Fitness & Mental health

  The other day, I was thinking about roses, how beautiful and spooky I find them and why they have thorns. I discovered that, botanically speaking, the “thorns” on roses are actually  prickles : " small, sharp outgrowths from the epidermis (the outer layer) of the stem, not true thorns, which come from deeper tissue." One of the reasons for these prickles is to keep animals from eating them. How smart can a plant be? That’s why I love jumping on my bike, to go somewhere, or sometimes nowhere at all. Even when the weather isn’t on my side, the freedom of moving with the air lets me enter a special space where my entangled thoughts slowly detangle. But this one turned out to be not the most pleasant one, although revealing. It was a very windy day, the kind of wind that comes  before the storm , with a charged, deep grey sky mixed with gentle golden sunset light. Those days when contrasts seem to be everywhere, and the mind allows itself to be seduced into places it d...

Autumn has beautifully swept over me. I do like changes, and the wind with its sudden grey skies reminds me of introspective times, being cozy at home, meditating, going to bed early. Unexpectedly, I’ve welcomed this season with elegance. Normally, this is the time when I prepare myself for the “war” called winter. And if you are a fan of the cold season, please try to stand in my shoes: I am a Latina, used to steady sunny days, Christmas celebrations shared with family and friends, and a carousel of music that lasts about three months. For me, this cold and harsh time of year has always been painful, sometimes even tearing me apart. Over the years, I’ve developed what I call the “quality” of running away from discomfort or at least choosing the kind of discomfort I’m willing to endure. I’ve always been proud of my ability to face and push through tough situations, but in truth, I often forgot how many times I simply changed the scenario altogether to clear obstacles. Most of the time...

  The other day, I had to take a little more than ten days off from the gym due to a small but annoying lower back injury. Just to be clear, since I started in the fitness world, I had never taken more than a week off because “may consistency be my anthem” is my way. Surprisingly, the week went by just fine. In fact, it gave me the space to reflect on certain behaviors and addictions I had been carrying on my back for pretty much all my life. I managed to sit in that gap and truly contemplate how addicted we are to things, even the healthy ones. We often judge a child who throws a tantrum because they didn’t get their lollipop, but don’t we also, in our own contained (and sometimes very uncontained) ways, crave attention, validation, or the feeling of being better and looking good? Even when that craving takes the form of sports, it’s still a kind of addiction. The only difference is that this particular “drug” is socially approved endorsed by society and some  health org...

My first true wake-up call came in 1996, when I was just 21. A broken heart had thrown me into a spiral of panic attacks and depression, and I suddenly had no choice but to search for a way to heal myself. People often said that “difficult times make you stronger” or that “everything happens for a reason.” At the time, it sounded like a logical explanation (or maybe just a way to make sense of what felt unbearable) but today I see it very differently. My healing journey began with acupuncture. During one of my sessions, my practitioner suggested I try Zen meditation at a small center tucked away in the mountains of Mérida, Venezuela, in a place called El Valle . At that point, I was desperate and willing to try anything. So I went. I sat. I practiced. I stayed. I learned discipline. It wasn’t easy, but over the course of eight months, little by little, I began to free myself from what I once believed was the root of my suffering. Slowly, I started to reconnect with myself and find my ...

  The beginning of 2024 felt like nothing more than a harsh extension of the chaotic 2023. Determined to change that course, I decided to work on manifestation but  things didn’t quite unfold as I expected. Surely, I wanted to create financial stability, but I also wanted to add the cherry on top by visualizing my future partner. And yes, in that regard, it seemed to work. Just a week later, he appeared—his looks, age, nationality, even wealth matched exactly what I had imagined. I thought to myself, this is it, the beginning of a new chapter. Without going into too much detail, things with him moved at a brisk pace—concerts, theater, trips, adventures, all generously sponsored by Mister X. I took advantage of the high tide and surfed the wave, while trying to ignore the red flags already flashing before me. To give you an idea, he promised me a €500,000 sailing boat and nearly a million-euro villa in Tuscany where we could retire in two years. He said he loved me after jus...

  L ast night, I had planned my day carefully, including a juicy upper body session at the gym that I was really looking forward to. Unfortunately, I got caught up in some paperwork and emails at home, which delayed my workout to 11:30 a.m. instead of the 10 a.m. slot I’d originally planned. But hey — nothing was going to stop me. I knew how to adapt my session: a few supersets and shorter rest times would do the trick. I threw on my headphones, hopped on my bike, and rode straight to the gym. No time to waste. After warming up, I jumped into military presses  10kg, then 12kg, and finally pushing hard with 14kg. I felt strong, empowered, and ready to keep going. I moved on to one of my favorite exercises: triceps on the pulley machine. Just last year, I was lifting 6kg, and now I'm hitting 12.5kg. It’s a relatively safe movement, so I push it to failure,  the kind of pushing that paralyzes your arms by the end. One set, two sets ,  I was in the zone. Motivated and co...