The Body Mind Connection (Part II)
Marguerite Alston
Ten years ago , Marguerite Alston was faced with a major health challenge that would change her life forever. A malignant melanoma diagnosis sent her stress levels off the scale. Her future was suddenly uncertain.
“I vowed at that point in time that I would do all that I can to look after my body, mind and spirit,” she says, now fully recovered. “I wanted to learn all that I could about nutrition and gain a deeper understanding of what I can do to make sure I live a long, vibrant and healthy life and I never wanted to deal with cancer ever again.”
Before we bring you the second installment of our interview with the BodyMind Institute founder, Lars Gustafsson (see below), CLM brings you this inspirational Q&A with Marguerite (pictured left), BodyMind student and now practitioner.
Students of the Institute not only learn the fundamentals of nutrition through body, mind and spirit, but also discover how to apply the information to their own lives to make gentle yet major shifts that last a lifetime.
If you missed part one of our interview with Lars, please click here.
CLM: What courses did you study at the BodyMind Institute?
MA: I started with the 90 Day Renewal course and have since taken the Level I, Level II and am currently enrolled in the Raw Certification.
CLM: Can you give an insight into what brought you to the Institute?
MA: In 2000, I went through some significant life changes that resulted in lots of stress throughout the year. In October of that year, I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. Fortunately all was taken care of through surgery and all has been good since, but I vowed at that point in time that I would do all that I can to look after my body, mind and spirit. I wanted to learn all that I could about nutrition and gain a deeper understanding of what I can do to make sure I live a long, vibrant and healthy life and, I never wanted to deal with cancer ever again.
I started to do a lot of reading and research on the Internet, but would find myself overwhelmed with all the info. I knew from the things I’d had read and heard that disease cannot survive in an alkaline environment. What does that really mean? How do I create a more alkaline environment in my body? How did all this stress affect my health? Could I have avoided the cancer? How do my thoughts affect my body? Why do I have cravings at night? I had a million questions and was having a hard time finding simple answers! I really wanted to make sense of all of this (and more!) and to take charge of my health. In the nutshell, that is what brought me to BodyMind Nutrition, and I am very thankful I found them.
CLM: What emotional, mental, spiritual and physical changes have you gone through?
MA: Physically, I had immediate results from some of the simple shifts I learned from the 90 Day Renewal program. My energy increased, I wasn’t having the ‘crashes’ throughout the day and the best part was that I was sleeping so much better. What is so fantastic is that now when I have a ‘low energy day’ or I feel a little ‘off’ emotionally or physically, I can now take a step back and explore why that might be. I can look at things like what I ate, how much water I drank (or didn’t drink), what thoughts were occupying my mind, etc. and figure out what I need to do to get back on track. This has really empowered me to take charge of my health. On a spiritual and mental level, I feel a much deeper connection to the ‘real me’ so to speak and I trust my intuition to guide me a lot more than I ever did. Lastly, learning so much about the power of intention and the affect your thoughts have on your body and life has brought my self-awareness to a whole new level.
CLM: How has what you learned and applied changed your life and your experience of life?
MA: I view nutrition and living a health lifestyle so differently now, and the word ‘now’ is the key to it for me – living more in the moment. I make so many more (and better) conscious decisions throughout the day and am very forgiving if I do happen to go off track and have a ‘fun meal’ (I don’t do it very often but once in a while it really hits the spot to have a burger, fries and chocolate fudge sundae!). Once upon a time I would have stressed over it … I ‘shouldn’t have had it’ and instead I enjoy it in the moment and then get back on track with healthy choices. Living a healthy lifestyle is a choice and I feel in complete control of that. I have so many answers to the questions I once had and find that the ongoing learning creates new questions … and answers.
CLM: What would you say makes the courses so valuable?
MA: Firstly, I love the fact that I can learn from such great masters and experts. Lars has connected himself with so many of them and I know that I’m learning from the best. The BodyMind Institute is always updating and upgrading its material.
Secondly and on a professional level, my passion is helping people be the best they can be and have owned and operated a corporate training company for about 10 years. Our primary focus is on ‘soft skills’ training (interpersonal skills, leadership/coaching, team effectiveness, sales/service, etc). It has been my dream to combine what I have traditionally done and add in a focus on health and well-being to help people achieve all that they want in life. Being a certified BodyMind practitioner has enabled me to make my dream become a reality. In June, I am launching a new program called Your Personal Mastery. This program combines some of my existing programs with material and resources I have as a BodyMind practitioner. I am very grateful for this and very excited about it!
I don’t know of too many traditional learning systems that do both for you – educate and help you be successful in your business.
CLM: What’s one thing that you learned in the courses that contribute to your change – the one lesson above all else that you will carry with you forever?
MA: This is a tough one to answer, as there are so many lessons. I think what stands out the most from taking the courses through the BodyMind Institute is that I feel so very empowered to take charge of my health and well-being through conscious choices I make in the moment. I have learned that making the desired changes doesn’t have to be complicated, they are just like BodyMind teaches – ‘Simple shifts that last your lifetime’…and before you know it, they become every day habits.
The BodyMind Institute and raw food nutritionist and expert David ‘Avocado’ Wolfe are offering a program in raw food nutrition—a course that shares more than 15 years of David’s sought-after knowledge. So passionate is he about reaching those who share his dream to make a difference, that with David Wolfe, Lars is offering free entry to the BodyMind Institute Level I BodyMind Nutrition Certification for the first 1000 people who sign up for David’s Raw Nutrition Certification. It’s a $1,500 gift, he explains, to reach those who also want to make a difference—to their own health, the health of others and the health of the planet. Find out more here.
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We hope you enjoy part II of our interview with Lars (below), as he shares more nutritional insights as well as three life-changing power statements…
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