Day 123: Yara Morgan

January 31, 2010 at 12:01 am, Category: Featured, Inspiration

“It was that consistency, that commitment.  That you might not reach it at the same time as somebody else, but you better keep plugging away because your time is there.  It’s just not everybody is at the same level or they might not have the same struggles or the same things that are hindering them.  I think that’s what helped me was that I had to realize that it wasn’t going to be overnight, that I could overcome that by being consistent.”

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Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Yara, for agreeing to be part of the Project today, and before we begin, can you please introduce yourself?

Yara Morgan: Sure, Toni.  My name is Yara Morgan, and I have been in the fitness industry for the last eight years.  I’ve been a personal trainer, and I’ve had the privilege of having my own personal training studio for women for the last five years, and I find it amazing to empower women through fitness.

Toni: Well, that’s a great lead-in to the first question, which is, when you think about inspiration, who do you inspire and how do you do that?

Yara: Okay.  Well, exactly … fitness/nutrition is my passion.  I’ve loved it since I was a child and just to be able to do it now is amazing.  I think my main target that I like to inspire is the everyday woman, whether she’s a working woman outside of the home or a stay-at-home mom.  She tends to be the main shopper of the home, the main cook of the home, so my goal is to educate her regarding a healthy lifestyle.  I think if she makes time for herself through exercise and relaxation, she will be able to be a huge impact in her home.  She will be much better equipped to take care of those in her life.

Toni: Now, how do you go about that?  Give us an example of what you do that might inspire someone to take that new way of living.

Yara: That’s it.  I like to share the knowledge that I have.  I’ve been there.  I’ve struggled with weight just like most of us do.  Showing them that it’s not a temporary fix, that it’s not as hard as we think it is.  I think we’ve just been so bombarded with information.  So if I can share my knowledge with them and helping them to reach that goal, whether it’s introducing healthier foods at home, adding time for themselves through exercise, that they are able to impact not just themselves but their whole family.  And really they could impact our world, because right now the obesity level in children is outrageous.

So that’s how I do it is by showing them, guiding them, really just listening to what their goals are and helping them figure it out and showing them every day that it’s an everyday thing.

Toni: So what do you do then to help explore the potential in others — which I know is in the fitness industry – how does that happen?  And do you think there’s a carryover into other areas of potential when you’re working with people?

Yara: You know, I do.  I do.  I like to explore potential in others by … whether it’s focusing on fitness or not, I like to ask people “What are your goals in different aspects of your life?”  When we’re talking about fitness, I would technically say specifically “What changes do you want to see in yourself?” and helping them set realistic steps and timelines in order to achieve that, because I believe that’s the key.

We can’t live life wandering aimlessly.  If we know what we want, we can better target how to get it, and so that’s how I do it is by saying “If this is what you’re wanting to accomplish, this realistically, I think, is good.”  Then they feel good as they are reaching those targets.

Toni: Okay.  So whether it’s a fitness target or goal or a life goal, really your message is the same.

Yara: Yeah, absolutely.  Absolutely.

Toni: Okay.  Well, when you think about inspiration for yourself, what do you need to be inspired?

Yara: Actually, that’s great.  I am a words person.  I believe in verbal affirmations.  I need to be grounded really by my own personal cheerleaders, because we all have moments of self-doubt.  And so just like I like to tell people how great they are, I think when they hear it, and if it they hear it enough, that they’ll believe it.  So I need the same and hearing other people’s passions, struggles, victories.  When they share those with me, that inspires me, because it reminds me that there is hope, and so I think words are very powerful.

Toni: Are there tools or techniques that you tend to reach for when you get to that place, Yara, where you’re like “You know, I could use a little inspiration today?”  Do you find yourself reaching for certain things?

Yara: Well, I definitely turn to the word.  The Bible is always a great one, and it definitely talks about words being so powerful.  It could make us or break us, really, so that’s my first one.  But then definitely friends who are positive and who know me and know that they can say “You know, this is just temporary.”  I think that we all need to have that in our life.  That’s why I love the Get Inspired! Project, because I think hearing other people going through struggles and then overcoming them, I think, is very powerful.

Toni: Well thank you for that.  I want to ask you though, you seem so positive and so full of life in this conviction of helping people to reach their fitness goals, and were you always that way?  Were you always built that way that you’re positive and determined, that led you into this type of a career?

Yara: You know, I think I was, and it really came about from my mother.  She was a single parent.  She always told me “Yara, whatever you want to be, you can do anything.”  She was very word oriented, and so I think I have gone through my whole life thinking I can do anything, you know?  I realistically would love for everybody to feel that way.

But again, depending on what’s happening in your life, it’s very normal, I think, to feel like we’re in a slump or we’re having those doubts.  But I do, I think, on a daily basis, I’d like to stay more on the positive side.  It’s very rare when I will be down but, again, it’s the people that I surround myself with that I think help get me out of that very quickly.

Toni: And what about your potential?  How do you explore your own potential, whether it’s in this area or personally?

Yara: I do like to read books that to me are encouraging, that are goal-oriented.  I think sometimes … and I like to point out the potential in everyone.  I also like to surround myself, like I said, with energy-filled people.  I need reassurance, and so I want that positive energy.  And this is kind of a silly little thing, but this is how I’ve always told people – I think it’s normal to have your moments in our life, but I don’t want to be stuck in that ho-hum, same old mentality.

Eeyore is a cute character, but I would not want to hang with him all day long; it would drive me crazy.  I prefer to be like a Tigger type of bouncy and energetic, because it tends to be contagious, and so I’d rather stick with that.

That’s how I like to reach my potential, is to constantly challenge myself.  Not things that “Here we go again, I’m in the same boat over and over and over.”  I always like to see beyond where I’ve been and see what’s ahead.

Toni: Can you give us an example of how you may have challenged yourself in the past that has … by being that forced to be reckoned with to stay at something.  Can you give an example so that people can really understand what you mean?

Yara: It did start for me with the fitness, even though I was kind of looking back into my life, now I can go “Oh my gosh, I really have always been into fitness.”  Not necessarily like the sports girl or whatever, but in my mid 20s, I struggled with my weight.  And through some amazing people, I was able to take charge of that.

It was kind of funny, because some of the others that were doing … Body For Life was a great project for me, and that’s kind of what started all that.  Sometimes it was funny, because I would see that “Oh man, they’re built like me, but then they were getting way ahead of me.”  I’d see their results … I’m like “They’ve already done that in three months, and here I am still stuck at this?”

But I think what it taught me was that it was that perseverance.  It was that consistency, that commitment.  That you might not reach it at the same time as somebody else, but you better keep plugging away because your time is there.  It’s just not everybody is at the same level or they might not have the same struggles or the same things that are hindering them.

I think that’s what helped me was that I had to realize that it wasn’t going to be overnight, that I could overcome that by being consistent.  That’s pretty much it.  And through the fitness, I think that was probably my biggest one was that I was able to take control of that, that it was no longer controlling  me.

Toni: Were there words that were important to you during that time?

Yara: I think it was mainly just keep plugging away.  And I would do a lot of visualization.  I had a picture of Rachel McLish — actually even though she’s a lot taller than me — but I wanted to have abs like that and when I looked at them every day “This is what I want, this is what I want.”  And so it was “You can do it, you can do it.”  It’s easy to give up if you’re not seeing it when you think you should be seeing it.  But ultimately, it’s amazing when you’re finally looking like “I’m there!  How did I get here, because it seemed like it was such a long thing?”  I think it’s just consistency.

Toni: The reason that I asked is because that’s what I’m hearing throughout this whole interview.  You’ve said very many times that the words are very important to you.  And in helping others through their own fitness and nutrition challenges, I can only imagine the words and determination and conviction that you use with them, and that’s why I was wondering what words were important to you and that helped you move forward in that.  Your enthusiasm is very, very contagious, and the positive way that you speak is amazing.

Yara: Thank you.  Actually, and also what I tell them is that they have to recognize every little change they’ve made, especially when we’re talking about fitness.  If somebody comes in and they tell me “Oh, I’ve worked so hard this week, and I’ve only lost a pound,” and I’ll tell them “But that’s a pound less than you had.”

Sometimes we look at it so negatively because we think everybody else is doing something better or more.  So sometimes I show them that a pound could be two inches off your waist.  It could be something so amazing.  Are your pants looser?  Sometimes they’ll go “You know, that’s true.”

But just I think is a norm in society we tend to want to look at the negative side of it.  But to me, every little change — whether it’s a quarter of an inch or half a pound – it’s change, and it’s success, and it’s getting you closer.  And sometimes that’s what we have to remind ourselves of, that no matter what we’re struggling with life that, hey, it is what it is and we have to move on with little steps at a time.  With fitness, that’s my biggest thing is reminding them that every little bit of change is good.

Toni: Well thank you so much, Yara, for agreeing to be part of the Project, and there are many people who are going to listen to you and are going to be motivated by you in order to also work towards the best they can be in fitness and nutrition and just the best person that they can be.  So thank you so much for what you’ve given today.

Yara: Thank you.

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For more information about Yara Morgan:  www.womensfitnessstudio.ning.com, www.cam2camfitnesstraining.ning.com, ymorg72@gmail.com

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