By Katarina Terzić Conrad
After living in Texas for 8 years, my husband’s company offered him a position as head of research in their newly opened office in Boston. Although I was very sad to leave my friends, my business, and my home behind, I wanted to support my husband.
At that time I was a liaison for HRH Princess Katherine of Serbia and was looking for a place to host a charitable event for her non-profit organization- Lifeline. I volunteered for this knowing how passionate she was about the same issues as me - improving the lives of women and children in the former Yugoslavia. This is a country I had left in the nineties to flee from it’s bloody civil war.
As I was visiting one of the hotels on my list of potential places to host the venue, the event organizer led me to a couple of different sized rooms where I could host the event.
She asked me how many people I was expecting. I said that I wasn’t sure, but that I was new in town and the event is in little over a month. She raised her eyebrows in surprise.
I asked her if she had any advice for me on how to go about inviting people when I did not know anyone.
Her answer was unexpected and is forever ingrained in my memory. Little did she know that with her words, she gave birth to the idea of the culture I was going to set for HIIT & RUN.
“Darling, it is going to be quite challenging to accomplish this feat in such a short time.” I was all ears. “You see, Boston women are particular who they let into their circles. It takes a long time to get in one. But, once you are in there, they will take care of you.” I was curious and wondered why it would be so hard to “get into these circles”. She continued, “The status and influence are the most important requirements that you will need to get into one. And even if you have those, it might still take a while for them to welcome you.”
I left that hotel as much discouraged as disappointed. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The surge of insecurities bubbled up to the surface. Walking back to my apartment, I was remembering how disappointed I felt when no one showed up to my birthday party in the second grade. I was so poor and sick in those years. I spent a great deal of time in hospitals and my no-plumbing moldy apartment. I doubted that anyone even wanted to connect with a girl dressed in second-hand clothes, who looked like a boy, and carried an old fashioned rag to blow her nose, because she couldn’t afford tissues.
By the time I arrived to my Boston apartment, my disappointment turned into anger, and my anger turned into a new covenant.
I complained to my husband and told him that I would make my own damn circle and the only requirement to get in is to have a kind heart filled with good intentions. Not status, not color of skin, nor even the god you worship would disqualify you.
Women from all walks of life would be welcomed!
Fast forward 3 years: I found myself graduating women from our first HIIT&RUN program that I created to empower women. As I looked around the room, they were women from all walks of life.
We had Muslim women wearing khimar, Christian women (fundamentalists too), Hindu women, Buddhists, Taoists, and ones with no strong nor any religious beliefs. We had women from different social-economic backgrounds, ethnicities, age groups, you name it!
And we all felt this sisterhood and bond that surpassed the superficial ego driven boundary. The only tangible thing we cared about was the invisible heart bond we all felt. It was undeniable.
We were all connecting in our collective suffering. We all shared our insecurities, disappointment, betrayal, hurt, and pain.
But that day of graduation we also shared moments of pride, accomplishment, confidence, support, and most importantly love!
I looked around that room and felt overwhelming joy. I saw smiling faces and tears of joy in a place where they felt safe to share their stories and find healing and support.
So, if you are looking for just a quick home workout I really think there are many great professional apps out there that can help you access hundreds of exercise videos on demand, truly.
But, if you are looking for a community of women that will inspire, support and encourage you, you have come to the right place.
You won’t find fancy high resolution professional videos. But, you will find connection, healing, and love. You won’t find perfectionism, but you will find passionate hard working women who care for each other and their own well being.
You won’t find a quick fix or a magic pill that will help you lose weight. But you will be encouraged to change your lifestyle to enable you to heal from within.
Because it’s the emotional weight that we need to shed first.
I invite you to join me and my team on this journey of self-reflection, self-empowerment, and self-improvement. Join us, and see how these imperfect strangers became friends, and friends became family.
Together we are stronger!
