Move Daily Health Podcast Ep 17: Purpose Through Fitness w/Alex Diaz

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In today’s episode we welcome to the show Alejandra Diaz, author of the upcoming book Energy in Motion.

Alejandra is a personal trainer by trade and artist by passion. She has battled through weight-gain and depression, and found her purpose through fitness: To help others understand how the power of movement can unlock the strength inside. Now a Bodybuilding Pro and Neurolinguistic Programming Master Practitioner, Alex teaches others to use movement as the language of the body and the key to optimal health and personal power.

Show Notes:

0:00 – Who is Alejandra Diaz?

3:25 – We discuss the inspiration behind Alex’s upcoming book: Energy in Motion

8:45 – What was the catalyst that sparked Alex to finally write her book?

11:20 – Alex tells us how she managed to combine Animal Flow with painting into one performance

14:40 – How Alex navigated conflicting passions and merged them into one career path

19:25 – Yet another podcast guest speaks about how starting Crossfit positively impacted her life.

21:50 – Alex discusses navigating through depression, how badly her body crashed when she dove head-first into a fitness competition, and ultimately how movement and fitness changed her life.

30:25 – How Alex found “muscle meditation” within the sport of Bodybuilding

34:15 – We discuss Animal Flow and how it’s truly the epitome of muscle meditation

38:20 – Freyja and Alex are both on the the hypermobility spectrum. What does this mean for their training?

46:10 – Alex’s book recommendation:

– Becoming Supernatural, by Dr. Joe Dispenza

47:26 – Alex’s one non-negotiable self-care tool: Daily movement.

49:10 – The one most important piece of health advice from Alex.

50:30 – Where you can find Alejandra

More about Alejandra Diaz:

Alejandra Diaz is the author of the upcoming book “Energy in Motion”. Originally from Mexico City, fantastical, whimsical and a little dark, she is a trendsetter when it comes to blending the fields of words, art and fitness.

A graduate from the Bachelor of Applied Arts Illustration Program at Sheridan College, Alejandra entered the workforce with the vision to work in computer animation. Before long however, the exhaustive working hours with no growth opportunity led to an unhealthy lifestyle which resulted in 3 years of a profound personal darkness.

Broke, overweight and depressed, the experience that changed her was preparing for a fitness show. She competed in 2011 for the first time losing 35lbs and most importantly, through this journey she discovered her purpose of guiding others to find their personal strength through movement. (She placed terribly at the fitness show, by the way, and swore she would never be back on stage).

Passionate about movement as a practice of self-discovery, she has explored strength training, powerlifting, olympic lifting, gymnastics, functional training, and kettlebells, among other disciplines, but she found a profound connection with the disciplines of Animal Flow and Bodybuilding.

In 2017 she exhibited the work of a lifetime in her first solo art show “Début” in Burlington, Ontario, and recently obtained her Pro Bodybuilding status with Ultimate Fitness Events, performing an artistic zombie physique routine described as “the best seen in 10 years”. Breaking her promise of never returning to the stage again (and now with 8 competitions to account for!) she also holds an international 4th place amateur title from one of the biggest Bodybuilding events in the world: The Arnolds.

A true introvert with a love for the stage, she painted live at the wealth event “Awaken your Wisdom” in Mississauga earlier this year and will be back on stage October 2019 bringing her zombie performance back as an opening act for UFE.

With 10 years of experience in various movement modalities, Alejandra works independently in the field as a 1-on-1 Personal Trainer, Animal Flow Instructor and Neurolinguistic Programming Master Practitioner, enabling individuals to understand and use movement as the language of the body to access the blueprint of optimal health and personal power. Having walked through darkness herself she stands strong in guiding her clients through their own transformations and is creating yet another piece of art as she weaves words with insights and knowledge into her upcoming book.

Connect with Alejandra:

Website: Art of Moving Strong

Instagram: @AleDiazMe

Facebook: Alejandra Diaz Mercado

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