Health, Wellness, and Aging with Victoria and Renata
Health, Wellness, and Aging with Victoria and Renata
On this episode of Financially Naked: Stories from The Financial Gym, our host is Victoria Sechrist, Level 3 Trainer, located in Boston. She is joined by her client, Renata Joy, to talk about health, wellness, and aging.
Renata Joy, founder of Pure Joy Wellness
Podcast Notes
Renata lives in New York City, and she runs her own business, called Pure Joy Wellness. She started the business, because she felt there was a lack of information and dedication to women over 50, in the health and wellness space.
Renata wanted a business where she could teach women about nutrition, health and wellness, and self-care as they get older. She wanted to give them a voice, because many women were telling her they felt invisible.
She also wants them to take away that it is okay for them to take care of themselves and put themselves first.
Renata is over 60. She grew up in a generation that taught you to be selfless and if you put yourself first, you were selfish. She wants to change the conversation about what it means to age. Our society hears the age 60, and in their minds that is an old person.
At some point, every woman is going to be in that demographic. It is important for women to think it is okay to be older. It is how we train our minds. If you think you are old at 60, everything you do will be reflective of that thinking. Reframe what it means to be older.
Women Renata’s age are caught between the 1950s, where women stayed home and were subservient and domestic, and the 1960s, where women were taught to be independent. Women in Renata’s era were not taught to exercise, until Jane Fonda came along in the 1980s.
Before starting her business, Renata was a television producer for 22 years. Although she was in television, she did the Jane Fonda workout every single day. When she was in her 30’s, she met a guy who said she should try weight training. He invited her to a gym and she was the only female there. She was hooked.
Renata was really skinny growing up and she did everything she could to gain weight. The weights put muscle on her and changed everything. She is an advocate of women lifting weights as heavy as they can. Renata can benchpress 50 and 60 pound dumbbells for 8 to 10 reps.
There is no right or wrong way to exercise. It is all about what you are drawn to and what makes you comfortable. Renata is drawn to strength and power, but she loves Pilates. Weights are easy for Renata, but Pilates is hard.
We have been taught that the only way we are vital physically, mentally, and emotionally, is when we are younger.
Victoria is 27 years old and she is concerned that she will not be able to dance after she has kids. She is not sure why she feels that way. Why not dance with your kids? Unless you are trying to be a famous dancer, why would you not continue dancing?
Women are taught that they have a shelf life and they are incapable of doing things after a certain age. Where did that come from and why aren’t we challenging that? Renata sees her job as challenging every woman who believes that.
Renata feels more confident in her skin now than when she was in her 20s and 30s. When she takes classes, she is always the oldest in the class. She is competitive and she wants to do something that younger people can’t do. There is no shelf life.
The hardest class Renata ever took was a boxing class at Glove Works.
When Renata walks into a class where everyone is 20 years younger than her, she stays in the moment and gives what she has.
One of the agreements in the book, The Four Agreements, is to always do your best. When you compare yourself to someone else, you’ve already lost. Just be in the present and don’t judge or compare.
Finances have been the hardest thing in Renata’s life to tackle. Feeling comfortable, not judged, or free to share has been key.
All of the things we deal with come down to whether or not we believe we deserve it and are worthy of it, and it goes back to breaking family patterns. For Renata, it is about security.
Renata’s favorite show she worked on was Evening Magazine in the early ‘80s. It was the first show that had a male and female host. She traveled all over the world and has been to every continent except Antarctica.
Renata moved to NYC when she worked for NBC. She was one of the original producers of The View, until 2001, when she left to start Pure Joy Wellness.
Renata grew up in a family where everyone was sick. Illness was a common thing and it scared her. She always felt like her family’s lifestyle had something to do with their illnesses, so she refused to eat the way they ate.
When Renata worked in television, she used to wake up early to exercise and she brought her own food.
There is a disconnect in television. You can produce a TV show all about health and have the unhealthiest employees. Renata left TV, because she wanted to work with companies to create healthy spaces for their employees. She gets to talk to women and impact their lives.
Renata didn’t learn about money growing up, because it was something husbands took care of. You were taught that it wasn’t your area. Women in their 20s are more comfortable talking about money.
Renata was married to a stand-up comedian and she always took care of the finances, because he was always traveling. He died suddenly when she was younger.
Resources Mentioned
Website: www.purejoywellness.com
Book: The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz and Janet Mills
Instagram: @purejoywellness
Facebook Group: Pure Joy Wellness