The Mind/Body Connection – Interview with Karina Inkster – ‘Professional Fitness Nut’

Glynis Sherwood:  Karina you are known for being a fitness professional who pays close attention to the relationship between physical and mental health, both for yourself and your clients.  Why is this important to you?

Karina Inkster:  Physical and mental health are both required to enjoy a high quality of life, and to achieve the things that make us happy! I help my clients to articulate their own reasons and motivations for improving their mental and physical health. Here are mine:

•   Working out is meditative, clears my mind, and eases stress
• I want to be strong and healthy to enjoy life with my husband
• I want to be active and energetic for one day raising healthy, well-adjusted children who value health and fitness as I do
• I want to sleep well, feel great, have lots of energy, challenge myself, have fun, and look good.
• I aim to be an example for others who need help with their journeys to health.

GS:  How do you approach cultivating the mind-body health connection in your work with your clients?

KI:  I work with my clients to develop their mind-body connections in two main ways.  First, many aspects of my workouts are designed to help clients in being more aware of their bodies. This includes mentally focusing on specific muscles being worked, closing eyes during balance moves to heighten concentration, and breath work. Second, I support my clients in developing mind-body awareness outside of the gym. Depending upon each client’s goals, this may include meditation, helping them to discover how certain foods affect their bodies, or simply checking in with how they felt – physically and mentally – after a week of eating clean.

GS:  How do physical health, diet and fitness help people overcome or reduce stress?  From your experience, what kinds of emotional challenges respond best to fitness and healthy diet interventions?

KI:  Increasing physical health helps my clients to feel more in control of their own bodies. Often this translates into feeling more in control of their minds, too. Stress, anxiety, and depression most commonly respond best to increased fitness and nutrition. There are countless clinical studies supporting this point (and showing that physical activity affects how our brains work), but sometimes it’s as simple as taking out the stress of a hard workday on a punching bag for 5 minutes.

GS:  If a person is overcoming stress, anxiety or depression, and may not have been attentive to their physical health due to these problems, what’s a good way to start to regain their health and fitness?

KI:  Small, consistent actions add up to incredible results over time. Starting with small actions is extremely important to preventing someone from feeling overwhelmed. I’d suggest choosing a simple action, like taking a 5-minute walk, and “attaching” it to an existing habit or routine. Right after you wake up in the morning?  Each day during lunch hour at work?  Right after dinner?  Pick something you’re already used to doing, combine it with a new health habit, and you’re setting the stage for increased physical wellness.

GS:  As a counseling therapist I often recommend that my clients attend to their physical health in order to support their psychological well being.  How would I know when it might be appropriate to refer a client to a health and fitness professional like yourself?

KI:  Personal training and nutrition coaching is especially useful for individuals who want to increase their fitness and health but don’t know where to start. Clients who feel overwhelmed by the idea of starting a fitness routine, those who want to eat healthier meals but are wondering which ingredients to buy (not to mention which meals to make!), or those who aren’t getting the results they want from their current routines would benefit greatly from working with a Professional Fitness Nut. I always promise my clients energy, confidence, and health superpowers!

Karina offers personal training and nutrition coaching online to clients worldwide. Check out her website at

 

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Glynis Sherwood – MEd, Canadian Certified Counselor, Registered Clinical Counselor, & Certified Addictions Counselor, specializes in recovery from Low Self Esteem, Anxiety, Depression, Grief and Addictive Behaviors.  My services are available online by Video worldwide.   Contact Glynis to Request an Appointment