TAMILY TALES: Issue No. 10

When my Mom was my Girl Scout troop leader, we chanted this at every meeting. Although I’m admittedly chanting less these days, I felt blessed and appreciative of my friendships as a young Girl Scout and I still do today. Research continues to support the fact that true, real friendships benefit our health. Along my focused journey of developing my method, I have been blessed to make some of my best friendships and sisterhoods, but I have also met some people who embody the true definition of “fairweather friends,” or opportunistic faces. Being left with the feeling of being used or under appreciated is just as toxic to our health as the bright light of a true friend is beneficial, providing nourishment for our bodies and souls. None of us are without imperfections, but to be without self-awareness or to easily justify our own poor behavior by blaming others is not to be a friend. I think it feels really good to own up to the mistakes we all make, which allow us to grow and learn to be nourishing to others, enabling them to also move forward instead of being stagnant in their own development.

When I meet women who are really, honestly for other women, it is like the brightest of all light. In the midst of something that appears too good to be true, it’s so easy to detect a saboteur who is trying to create a dysfunctional environment. If the good “girls’ girls” stay consistent and continue to evolve their own standards, then we can pick up and encourage those of us who have the most roadblocks. There is very strong research on how we are affected by what happens to us when we are little creatures still developing, and how we in turn either know or don’t know how to really be a part of something good, whole, and consistently valuable. Depending on the circumstances they had to live through, different children develop different coping mechanisms as they become adults. Much of what we have to overcome in this life is so that we can be our adult parent selves, a “grown-up” who is present, forgiving, and loving enough to allow for healing and growth to happen later in life. There are a few remarkable adults I know who were given the worst environments to develop in, yet somehow were able to shield their souls from the darkness and let the light of theirs shine brighter and stronger than any negative influence ever could.

I fully admit, I’ve spent many years not wanting to give up on certain people; it is an inherent part of who I am to believe in everyone. I am the eternal optimist, believing, perhaps naively, that people can improve, and I do still believe that on some level, but what I also believe in now more than ever is that those people who have the most roadblocks to achieving complete health and happiness need to feel safe. They need to feel a light that is so much brighter than the darkest of any of the dark places they have been to in their past or that their mind can go to. To me, that means a community of light. As I’ve learned from the Girl Scouts, from research, and from my own experience, people do need people. Friendships are vital to improving health, life expectancy, morality, and in the constant fight against stress.

This week, I am interviewing Monica Duarte, the brightest little gem of a light any petite woman could ever hope to be. She is for everyone. She is not reserved, keeping her joy all to herself, rather, she just gives and gives and gives some more. Her smile is contagious and her peppy, positive position on everything is incredibly refreshing. I know I can say with certainty, you all have a real friend in Monica.

I was born in Lisbon and grew up in a small  fishing town, until I was 12 years old, when I moved with parents to Holland. It was a hard time for me, but a great experience that taught me so much about working for what I want! Of course, I had to work for it, even so young! It took me too long to learn the language, I worked so hard. I grew up between a mixture of cultures. I had a hard time finding friends, fitting in, the language was a problem but once I learned it, I lived the Holland life and I completely fit in! By the age of 18,  I came back to Portugal with my parents! It was a bittersweet time, I was a teenager feeling torn between  Holland and Portugal. “I wasn’t the beach and I also wasn’t the snow”! I had a hard time finding myself, I felt like I didn’t belong here, but I ended fitting in the Portuguese lifestyle again! Fish, beach, fun and sun.

Growing up I studied sports. I became a fitness instructor teaching  for 5 years, and I was so passionate about it! I loved it with all my heart but I felt like I needed to learn more, so I went to university for sports and rehab.

Today I work in an institution for adults with special needs. I do the sports classes , the acting classes, the aqua fitness classes, the dance classes, and the swimming lessons. Believe me, the method is so present in what I do, by how I show up for my special ones, by how I inspire and encourage them to move better, to dance more graciously, to excersize, to express themselves through  movement… The method is in me and deep deep in my heart I wish I could be a TA trainer… In my heart I am,  and by doing what I do at my job, I always play a bit of the method with my special ones.

I am a lucky happy girl living with the most kind guy, my  dear @antonio_serrao and with my darling, dog Safi #tampup.

  WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TA MOMENT?

Oh my God I will never forget the past October when I was in NYC in my first Vitality weekend with some girls. I dreamed about this so much! I visualized it every day! The first moment was when I saw the first girls @nadineandrea, @ek4tam, @shanmasters, and @gippersmith I started to cry ϑ ϑ ϑ That was the dream happening and coming true! It was real and the girls I admired on #tarealtime were hugging me! We made it!  The second moment was going to the Tribeca studio, OMG it was so electric!!! When I got there I felt like I was in the heart of the method and I was finally breathing it! It wasn’t a dream! It was happening! A few times after this crazy moment I met some some trainers like the gorgeous @lashonna1020,  the beautiful @janelle1227! They were so nice and friendly!

And then, when I met the rest of the girls it was a hysterical moment! All of them were there! I was praying for that hottie girl that I was seeing every week near Tracy @claudiasaezfromm to be there, and to my surprise, she walked in! It was amazing! What a moment! But the best was yet to come, and when I saw Tracy I was so amazed by her shine! My heart was beating even faster! She was sparkling! She was  shinning! When she recognized me, I held her so tight! It was a dream come true that I wished for, for so long! Oh I hold that moment in my heart! I came home so happy, with my heart so full of joy, light and love!
Working out with Tracy, with my girls and with great trainers was an amazing moment in my life that I have to repeat ϑ soon!
I could not leave NYC without meeting the fanTAstic @evanleebreed. It was on my last day there and I came back to the studio on purpose to meet her and there she was, vibrant as always! What a beauty!

My pre-workout meal is fruit. My favourite indulgence is dark chocolate, raw made by me! I eat it everyday, aie aie, aie!

Raw cold pressed green juice: 1 cucumber, 1/2 apple, ginger, 1 lemon.

I have progressed so much! My butt is higher, I am toned. I am leaner,  I am fit,  I love my abs! I feel great in my body! I am lighter. I am stronger today than I was yesterday. I am better today physically and mentally and tomorrow I will be great! All thanks to the method that has helped me so much to become a better person in so many ways! I truly love this unique approach to movement! The Tracy Anderson Method means more than a workout, it is a lifestyle, it is a way to be and I am where I want to be!