Ola Alghazzouli came to the United States at age 11 from Damascus, Syria. With her new home, she found a string of language and cultural differences that lowered her self-esteem and made her body conscious to the point of bulimia and binge eating. After being introduced to weight lifting, Ola was inspired by the changes she saw in her body and the power that focusing on the positive changes she was seeing gave her. After coming out the other side of her shame surrounding physical strength as a Muslim woman, she embraced her new found ability and feels passionate about helping others do the same.
Getting back to basics, being outside in nature, art therapy, and movement is what Ola believes to be the key contributors to finding your purpose and loving your body. We are discussing the importance of stepping back and allowing your body to take a break, how to find your purpose through fitness and ways that Ola is able to blend faith and fitness without pushing a religious agenda.
You don't have to be perfect, but if you keep working towards your goal from a place of enjoyment and purpose, you can heal your relationship with your body and live in the true paradise known as Akhirah. Ola is here to open your eyes to the intersection of functional fitness, Muslim faith and the divinity of being in your purpose.
How does your self-body image as a teenager impact how you interact with fitness today? Share with us in the comments on the episode page!
“I was afraid of the gym at the beginning, but once I got hardcore into weight lifting, I started seeing differences in my body, and not caring about who was looking at me.” (16:02)
“For anyone who is super exhausted, you are not going to find motivation until you give yourself a little break, take a deep breath, take care of your body, and know why you are doing it.” (23:56)
“When 2014 happened, my grandma passed away, and I was like ‘oh my gosh, my body is a responsibility for me, what the heck am I doing with it?’ And that is when the whole awakening happened, and now I see that it is all meant for me, I am meant to be this trainer.” (28:54)
“My main goal and hope is that I am able to help people see their body in a positive way. And it’s not just about toning out or losing weight, it's about getting a strong mind, loving who you are and what you look like as of now.” (30:48)
“Just go for it, you never know what you can do until you do it.” (44:31)
Check out the full show notes here!
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