it was a four-month-long class we met like twice a week or something... So by the end of four months yes I learned some skills... but it wasn't like I was some kind of suddenly an expert at self-defense or fighting... in fact if anything at one level it just made me realize how much more I would need to learn to become really excellent at physical self-defense and fighting if it came down to that. And there was a part of me that was like, okay, you know what I need to learn it all... and not only learn hand-to-hand combat which is what we were like focusing on… but then they were like a more advanced because what if someone comes at you with a weapon and there are so many different kinds of weapons... and someone will always be better than you using this weapon or that weapon or stronger than you, so you have to keep learning and you know making yourself more and more skilled at these different fighting techniques… and there was a part of me that really was like yes I have to do it... I have to do it... but there was another part of me that was like… just thinking about it made me feel... like oh my gosh, I mean... am I not going to spend the rest of my life just focused on this. And it's not really what I want to do. And in some ways in made… it created a different kind of fear in me, you know… and like in terms of okay now I've started to learn but now I don't know enough and I have to learn more of this... So it was just like really weird mind space… and what helped me get out of that... actually when I took another self-defense course… but this one was actually for women by women. And it was a specialized course and training being offered for survivors of abuse and other forms of trauma...

JANA: Yeah…

SAMIA: And that is where this sort of put for me in perspective that no you don't have to become an expert and take years and years of training in different kinds of like fighting skills and so forth... It really is about the mindset. Once you have the right mindset, you have belief in yourself, then you will do, and you can do whatever you need in the moment to protect yourself and take care of yourself.

JANA: Oh absolutely... I mean it'll be sad if all of us had to become black belts in karate in order to walk around the world just in case somebody jumps at us… yeah... no that would be… but as you said it's more about the you know the response to if something was to happen I mean what are the chances you know... they're reasonably small… but then it's more about you know the way you walk down the street, you know. Men don't whistle at me anymore you know because I would turn back and I'll be like you want to talk to me, you know... like once you get that kind of confidence and you walk down the street with, you know, big, you know, kind of straight posture and you look people in the eye you know they don't tend to pick on women like that… you know even if you're walking into a you know negotiating your contract at work, you know, like it's how you present yourself I think and how you carry yourself and how you hold someone's gaze and eye contact... It's all these kind of… you know 95% of communication is non-verbal, isn't it... so people are picking these cues. Whereas if you're walking around you know really timidly and you're looking down onto the ground all the time and you have rounded shoulders, people can tell that you know you are probably a little bit easier to pick on… yeah...

SAMIA: Right... I remember myself defense teacher… like one of the main principles that she taught us was that, you know, generally speaking in cases where women are targeted for sexual assault, sexual harassment, abuse, violence, etc... it doesn't just happen in one go… like it's not just... usually someone's like watching you for a while, and they will test you, and they will see how far they think you will let them go... how much you will let them get away with, that they can get… because they don't want to get caught you know they want to be able to do what they want to do and get away with it... And so they will usually go through a process of sort of pushing you and testing you in terms of your boundaries, your strength, your ability to stand up for yourself at a mental-emotional level, before they get physical... And so exactly like you were saying Jana... the way you carry yourself, the way you speak, that actually is what… when it comes to prevention, that is actually way more important than your physical skills and being able to fight but you know whatever level of effectiveness or being able to utilize weapons or not, etc, etc...

JANA: Oh absolutely… because I used to do jiu-jitsu and the main aim of all our training was... you want to desperately try everything you can to not fight. So even if you're a black belt in jiu-jitsu you know like they don't want to pick the fight… they don't want to be the one you know even they could... they could put anybody down but they don't want to… it's the whole point that you try everything possible to not having to engage… yeah...

SAMIA: Why is that... like for you, from that jiu-jitsu perspective, why is that...

JANA: Why there's the philosophy of not fighting...

SAMIA: Yeah.

JANA: That's an interesting question, yeah... I mean it's you never know how it's gonna go, do you? I mean if you are up against a trunk you know you probably are gonna get hurt even if you if the final outcome is in your favor... I think it's always that element of unknown… can they pull a knife on you and stab you... you don't know that. So I think you just want to basically, you know, push them down into the floor and run… yeah… yeah… or never get to that situation where you have to engage.

SAMIA: That is so wise I think that really is I mean for me that shows that there is... the philosophy of jiu-jitsu and other martial arts for that matter… I think oftentimes especially like in the west, you know... we sort of never learn the philosophy and the underlying disciplines and so forth that these arts are about… we just focus on what we see at the surface level in terms of oh, you become an expert fighter and you know what you see in the movies of people kicking butt and so forth...

JANA: Yeah but it's not often about that… it's about humility and self-practice and meeting yourself on the mat rather than your opponent... you know reaching deep… and it is often about the philosophy behind it more than the actual physical aspects I think.

SAMIA: Yeah. And it's like, in your approach, in your work, I see that you are doing something similar where you... yes you teach people physical movement and fitness… but you don't... but that's not it… Like there's more to it... there's all these deeper aspects to it… to how you work with women… and that is really what allows you to help women get the really, really excellent results that you do.

JANA: Yeah absolutely. And it's about... it's about self-love and tuning into your body and listening to your body's cues… because you know women we are different every day… which our hormonal kind of blend is different every day… you know, some days you roll out of bed and you're like, “Yay, what am I gonna do today” and some days you roll out of bed and you're like, “I just want to crawl back in and not face the world…” And how does exercise fit into that, you know. So maybe on the days where you go “yay”, that's the time where you train hard… and on the times where it's like I don't want to face the world today... I feel I don't feel that good, maybe just reading your body and adjusting… you still should move every day… I mean it's… I often tell people you should still move every day, but move in the way that will suit your body on that given day, you know… so yesterday I wasn't feeling very good... I was kind of tired, and I didn't know what was going on... And so the training that I wrote for myself… I knew that there was no point of pushing my body into doing something because I don't know what was going on I think I was coming down with something. And so I just went for a really gentle walk with my dog… and it was just being outside and it refreshed me and energized me... whereas I know that if I went and did that workout, it might have felt okay for a little while but I know that afterwards I would just crash and it just wouldn't... I would have to push... to push kind of against the body and where I was at. So what I teach women is often… you know it's hard when you've got two classes a week booked somewhere and it's full-on and then suddenly you realize oh it's the first day of my period today and do I want to go and smash this… probably not... so just always tuning in and asking... And actually after a while once you open that communication between you and your body... your body will tell you what it wants to do. It's like no today we're just going to go for a gentle walk …take me for a gentle walk or take me for a swim …or like yeah we're going to crush it today, you know...  today is today.

SAMIA: Oh my gosh, okay, so this for me brings up like a really really important issue that I would highlight from what you said… you know there is this... I don't know… like in the general culture that we have… I know certainly here in America I feel that a lot… where there's a push to this attitude of “no matter what”... that there's things… that you have to have a no matter what attitude… and that's the winning attitude… that if you don't… like you have to set your goal and then achieve it no matter what... And so if it's an exercise goal and you're like, okay, I'm going to do this much exercise, this kind of exercise, then you have to do it no matter what... and if you don't do it no matter what then somehow you have failed, you know… And what you are saying is something different, maybe… I mean like… and oh my gosh… so it's like, I could not... I could never honestly fall behind this no matter what kind of attitude… because ever since I have become obsessed with my mental health, with my happiness, I… you know, I'm like, I'm not willing to do things no matter what… in that, if it's going to compromise my mental health, if it's going to compromise my happiness, my inner peace, then I'm not going to do it, you know… and so for me that has become a very firm boundary... yeah… and I think I forgot that question that I had in my mind when I started talking about this...

JANA: Yeah. I think what you're referring to is that again that masculine you know... we celebrate the masculine the go go go, achieve at all costs, just push through, don't winch, don't be a girl's blast… and here in New Zealand there's a very much that kind of culture too, you know... like we… our celebrities are our rugby team, you know… it's the kind of like, you know, those are the heroes that we look up to… and you know we often, you know, tell our little boys, you know… harden up… and you know… don't cry, and be a man, and be a boy and don't be a girl's blessing… and stuff like that... and then in return New Zealand has the highest teenage suicide rate in the developed world. So put two and two together here, you know… like we don't allow our boys and our teenagers to be in touch with their feelings and to cry and have emotions… and you know we celebrate the go at all costs… but women can't fit into that, you know... we can't push all the time… I mean for women, the feminine energy is more like an ocean, isn't it... It's ebb and flow… and it's being open and receiving and attracting things and being radiant and attracting abundance from the universe and magnetizing, you know, things and, you know, to us... And I think that you know like now we kind of think like oh we can have it all we can have the careers and we can be in the boardrooms and but I think that leaves women really exhausted... because we are not. I mean we can be in that masculine energy you know and if you're a boss of a company and you have to be in it, you have to be in it… but then what do you do when you get home you know... you need to just get rid of it and then get into back into your flow and what suits you as a woman… because I think you know there's a lot of women around who are terribly burnt out and quite hardened and their health is struggling... I mean their health is struggling you know it's...

SAMIA: Yeah.

JANA: ..level of stress. And how they and often… when I did a lot of …because obviously I trained a lot of women in midlife and they are reaching the menopause and some women really struggle and all the research that I've done it's telling us that how you've been treating your body up to that stage is then… menopause is the result of all the abuse that you've been doing to your body for the last I don't know how many decades... that is the kind of the reckoning time… that is like okay, I've had enough... I've had enough of the stress and the hardcore exercise and the dieting and the starving and the not taking enough self-care and not taking enough time and not exercising in a mindful way and now I'm going to make you pay. So I think that's often you know… we can't conform to that push at all costs… because I used to be like that in my business too when I started... oh 80 hour weeks you know... I got a hustle… I have to, you know… and then you just like one day you just go and you fall on your face. And you're like maybe that's not the way I should be running my business, you know… maybe it's more... And now my work day is about, you know, I start at five and I coach some people, I train myself, then I go for a surf or, you know… and then I get into the flow again... and then I do some writing and do a little bit of this... And it's more this kind of you know just listening to the flow of your day and structuring your days and structuring your work life around your cycle. Yeah, not many people talk about it but there is a lot of research about structuring your monthly goals and monthly workflow to your flow… yeah... and it's very powerful to know that...

SAMIA: Yeah.

JANA: ..for women exercise and work and life.

SAMIA: Yeah... that makes a lot of sense to me… and I love that analogy you made of women being like an ocean... Because not only does the ocean ebb and flow and all of that awesome stuff but... my gosh the ocean is so powerful… so it sort of like goes back for me to the idea we started with talking about earlier where we're like you know... we do power. We have power… we are power… but it's just… do it in our own way, you know… I mean I can think of very few forces in the world that are more powerful than the ocean...

JANA: Oh yeah... but then sometimes it is so beautiful and calm, isn't it... And sometimes it's like  krrrr, yeah...

SAMIA: Like as needed, as needed… it's like even when it's calm, the power doesn't go away anywhere... it's just in a different form, expressing itself in a different form.

JANA: Oh absolutely.

SAMIA: That is so cool...

JANA: It's a beautiful analogy, isn't it… a metaphor… like somebody described to me… I think I was reading a book about relationships between men and women... and they said that the man is the mountain… they should be the mountain in the middle of the ocean, always strong and unwavering… and then the ocean around it, you know… the kind of the… sometimes it's calm and sometimes it's not… but the mountain still stands, you know... And I think that's a really beautiful way just to look at the kind of the masculine and the feminine dance... Even in within ourselves as women you know we have that dance as well, you know...

SAMIA: Yeah… yeah... oh my gosh, oh my gosh… you just made me think about the mountain pose in yoga...

JANA: Yeah, yeah, when you're really deeply rooted and you're in yourself...

SAMIA: Yeah… that is also a really beautiful pose… actually according to some yoga philosophers they say that the mountain pose is truly the most difficult of poses because… with the mountain pose it's not just about cultivating the stillness of body, which is what most people focus on... but it's also about cultivating that stillness, that calmness of mind and thought and feeling… And how many of us can achieve that… and how well… and to what extent... that's really where the challenge is.

JANA: Oh absolutely yeah. And that's why I love training people with these really complex movements… with these warrior weapons, like steel mace and club bells because you can't think about anything else because it will go terribly wrong... So I think what a lot of my clients often say is like, wow, I really cannot even for a split second think about work, our relationships, the problems that I have… my mortgage… or whatever… because you just fully tuned in into your breath and in this tool that you have in your hand and you know that if you're not going to do it well you're going to like pop yourself on the head or you… because you have… you swing these tools so you're creating a very dynamic movement and you're moving the tools around your body... So if you don't pay attention… I mean I once remember I was swinging these two clubs and then someone walked in through the door and I looked and then the two club bells arrived right above my eyes and it… I almost knocked myself out...

SAMIA: Oh my gosh...

JANA: It was just split seconds of me just going… just looking... and then I just went pop... So people know that then and that's I think so nourishing about mindful exercise and movement is that you can switch the… it's like meditation for me… exercise is moving meditation...

SAMIA: Yes, yes... exactly! When you do exercise with that kind of mindfulness it absolutely is meditation… I mean I know so many people who will be like doing exercise… so maybe they're like let's say on a treadmill… but then they're distracting their mind by watching tv or something like that… and like for me that cuts down so much on the benefits that you can experience from exercising because yes, your body is still working, but you're not at the same time training your mind and your emotions and get… you know teaching yourself how to have that unity of mind and body...

JANA: Yeah. And it's like multitasking, which is a myth, isn't it… just means that you're doing one thing not so well while you're concentrating on something else... and you know the person on the bike, exercise bike, or on the treadmill watching tv… is their form good, is their breathing good… because that's not what they tuning and they're missing a really amazing opportunity to tune in with their body and to go like… am I squeezing the right muscles, am I… and being with themselves in that moment… but I think a lot of people are scared to be with themselves... it's uncomfortable.

SAMIA: Yes… and I think also part of the problem is probably that they feel the need to distract themselves because they don't enjoy the exercise that they're doing, and they know that... and so rather than being like, okay, there's a problem here in terms of… I need to either figure out a way to enjoy this exercise or try a different kind of exercise that I can really enjoy… instead they're like, okay, I'll just distract my mind...

JANA: Yeah because this is so boring. Yeah and that's probably what you referred to… that push culture, isn't it… oh I gotta lose 10 pounds, that means that I have to be on the treadmill for an hour every day and it sucks... I won't stick to it long term... I can't… because this is too much… but hey you know it's just wasted time I think and I often tell even people who come to me for trial sessions... I'm like, if it's not your jam, if this doesn't float your boat, oh my gosh, don't waste your precious life doing something that you don't enjoy... go and dance in your kitchen for 20 minutes every day if that's what you want to do... Or do jiu-jitsu… do surfing… do walking… do running… I don't know… find something that will make you get out of bed at six in the morning, or whatever time, put your shorts on and go and do it… because life is just so short, isn't it... to be doing things you don't enjoy.

SAMIA: Yes, yes, exactly... I… and you have to sort of like think from this mindset of putting a real priority on enjoying your life and having fun in your life… on loving your life...

JANA: Yeah because it's only the one you get, right… and I think people have this kind of notion that we have infinite amount of time... but I would never spend an hour on the treadmill. That's not… you know... and my exercise is 20 minutes a day… I don't dedicate more time than that… I mean that's if you can't get your exercise done… unless you're working towards some specific goal obviously… but as a normal person with just wanting to be reasonably fit and reasonably… I mean we're not big athletes, right… I mean we're just normal people that just want to have a basic level of strength and mobility and feel good and exercise for mental health... 20 minutes a day should do it. I mean you shouldn't have to spend more than that… maybe half an hour tops...

SAMIA: Yeah, yeah, actually...

JANA: ..because why should you be spending...

SAMIA: Yeah... no I was saying there's actually a lot of research that shows that 20 to 30 minutes a day period… that's really what you need...

JANA: That's all you need yeah. And even I go even further with people and I said look even if you can do just 10...

SAMIA: Yeah…

JANA: It's enough… even 10 minutes a day it's 70 minutes over a week… still better than nothing... because often I get people who haven't moved for a long time, or who are really tired and really have issues with mobility and people that can… can't get off the floor and… and so those people, I just give them mobility movements... just basic stretches… and I think 10 minutes is all you need. Or if you're running three times a week, do 10 minutes of mobility every day just to keep your body moving and… and think about you know that kind of long term when you are 50, 60, 70, 80… what it is that's actually going to keep you being able to live your life.

SAMIA: Yeah...

JANA: …to the extent you want to live it... being able to get out of the car, you know… off the floor… being able to maybe clean and hang up the laundry and, you know, just the really basic things… because once you can't do those when you're old you're gonna have to go somewhere, right… you can't live in your own home anymore… and often people focus on the strength and the muscles and the skill but often forget that it's the basic mobility...

SAMIA: Yeah…

JANA: …and how you work with your body that is the goal for the old age. It's not about whether you can lift 50, 100 kilos off the ground… it's about can you just put your groceries in the car and carry them into your home and bend down when you're mopping your floor and, you know, get in and out of a car… once you have no hip mobility and you can't get out of a car, well, you can't drive anywhere anymore...

SAMIA: Yes…

JANA: And that's a huge loss of independence… and I think that that's what people need to think about... Will my exercise be… is it sustainable for the rest of my life... is this something that I can… is this something that's hurting me or is this something that is building me stronger and more mobile.

SAMIA: Yes… So thinking about your health and fitness from that bigger picture perspective... it's like you don't want to make your body fit in one narrow sense but then end up hurting yourself in other ways… or you know, not be able to sustain in the long term the fitness that you're creating right now… because if you lose that fitness then that creates other challenges in terms of your mental health and you're like, oh my gosh… I've seen this happen with so many people where, you know, they'll work really hard for a period of time to lose weight, develop a certain level of fitness, and so forth... but they can't sustain it. And then when they're in that period where they're feeling they've lost that fitness then they're… they really go down on themselves... they're beating themselves up, you know… and that's just so like, I mean, toxic...

JANA: They get depressed too and they often put on a lot of weight and...

SAMIA: Yeah…

JANA: …It's that kind of I think the modern... I call it the fast food fitness... So you sign up for some class, some maybe high interval training or something… and then you're working out for six, eight, I don't know, 12 weeks… and it's going really well and you're losing weight, you’re gathering skills… and then you get injured... and then you're out for four weeks while you're recovering… So you lose all the gains pretty much and then you go back and then… I… these are mainly the people that I often get, you know… they are stuck in that injury cycle or they're running but they are a 50 year old woman and they… I had a client who was a runner... so broken… yeah… tight hips, chronic injuries… even when she was really exhausted she would still go for a run because, you know, she had to run 140 kilometers a week or whatever… and then she was always in that injury cycle, always being okay, getting injured, being okay, or aggravating the old injuries... and that's not... that's not good. I mean, that surely cannot be… you know… and then with every injury, it never really… once you get into midlife, it never really fully… you can never really fully fix it… there'll always be something… and then you just end up with this… you know people tell me, oh I'm so fit, I can run them, I don't know, half a marathon… and then you're like, oh yeah… but I've got issues with my feet, issues with my ankles, I've got, you know… and you're kind of like... well, good for you…

SAMIA: Yeah….

JANA: …But you are reaching this goal at the total expense of your own body because your body is paying for this...

SAMIA: Yes…

JANA: ...daily.

SAMIA: Yes… And being able to run half a marathon ultimately really like you said… unless you're a professional athlete and literally that is like the thing that you have devoted your life to… like really what is the point of your life… like what's the point... what's... what are you really gaining in your life and in your ability to live life in a meaningful way, in a purposeful way, by being able to run a marathon if that's not… and you know… and you're just normal people, you're not a professional athlete or whatever...

JANA: Yeah yeah... and there are some people who really like do smart training, you know… they strength train and lots of mobility. And so for them you know it's, it's not a not a big deal… they just run it and they don't have issues… but I think the majority of population is they… oh I'm gonna start running… and then they just start running… and then inevitably you know within a few weeks they will get injured because they just don't hire a coach or don't do the strength training in order to be able to do that… or already maybe sitting down for eight hours every single day and then they're loading that poor tight body with more exercise and it's...

SAMIA: Right… and that happens because they're not professional athletes... they're not professional runners... and they don't want to be. And so of course they don't have the capacity or the motivation or the know-how to do things that other way that's where you know you you take you train yourself hard, but then you're also you know like really doing so much else to take care of your body and your fitness to enable you to do that run without harming and injuring yourself and so forth... I mean athletes like literally… professional athletes I mean they spend… I mean... I don't I like I'm forgetting exact numbers… but like who was I listening to like... there is a...

JANA: ...I mean they will have a whole team behind them...

SAMIA: Exactly!

JANA: They have massage therapists... they have physios...

SAMIA: Yes!

JANA: They have psychologists… they have acupuncture… they have, you know... they have like a whole team of people putting them back together in order to be able to achieve that peak performance.

SAMIA: Yes.

JANA: But most of us don't have that at our fingertips.

SAMIA: Exactly, exactly... it's like their fitness and everything to do with it is like… their whole lifestyle is basically like you have to devote to that in order to obtain that and create that kind of level of fitness and maintain that… like you're… and you're spending your pretty much your entire day... it's like eight hours a day maybe more like...

JANA: I mean it's the job isn't it...

SAMIA: Yeah exactly... Exactly...

JANA: Yeah.

SAMIA: Exactly exactly... so I think we just don't realize that… We lose that perspective… we're trying to like copy them, but we can't... because we can't spend eight hours a day doing all that stuff...

JANA: And when normal people… you know, like I have two businesses, and I'm a solo parent of three children... and you know I don't have time to... if I can't get my exercise done in 20-30 minutes… unless I go surfing, of course that's different... But I don't have the... I don't have the time… And I want to do other things you know... there's other self-care practices that I'd like to do and… and one shouldn't exclude the other. So yeah, if you can't get your exercise done in 20-30 minutes then... And often people kind of think, oh, I need so much time… And I often tell you... you don't… you actually need 10-15 minutes a day. And my boyfriend is 52 years old... and he's in a phenomenally amazing shape… and when he tells other men that he exercises for 15 minutes a day they don't believe him... but it's… it is... But the thing is that he's been doing it for decades.

SAMIA: Yeah…

JANA: So doing 15 minutes a day for decades… is gonna get you into a phenomenal shape where you're just maintaining it… as opposed to letting yourself go and not moving your body at all for 10 years... and then kind of doing this.... it's everything or nothing... Like you know, like they don't realize, okay, well, I've just left my let myself go for 10 years... so I'm going to give myself 10 years to get back to the shape where I was, right... No, they want in six weeks... and I think that often the messages we get in media is like, “lose 10 pounds in six weeks, get summer body in four weeks…” you know, like nobody is telling you… if you want to lose weight it's gonna take you years, because that's not gonna sell, is it... But that's what it takes.

SAMIA: Yeah.

JANA: It takes years... and it takes a small incremental steps over a long period of time. And I think people don't want to hear that… they want the instant quick fix… hey, that's okay, I can put on 10 kilos in three months time and I let myself go and then it'll be fine because I'll jump on some diet and some crazy 100 push-ups a day program and then I'll lose it all in six weeks... Well, guess what? then you're gonna get injured and then you're gonna put on 12 kilos this time... not 10… And then I see people just… yeah... and this is the fast food fitness. This is the... this is the instant kind of you know… we just want to put a band-aid on it and just make it go away… but it's... it's just yeah… 15 minutes a day of body weight exercises in your garage that will... it's like the turtle wins the race, right... the turtle… not the hare… you know like it's the kind of the slow and steady and sensible that will win the race eventually… and it's, you know, for normal people that have busy lives then that's the approach… Give it 15-20 minutes every day and you'll be fine... you'll be absolutely fine… yeah…

SAMIA: I love that... I love that and Janna I'm having so much fun talking with you... I don't want to stop and we have to stop... do have any last words you want to share for right now...

JANA: What do I want to share... yeah just to simplify your movement and exercise, yeah. If you're a woman in midlife listen to your body and appreciate your body for what it does for you every single day... Find a coach… or if you want some freebies, get in touch... I can send you some freebies or I have a Facebook group where I do free training for women and lots of sort of kind of tips and tricks… because I think women relate to me because I am also a woman in midlife… and I think… and I'm busy and I have children and I have a job and I have you know lots of the things that we… most women are dealing with every single day... So I totally understand you, I understand you... I know the challenges that women are facing in our modern society… I understand it. So I would just like to mostly educate and empower women to find ways… how to achieve vibrant health… and not just physical health... but mental and emotional health through movement, because it is possible. I am a walking example of it is possible... it is absolutely possible. Yup.

SAMIA: Awesome... I love that. And for you our listeners, please know that we are going to be dropping Jana's links so you can get in touch with her in the show notes... So make sure you check those show notes, click on those links, and get in touch with Jana. And until we connect next time... I wish you lots and lots of peace and joy.