Body Evolution

Dakota River

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”

~ Pericles

What is this blog about?

This  blog is meant to inspire and inform the reader by sharing my own experiences and lessons learned in the art of taking care of the body. I am, in part, concerned with weight loss and maintenance, but I am also focused on a more wholistic approach to self-care.

Some of the topics that will be covered in this blog include:

• Eating consciously
• Personal development
• Differing philosophies on diet
• Overcoming emotional eating
• Finding happiness through self care
• Fulfilling your dreams
• Inspiring stories about athletes and fitness experts
• Daily Log of activities, thoughts, exercises strategies and diet
• Exercise routines
• Overcoming obstacles
• Exercise as a spiritual practice and healer

This blog was recently formed as a result of a  result of my desire to change my life.  I started this blog because I wanted to experiment with the Law of Attraction and weight loss.

At the core of my beliefs is the philosophy that development of the mind, body and spirit is essential to living a whole and happy life. Out of my desire to “live” what I “believe” I launched Body Evolution.

I chose weight loss because I have struggled with my yo-yo weight for most of my adult life. I believe that weight issues go much deeper than just unhealthy habits and I wanted to find out what that deeper issue was for me.

Thus was born my experiment with weight loss, nutrition, exercise and the mind. The most imortant factor for my success with weight loss is directly linked to the people who came before me.

I spent a lot of time looking at blogs and websites  by other people who succeeded at weight loss and found my inspiration, motivation and ideas on how to succeed. I realized that the best formula for success in any area is to learn from those who have already done it  and adapt those lessons.

One of the most inspiring blogs I found was started byAdam Waters, who currently maintains a blog about his own weight loss journey. It is packed full of stories of his struggles, his weight loss heros, and his own site designed specifically to promote weight loss for others called Shreddershpere or Real Time Physique Transformation System.

You will notice that I borrowed some of his ideas for my own weight loss experiment, like taking photos every day, and I even bought a  book that  Adam recommends called Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto.

From Body Evolution I started another blog called Inspirational Quotes and Stories. If you look at my Body Evolution blog you will see that at the bottom of every post I have a quote. Whenever I searched other sites for quotes, I found myself wanting more information about the person who was quoted. I was also interested in sites with suggestions about the meaning of the quote, but found very few; thus was born my second blog, Inspirational Quotes And Stories.

 Who Am I?:

My name is Dakota River and I was born in 1970, during a time when change was in the air, and, believe me, I felt it. Like this blog, I am a work in progress.I grew up a tomboy and early on loved to play sports and be outside. I was raised by a deeply spiritual father and a soul-searching mother. My father was a mixture of hippie and conservative, my mother was a steady rock. Because of my past, I became a soul-searcher and really started “questioning” my beliefs early in life.

I have spent most of my life dealing with exercise, weight loss and diet from the mechanical point of view, without really looking at the deeper connections. Then I started learning the martial arts, particularly Taoist Tai Chi and Karate. Through my experience with the martial arts I began to see the body more as a vehicle to the spirit. Taking care of my body somehow also has an effect on my inner being, my happiness, my ability to feel peaceful.

Because I have met with many people of all different spiritual beliefs and practices and travelled all over the world, I believe there is an overall desire for all of us to heal, feel whole, and take care of all parts us.

I studied exercise science, art, native american studies and religious traditions of every kind you can think. I am curious by nature and try my best to learn from others. I have always felt that we were here for the purpose of growth and experiment. So this blog is a manifestation of my experiments, lessons, questions, ideas…etc. that I hope to share with others.

Currently, I am an advocate and counselor for youth and adult survivors of child sexual abuse. I have worn many hats, but most of them include working with youth at risk, children and people with special needs.

I love to share information with others and little bits of wisdom. I find myself most happy and inspired with the company of others who like to question, stretch and grow. This blog is for the purpose of supporting others in their desire to learn and grow through taking care of and healing the body.

How to contact me?:

I can be reached at the Contact me page of this site