My husband will tell you that I used to not enjoy watching boxing at all. It was a violent sport. Then I started to work out more and my respect for boxers grew. They are so cardiovascularly fit, strong, and their body fat is low. How do they do it? Well, I started out boxing for fun and then I found a local boxing club with classes taught by a real boxer. Other people in the class fought in amateur matches and I thought maybe I could do the same. So I signed up. The training and the eating well was not the hard part. Needless to say, I am book smart but not motion smart. I do not see motion and would have to run through boxing patterns over and over. The good news is I did it a thousand times until I got it.
The first time I sparred, the girl kept hitting me with a 1-2-3, over and over again. I kept thinking why does she not stop? Getting hit in the head (with headgear) did not hurt, but I kept thinking why is she doing this? (I know she was supposed to)…I got a black eye and a bloody nose. I did not fight back. This was about two weeks before the first match and I thought to myself that I was definitely going to die in a real ring during a live match. I was embarrassed that I did not fight back and every time I looked in the mirror I was reminded of how mad I was at myself.
I got quiet for those two weeks leading up to the match. I kept working, and the day came for my first amateur boxing match at the whopping age of forty. I remember watching all the bouts before mine and just seeing how tired everyone kept getting. We only fight three one- minute rounds. At the end of all the matches ahead of mine, all the boxers looked so tired and completely exhausted. How could they when everyone was training for so long? I ended up losing my first match, but I did fight back. I was so excited that I had fought back. My kids watched and when I returned to my seat, I remember my youngest son saying, “Mom, I thought you won.” It was all worth it, just to hear him say that.
The second year that I fought in the ring, I also lost. But, I still felt physically great and dieted like I should. Again, the problem was not stamina, it was the will to fight back in my mind. I needed the will to let go. My whole life in medicine was about pacing myself-through the nights on call, the lack of sleep, and pacing because too much exertion would cause me not to make it through the long nights on call. I have learned to pace myself for safety. The counter of that is that I never have let myself fully let go at 100 percent. Fight back is definitely outside of my comfort zone.
On the way home from the second match, I told myself that I wanted to win. I was tired of losing. I kept boxing. The weird thing is that my husband always tells me the looser and more relaxed I am, the harder I will hit. That seems so weird because you’d think I’d be stronger when I try harder. Turns out though, he is totally right. Being tight makes you tired. Being loose makes it snap!
Boxing has taught me about workouts and eating. It taught me about myself. Don’t be afraid to let go. Don’t be afraid to get hit in the head. Fear, makes you tired and is a powerful force preventing success. The worse thing to do is stop. If you get hit in the head, keep going. Don’t stop. Get up.
Better yet, my boxing coach would say, is not get hit in the head at all. I get that. But, I can honestly say now that I am not afraid if it should happen. I know to keep going, stay loose and don’t quit. Learn to slip the jab. Relax. You are powerful and strong– the same is true in life. We are all amazing and we all have the power to get back up and focus on the journey.
Here at Simple Wellness, you find the intent to change and we help you find the energy to do so. We listen to what it feels like to be you, look inside your body and help come up with a simple plan to improve. We all have different starting points to reconnect with ourselves. Some start on the outside, others the inside. One is not better than the other. It is all up to you. We are here to help, and are passionate about regeneration of the human body. After all, we all yearn for the same thing. We all just want to feel connected to ourselves and the path of life we are on. It really is that SIMPLE.
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Dr. Samantha Durland is board-certified in Obstetrics & Gynecology, Anti-aging and Regenerative medicine and Fellowship trained in Metabolic and Nutritional medicine. Learn more about her ground-breaking philosophy and prescription for wellness- My Simple 7– daily actions to thrive in a strong, healthy and peaceful body here. Learn more about my Simple Weight Loss Plan (which includes the Simple 7-day Detox) and my Simple Hormone Plan to feel like a younger version of yourself.
