FEATURED COVER STORY
The Hippie Fitness by Rosa Coker
I
An Exercise Journey am passionate about helping others become the healthiest he/ she can be, whatever that looks like to that individual. As a person who was always active and fit, due to circumstances
beyond my control (helping take care of my father who ultimately succumbed to cancer, taking care of two boys who were in school and played sports, and I was a single mom working two jobs and putting myself through college), my life as I knew—workout routine, outdoor activities, social life, etc.—was put on hold to simply take care of my life. Fast forward three years after my father passed in 1998, I was still not back to a healthy routine, and I replaced my healthy habits with laziness, and Moose Tracks ice cream was my “go-to.”
However tacky his actions may have been, it was exactly what I needed to get back on a healthier, happier, and much more confident track. I recall getting home a few hours after the above-mentioned encounter, looking at myself in a fulllength mirror, releasing all those held back tears, and saying, “You did this, only you can fix this!” I immediately joined a local gym where I could find accountability and like-minded individuals. I hated every humiliating step into the gym. I felt like my out-of-shape body stood out like a light bulb and I wrestled with the cost of the gym. But I stayed with it until one day I was hooked. I yearned to get to my fitness classes, to see familiar faces who were becoming my friends, and the random, occasional person stopping to simply say, “I’ve been watching
So, five years after any exercise ceased to exist, I found myself
you, and you are doing great!” served as great encouragement.
sixty pounds overweight, suffering from low self-esteem,
Here are a few things I’ve discovered about myself through this exercise journey:
low confidence, and no social life. The straw that broke the overweight camel’s back, so to speak, was bumping into a long-time friend whom I had not seen in quite some years and hearing him say, “Man, now you’re the prettiest fat girl I
1. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13) 2. Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy
know.” My first thought was don’t let him see you cry, put that
Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God and you are not
fake smile on your face, and laugh with him. I had gotten way too
your own (1 Corinthians 6:19)
accustomed to using myself as the brunt of jokes when inside, I just wanted to crawl back into my container of Moose Tracks, drown my pity, and cry!
22 // June 2022
3. Garbage in/Garbage out (so, fill your body and spirit with good things)
