Cathryn Taylor :: Edge Life Expo Guest speaker
"Conscious Aerobic Exercise: Ignite your Body, Mind & Soul"
Room 101BC | 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Sunday, November 12, 2006
$20 in Advance through Uptowntix.com or (651) 209-6799, $25 at the Door
Cathryn Taylor – a Personal Life Coach, published author of The Inner Child Workbook and a licensed counselor – embodies the essence of "conscious aerobic exercise." At age 54, while training for her first marathon, Cathryn literally stumbled onto this life-altering method for attaining success – not only in the gym – but in every area of one’s life. She is now dedicated to assisting others in doing the same. At Edge Life Expo 2006, Cathryn will give an overview of her newly released book, Soul Steps, an innovative, 90-day program that embraces aerobic activity as a magical vehicle for the transformation and re-invention of self. "Conscious aerobic exercise infuses the magic of exercise with conscious intention," she writes. "With body in motion, heart open and mind alert – assistance descends. Adversity is transformed. Goals are attained…."
She spoke with Edge Life by phone from her office in the Twin Cities.
Okay. Where were you born and where have you lived the longest in your life?
Cathryn Taylor: St. Paul, Neb., and San Francisco Bay area for 27 years.
What did you do in the Bay area?
CT: That’s where I spent most of my adult life, and that’s where I attained my degrees, started my private practice and wrote The Inner Child Workbook.
When you think back to the Bay area, what memories do you have?
CT: I lived out there from 1970 to 1996. I had the freedom to really explore every aspect of my being. I liked that I had the internal structure of the Midwestern values, because it enabled me to remember by Zip code! It gave me an opportunity to feel really grounded. And yet, I was able to explore a whole variety of avenues that were very acceptable in the Bay area. I really pushed myself into a lot of areas that I don’t think I would have, had I not had the luxury of living in the Bay area.
What main idea that you will be stressing during your talk at Edge Life Expo?
CT: I will speak on the integration of body, mind, heart and soul, and the concept of partnering up with your body and your Higher Self to create a consciousness, in the moment.
Do you think people who are on the spiritual path sometimes forget about their bodies?
CT: Yes.
Why?
CT: Because I think it’s easier to fly with the angels and forget that we have to integrate it into how we are in the moment. And I think that the density of the body is challenging.
Would you say that it’s one of the more difficult tasks that we have, the integration process?
CT: I think it’s THE most difficult. That’s what all our addictions are about, and all of the spiritualizing of our events and wanting to stay in our mind. Coming into our heart and into our physical forms is the last frontier. That’s the purpose of conscious aerobic exercise for me. I brought all of my inner child and soul work into a regimen of working out, because my experience is that the body doesn’t lie. It doesn’t matter what I’m saying or what I’m feeling. My body’s going to dictate if I can really hold that energy.
Why is this topic meaningful to you, personally?
CT: Because it takes everything that I’ve ever done in my life and it creates the formula that I feel my guidance has given me. Connecting that endorphin release of aerobic exercise with my connection to guidance is the true marriage of body and soul. It’s that electrodynamic. I don’t even know if that’s a word, but it’s about the electricity that is felt when that endorphin release happens, combining that with my prayers when I’m the most connected to my guidance. I always open my Akashic Records, so when I have those two operating, it’s What the Bleep incarnated.
The biggest thing, vibrationally, is that exercise allows us to increase our ability to hold the higher frequency of light.
Why should someone take the time out of their busy day to hear this talk?
CT: Because they’re committed to change and they’re ready for change.
How would you recommend that beginners start to integrate their ideas into their lives?
CT: By taking a five-minute walk each day and saying their prayers while they do it.
How long have you been running?
CT: For 36 years, since I was 22.
How many marathons have you run?
CT: I’ve completed four. The first one I ran was when I was 54, four years ago. I didn’t set out to do four. I set out to just finish that first one. But, then I got committed to the Four Directions, anchoring those. Duluth was the soul, and then I went to San Francisco and picked up my heart and to New York to integrate my mind. The last marathon I ran, four years ago, was in New Orleans. I can’t even speak about it, because it was the first event that had taken place since Katrina, and the finish line was right at the Superdome, where all those people were. It was about anchoring the physical body. I had decided to do that run before Katrina. I didn’t think they were still going to have it, but I registered and took my niece, who’s named after me. She met me at the 26th mile with my 6-month-old godson and I ran him across.
What is your favorite word?
CT: Right this moment I’d have to say "joy."
Why did you choose to be a part of Edge Life Expo?
CT: Because you and Edge are the ones that paved the way for me to come from San Francisco to Minnesota. You’re the first person I talked to here, and you ran a story on the Inner Child Workbook before I’d even moved here. I took a year off and wrote all these books and the Edge was the first place I came back to. The Edge is always where I go when I want to bring my material out to the world.
What is the most extreme thing you have done in your life?
CT: I followed my heart and moved from San Francisco to Minnesota to marry a Polish immigrant 17 years younger than me.
Is there a particular ritual you use to get into that space that allows you to create or imagine or do your best work?
CT: Probably using the Akashic Records prayer and combining that with my exercise.
What is your life purpose?
CT: To take the inspiration I get from the divine and ignite that inspiration in others.
Who was your greatest inspiration in leading you to your purpose?
CT: My father and my dog named Max.
What kind of dog was he?
CT: He the one that I wrote the story "Maximize" about. He was a border collie.
What is the most rewarding aspect of what you do?
CT: Seeing people get really jazzed about creating their own goal. My brother got inspired to run Grandma’s Marathon after I did. A good friend of mine went to New York with me when I did the New York Marathon and was inspired to quit smoking. It’s rewarding for me to see other people ignite that within themselves and then just run with it, in whatever way they’re going to run with it.
If you could recommend a few things people could do in their lives that would help them become fully realized human beings, what would they be?
CT: Sit in the mirror and practice staring at yourself eye-to-eye and saying, "I am lovable." Nothing brings you home faster. And then, sitting face-to-face with your loved one and saying, "I am lovable and you are lovable."
What turns you on creatively, spiritually, or emotionally?
CT: I think probably any moment that just brings me that total aliveness, whether it’s with another person or just with myself or with nature, where there are no boundaries in terms of my responding to what’s right in front of me.
If you were coming to hear your own talk, what question would you have for the speaker on the topic?
CT: I think if I were coming to hear about conscious aerobic exercise and heard my pitch, the first thing I’d want to ask is, "Is it going to hurt?"
How would you, as the speaker, answer that question?
CT: Only as much as you will allow it.
What is your favorite movie?
CT: I was just thinking about that today. Probably my all time favorite is Ordinary People. Pretty Woman and You’ve Got Mail are right up there. My latest favorite is Only Human. It’s a foreign film about a couple – a Palestinian and a Jewish woman who come together. It’s so humorous.
What is your favorite song?
CT: Probably right now my favorite song is Melissa Etheridge’s song, I Run for Life.
Who do you look up to as someone who is leading humanity in the right direction.
CT: Maya Angelo.
And finally, what signs do you see in our world that make you hopeful for the future?
CT: The children – the children that I’m coming in contact with, both professionally and personally. Having been of the generation where we had to break a lot of new territory, it’s very inspiring to me to see how the children are coming in with such a level of expectancy and without the shortcuts. They have an innate self-esteem that I think most of my generation had to really fight for. They’re here to do great work and they’re not going to let anybody get in the way.
We’ll lose some of them along the way. Some of them won’t be able to step into what they came here for, but boy those who make it through are going to do great things.
For more information on Cathryn Taylor, visit www.joincathryntaylor.com.
