Self-Connection and Inner Strength with Lesley Logan

Michael: My gosh, Lesley, I'm so excited. We are getting ready for Unbroken Con, what is up Unbroken Nation. I'm so happy you guys are here with us. We are going to talk about a lot of things today, but most importantly, we're gonna talk about transforming your trauma into triumph with the brand-new conference we're gonna be doing this December Unbroken Con. And one of our amazing speakers here, Lesley Logan, is gonna be leading us through an incredible workshop. If you don't know Lesley, I'm gonna call her this, she wouldn't say this, the number one Pilates teacher on planet Earth. She's an absolute freaking rockstar and she's gonna help us get deeper into our body as we go. And if you don't know her journey, definitely go listen to our previous episode of the Think Unbroken Podcast where she was a guest earlier this year, cuz that episode was absolutely phenomenal. But Lesley, I'm super excited about Unbroken Con, this conference gonna be amazing. We're gonna transform the lives of thousands of people around the world. How are you feeling about this?

Lesley: I mean, it's a pretty big deal, Michael. I'm so excited about it. Especially because I know the transformation that can happen just in a little moment. And the fact that you have a whole, like several days, it makes the transformation so much more impactful.

Michael: Yeah, it does. And I think one of the really amazing things, and like me, I know that you go to a lot of conferences, you are constantly being a learner, you are constantly, and more importantly, taking action against the things that you are learning then, and I wanted to put together Unbroken Con because I realized one of the things that I think holds true in my life is like when I see something that isn't really the way that I like it, then I'm gonna go and make it the way that I think it should be, doesn't mean it's necessarily right or wrong, it's just the thing that I think makes sense. And Unbroken Cons started because I had this idea where I was like, what if I could just bring together all of these people and the time in which we need the most support? The holiday season we're heading into Christmas, we just had Thanksgiving, drunk Uncle Bob's fucking outta control again and we're like, okay, I gotta get regulated. I gotta get myself in check, you know? And so many people feel so lonely, they feel so ostracized, so alone in that season and that time of year, and I thought to myself, what better thing could we do for humanity than really be that change that we want to see and put people together? And so, I asked you to come and be a part of this because a –  you're an amazing friend, and b – I know that the work that you do, not only in Pilates world but in the breathwork world and in helping people get integrated back into their human existence is transformative. And so, I know we're gonna go deep into this as we get closer to the event, and we'll talk about it more, especially with your speech while we're at the conference, but what's been your journey and transformation and why is conferences and education so important for you?

Lesley: Well, first of all, I'm so grateful that I get to do this with you, so, thank you so much for asking me. And I hope you heard I'm doing the breath work, y'all, I know if you heard the applies, it can be a little scary, but we're not gonna do that at the conference mostly because I want you to have that transformation as quickly as possible. So, you have tools to go into the holiday season, into the new year and take with you. And breath work can be something that's really useful in an instant moment. Like if you're catching yourself in that moment of having activation and you're like, how do I handle this? So, I can't wait to do this with you guys, but my journey, I have to say like I am a learner. Thank you for saying that. I'm also, activator is like my one of my top strengths. If I see something easy fixed, I need to figure out how to do that. So that's something I love to do. But what I also know, when you are in the moment with a big group of people, there is an energy, even if it's virtual, that just feels like a shared experience you cannot actually let go of. And so it's really, to me, one of the best places to learn is to put yourself in this environment, in a space where there is a set time for it so you can set the time aside to give to yourself versus like, if I read a book, I have to, I can get interrupted. I put it down. You know, I find that like being in a conference, being in a group experience allows me to truly drop in, push everything out, and really take in what is coming in what is being taught to me for me.

Michael: Yeah. And I mentioned this like in the promo video for Unbroken Con like I'm the kind of guy, like if it is on my calendar, I'm gonna show up and I'm gonna do it, like 150%. But also, I realize like there are massive, massive interruptions that happen and so, that's why I always tell people like, you know, getting recordings, being VIP, having access to the information later. And especially things are gonna be so inspirational and educational like, and think about what you're gonna be teaching there and I can't help but think to myself there's no way I'm really gonna be able to associate that in like, watching it one time.

Lesley: Well, you're 100% correct and I think also sometimes it takes some things a couple extra times to get it. So, I don't know about you, but I'll learn something and I'll take notes and then I go to repeat it for myself and I can't really quiet do it the same way. And so, for live conferences, there's no recording, you're like, what were my notes? I hope I took good ones for this, what's so cool is that you can get the recordings and so you can repeat what you learned in that session. And if you miss it, like I really hope you can be there live, because then you'll know what recordings you really wanna rewatch. But if you are going to miss the live, I hope that y'all are taking the calendar entry and putting at a time you can watch as close as possible so you can really get the energy and the transformation in the same week that everyone else is.

Michael: Yeah. And it is something very communal about that too, especially ‘cuz obviously we have the big group that's growing. We have the VIP group that is separate of the general admission that's private, where people are gonna get more access and more information and so many different elements that I'm not even sharing yet ‘cuz like I love surprises and we've got some cool shit happening, that's for sure. But, you know, I remember when I first started doing conferences, it was like, you have an option to either show up or not to show up. And I think that for those who are willing to show up, this is gonna literally transform their life and I was thinking about this morning while I was in the sauna doing meditation, I was thinking like, you know, the breath work that I've been able to integrate into my life has saved me from panic attacks, has helped me get outta depression, has helped me have better digestion, has helped me be able to like, be on the road for a long sense of period of time, but probably and more importantly, has been able to help me like  process. Right. For those who don't know ‘cause I know we're gonna have people who are, this is foreign concept to them like what is breath work? Not like the how of it, but like what is it?

Lesley: Yeah. This is really cool. So, I'm gonna take a little step back Joseph Pilates would had a quote and Joseph applies just in case you don't know who he is, he's the guy who invented Pilates. So, there was a dude who made it and he had a quote that says, above all else, you must learn how to breathe. The lungs are cemetery for disease and illnesses. And that really had me thinking, cuz it's like, well what do you mean? Don't we know how to breathe? Like isn't that something that's really instinctual to us? And yes, it is, but also it led me down the path to studying breath work setting the breath and how powerful it is and what's really amazing is trauma leaves the body through movement and breath. Period. So, like you can talk your trauma out, you can think your trauma out, like you can try all these things. But the actual, if anybody here has ever been exercising and gotten a little angry, a little emotional, like, and you don't even know why it is, because whatever is happening, there's these traumatic moments being released. It's why they tell people to like scream or punch something, there's a reason for that. And so, what's really cool, sometimes you're not in a place where you can go scream or punch something. Sometimes you're not in a place where you can actually work out but what you can't always do in any scenario on a plane, on a car at the dinner table for the holidays is do some breath work.

And so, I went through some a trauma informed breath work training and I found several different types of breathwork and we'll be using two particular types I wanna give the tools for people. And what it is, it's just about focusing on an intentional pattern of the breath. And we can either use the nose or the mouth to do this and it, and a certain cadence, and you can titrate that and what that means is you can go a little faster, a little slower, depend on what you need, and it allows us to actually release what's coming up. And so, once you have these tools, and so you're gonna want the recording cuz you're gonna wanna repeat this until you can get it, until you can embody it so you can use it on your own whenever you want. Once you have these tools, you can't unlearn them. And so, whenever you're feeling these things, you can literally just drop in and that's why I'm so excited to teach this on day one with you, Michael, because people, as they're listening to the different speakers, as they're learning different things, as things come up, they'll have this tool to use.

Michael: Yeah, I love that. And the somatic experience that we have in trying to process heal and remove trauma really does start in the breath. And as you were talking, I had this memory of the first time that I was on yoga mat and actually cried after, and it might have been because it was hot yoga and it was just like, fucking exhausting and you're all sweaty but it was really like laying there and like Oh my God, I feel my body for the first time ever. And that had come on the backside of a breath work that we had done at the end of the class, and it caught me off guard. And one of the things I really want to avoid happening here is people getting caught off guard over these four days of incredible transformation of being like, oh my God, I'm having thoughts and feelings and emotions and things that I've never had before and I'm learning how to process it, I'm learning all these tools about unbroken and all these incredible speakers, and then I'm on the ground shaking like we're gonna avoid that because we're gonna help you be able to integrate what you're learning in real time, you controlling your breath, which is such an incredible tool. And most people don't know how to breathe, most people have no idea that they're so stuck in their chest. Right. And I know we're gonna get into the house and how you actually process that and get in a diaphragmatic breathing and get into your body and all of that stuff during the conference. But for those who they're listening to this, they're super excited, they can't wait to be a part of this, the one thing that I'm wondering here, and something we can give them today is if they're in this place and they're unsure about conferences and events and they don't know, they never really done it before, like what is it that you would tell them about the power of education in your life?

Lesley: Yeah, like, I've never regretted putting myself in a place of learning about myself more. And I think that can be really scary especially if you are not ready to kind of get to know yourself a little bit more but and I know to be true is you're never going to regret those changes, it's always gonna build upon you. And I'm not a believer of a new year new you. I believe we take ourselves on everything we've learned in the past year with us for the next year, it's kinda like an upgrade we can just like download the next upgrade on our phone. And so, for me, I know that for you to go on to what you're gonna do, and I believe every single person here is the only person who can do what they do the way that they do it, you're it. And if you're holding yourself back because you haven't been able to let go of some stuff, you haven't been able to understand the trauma that's in your body, you've been able that actually do what Michael's saying, like, take that trauma and turn into triumph then this next year is only gonna end up like the last one. And actually, it kind of gets worse because everything is moving forward and your kind of stuck back. And so, what I hope is that you not only join us but take the extra steps, do the VIP or join the with recordings and put yourself in a position to get transformation because you are going to be unstoppable. Right? And I really feel kind of bad for those who are gonna say, I'll do the next one and the reason I say that is because, well, we don't know. I don't know. I don't know what Michael's plan, but also…

Michael: It might not be a next one.

Lesley: I don't know yet. Right. We don't know yet. And the other thing is, is like why are you gonna wait to learn more about yourself and find out how strong you truly are and the things that you're capable of doing? And I know it can be scary, but gosh, do it scared like the best things I ever did were so scary like, I do it, like, I'm like with my screaming, I'm like, ah, like, go through the thing. But you know what, on the other side of that fear is exactly everything you ever wanted. And so, if whether it's a fear of loss or a fear of gaining, like I get that I had a fear of success is something that I really struggle with so, I understand sitting back and going, I'll do the next one. But I truly hope that if you are that person that you listen to this and you actually say, you know, I'm gonna sign up for this because the reality is like, what do you have to lose? Except for everything you're destined for.

Michael: Yeah. Except everything you could ever possibly have in your life, ever, other than that, you have nothing to lose. I get that, like we're in jest but it's so true. And you know, I remember I go back and I look at such the framework of the beginning of this journey for me, and you know, I was at rock bottom, right? It was 350-pound, smoke and two packs a day, drinking myself to sleep, had this Fortune 10 job, made a million bucks, but I was 50 grand in debt. Right. And it's like at that point, I remember distinctly, this is about 12 years ago, seeing an ad for Brendon Burchard course. And you know, I don't give Brendon enough credit, honestly, in terms of this journey for me and next time I see him, I'm gonna definitely do that because what happened was, I saw this ad and it was this course, it was 49 bucks. And I remember looking down at my shoes and I was like, dude, you have invested more money into your shoes than you have into your life. And that to me was this really interesting moment because here I am, I'm literally 50 grand in debt, right? Borrowing money from my girlfriend who lived with me to pay our rent. And I said, you know what, what's 50 more bucks? And the truth was it wasn't the $50, that wasn't the thing that was holding me back that all the times I'd seen the ads before, all the times I had the opportunity to go to the events or the conferences, none of that was never the money that was holding me back, it was my belief that I didn't deserve it, that I wasn't worthy of being great, that I didn't have the ability to have the capability of creating change. Right. I resonate with what you said. So many of us have this fear of success. Failure's easy, you fell all the time like that shit's easy. You show up, you wake up, that's failure like you're in bed, you didn't shower, didn't brush your teeth, you're not showing up for yourself like I've been there, right? Success is about decision making and having the willingness to bet on you. When you bet on yourself, when you've put yourself in a position to trust yourself that you are making the right decisions in your life, like what has happened? I think people get disconnected and they see success or they see Lesley’s the number one Pilates instructor on planet Earth per Michael she didn't say this again, it's my opinion and it's factual, but it's my opinion. And so, when you think about that, like where would you be if you weren't willing to bet on yourself to invest in yourself and to do what it took to become this version of you.

Lesley: Oh my gosh. I mean like, what a question. And also like, as you're talking, I was just thinking about the different times I invested in myself and I never had the money, like only recently with the coaches that I have, I'm like, oh, yeah, I can afford that, that's no problem. But my first training programs didn't have the money for those, those were put on a credit card. But I was like, I can't not do this, I felt so compelled, and I have to say like, you know when you put the time or money, ‘cuz obviously you can invest on a different level in this conference. But when you put that time and you actually say, this is for me, and you can put any price tag you want on it. If you have to show, put a different price tag on it on your wall. If you need it to be more, more so you show up, I mean, you spent $50 and look where you were at like, I can definitely tell you right now if I had not invested in me back in 2008, I wouldn't have anything that I have. Everything that I have today is because of that investment and I know this can sound dramatic, but I'm not kidding you all the man, I'm married to the house I'm living in the best friends I have the fact that I'm talking to Michael Unbroken and talking to all of you, all of that came from me saying, Okay, I think I'm gonna take this. I'm gonna give these women some money and I'm gonna become a Pilates instructor and I'm gonna learn, and then I'm gonna take this thing and like, it was a lot of money. You're at $50,000 and I had $80,000 in student loans and I'm like, here's another thousand. But I'm telling you like y'all, when you come to this Unbroken conference, what's gonna happen is years from now, you're gonna look back and go, that was the moment that I changed everything, that was the moment that like everything changed for me because I did this thing for myself. And I promise you, everyone in the world wants you to win, they really do. People in your life want you to win, but you have to want yourself to win. And if that's a struggle for you, then it's, I really want you there because I really want us to help you connect to you because deep inside you, yes, there's fear, but behind that fear is this amazing strong awesome human being who has so much purpose on this planet, and we wanna see it, we wanna be there for that.

Michael: And you deserve it, and that's the thing. So many people who come from traumatic backgrounds don't realize that they are allowed to have success, to have love, to have relationships, and financial freedom and all the things that come along with this growth journey. And I speak from the firsthand experience of like looking at my life at this massive rock bottom and being like, this is what I get, this is what I deserve. And when you have that paradigm shift, which so much of this is transformation everything becomes different. And you're right, a huge part of the investment is time, that's why Unbroken Conference is free. If you can show up, you can watch live, because I get it like I've been homeless, I've been dirt poor, I've borrowed money, I've stolen food to survive like I've done what it's had to take so, I resonate with that, and I'll never ostracize people, but I'm telling you right now, the people who are like, well, I don't have money like you have to find the thing in your life that you're willing to invest. And it's not always money, sometimes it's time, sometimes it's effort, sometimes it's just the energy, right? And so of course we have the VIP, it's an amazing thing where not only you're gonna get the recordings, you're gonna get access to the VIP group, you're gonna get access to a ton of bonuses I haven't even told you about yet. But most importantly, you're gonna do this thing called betting on yourself, when you do that, everything becomes different. And Lesley, I don't know about you, but I cannot stress enough the importance of just trusting yourself even when you are in fear, just do it anyway.

Lesley: That is the hugest thing. And like, I don't know what it was that allowed me to do that for myself, but I know as someone, as I teach people, Pilates and breath work, something I see is that a lot of people, that's the thing that holding them back is they don't know how to bet on themselves. They have so much put them made themselves small, feeling unworthy, feeling like they don't deserve things that they don't know that they can count on themselves. And what I really, what I, where counting on yourself comes from is when you sign up for something, going to it even for a few minutes, those little things, when you say you're gonna do something, taking that step, and that's why as a habits coach, one of the things that's really important is that you make it small. So, maybe the first thing you do is say, I'm going to show up for 15 minutes of Unbroken Con, okay? Then set the timer and do that. Stay longer if you can, and if you can't, you're off the hook. You did the 15 minutes because I want you to celebrate what you did do, ’cause I want you to learn that you can bet on yourself that you say you're gonna do something, that you do it and that's how confidence is built. And you mentioned me and homeless, if you listen to the podcast I was on Michael's podcast, I was homeless too, and one of the reasons I was okay with that is like I could bet on myself. I know that this is the best step for me right now is to leave the situation that I'm in and find a better situation for myself. And every time I've bet on myself, everything has worked out and it's been scary in the moment, it's a little bit of a guess, but if that's something you can do, we need to build, we need to build that up and that's gonna come with just keeping your commitments, and so making 'em small. Sign up for things that you can do. And again, there's recording. So, if you can only do 15 minutes, that's a big deal for you, it's a lot for you. That's fine. There's nothing wrong with that. Then do that and then if you can stay longer, it's extra credit. And if you can't, that's what tomorrows for.

Michael: A hundred percent. And the best thing about it is like, don't beat yourself up whether you're perfect or not, because guess what? We're all figuring it out. Nobody knows what the fuck they're doing, and every single day we're just walking in front of people and behind people who we're holding hands with trying to come together to be the change that we wanna see, not only in our lives, but in the world. Lesley, my friend, I'm super excited for Unbroken Con. For those who did not sign up yet, just go to unbrokencon.com. You can sign up there. It's absolutely free to watch and attend live. If you want the VIP, you can just go through that process. We look forward to having you there. Any parting words from you, my friend before we call it a day?

Lesley: Well, you just said it like, you said it's not about being perfect and y'all perfect is boring, so this conference is not about you becoming perfect, it's becoming you the best version of yourself and enjoying yourself through that. So, that's my parting words, perfect is boring. Sign up today, let us know what you did. We wanna know. So, tag Michael, tag me. I would love to celebrate you cuz that's like the best thing we can do. When you sign up for something that's gonna change your life, you gotta celebrate.

Michael: Yeah, absolutely my friend. Thank you so much for being here. Unbroken Nation, my friends.

We will see you at Unbroken Con again unbrokencon.com

And Until Then.

My Friends, Be Unbroken.

I'll see you.