Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to the
Unbreakable Mind and Body
podcast.
I am your host, tiana Gonzalez,a multi-passionate, creative
storyteller and entrepreneurwith a fierce love for movement.
This is our space for powerfulstories and actionable
strategies to help you buildmental resilience and elevate
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your self-care practice.
Together, we will unlock thetools that you need to create an
unbreakable mind and body.
Welcome back to the show.
I am your host, tiana, and atthe time that this episode airs,
I will be at a fitness retreatin the middle of the woods in
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Tennessee.
Now, on today's episode, whatwe are going to talk about is
the power of in-personconnection, of putting yourself
in rooms with like-mindedindividuals and with people who
promote healthy challenges andadvancing you, and while you
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also get to do the same forothers.
Now, if you have listened toany of the previous episodes of
this show, then you already knowthat I am a fitness
professional.
I love all things movement andI love dance and theater and art
and music and painting andsinging, and I also love the
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importance of play, and what Imean by play is allowing for
yourself to just enjoy thingsfor the simple pleasure of
enjoying them, without themalways having to be productive
or intentional to lead youtowards potentially earning
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income or creating somethingthat's work-related or in
support of someone else out ofan obligation.
Play is a vital part of ourhuman experience.
So this fitness retreat that Igo to the reason why I want to
talk about it here with you isbecause I want to encourage you
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to put yourself in rooms similarto this camp experience that I
go to.
This particular event is heldtwice a year and it's about an
hour and 40 minute drive awayfrom the Nashville Airport in
Tennessee, so it's literally inthe woods.
It is beautiful landscape,there are gorgeous trees, there
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are bugs and spiders and snakes,and the place where this
retreat is held is a campgroundfor gymnastics sleepaway camp.
That's the primary operationthat goes on, and different
groups of kids of various ageswill show up to the camp for
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two-week intensive experiencesthroughout the year, at the
beginning of their season and atthe end of their season.
There is also this fitnessretreat for adults that I have
the beginning of their seasonand at the end of their season.
There is also this fitnessretreat for adults that I have
the privilege of being a part of.
Now, not only do I get toexperience this camp as a camper
and jump into differentsessions to continue to educate
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myself on the various modalitiesof functional fitness, to learn
new training techniques, to rubshoulders with some of the best
coaches in the world.
I also get to do a little bitof consulting work part-time, so
a few hours of each day.
I help a small business outwith facilitating metabolic
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testing and it is such a gift,such a joy and such a pleasure.
It's hard work because I am acreature of habit, so if I kind
of like a newborn baby, if Idon't get enough sleep or eat
well or have enough coffee inthe morning, I can be a little
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irritable brat.
All of that aside, I can makedo for a couple nights of
irregular sleep in order to beof service and to help share
powerful information with thefolks who want to learn about
their metabolic systems and howthey can refine their training
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protocols whether it has to dowith their food and nutrition
intake or whether it has to dowith their actual fitness
fitnessing or fitness profilesand programming in order to
continue to optimize the workand the efforts that they're
putting in in the gym and in thekitchen to support the things
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that they're working towards.
So it would make sense ifsomeone is willing to invest in
themselves, go to a retreat.
Most of them are taking a plane, some people drive there, but
you know there's people from allover the world that are
investing.
They wanna continue to learn,they wanna grow, they wanna meet
other people that are doingsimilar things, like-minded
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individuals.
Then, of course, it would makesense to have this kind of
offering there in addition tothe foundational sessions of the
camp programming.
Now, the reason why thisexperience is so powerful is
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because it spring 2025.
And even for the people who arereturning, even for the people
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who've been there from the firstrollout of the camp experience,
everybody leaves feeling alittle bit lighter, a little bit
different, a little bit moreplugged in to themselves.
You're in the middle of thewoods, so the wifi is very
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spotty and we kind of like itthat way.
It forces you to connect withpeople in person.
Now, don't get me wrong.
Everyone has their momentswhere they are checking their
messages.
There's a lot of coaches thatcome to this experience as well,
a lot of gym owners, a lot oftrainers, so it's not unusual
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for people to step away and takecare of business, but the main
function is to get you off ofthe devices and to get you in
the room and to get you withyour group.
And to get you in the room andto get you with your group.
Now, my first camp experience.
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The first couple of days were abit traumatic.
That sounded like dramatic Imeant to say traumatic as in
T-R-A-U-M-A-T-I-C, but it waskind of both.
What I didn't know, which Ifound out very quickly, was that
I had PTSD from being a kid andgoing to camp.
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Now, I never went to sleepawaycamp.
I did go to day camp and Ialways hated day camp because I
felt like it was an opportunityfor older kids to bully younger
kids, especially the CITs, thecounselors in training, who were
not really counselors.
They weren't old enough to becounselors but they were a
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little bit too old to be campersthose in-betweeners and I
remember being traumatized atcamp, particularly because I
went through my changes inpuberty a little bit earlier
than most of the girls I knew,so I had my period way earlier
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and I remember having to bringfeminine products with me to
camp.
I remember being embarrassedbecause I had to go swimming and
I had my time of the month, andI remember certain boys picking
on me because they actually hada crush on me, but they weren't
being very nice and it was justa lot of nonsense.
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What I also forgot but quicklyremembered was that I did not
enjoy playing on teams in anysort of organized sports,
particularly sports thatinvolved throwing a ball,
catching a ball, kicking a ballor tossing a ball Not my jam and
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on the first day of my firstcamp experience, we had team
building, icebreaker games whereall of the campers were divided
into groups.
There was about 100 campers andwe divided everyone into groups
of, I think, 10 people.
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So there were 10 groups, 10people and 10 games and they
would rotate every few minutes.
And I did this experience withthe campers because I wanted to
fully understand the progressionthat happens from when all of
these strangers convene in aplace and then spend a lot of
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time together in a bubbleconnecting with each other, and
what the outcome is at the endof the week.
So I put myself in a group andI was very overwhelmed, trying
to remember names, feeling a lotof pressure sucking at most of
the games because, like I said,I'm not great with organized
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team sports, and I realized andthis goes back to a lot of the
things I talk about on this show.
This goes back to trust.
I didn't want to let otherpeople down, and I remember in
gym class as a kid I hated whenwe had to play basketball or
softball or kickball, becausenobody ever wanted to pick me,
because I wasn't that great atanything.
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And add the stress that I puton myself because I knew I
wasn't good at anything, it justmade it worse.
And so here I am as an adultthis was in the fall of 2021 at
my first camp experience, andall of these things are bubbling
up and I'm trying to keep mycool.
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Now.
There was also some confusionbecause I was learning the ropes
for the first time and, to myown detriment, I was trying
diligently to maintain structureas best as I could.
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What do I mean by that?
Well, I had my own workoutprogram and I was trying to
adhere to it, even though I wasin a new location.
I had access to gym equipment.
However, the timing was limitedand because the work that I was
doing was consulting work andit was pretty much only during
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free times, that meant when thecampers were free that's when I
was working.
So not only was I experiencingthe camp experience.
From a camper perspective, Iwas also consulting and then
trying to squeeze in my ownworkouts.
Now I have a very fragilestomach, so my stomach was all
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over the place because I wasn'teating on my own routine or
schedule, or even eating foodsthat I normally make for myself.
I know my intense workout.
People listening know exactlywhat I'm talking about and the
mealtimes were different.
My sleep was dysregulatedbecause I was sleeping in a
cabin with strangers and therewere people coming in another
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room.
It was very disruptive and thecoffee did not really do the job
the coffee that was availableto me.
So I was really on edge, verysensitive, feeling very confused
, and I remember also it feltlike everyone knew each other
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except me, and that was not true.
But from the outsideperspective, looking in, it did
feel like everyone knew eachother.
I remember the other peopleworking at camp.
Of course they know each other.
They are coming together forthe first time since the
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previous camp experience.
Or some people missed a fewcamps because of the pandemic
and different regulations wherethey lived.
Some people are internationalso they couldn't make it
overseas.
So it is a reunion of sorts.
And when you're in a reunionwhere people are hugging and
kissing and showing so much joyand love and excitement to see
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each other, and then you're theodd guy, like kind of on the end
of the table, like oh, hey, hi,nice to meet you.
I'm the awkward one.
It can feel strange.
It doesn't mean that that'swhat the other people were
promoting, it's what youperceived, it's what you felt in
that moment Nine times out of10, it's not true.
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It's just that inner narrativeor that inner voice inside of
you, that insecure person sayingoh, they know each other
already and I don't, okay, cool.
And then there's this structurepart.
Structure apart, I tried sohard to keep structure and, of
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course, my second campexperience, my third camp.
Each time that I've gone backit's gotten easier and easier
for me because I know the lay ofthe land, I know how to
navigate these things, I have acouple of my essentials shipped
to the campground from Amazon,amazon, so I don't have to
actually pack things andremember everything.
The last camp that I went to,my friend let me borrow her car
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so I was able to leave theproperty and head over to a
couple of the local stores justto grab some essentials, just to
get off the property and changeit up a little bit and change
it up a little bit, and eachtime it feels like a tremendous
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amount of effort to pull ittogether to get there.
And then it's an adjustment thefirst day or two, and then
after a couple of days I'm inthe groove.
And then it's time to go homeand it's always sad to leave.
And then it's time to go homeand it's always sad to leave.
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It's an interesting experiencebecause even for someone
returning, there's a largenumber of strangers in the room.
On the first couple of daysyou're still learning names,
you're still learning aboutpeople where they're from.
You see friendships form.
I've seen friendships cometogether from this camp
experience of two, three, fourpeople that may never have had
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the opportunity to meet eachother any other time in their
lives.
Very different walks of life,but at camp their lives very
different walks of life, but atcamp those differences are the
things that light us up, are thethings that actually bring us
close together as well, becauseit's through sharing our stories
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that we connect with each other, and the differences are what
make us interesting.
And not having such great Wi-Fikeeps us more connected to the
people in the room with us andbeing so busy and in our bodies
for hours per day.
It brings restoration to themind and the soul.
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It fills your cup in a way thatonly that experience can do.
So maybe you're not a fitnessjunkie like myself, but you are
craving something more.
Get out into the woods, go outinto nature, look for something,
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some type of experience or trip, retreat, excursion, a
certification where you cancontinue to grow, continue to
expand, continue to level up,because that's what life is
about.
It is a constant evolution.
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You never actually fully arrive, and this is something I think
about often.
Often we establish a goal forourself and we work diligently
at it, but here's the thing Mostof the time, you never feel
like you actually arrive.
And do you want to know whythat is?
Because nine times out of 10,especially if you're a high
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achiever or an entrepreneur ninetimes out of 10, by the time
you get to that point, thatdestination, you have already
established a new goal.
It's like you're continuing toadvance and you're continuing to
look onward and upward.
So, of course, it feels likeyou don't ever fully arrive.
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But the point that you are atright now, right this very
second, as you are listening tothis show.
Your younger version of you washoping and praying for this
moment.
Did you ever think about that?
Did you ever stop and trulythink about that?
I would turn around and saythank you to that younger
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version of you.
I would say thank you for allthe challenges, for all the
adversity, for all of thedifficult times that helped to
shape you, develop you, nurtureyou, mold you and grow you into
the fucking amazing human beingthat you are right this very
second.
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I'm so lucky that I get to doan experience like camp because
I continue to advance mentally,physically, spiritually,
emotionally.
A couple of days in the woods,a couple of days around
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like-minded individuals who arefitness focused, who are health
centric, who are looking to livethe longest and healthiest life
possible for themselves and fortheir children and their
children's children those arethe people I want to be around.
Those are the people that Iwant challenging me, those are
the people that are going topromote growth.
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So do yourself a favor and findsomething where you can
continue to evolve and to seewhat's next for you, what's
around the next bend and how youcan evolve, whether it be a
couple of days or a week or sometype of trip that takes you out
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of your natural habitat butputs you in an environment where
it cultivates growth andexpansion.
I'm going to leave this episoderight here.
If you enjoyed this show, gointo the show notes, shoot me a
text, let me know what you think, let me know if you have
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something planned and you canalso ask me a question.
So if you shoot me a text, Iget an anonymous piece of fan
mail and I will answer aquestion or comment or respond
to the comment in an upcomingepisode.
In fact, I actually did getsome fan mail a couple of weeks
ago and the person wrote thatthey think the show is very
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inspiring and well done, and Ireally, really appreciate that
person who said that.
I know who it is actually and Iappreciate her for saying that.
This has been such a joy for meto work on this project and to
share and connect with you.
So, like I said, if you findthis show helpful, please send
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me a text.
You can go to the show notes,click send me a text and I'll
get the message in my fan mail.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
I appreciate your time andattention and I'll catch you on
the next one.