fitbody HOLISTIC BOOT CAMP SIERRA BENDER’S


REDEFINING FITNESS TO EMPOWER WOMEN FROM THE INSIDE OUT. by Kim Childs


work, energy healing, nutrition and shamanism, Sierra developed the Bender Empowerment Method 4 Body Fit concept that she teaches at her weeklong Boot Camp for God- desses retreats around the country. The four bodies identified are the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of a person, all of which receive training and treatment in Bender’s workshops.


Boot camp participants hike, practice yoga, learn anatomy and train with weights. They also dance, sing, cry, journal, share secrets, pray and purify themselves via Native American-style sweat lodges. The aim is to heal anything that’s prevent- ing a woman from living her full po- tential, says Bender, and her methods show people where they most need to work.


“One day, you’ll be great at the


mental exercises, but not the physi- cal, so that shows where your weak- ness is,” Bender explains. “Some [stu- dents] are great at doing the exercises or workouts, but they can’t sit still or be quiet on a 45-minute hike; so each one is being challenged.”


n her early 30s, Sierra Bender was a personal trainer who looked and felt physically fit. Then, one day, her body took a turn that she didn’t see coming. Bender initially mistook the sensation she experienced for a pulled muscle. “I exercised every day and worked as a professional trainer,” she recalls, “but I was so out of my body that I didn’t even know that my uterus had ruptured [from an ectopic pregnancy outside the womb]. That’s how disconnected I was… fit on the outside, but an emotional wreck on the inside.” Today, Bender works to prevent other women from focusing solely on


I 26


physical fitness and body image at the expense of their emotional, mental and even physical health. Her mission is to redefine health for women so that they understand wellness as a whole- self process and become empowered to lead truly integrated lives. “Empowerment involves pull- ing forth what’s already within you,” Bender says. “We’ve mastered the beauty part of looking fit and good, but it doesn’t last, because it’s not coming from the core inside. So, that’s where women are searching.”


Boot Camp Intensive After years of studying yoga, body-


East Bay Area | www.NAEastBay.com


The first technique that Bender teaches is conscious breathing to oxygenate the body and calm the nervous system. That means breath- ing deeply through the nostrils, filling the lungs and always checking in with the breath during any activity. Improper breathing and stress go hand-in-hand, she says, and because the stress hormone cortisol can cause fat retention, people who discount their breath may feel frustrated when diet and exercise routines seem to fail them.


“Breath is what burns fat in the simplest form,” says Bender. “What gives your body energy and vital- ity? Breath. What keeps you looking young and alive? Breath. Our skin is our largest organ.”


Fitness Made Easier Kim Davis, a 45-year-old legal secre- tary from Houston, Texas, enrolled in one of Bender’s workshops in 2008 to lose a few pounds. She says the


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32