Marilyn.Tuna

A provocative point of view

Peri Menopause, strength training & the art of self-seduction.

How moving into the transition phase of middle-aged womanhood has taught me some surprising lessons about how we need to reassess the way we move, lift, and view the art of strength training.

I liken my experiences, very much to falling in love again, it’s at times scary, exhilarating, and painful and other times all-consuming to the point of obsession. As a woman with an aging body that now requires boundaries, insight, and compassion to stay on a sustainable path, I have very much had to re seduce myself with a new art of strength training.

What once was harsh, relentless and boundaryless in my 20s to achieve my strength aspirations has cultivated into a more graceful and at times sensual creative practice. It has become a way to reconnect to my body for what it can do rather than what can’t.

Let’s go back to falling into love.

When you are sitting in a room with a person you are deeply attracted to physically, emotionally, and spiritually time stops, the world is in slow motion, you become hyper aware of how you move speak and sound, when your bodies meet in embrace it is an effortless dance of pure human movement.

I have found my training practice to connect with this desired human feeling. Moving with pleasure, grace and deep intuitive feeling, the desire to push to complete exhaustion has now faded because just like falling in love we want to forever connect with that feeling, live it forever.

Now leaving the floor when my body is warm, but not worn out, leaving the floor when I can still breath with freedom, I walk onto the floor to move with love and nothing more.

Because in the end, I have nothing left to prove, I’m here as a middle-aged woman walking a new path of transition, the new phase of self-love, self-acceptance, and discovery.

This is not a time to push or prove any more it’s a time to accept, and I can guarantee you, you will wake up each day wanting more.

By Marilyn Tuna

“It's all shits and giggles until someone shits.”

Ah, the humble bowel prep is once again imminent this evening as I head into yet another colonoscopy. As a woman suffering from aggressive bowel endometriosis, I am reminded of cutting weight for comp. However, instead of starving oneself half to death to get onto a platform and possibly win a medal, I have the unfortunate task of lying flat to have a camera literally inserted into my butt while half awake. Honestly, lifting in a competition in a depleted state had much the same feeling from memory as the experience of a colonoscopy. It's all very aggressive, and painful, with little chance of a good result.

But much like any painful journey, we must undertake to progress as humans, whether it's reaching our goals or ensuring proper daily bowel movements, we have to fight the good fight and get the job done. Throughout my adult life, I have been a high-level competitive athlete and a woman with an aggressive chronic illness. Much of my life has consisted of long, hard, relentless periods of pain and adversity, often coupled with the disadvantage of pain and days of forced starvation.

But from all those years of struggle, I have learned a lot about self-compassion, patience, consistency, courage, and ambition. I have learned to face each day of relentless pain head-on, using the adversity and disadvantage of starvation to fuel my compassion, set and cultivate my patience, and build and strengthen my courage, while also igniting the flame of infinite ambition within me.

Winning isn’t always about the medals it is about being brave and doing shit you don’t like doing, then waking up the next day and hoping you can do the shit again.

Much love from me to you Mtuna xx

Sphere Control, fucking heavy kettlebells, and Endo...

Sphere control is something that has been DRILLED in me as an elite kettlebell sport athlete. I have spent years of training under some of the toughest coaches in the world to endure unbearable pain while maintaining complete control of my emotions and regulating my breath and stress response. I have learned to quickly identify movement and position, moving with exceptional technical proficiency and tactical awareness to dictate the pace in a submaximal weightlifting sport that involves very fucking heavy kettlebells of prolonged suffering for 10 minutes or more.

Sphere control refers to the ability to effectively and strategically manage and control a specific sphere or domain of influence, granting authority, influence, and power in a particular area. In my case, it involved enduring relentless training, high-stress competitions, and unimaginable pain.

Now, as a 38-year-old woman suffering from one of the most painful chronic illnesses, endometriosis, which has taken six of my internal organs, required over seven invasive surgeries, lengthy hospital stays, and numerous harsh medications, I have come to realize that the sphere control skills instilled in me as an athlete have become an invaluable tool to cope with the daily challenges of living with an incurable illness.

The transition has not been easy, continuously testing my spirit, pain thresholds, and ability to cope. However, it has allowed me to cultivate my sphere control in ways I never imagined. Effectively and strategically managing my life and adapting my movement practices around this disease mirrors the preparation for a competition. I understand that becoming stronger and more efficient is not a straightforward or linear path; it requires trial and error, deload phases, and experimentation that can sometimes lead to difficult situations, injury, and flares.

I have learned how to regulate my breath and stress responses during flare-ups or hospital stays how to navigate my treatment options with tactical decision-making skills consulting with medical professionals, striving to find effective and efficient plans that align with me as a person.

In essence, the sphere control skills honed during my athletic career have become invaluable in managing my life with a chronic illness. They provide a framework for resilience, adaptability, and effective decision-making as I navigate the challenges and uncertainties of my health journey.

I may not be winning gold medals or records moving forward but I will be using this journey to not only flourish but to inspire.

Much love from Me to you xxx

” Shit talking “

Cultivating and curating a space for your self-image to flourish in a world that expects perfectionism that is unrealistic, unattainable, and absolutely ridiculous.

Comparison is a logical process it is human and very normal, we can begin to curate our spaces accordingly online, in our homes and where we spend our time, we can celebrate the things our bodies have done and what we can do.

Shift your inner self-talk to become kinder, while still honoring how you truly feel about your body, your non-verbal personal inner dialogue speaks to every cell in your body so be mindful.

Find the moments you feel empowered and powerful to slowly shift the shitty self-talk.

Much love M

The transition into Perimenopause

“ We are not rich by what we possess but by what we can do without “ Immanuel Kant – he's hardcore but you have to love the guy he has a good point.

One thing we can all do without as women moving into our transition period is self-doubt, body shaming, feeling like we are not good enough, and not giving our selfs permission to understand the strategies we once implemented to be the best versions of ourselves no longer work.

We must practice self-compassion, and cultivate gentle restorative strategies to align with how our bodies are changing, the transition period that is perimenopause is not an illness or a disease it is a period of growth, a time for introspection, a time for new core values and a time to embody the powerful strong women we have worked so hard to become.

Be kind to yourself, be gentle with yourself…

Move with care, move with love move to be present.

Eat to nourish, eat to support, and eat to live.

Rest to realign and recover.

Much love to u x

” Fuck around and find out “ A new spin on Dry July

I read a shit ton of books on nutritional sciences , hormone health , movement sciences, and much more. You could say I'm obsessed with anything to do with what makes us tick along.

Speaking of ticking along,I also really fucken love wine as maladaptive as it is , raised in a winery one might say it's in my blood. So to be honest with you as much as I love the idea of a dry July I will be honest it is not bloody happening. Being the weird chemistry health nerd that I am , I wanted to create a new spin on dry July while still enjoying my glass of wine with dinner from time to time.

After reading a very very good book by Catherine Shanahan M.D – DEEP NUTRITION, I became acutely aware of how BAD , Industrial Fats are for you , between the incredibly imbalanced omega -6 Fatty acids , unhealthy processing methods, lack of nutritional value, and the endless list off associated health risks I had a penny drop moment.

Let us quit shit oils for 30 days and see what happens ???

So what are the shit oils and what do they do ?

1 – Imbalance of Omega – 6 Fatty Acids. Vegetable oils, such as soybean, corn, and sunflower are rich in omega-6 fatty acids while our bodies need a balance of both omega-6 and 3 fats , the Western diet often tilts more on the side of 6 . The imbalance can lead to chronic inflammation, which has been linked to various health problems such as cardiovascular issues.

2 – Unhealthy Processing. The manufacturing process of veg oils involves high heat , solvents, and chemicals.These processes damage the oils promoting oxidation and the formation of trans fats and free radicals.Trans fats are really SHIT because they will raise the cholesterol levels your doctor gives you a hard time about, while the free radicals can cause cellular damage and more inflammation = blocked up and Puffy

3 – Lack of nutritional value. Compared to whole foods,veg oils provide next to no nutritional value, but are incredibly calorie dense lacking in any vitamins minerals, or fiber…

4 – Potential Health Risks. They make you fat …. Give you cellulite, and increase the risk of heart disease, insulin resistance, and even some cancers, if your trying to get pregnant it's shown to have adverse effects on fertility, and can mess around with your sex hormones.

Not all fats will fuck you up tho , though extra virgin olive oil , avo oil ( not heated ) coconut oil, good butter, and animal fats are all good, have far lower Omega -6 Content higher levels of beneficial monounsaturated fats, and undergo far less processing, offer favorable fatty acid profiles and health benefits with a glass of red wine full of antioxidants.

So it's a fuck around and Finds out 30 days if your keen, it won’t cost you anything other than your time and a keen eye on your food labels.

Start Date: Saturday 1st July 2023 …

Peace out

Perceived stress debit is like a high-rate interest loan that fucks you up for pretty much no return.

Perceived stress refers to an individual's subjective perception of what stresses them the fuck out, we have acute stress that can be life-threatening like a serious accident, the loss of a loved one, or a catastrophic event our bodies will click on the cortisol, and kick that fight or flight mode on to go into protection mode rightfully so, glucose will be pumped into the system for quick easy of use energy so we can act superhuman, Our bodies are wired to activate the stress response in genuinely life-threatening situations.

We have these cool systems in place to protect ourselves but the uncool part is in this day and age we are getting stuck in this shitshow where we perceive simple mundane adulating to be more stressful than it actually is, we are basically putting ourselves in some serious debt, that can not only cost us physically but psychologically.

The terms” be mindful “ and “living in the moment “ looks great printed on a T-shirt at a festival or a coffee cup some asshole gave you at work but to many means not a whole lot, shitty cups and T-shirts aside, we all need to take a step back and review what is actually stressful and what is just a pain in the ass. Because once you can start to separate the 2, trust me you will feel better about it.

So the term “being mindful” is actually spot on, if you standing doing a mundane job and letting yourself become far more stressed than you need it's time to recognize the signs, clenched jaw , racing heart rate, etc then it may be time to take a step back and “ live in the moment man” … as I roll my eyes .You can quite literally while “ living in the moment “ change your perception of stress and intern feel better, look better and function better.

I kid you not stressing will literally kill you if u don’t watch your ass! It will make you fat, miserable , drop in libido, overeat under eat,anxiety attacks, heart attacks, high blood pressure the list is endless. Im not saying it is easy to change your perception of stress but being aware that doing the dishes while the kids are driving you nuts is not worth the stress debt that you will accrue, the only one who will suffer is you.

Take a moment, take a breath , put the dishcloth down, and reset , your body and mind will thank you for it !

Quick cool reads – By Marilyn Tuna