Meet Shannon Ellis
How the world sees her:
A former NCAA Division I volleyball
coach recently turned stay at home mom.She's spent the last 12 years teaching and coaching at the collegiate level.
How Shannon See's herself:
Now
I’m home with my three amazing children and loving it.
If you stopped by you'd find Shannon:
Most
days I’m in sweats – not because I’m lazy but because that’s what you have in
your closet after a decade of working in a gym.
Besides that way I’m always ready for an impromptu game or workout. I love moving!
What she's passionate about: Getting healthier every day. This is not a passing phase but my lifetime
obsession. I’ve also working feverishly
to finish my first book which is about raising active, healthy children. I love food, sports, reading, and
sleeping. Gosh I miss sleeping. Someday I will get a full night of sleep
again. Of course we will let you know when the book is published!!
More about Shannon:
Born in Provo, UT; raised in California and Texas; spent most of my adult life here in Seattle
Born in Provo, UT; raised in California and Texas; spent most of my adult life here in Seattle
Mother of Zachary (6), Tyler (3), and Edi (4 months) and
Wife of my best friend Brian
If the house was burning and the family was safe what would you grab?....there is
nothing I would need. My family is my
all. And maybe my new laptop.
Why Have we shined the spotlight on Shannon?
(Besides the fact that she is super awesome and gave up being The head Volleyball Coach for Seattle U to be the Number 1 Mom of 3 stinkin' cute little ones, and is an amazing Personal Fitness trainer?)
She will be our monthly feature
"Bring it on...
Getting Fit! Getting Healthy!
...for REALS"
Getting Fit! Getting Healthy!
...for REALS"
To give you a taste of what Shannons feelings about Fitness and Health are we've asked her to get us started on our way to being a better us... We are confident that you will love Shannon as much as we do and as much as Seattle U did for 10 years! (They didn't want to let her go! You won't either!)
Every January millions of women resolve to get healthier and then fail to make any ground. There are lots of reasons why people aren’t in the shape they hope to be. Life is crazy for all of us. Sometimes it seems there is never enough time, money, or energy to get it all done.
But maybe…maybe our health is worth investing a little time
and energy. Maybe it won’t take quite as
much time and energy as we fear if we do it right. Maybe we can get healthier even if we only
make a little progress every day.
I’m
here to tell you that WE CAN!
Many women see their body as the enemy to be conquered
instead of a part of them. We can all
find something about our bodies to be grateful for. Start right now by looking at your
hands. Think of all the things they can
do. They write, type, and eat. Maybe they can sew, crochet or play the
piano. Maybe they can transform optimus
prime from a robot to a vehicle in under a minute. They are a part of your amazing body. Your body heals itself when injured or attacked
by disease. It allows you to experience
the bounty of this life through your senses.
It can run, jump, play and dance. The human body is a wonderful thing! Even if you don’t believe in God, you must
admit that the beauty and complexity of the human form is a miracle.
One of the most amazing things about the body is that it is
adaptable. It is a completely dynamic
system which changes constantly to meet the demands placed upon it. If you want your body to give you more energy
then you simply have to tell it to do so by putting just a little more load
upon it (aka exercising more). At first
it will be uncomfortable but then your body will adapt.
This is called the overload principle.
Through this principle we can train our
bodies (and our minds and spirits) to do anything.
Even if our bodies aren’t perfect there is so much they can do. People with chronic illness and disabilities are often so inspiring because they focus on what they can do rather than what they cannot. My personal definition of health is having the energy to do all the things I need to do and the things I want to do and to do them well and with a smile. At this time of resolutions I want to challenge you to put a positive spin on YOU. Instead of thinking: “I really need to lose 20 pounds”, can you change it to...“I really want to get healthier so I can have more energy to do fun things this year”? Now find one thing you can do today to overload your body just a little. Maybe you could go up and down the stairs a few more times today, or do an extra set of crunches, or run around with your kids even when you don’t want to. Your body will adapt and you will be on your way to meeting that resolution. This is the year!
You may be wondering who I am and why I am so certain about this overload principle.
Until quite recently I was the Head Volleyball Coach at Seattle University. I worked there for 10 years after earning my Bachelors in Physical Education (BYU) and a Masters degree in Counseling (Bucknell). After a year of agonizing over the decision I decided to step down and stay home with my family. It was a brutal decision for me. Besides the stress of making the finances work, I didn’t want to let people I care about down. Coaching is an incredible experience. You develop intense relationships with your players early in the recruiting process that last long after they graduate. I would do anything to help them become their very best selves. I saw my players make amazing transformations in mind, body and spirit. It was an extremely demanding and completely rewarding job. The time and energy it consumed just became too great for me to care for my family the way I wanted to. Since I have left, I haven’t looked back. My children are Zach (6), Tyler (3) and Edi (4 months) and they are my beautiful treasure. I have learned that I can use my skills and all of the knowledge and experience I’ve gained helping people around me become healthier and happier. (Watch for my blog and book to be unveiled in the coming months!)
I am currently accepting a limited number of personal clients if you are interested in a more personal approach to health. I’ll be a regular contributor to the Seattle Sisters talking about nutrition and exercise and often within the context of crazy busy families. If you have a fitness question you want answered I would love to address it. I can’t wait to connect with my Seattle Sisters!
The magic in building a winning team, a killer body, a
successful business, a strong family is just about creating a vision of what
you want and then moving a little closer to it each day.
This is something we all can do. It takes some deliberate effort but once you learn mindfulness you can truly do anything. I’ve seen people accomplish feats they before said were impossible. You probably have goals for yourself that seem just out of reach. There is a way to make those goals come to fruition. Hopefully I can share the keys to that process because once you learn it you can become the person you most want to be.
This is something we all can do. It takes some deliberate effort but once you learn mindfulness you can truly do anything. I’ve seen people accomplish feats they before said were impossible. You probably have goals for yourself that seem just out of reach. There is a way to make those goals come to fruition. Hopefully I can share the keys to that process because once you learn it you can become the person you most want to be.
Shannon Ellis
Fitness Consultant Extraordinaire
Shannon.ellis41@gmail.com
This is awesome! I like how you say THIS is the year, its just up to us. Looking forward to more health and nutrition posts!
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