MY FITNESS JOURNEY
Hey, I am Basia and it makes me extremely happy to train with you. I love to hear your feedback and suggestions in the comment section below my YouTube workouts, or on Instagram. “My Fitness Journey” was created for you to get to know me better. I am going to tell you how my passion for training started, how it evolved, and where it led me.
Take something to drink ☕️. Sit down comfortably and let’s begin.
MY FITNESS JOURNEY STARTED
It all started when I was around 6 years old. My mum took me to a ballet class and soon after I joined a local dance group. But, this adventure was over pretty soon. I think for many of us changing schools implies other consequences. Friendships evolve or end. The interests shift and the old hobbies lose their value and importance. Well, for me that happened when I went to the gymnasium (I was 13 years old).
Many would have thought that dance no longer existed for me. And to some degree it was true. My passion was hidden deep inside my heart until together with my best friend we discovered a contemporary dance teacher in our small city in Poland. I was at that moment in high school. That was an amazing time. Not only did we go to the contemporary classes, but we also tried a few dance workshops. We were discussing how wonderful it would be to go to an actual dance school. Reality, however, was not that sweet to us. It seemed like we didn’t have the appropriate skills to apply for the dance Universities.
After a year, the contemporary teacher was gone, and together with it all the dreaming. We were left with a lot of studies and preparations for the University, the faculties that we thought we were good enough to apply to. My dream to dance professionally was over, but my passion didn’t stop. I realized I couldn’t live without dance and movement. I didn’t have any hope at that moment to do it professionally, but at least I wanted to do something.
I was desperate to try anything that would give me back the happiness that I felt when I was dancing. This is how I went to salsa, after capoeira, aikido, and yoga classes. The choices were limited as I was living in a small city. All in all, I was neither consistent nor had I any further goals with these trials. Eventually, my other passion – horse riding – won over and I just focused on it.
Following what life placed in front of me
A core reason why I ended up studying Physiotherapy was my passion for dance. Sounds contradicting, but it’s not. You have no idea how many dancers end up learning Physiotherapy after their dance career didn’t work out. In my case, it was the opposite scenario. I started with studying Physiotherapy and after I pursued my dream to “dance”. That’s not exactly correct. But, I will explain it later.
Studying Physiotherapy was interesting, but… ah this but… it wasn’t satisfying. Something was missing. And at this point, you should know what I am referring to. In my first year, I continued horse riding. WOOOO that was btw GREAT! Such a great great time!
In my second year, in the first half of it, I decided to dance again. I found a ballet school and I was going there regularly. It lasted only half a year because the rest of the year I spent in the Czech Republic on Erasmus (student exchange). My last year in the Uni… well let’s skip it. It was only, and I mean it, only studying.
Now you probably think this story doesn’t have an end and it’s a bit boring. Be patient. It’s all quite important in a final twist.
I finished my Bachelor’s degree in Physiotherapy. Now what? By chance, I have applied to Scotland for a Master’s degree. And again by chance, I got in. I followed what life placed in front of me. But… another but… hehe… my thoughts were always turning towards dance. During my Master’s studies in Scotland, I spent many hours driving on a bus to salsa and bachata classes. This was the best part of this whole experience. Dance was giving me such pleasure.
After writing my Master’s paper, I went to my favorite Dance Workshops in Poland. And here is THE TWIST! In this workshop, I found an advertisement for a Bachelor’s degree in Dance in a private Dance Academy. There were no age restrictions!
Guess what! Of course, I went to the audition. Surprisingly, many applicants were middle-aged women and many had very basic dance techniques. It is difficult to put into words what I felt during this audition. Suddenly, I realized that as a teenager my dance dream was not as far from reality as I thought. Many Dance Academies indeed require talent and extraordinary skills. They also hold age restrictions, which are 18 to 22 years old for girls.
But… waiting on my turn to perform, looking at all these participants, I knew that these strict requirements were only relevant to very prestigious Dance Academies, usually the ones that focus on performance. Many other dance schools were not that rigorous. I felt a sourness of regret combined with stupidity. “I lost five years” – I thought – “What would my life look like if I applied to a Dance school straight after high school?”
“I lost five years” was a bit exaggerated. I haven’t wasted anything and my life is designed exactly how it should be.
Pursuing my dream
My application was successful. I was a student in a Dance Academy. Everything seemed promising. The semester started and reality crushed me to the ground. The problem was that I just wanted to dance. Be good at it. Be fit. Be flexible, and have skills.
How could I improve if I had dance classes only 3 times a week? Apart from that, there was a lot of theory and homework that didn’t seem useful for my goals. I already had a Master’s in Science. Sitting and reading about getting fit won’t make me fit! It doesn’t work like that and it never will.
After half a year I resigned. This experience though did not leave me empty-handed. This time, I knew what I wanted and I knew how to embrace it. I wanted to dance. And to do that I didn’t need universities, degrees, or anything like that. I just needed to dance. Well… go back a bit. Firstly, I needed to earn money, have time and live in a place close to decent dance schools.
This is how I moved to Germany. I worked in healthcare. I moved to Berlin. I spend hours in the underground and busses. I organized my life and finally, I reached the point where I earned enough money, I worked in a respectable Physiotherapy practice 25 hours a week, I lived close to my work and dance school.
Motivation, where are you?
Now you could say: “Her dream came true. She was satisfied”. I need to disappoint you. This is when I lost motivation. I was “depressed”. If you can call depression not wanting to meet your friends, not wanting to talk to your family, not wanting to do anything apart from watching dramas and crying.
This mood of mine lasted around 3 months. And… hymn… it wasn’t connected with dance as much as you think. It was just… everything together. My entire life, its love stories, its constant money and time struggles and a lot of effort put into something that seemed not working the way I wanted. I had a good environment to dance, but I was… TIRED. Why?
Because for the last three years I have been doing nothing but learning german, doing an endless paperwork to nostrificate my dyplom, moving from city to city, searching for a place to live and at the same time working. When I finally got what I wanted. I felt like all of my effort didn’t bring the desired results. Even though I worked part-time, I was too tired to go to as many dance classes as I wanted. My motivation was dropping.
This is when a new light came to my life. I discovered a Shaolin Kung Fu school in China. Immediately, I knew this place was what I needed. To continue this story, please watch the video below. I will leave you with it. After you’re done, keep on reading.
Now, you know where my life led me.
I still struggle. I guess that’s how you learn and improve. But, I am more calm and satisfied. I am patient. I try not to focus on my expectations, but on the path, on its present moment, enjoying what I have. And in fact, I am truly happy where this road leads me.
THERE IS MORE
Train with Basia is all about training. I am happy that you joined me on this journey and together we can achieve our fitness goals. But, it wouldn’t be fair if I leave you just with that. There is a whole other world that is equally important in my life and I would like you to get to know it as well.
MY PROJECTS
MAT | Martial Arts Training
And as you could see in the video above, together with my boyfriend, we are very dedicated to developing our main project – MAT | Martial Arts Training, where you can find Online Training with the top Masters from around the world.
ROOTED IN NATURE
Apart from Train with Basia, I am greatly passionate about Healthy Life, including herbs, cleanses, detoxes, nutrition experiments, and DIY natural products. You can find more information about it on my other YouTube channel and website, called “Rooted in Nature”.
BASIA BLOG
I love to write and Basia Blog is where I lay down my thoughts, my learnings, and share my training experience with the readers.
There are already a series of articles about my first, second and third year of Shaolin Kung Fu training in China. Also, there are a few articles about Kalaripayattu adventure in India.
ALIVE
Well, let’s not forget my traveling adventures, which you can find on ALIVE.
DRAGONS WARRIORS
Dragons Warriors is a project from where everything has started. If you want to know more about my work with Dani, check our website.
To conclude my story, I leave you with a few videos about my training in China and India, as Train with Basia is all about training 😉💪
ARTICLES ABOUT ME
Article in Polish Newspaper – WysokieObcasy 2021
Article in Polish Newspaper – Miasto 2018
