Karen Knowler * The Raw Food Coach

Angels in Atlanta

So, having missed my connection due to my LA - Atlanta flight being held up, I stayed the night in a hotel.

I had been sent an angel to get me there, a guy who was standing in front of me in the queue at the aiport who had also been late for the London flight, and he bought me some water, got on the bus with me as we were both booked in the same hotel. As I was so tired this really was a Godsend as it simply made life easier!

As soon as I was in my room I ordered room service, caught up on a few emails and then, finally to bed. I was sooo tired, and even the planes taking off every 15 minutes couldn't keep me awake for too long!

Sunshine and I have been online friends for a while now, and thanks to the power of Twitter, she contacted me before I fell asleep and asked if I would like to meet while I was in Atlanta.

Long story short she came over the next day, picked me up from my hotel and took me to a cafe/restaurant called "R. Thomas' Deluxe Grill" on Peachtree Road : ) We had a great time there and below is a little video showing what we had to eat and drink and also an introduction to Sunshine who is doing amazing work in the raw food community in relation to autism. You can find Sunshine at www.rawtism.com.

Not Home Yet!

Leaving Maui was tough, really tough, but the thought of getting back to home-sweet-home and specifically my little man was sufficient leverage to get my butt into the taxi and onto a plane.

All was going perfectly as I got on the first flight at Maui and reached LA safely and on time. After an hour’s wait it was time to board a new plane at LA and head off to Atlanta for the second stage of my three-part journey back to London. The boarding was fine and I found myself sitting between two very lovely people and all was well.

A couple of hours into our flight came the announcement: “If there are any passengers on board who are medically trained please come to the front of the plane where we would appreciate your assistance.” Uh-oh. I’ve been on a flight where this has happened before and knew what might come next.

And so it was an hour or so later we were landing early in Albuquerque New Mexico as the 90 year old woman who had been taken ill on board needed urgent medical attention on land.

This was fine, except then, as we were about to take off, the captain announced that due to refuelling we were now overweight and he needed to sign some legal papers and wait for the plane to be inspected in order for us to take of again. Ugh! Still, I had a good chunk of time between when we were due to land originally and my connection time that I thought things would be fine.

They weren’t!

Days 3 & 4 in Paradise

Day 3, Wednesday, was fab. It was my time to present to the group and I went first. Those 45 minutes proved to be some of the best of my business coaching experience so far as a few key things were discussed that have really made a lot of difference to me and every minute of those 45 was invaluable.

I wish I could say more but it’s hopefully obvious why I can’t! There’s a lot that needs to be done to get things in place and this will take time, but it’s all good. I have plenty of time! I am here for the long haul for sure : )

After our meeting completed, that was our two days over. I retired to my room to just be. In some ways I am very sociable and love to be around people but in just as many ways I am very quiet and like to be alone. Perhaps it’s “only-child-syndrome”, but it is what it is! I like to feel and process things and see how they fit with me. This is the guidance system I use for everything. I’m not so bothered if something sounds like a good idea, but if it feels like one, I’m on it!

Later that evening I went for an hour’s walk with Lisa Sasevich. Lisa is one of the Diamonds and really is one of my favourite people on the planet. She is so genuine, warm and loving and it was our first chance to spend quality time together 1:1 since we met in November in LA. It was a great hour in many different ways and I got to see the whole stretch of walkway in both directions of the hotel... it was so nice to walk in shorts and t-Shirt at 8pm!

When I got back to my room I ate dinner from room service. It was once again dreamy and perfect timing. A few hours later I was asleep and looking forward to the next day when I would get to do whatever I wanted, but mostly laying reading in the sun : )

Day 4, Thursday. I recorded a couple of videos for you but only one would upload as the second was much longer, so I’ll be writing about the book I’m raving about tomorrow. The video I have managed to upload shows you the area where I sunbathed a lot of yesterday and gives a different perspective on the resort. I actually say “Day 3” at the start of it, but it’s definitely Day 4. It just felt like day 3! Or perhaps, I just hoped it was!)

So Day 4 was spent reading in the sun, I went Kayaking with Stacey and Regina (you met Stacey on Day 2) and I spent the rest of the day catching up with people online and had a very early night even though I desperately wanted to do some goal setting! That will be for tomorrow now...

 

Day 2 in Paradise

Tuesday 12 May 2009

Day two was actually Day one in many respects as it was the first day of the reason why I came - the business retreat. I'll let the videos below tell the story, but suffice to say it was a VERY long day for me as by the time I got to dinner I had been awake 18 hours (since midnight!) and had only had 3 hours sleep. I decided to share with you the random second video so you could actually see me on a clip for a change and also appreciate just how tired I had got! But honestly this day was amazing and next I'll be sharing about what happened on Day 3... 

 

 

Day 1 in Paradise

I reached my hotel at around 9:45pm last night and was welcomed by a woman who said, “Weren’t you here last year?”

 

“No, this is my first time,” I said (wishing I had in fact been here last year!)

 

“Oh you look so familiar, I’m sure I’ve seen you before.”

 

Perhaps it was in another life : ) I have no clue but she was lovely and welcomed me officially by putting a garland of orchids around my neck. They were beautiful and smelt gorgeous but I couldn’t help feeling sorry for those beautiful orchids that had been picked and strung up only to wither and die over the next few days.

 

This thought got me started on reflecting on how this raw food path sensitises us to the nth degree. My whole trip, all 26 or so hours of it had been spent reflecting on the really awful food being served on board each flight, how few bathroom trips the average person made and how few people actually moved their bodies the entire time. I felt like a jack-in-the-box by comparison, I was also starting to get stir crazy “Just give me some fresh food and some room to stretch, purlease!!”

 

But the flight was of course more than worth it. Even though I had to catch three flights to get here (we had to get off at LA and then back on for the final leg) and use two cabs, I made it, and as soon as I got into my hotel room, once I’d perused the luxury of it (see video!), I got undressed, sent a few text messages to England and zzzzz I was asleep.
I expected to sleep til 10am as my travelling sleep had been so sporadic and poor quality but woke at 5-something!

 

I lay there for a while wondering if I would go back to sleep but my body decided no, it was time to get up, and besides I could hear some very loud chirruping outside my window.

 

I opened the balcony doors for the first time to discover I had an awesome view and it really was (is) like something out of a dream. Check out the 3 minute video I made to see exactly what I’m talking about.

 

Naturally all of this has caused me to reflect, yet again, on why I would choose to live in England, where days like this (and views like this) just don’t exist. I’m going to be sharing my thoughts on these and other questions over the course of this week, but decided to keep this journal to give you a glimpse into my world over the coming days and also the way we as raw foodies tend to see life very differently – and how!

 

I am so looking forward to seeing what these few short days will uncover, but what I can tell you already is that some waves of huge growth have already started to ripple through my being and all I can do, as always, is be fine with that and see where they take me.

I'm on My Way to Maui!

Sunday 10 May 2009

As I write this I’m on a plane to Atlanta – part one of my two-stage journey to Maui. I’ll be there for a week and of course, I’m looking forward to it!

Periodically over the past 4 months I’ve popped up from time to time to update, and this is one of those times. In another four months time I should be back in a position where I can blog two or three times a week again and I’m really looking forward to that.

Right now there’s so many changes going on that it really is hard to know where to start; but a good place to start is by sharing that I’m so glad you’re here and reading this because all of these changes are about the work I am doing for you : )

At the tail end of last year I signed up for a very high-end coaching program. Some of you know this, others may not. While the price tag is high and the group is extraordinary (there are 11 of us, and I am the only European) it has been the act of stepping up that has been the most tangible stretch of all, and it’s this I want to start with today because I feel that many of my readers are ready for a big juicy stretch but you might not know what this “should” look like or how to move into it – especially when the world around you is not quite up for the same growth as you.

But before I go there, let me explain why I’m so passionate about this stretching business, because for sure, sometimes it hurts. Sometimes you pull a heart, head or spiritual muscle and when it doesn’t snap back into its old place it can be very disorienting to say the least. The past five months have been constant in this regard for me. I have changed so much it’s almost inhuman!

So why do it?

An Attitude of Gratitude & My New Commitment

It’s my sixth day in LA – wow, time has gone so fast!

Since I last wrote I have:

• Been to Juliano’s RAW restaurant (image copyright www.planetraw.com)

• Been to a raw potluck and met fellow Brit Christy there

• Been to Au Lac restaurant, and met Chef Ito

• Worked a LOT – eZine, blogging, announcements and more recently letting people know about my Raw Food Classes Training teleclass tomorrow

• Met many wonderful people and eaten wonderful food!

By day I am staying with a raw connection I hadn’t even met before I flew! I’ll protect his privacy, but suffice to say, I couldn’t have asked for a better space to work in or a more compassionate, thoughtful host. Although I am simply a "roomie", G has taken me out to the restaurants, to meet his friends and shopping too... and while he is at work during the day I have the time and space to do my thing, which right now is actually way more than normal (read: lots of work!), as there are so many things in the pipeline and each one is taking more time and attention than I could have predicted!

Having said that, this past week I have been literally overwhelmed with gratitude. This has come from a place so deep I didn’t even know it was possible.

This has come about, I think, because right now, literally and metaphorically, I am straddling two worlds, both wonderous and wonderful, specifically: my English life in the countryside, back thousands of miles away, containing a gorgeous little boy who I love with all my heart and a landscape currently covered in snow, and this one, here and now, in LA where it’s sunny, the culture is so so different, fresh young coconuts are a short hop away and the front door is wide open.

And I miss my boy terribly. I’ve been away before and it’s always been tough, but this time I really miss him badly. Hearing about his wobbly teeth and his snowball fights makes me love him all the more and realise how lucky I am to have him waiting for me when I get home Monday... and then there’s my fabulous home which I love so much - so spacious and yet so homely, and Katie turning up every day, come snow or shine, working overtime to help everything stay ticking along perfectly while I'm busy sleeping in a completely different time zone!

Meanwhile, as she and the rest of my fellow Brits are now busy sleeping, I'm here in Marina del Ray for another couple of days, busy tapping away on my keyboard watching the numbers stack up hourly for my big teleclass tomorrow. This is the biggest call I’ve ever run and the one I am the most excited about to date. (I just checked and we're at 404 in less than 48 hours!! I can hardly believe it...) You see, I have made a commitment to step up and lead the charge for the movement that results in there being at least one raw food teacher in every town in every state in every country. No kidding! Yes, it’s a huge project, but it has to start somewhere. And NOW is the time that a project like this has a real chance of succeeding. And classes are, in my opinion, THE most powerful way to get people into raw foods – when they’re done right! (If you’d like to learn more about becoming a raw food teacher on any scale, you’ll want to be on this FREE call or be on the priority list for accessing the recording – it will be packed full of info and inspiration!)

So back to me in my temporary office and these dreams just keep getting bigger...

More recently I have made it more public that I consider everything I do in my work to be originated and motivated by my connection to God/ Spirit/ What you will... and I feel compelled to write more about that right now because I feel it's so important. Every day it's getting stronger that my message is as much about soul as it is about food - something I've known since forever, but it just didn't seem like the right time to really speak about it before. Now it's just wanting to pour out of me...

Back in the day - circa 1995 - I used to be embarrassed about raw food and spirituality. Both were considered off the wall to say the least. Part of me resented both ("why can't I be NORMAL?!") while the other deeper, more real me adored and inwardly prayed and gave infinite thanks at the altar of both. Among friends, family and work colleagues I felt that I may as well just stick a label on my forehead that said “weirdo” and be done with it!!

No more : )

Just as raw food has proved itself and its validity to me over and over and over again, so too has my faith. Every time I have felt too small to make something happen, or have feared something wouldn’t work, my faith has literally pulled me to my feet, propped me up and moved me on – in the most amazing, sweet and eternally loving way. And it has always, but always delivered! And raw food has done exactly the same.

So that’s why more recently the things I’ve been taking on, or have been considering taking on have been so huge.

I’ve proved to myself that I can manifest to the point of craziness! (We all can!) I know that when I set my intention and that intention is birthed from this wonderful faith-filled and inspired place, that miracles can and DO happen.

I really am so blessed in my life right now, and that is why I’m so grateful.

You know, some people have taken this trip at face value and said “Woohoo, you’re living it up in LA!”... Well, that’s not untrue exactly (although the living it up is as much internal as it is external!) BUT what’s important to pass along is that the energy that underlies this trip and that has made it so synchronistic and magical is possibly the most magnificent and pure I have ever carried in any chapter of my life so far...

Because I've had to...

I’ve been taking big risks and stepping out anyway. I’ve had times where I’ve questioned what I’ve taken on and stepped out anyway. And the reason why I’m in LA to begin with – which only just a handful of people currently know – is the biggest stepping out of my life so far.

And what’s happened is truly humbling and amazing.

Even writing this I am pinching myself, yet knowing that magic happens when we come from a good place, a great place, a grateful place.

As I said on Rawkathon at the end of last year, I committed to service when I was just eight years old. That underlying drive - beautiful, loving, committed and courageous, has brought me here today, and though I may be nearly 30 years older, I have rediscovered an infinite peace and beauty in this third-time surrender of the most innocent nature.

This is living magically on raw, and this is what I want to share with you and help you have more of in this next chapter of YOUR life, no matter how good or "bad" it may be showing up for you right now. Stay tuned via my eZine as not only is the fab new Starter Kit soon to be published and sent to all subscribers, but I also have some other as-yet-unadvertised treats laying in store for you starting very soon.

More anon...

With Love from LA

As some of you know, right now I’m in LA – Marina del Ray to be precise! It’s lovely and sunny here but I have so many things to get done that I can’t go out and play until my work is complete : ) Thankfully it's still early here, whearas back at home in the UK it's approaching bed time... very surreal!

One of the things on my to do list is to blog! Long overdue being an understatement ...So here we are... and today I want to share with you my “yesterday” – my first full day in LA.

Thursday 29th January 2009: I woke at 5.15am, still adjusting to time zone changes a bit. It’s always weird when I come to the US as I’m usually speaking or skyping Katie in her final hour at work because of the 8 hour difference! It’s quite odd for me but I’m sure always a bit of a last minute dash for her as I suddenly launch on her 10 different things that need to be done or checked before she leaves for the day! God bless her that she’s the most wonderful PA a girl could wish for. Thankfully she knows just how much I mean that!

So, back to yesterday. I woke in a bit of a panic. I’d been dreaming that it was 8:40am and I hadn’t booked the taxi I needed to get me to my meeting for 9am – yikes! Thankfully realising it was still early and it was a dream after all alleviated the stress, but nonetheless moved me to book that cab immediately!

Next on my list was speaking to Luke, my little man, aged 6. He was just home from school. Apparently he had some “very important news” for me. Trust me, it must be important if he says that.

And it was.

He has his first two wobbly teeth!

I could have cried with motherly love and pride as he described to me where they were and how one of his friends in Kingfisher class had received a NOTE from the tooth fairy as well as some money.

“Goodness!” I said. “Do you think the tooth fairy will write you a note?”

“I don’t know,” said Luke hoping that she would, of course. Well you can bet that his fairy will and she’ll put lots of kisses on it too ; )

So with my most important priorities of the day taken care of it was time to get showered and dressed ready for the meeting.

At 8am my friendly Russian cabbie arrived, and though he was a few minutes early was happy to wait and then once on board did his best to communicate to me that he’d just picked up a film star and taken him to Malibu beach for filming. He just didn’t know who he was  : )

My Food and Fitness - Another Level

I’ve been working with a personal trainer for around 14 weeks now and it’s been a really quite fascinating journey – for so many reasons, some obvious, many not so.

My reason for deciding to blog about this is to share and hopefully inspire those of you who have contemplated upping your fitness levels (or even starting to exercise regularly) but have, like me, never really given it full throttle!

Just to give this some context, I decided to sign up with Lawrie back in April; it was actually the same day Katie started as my PA, April 1st (!). I must admit that for the first two weeks it was hard. I ached and I found myself overeating for the first time in a very long time – and not for hunger reasons, which is totally unheard of for me. Knowing what I know, I had only one choice but to ask myself, “why are you overeating and eating when you’re not hungry?” and I realised that I was actually scared – scared of either not losing the stubborn fat in spite of the exercise or scared that I would lose it and then... what would that mean? (Don’t we all think we’ll be the one exception that doesn’t lose the weight or make it work?!)

After I had this conversation with myself I took a firm grip! Basically I did some inner work, not unlike that which I do with my clients and simply came to the agreement with myself that I would eat only when hungry as before and simply allow the process to happen.

The next chapter after this was challenging. My fitness was poor to start in cardio terms. Elsewhere I was pretty good but my first run ended at 5 minutes. One week later I was up to 15 minutes, then 18 and ever since we have run for 20 minutes + but more recently doing interval training (one or two minutes jogging then 30 seconds to one minute sprinting). This is the fat burning technique – it’s tough and it’s challenging, but boy does it work!

New Home, New Life... Aahhhhh Grasshopper!

Things have been quiet around here in KK Blog Land, it's true. But all of that is set to change. Thank you for continuing to visit even if my curtains looked drawn :) (They kind of were...)

Just to update - recently TheRawFoodCoach.com went through an intense period of growth. At the end of March I flew to New York and gave my first NY presentation, Katie Foster started full time as my PA on 1st April (she's amazing), I've run two 6-day Raw Coach Trainings in less than 4 months (March and June), I went to Tuscon for almost a week at the end of May to work with my business coach and colleagues and I also started working with 10 Raw Food Coaches to help them build their businesses which is a year long commitment. This is aside from my normal "everyday" work as well as being a single parent. Phew!

Recently I shared with my eZine readers that I felt big change was on the way. I even shared a very personal post in a secret location that generated the largest response EVER by far. It seems that many many raw foodies are wishing to do something radical with their lives right now and my story was by no means unique. And so it was that I started journalling online, privately, so I could share my journey later of how I went from one chapter to the next.

What happened very quickly however, was that after an initial acknowledgement of what was occurring I found myself not wanting to write about it. I very much just wanted to "be" with it and feel what was going on. To let it do its thing, move through me without analysing it; to just let it unfold. I guess I semi-consciously started spinning a cocoon! It is only now that I feel I am about to turn the last page of this recent chapter that I am ready to start talking again and though I don't fully know what the next chapter holds (when do we ever?!), I do know pretty much 100% for sure that it will begin on 31st July when I move to my new home.

And for that I can't wait... (Pictures on the next page)