Female Athletes: Meet Inspirational Yoga Athlete Alex Arboleda

Each week on That Girl we celebrate inspirational female athletes. This week, we are proud to feature Alex Arboleda, an all-around athlete who is motivated to not only stay in shape, but to manage her arthritis. Through this condition, Alex has learned to heal her pain through yoga and by paying careful attention to her body. Now she runs, hikes, cycles, swims, skis and rides horses. Yoga has taught her to be grateful for her life and her body, and arthritis is something she now considers a gift because it led her to a healthier lifestyle. Read more about Alex?s journey and be inspired to heal your own body!

Meet:

Alexandra Muller Arboleda (Alex)
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
Age: 43
Occupation: Mom, Freelance Writer, Retired Lawyer
Primary Sport: Yoga, Cycling and Swimming

Fitness/health accomplishment you are most proud of:

I?ve won a cycling race, but I?d have to say I am most proud of the fact that I overcame arthritis pain and learned how to use health and fitness to manage my pain. As a kid, I was always doing sports: swimming, gymnastics, ballet, diving, track, and horseback riding. In my 20s I participated in some triathlons and running races too. Running was my primary sport. Then, when I was 34, after the birth of my second child, I began experiencing pain in my hip. It was excruciating to run. I kept hoping it would go away, but an X-ray showed that I have a deformity in my hip bone where my hip socket is too shallow. This caused my hip to wear out too early, and I developed arthritis. The best cure for the pain was to get a hip replacement, I was told. The pain kept getting worse and eventually I began walking with a limp. It was painful to walk from the parking lot to my kids? school. It was painful just to stand in one place. It was painful to sleep. I tried everything to remedy the pain and discovered that yoga heals my body. So, my greatest fitness/health accomplishment was the moment I was able to run for 15 minutes after 8 years of believing I?d never be able to run again. I can now hike, cycle, swim, ski, ride horses and do yoga, and I feel like I?ve never been healthier.

What inspires you to get fit every day?

I am inspired to get fit every day because it makes me feel great, it?s fun, it relieves my pain, and I am truly grateful that I can still exercise.

What do you do when you don?t feel like working out?

Most of the time, working out is the highlight of my day. I just do it for the pure joy of it. So, when I don?t feel like working out, I usually just let myself take a break and rest. The times when it has been the hardest to motivate myself have been when I could only exercise early in the morning. Then I just set my workout stuff on the floor by my bed and when the alarm went off, I got dressed and didn?t even have to think about the fact that it was dark and cold outside. It?s hard to get up, but once I?m out the door, I always enjoy working out early in the morning.

Favorite energizing meal:

My favorite foods are avocados and beets. I also love fresh baked bread, olives, marcona almonds and green juices or smoothies. Any kind of roasted root vegetable with onion, olive oil and salt is absolutely delicious.

What?s your favorite way to chill post-workout?

After I workout I usually jump in the shower and listen to music, but my favorite way to chill after yoga is to meditate in savasana. Those moments of deep breathing and relaxation after intense exercise are truly rejuvenating. During yoga and meditation are the only times when I can really turn my mind off and just be in the moment.

What is your top kick-ass workout?

My favorite workout is Matt Hodges? noon flow yoga class at Sumit?s Yoga in Phoenix. His class is just simple and beautiful. The poses are really challenging, but he guides you along with great music so you can take your body to its limits of strength and flexibility and find your focus. At the end you feel a great sense of peace and invigoration.

I also love riding the Paradise Valley loop on my bike. There are some steep hills, and I love that feeling when you are breathing hard and your legs are burning. Then you reach the summit and speed downhill tucked down on your handle bars. That?s when I truly feel like a kid.

Where is your favorite/most unique place you?ve ever exercised?

I think my favorite places I?ve exercised are locations so far in the wilderness that humans rarely go there. One of those places was in Costa Rica. I went on a three-day hiking/backpacking trip in the Osa Peninsula. I hiked along the beach with scarlet macaws overhead, got lost in pitch darkness during a huge storm in the jungle with monkeys and jaguars, and crossed rushing rivers where the water was so deep I had to swim with my backpack. I lost a toenail in the process, but gained an amazing experience.

What?s the biggest lesson you?ve learned through sports?

The biggest lesson I?ve learned through sports is to appreciate the sheer joy of the sport. I love to win, but the greatest happiness comes from just doing it?whatever it is.

The biggest lesson I?ve learned through yoga is to be grateful for what I have. The practice of yoga has taught me so many things. It has given me a sense of peace and acceptance with myself and compassion to help others. It also helps me to be true to myself and thankful for all that is good in my life. In essence, I feel that arthritis was a gift that led me to a healthier life. I am so thankful that I can exercise every day. I only hope that I can find a way to help and inspire others who suffer from chronic pain.

Photo: courtesy of Alex Arboleda

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Source: http://www.blisstree.com/2012/12/11/move/running/inspirational-female-athletes-alex-arboleda/

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