March 12, 2025 • 12 mins
They say art imitates life, but what if business imitates self-care? This year, I pushed my body in two seemingly opposite directions—strength training and yoga—and what I learned transformed the way I lead, decide, and grow.
In this episode, I break down five surprising lessons from lifting heavy and slowing down, and how they directly apply to scaling your business with less effort but greater impact. We’ll talk about the power of increasing resistance (instead of avoiding it), why stillness is a strategy (not a luxury), and how flexibility and adaptability will always put you ahead of the competition.
If you’re a high-achieving founder who wants to scale without burning out, this is your roadmap. Plus, I’m giving you three simple action steps to apply these insights to your business starting today.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sheila (00:01):
They say art imitates life, but what if business
imitates self-care?
This year, as I pushed my bodyto build strength and leaned
into stillness to restore it, Istarted noticing the same
patterns in business.
What we practice in our bodiesreflects how we lead, decide and
(00:22):
grow.
We lead, decide and grow.
Hi, welcome to the Connect withSheila Botelho podcast.
I'm a self-care strategist andsuccess coach committed to
helping you reconnect to yourpurpose, elevate your wellbeing
and build your version of ahappy, successful life.
And I'm thrilled and happymyself as I look back at the
(00:43):
last few months where I decidedto prioritize my physical
fitness in a way that I hadn'tin years Now.
Movement has always been a partof my life, in fact.
Running around climbing treesas a kid and then even tapping
into the good old 80s version of20-minute workout when I was 10
, that kind of got me intoworking out, and I don't know
how healthy that was at that age.
But hey, what canminute workoutwhen I was 10, that kind of got
(01:04):
me into working out, and Idon't know how healthy that was
at that age.
But hey, what can I say?
I was a product of the 80s inmy younger years, and I'm really
grateful, though, for thediscipline that it created when
I got up early and did that andhow I felt in my body.
So I take movement breaks, I dobody weight workouts.
With all of these things that Ihave been doing in recent years,
(01:25):
something was starting to feeloff, and my body just wasn't
responding the same way.
My focus felt scattered, myusual strategies weren't working
the way they used to, and Irealized something what worked
for me before wasn't necessarilywhat I needed now.
And hey, I'm in my fifties, mybody's changing.
It's all good, we are alwayschanging.
(01:46):
By the way, if you take a lookat yourself, where you are right
now compared to where you werein your teens, your 20s, your
30s I don't know where you areright now in your life.
We're always shifting and weneed to pay attention.
So that realization, though, ledme to two major shifts
returning to the gym and liftingheavy weights again, and
committing to a yoga practiceNot the kind that would just
(02:10):
kind of slide in whenever I hada moment and last as long as I
felt it should and maybe justkind of do a few stretches and
roll up my mat, like I was doingat home At first, when I looked
at these two things, though,they seemed like two completely
opposite approaches One aboutpushing and building strength
and the other about slowing downand creating space.
(02:32):
But the more I committed toboth, the more I saw the
connections, not just in my bodybut in my business.
Because business, likeself-care, requires a balance of
strength and stillness,expansion and recovery,
discipline and trust.
So today I'm sharing thebiggest lessons from this
(02:56):
experience and how you can applythem to your own business.
Growth Plus.
I'll share three tangibleaction steps you can use right
away to bring these insightsinto your work.
Let's start with lesson oneStrength creates stability in
business.
For years I've worked out athome and while that was great, I
(03:19):
realized I was missing realstrength training because I
don't have the full setup youwould find at a gym.
And my son, who's really intoweightlifting, reminded me of
how I used to hit the gym at 5am, get my workout in and be
home before he and his littlebrother woke up.
And back then I was liftingheavier, I was doing resistance
training and my body reallythrived.
(03:40):
But over time I drifted awayfrom that and my movement became
mostly about walking,functional fitness, fitting it
in right, and the problem wasthat I was maintaining but I
wasn't building, and, of course,my body was changing.
And that's the same thing thathappens in business.
If you only do what'scomfortable, you might maintain
(04:02):
a certain level of success, butyou're not growing.
Strength does not just happen,it has to be built.
So here's an example inbusiness, perhaps you've built a
solid client base and thingsfeel steady, but instead of
challenging yourself with, like,a bigger offer, a higher price
point or a new visibilitystrategy, you just stay where
(04:24):
it's safe.
And this is similar to how, inweightlifting, when you're
progressively overloading.
To build strength, in business,you have to increase the
intensity of your challenges tobuild capacity.
So here's a business takeawayfor you If you want to grow your
business, you need to challengeyourself.
That means lifting heavier,whether it's taking bigger risks
(04:46):
, raising your prices orstepping into leadership roles
that stretch you.
First, though and we're goingto get into this other piece of
it, the other side of thestrength, so that you know how
and when to do this, and thatleads me to lesson two Stillness
is a business strategy, so, atnight, I balance the heavy
(05:08):
lifting by doing hot yoga.
That's what I started to do, andlet me tell you, as an
ambitious, idea focused person,creative person, entrepreneur,
stillness can feel veryunnatural.
My mind would, as I lay on themat at first, to get centered.
My mind would be racing withideas, dms, content creation,
(05:31):
sales, my team.
And then something shifted thestillness started to work on me
and I realized that slowing downwasn't the enemy of success, it
was the foundation of it.
So here's the example forbusiness.
Have you ever had your bestideas come to you Not when
you're actively working, butwhen you're in the shower or on
(05:52):
a walk or lying in bed beforesleep?
Well, that's because claritydoesn't happen when we're
frantically pushing forward.
It happens when we create spacefor it.
I've seen this in my businessthat when I force something, it
feels heavy, but when I stepback and allow space, the right
solutions come effortlessly.
So here's the takeaway yourbest strategies won't come when
(06:17):
you're sprinting from one taskto the next.
Best strategies won't come whenyou're sprinting from one task
to the next.
They come when you giveyourself space to pause, reflect
and let inspiration land.
Lesson three flexibility andadaptability win.
Every time, between liftingheavy and yoga, I realized I
needed both strength andflexibility.
(06:37):
So lifting weights makes youstrong, but without flexibility,
strength can lead to rigidity,injury and burnout.
And yoga stretches and opensthe body, but without strength
flexibility alone doesn't createpower, like some of those poses
take a lot of strength, and inbusiness you need both.
You need structure and systems.
(06:59):
That's the strength piece, butyou also need creativity and
adaptability.
That's the flexibility piece.
So, for example, if you're toorigid with your business model,
you'll struggle to pivot whenthe market shifts.
And hello, isn't it alwaysshifting?
Oh, my goodness.
If you're too flexible,constantly changing things
(07:20):
without consistency, you won'tever build the traction that you
need.
So the entrepreneurs who tendto succeed are those who know
when to hold structure and whento adapt.
And here's the takeaway Ifyou're too rigid, you miss
opportunities.
If you're too flexible, youlack the stability to scale.
So finding the balance betweenstrong strategy and creative
(07:41):
flow will serve you well.
Lesson four expansion isuncomfortable, but it's always
worth it.
Yoga taught me somethingunexpected, and especially in
that hot, hot yoga room growthfeels awkward before it feels
natural.
When I started doing new poses,I remember how stiff I felt and
(08:05):
maybe even a littleuncoordinated, finding the new
muscles to stabilize myself.
And so you know, maybe even abit ridiculous, but the more I
did the poses, the more naturalthey became.
And it hit me.
This is exactly how it feels totry something new in business.
I mean, throw in the heat, andit's a whole new level of
(08:25):
discomfort.
And so, in business, throw inthings outside of yourself,
shifting in the economy, andthat is a whole other level of
discomfort too.
So, for example, think aboutwhen you first started showing
up on video.
For instance, if you have apersonal brand and I feel like
every business that I see rightnow, if they're not a personal
(08:47):
brand, at least with thatelement of it, I don't know
who's going to be seeing themright?
So, trying to show up on video,maybe you were writing content,
making offers.
It probably felt awkward atfirst, right, but the more you
do it, the easier it gets, andonce you expand, you can't go
back to the smaller version ofyourself.
So the takeaway here is beinguncomfortable is a sign that
(09:09):
you're expanding.
Lean into it.
Lesson five your breath is yourpower in business.
One of the biggest shifts Iwould say I've experienced
through yoga is becoming moreaware of my breath.
It's something I don'ttypically really focus on
otherwise, and in a tough pose.
(09:30):
They teach you to breathethrough the discomfort when it's
interesting.
Often we'll hold our breathright.
If we're uncomfortable Inbusiness, then when things get
stressful, you can look atbreath as being your anchor.
So, for instance, before a biglaunch or an important sales
call, or even a high stakesdecision, your breath can shift
(09:54):
everything.
Instead of reacting emotionally, you can learn to pause,
breathe and respond with clarity.
So before making a decision, Iinvite you to take three deep
breaths and notice how it shiftsyour energy before you take
action.
So, with all of that said, I'vegot three action steps for you
(10:16):
to apply this to your business.
The first is identify where youneed more strength.
Are you playing it safe?
Where do you need to liftheavier, whether it's taking
more risks, making bigger asksor increasing your visibility.
(10:37):
Two schedule stillness into yourwork week.
Literally set aside 10 minutesof quiet, uninterrupted time
each day to reflect and listento your intuition.
Put it on your calendar.
Day to reflect and listen toyour intuition.
Put it on your calendar.
Set an alert that it willhappen.
And three breathe before bigbusiness moves.
(10:58):
So, before you make a decision,train yourself to pause and
take three deep breaths and itwill just signal that calm
groundedness that will help youmake a decision that feels more
aligned with really where youwanna go.
Your body and your business areso very deeply connected.
(11:21):
When you train your body to bestrong and adaptable, you build
a mindset that can alsowithstand the highs and lows of
entrepreneurship.
I'd love to know which of theseaction steps will you try this
week.
Dm me on Instagram at SheilaAbatello and let me know what
resonated with you the most.
Thank you so much for tuninginto this solo chat.
(11:44):
If this episode gave youinsight or a new perspective,
share it with a friend who needsto hear it.
And if you want more strategiesfor building a business that
aligns with your wellbeing,download the embodied success
method and meditation in theshow notes.
Have a beautiful rest of yourday, being strong and being
(12:06):
flexible.
Big blessings.
They say art imitates life, but what if business
imitates self-care?
This year, as I pushed my bodyto build strength and leaned
into stillness to restore it, Istarted noticing the same
patterns in business.
What we practice in our bodiesreflects how we lead, decide and
(00:22):
grow.
We lead, decide and grow.
Hi, welcome to the Connect withSheila Botelho podcast.
I'm a self-care strategist andsuccess coach committed to
helping you reconnect to yourpurpose, elevate your wellbeing
and build your version of ahappy, successful life.
And I'm thrilled and happymyself as I look back at the
(00:43):
last few months where I decidedto prioritize my physical
fitness in a way that I hadn'tin years Now.
Movement has always been a partof my life, in fact.
Running around climbing treesas a kid and then even tapping
into the good old 80s version of20-minute workout when I was 10
, that kind of got me intoworking out, and I don't know
how healthy that was at that age.
But hey, what canminute workoutwhen I was 10, that kind of got
(01:04):
me into working out, and Idon't know how healthy that was
at that age.
But hey, what can I say?
I was a product of the 80s inmy younger years, and I'm really
grateful, though, for thediscipline that it created when
I got up early and did that andhow I felt in my body.
So I take movement breaks, I dobody weight workouts.
With all of these things that Ihave been doing in recent years,
(01:25):
something was starting to feeloff, and my body just wasn't
responding the same way.
My focus felt scattered, myusual strategies weren't working
the way they used to, and Irealized something what worked
for me before wasn't necessarilywhat I needed now.
And hey, I'm in my fifties, mybody's changing.
It's all good, we are alwayschanging.
(01:46):
By the way, if you take a lookat yourself, where you are right
now compared to where you werein your teens, your 20s, your
30s I don't know where you areright now in your life.
We're always shifting and weneed to pay attention.
So that realization, though, ledme to two major shifts
returning to the gym and liftingheavy weights again, and
committing to a yoga practiceNot the kind that would just
(02:10):
kind of slide in whenever I hada moment and last as long as I
felt it should and maybe justkind of do a few stretches and
roll up my mat, like I was doingat home At first, when I looked
at these two things, though,they seemed like two completely
opposite approaches One aboutpushing and building strength
and the other about slowing downand creating space.
(02:32):
But the more I committed toboth, the more I saw the
connections, not just in my bodybut in my business.
Because business, likeself-care, requires a balance of
strength and stillness,expansion and recovery,
discipline and trust.
So today I'm sharing thebiggest lessons from this
(02:56):
experience and how you can applythem to your own business.
Growth Plus.
I'll share three tangibleaction steps you can use right
away to bring these insightsinto your work.
Let's start with lesson oneStrength creates stability in
business.
For years I've worked out athome and while that was great, I
(03:19):
realized I was missing realstrength training because I
don't have the full setup youwould find at a gym.
And my son, who's really intoweightlifting, reminded me of
how I used to hit the gym at 5am, get my workout in and be
home before he and his littlebrother woke up.
And back then I was liftingheavier, I was doing resistance
training and my body reallythrived.
(03:40):
But over time I drifted awayfrom that and my movement became
mostly about walking,functional fitness, fitting it
in right, and the problem wasthat I was maintaining but I
wasn't building, and, of course,my body was changing.
And that's the same thing thathappens in business.
If you only do what'scomfortable, you might maintain
(04:02):
a certain level of success, butyou're not growing.
Strength does not just happen,it has to be built.
So here's an example inbusiness, perhaps you've built a
solid client base and thingsfeel steady, but instead of
challenging yourself with, like,a bigger offer, a higher price
point or a new visibilitystrategy, you just stay where
(04:24):
it's safe.
And this is similar to how, inweightlifting, when you're
progressively overloading.
To build strength, in business,you have to increase the
intensity of your challenges tobuild capacity.
So here's a business takeawayfor you If you want to grow your
business, you need to challengeyourself.
That means lifting heavier,whether it's taking bigger risks
(04:46):
, raising your prices orstepping into leadership roles
that stretch you.
First, though and we're goingto get into this other piece of
it, the other side of thestrength, so that you know how
and when to do this, and thatleads me to lesson two Stillness
is a business strategy, so, atnight, I balance the heavy
(05:08):
lifting by doing hot yoga.
That's what I started to do, andlet me tell you, as an
ambitious, idea focused person,creative person, entrepreneur,
stillness can feel veryunnatural.
My mind would, as I lay on themat at first, to get centered.
My mind would be racing withideas, dms, content creation,
(05:31):
sales, my team.
And then something shifted thestillness started to work on me
and I realized that slowing downwasn't the enemy of success, it
was the foundation of it.
So here's the example forbusiness.
Have you ever had your bestideas come to you Not when
you're actively working, butwhen you're in the shower or on
(05:52):
a walk or lying in bed beforesleep?
Well, that's because claritydoesn't happen when we're
frantically pushing forward.
It happens when we create spacefor it.
I've seen this in my businessthat when I force something, it
feels heavy, but when I stepback and allow space, the right
solutions come effortlessly.
So here's the takeaway yourbest strategies won't come when
(06:17):
you're sprinting from one taskto the next.
Best strategies won't come whenyou're sprinting from one task
to the next.
They come when you giveyourself space to pause, reflect
and let inspiration land.
Lesson three flexibility andadaptability win.
Every time, between liftingheavy and yoga, I realized I
needed both strength andflexibility.
(06:37):
So lifting weights makes youstrong, but without flexibility,
strength can lead to rigidity,injury and burnout.
And yoga stretches and opensthe body, but without strength
flexibility alone doesn't createpower, like some of those poses
take a lot of strength, and inbusiness you need both.
You need structure and systems.
(06:59):
That's the strength piece, butyou also need creativity and
adaptability.
That's the flexibility piece.
So, for example, if you're toorigid with your business model,
you'll struggle to pivot whenthe market shifts.
And hello, isn't it alwaysshifting?
Oh, my goodness.
If you're too flexible,constantly changing things
(07:20):
without consistency, you won'tever build the traction that you
need.
So the entrepreneurs who tendto succeed are those who know
when to hold structure and whento adapt.
And here's the takeaway Ifyou're too rigid, you miss
opportunities.
If you're too flexible, youlack the stability to scale.
So finding the balance betweenstrong strategy and creative
(07:41):
flow will serve you well.
Lesson four expansion isuncomfortable, but it's always
worth it.
Yoga taught me somethingunexpected, and especially in
that hot, hot yoga room growthfeels awkward before it feels
natural.
When I started doing new poses,I remember how stiff I felt and
(08:05):
maybe even a littleuncoordinated, finding the new
muscles to stabilize myself.
And so you know, maybe even abit ridiculous, but the more I
did the poses, the more naturalthey became.
And it hit me.
This is exactly how it feels totry something new in business.
I mean, throw in the heat, andit's a whole new level of
(08:25):
discomfort.
And so, in business, throw inthings outside of yourself,
shifting in the economy, andthat is a whole other level of
discomfort too.
So, for example, think aboutwhen you first started showing
up on video.
For instance, if you have apersonal brand and I feel like
every business that I see rightnow, if they're not a personal
(08:47):
brand, at least with thatelement of it, I don't know
who's going to be seeing themright?
So, trying to show up on video,maybe you were writing content,
making offers.
It probably felt awkward atfirst, right, but the more you
do it, the easier it gets, andonce you expand, you can't go
back to the smaller version ofyourself.
So the takeaway here is beinguncomfortable is a sign that
(09:09):
you're expanding.
Lean into it.
Lesson five your breath is yourpower in business.
One of the biggest shifts Iwould say I've experienced
through yoga is becoming moreaware of my breath.
It's something I don'ttypically really focus on
otherwise, and in a tough pose.
(09:30):
They teach you to breathethrough the discomfort when it's
interesting.
Often we'll hold our breathright.
If we're uncomfortable Inbusiness, then when things get
stressful, you can look atbreath as being your anchor.
So, for instance, before a biglaunch or an important sales
call, or even a high stakesdecision, your breath can shift
(09:54):
everything.
Instead of reacting emotionally, you can learn to pause,
breathe and respond with clarity.
So before making a decision, Iinvite you to take three deep
breaths and notice how it shiftsyour energy before you take
action.
So, with all of that said, I'vegot three action steps for you
(10:16):
to apply this to your business.
The first is identify where youneed more strength.
Are you playing it safe?
Where do you need to liftheavier, whether it's taking
more risks, making bigger asksor increasing your visibility.
(10:37):
Two schedule stillness into yourwork week.
Literally set aside 10 minutesof quiet, uninterrupted time
each day to reflect and listento your intuition.
Put it on your calendar.
Day to reflect and listen toyour intuition.
Put it on your calendar.
Set an alert that it willhappen.
And three breathe before bigbusiness moves.
(10:58):
So, before you make a decision,train yourself to pause and
take three deep breaths and itwill just signal that calm
groundedness that will help youmake a decision that feels more
aligned with really where youwanna go.
Your body and your business areso very deeply connected.
(11:21):
When you train your body to bestrong and adaptable, you build
a mindset that can alsowithstand the highs and lows of
entrepreneurship.
I'd love to know which of theseaction steps will you try this
week.
Dm me on Instagram at SheilaAbatello and let me know what
resonated with you the most.
Thank you so much for tuninginto this solo chat.
(11:44):
If this episode gave youinsight or a new perspective,
share it with a friend who needsto hear it.
And if you want more strategiesfor building a business that
aligns with your wellbeing,download the embodied success
method and meditation in theshow notes.
Have a beautiful rest of yourday, being strong and being
(12:06):
flexible.
Big blessings.
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