Dolene Paulsen
Do you have a nickname, name you prefer to be known by? Dolla
Personal Story:
From a very young age, as little as I can remember, I have always had a passion for running. Right through my school career I always took part in various kinds of sport like baseball, tennis, netball and touch-rugby, but athletics and cross country was my kind of ideal sport that I loved. Dad was my number one supporter, always trained me and pushed me to be better than the day before. Coming second wasn’t an option and in 1991 I had a breakthrough and I won the girls U11’s Van Nijkerk Victrix Ludorum trophy for athletics. From that day on I knew I had it in me to compete. I did cross country (long distance running) and competed against other schools and got chosen to be one of the top 12 in KZN (Kwa-Zulu Natal South Africa) to represent D&D (Durban &District) athletics and thereafter I qualified for my Black & White Natal colours. I continued running until shortly after I finished school. I had a dream to compete in the Olympics, but that dream was crushed in a second. In 2001, at the age of 20, I lost my dad in an armed robbery and part of me died that day too. I had lost my role model and number one supporter and basically gave up on life. I stopped training, no I stopped running entirely, stopped painting and sketching, stopped writing poetry and without the person who was always there for me and who protected me, I had no idea how to cope. I was lost. I was lost for a very long time and it got worse as I got older. Ten or eleven years on, I found myself to be 40kg heavier, I refused to run or train, as it brought back memories and as a result of the emotional eating, not only was I overweight, but also unhealthy and had to be on a number of medications. Being depressed and very unhappy, I knew taking more medication wasn’t going to cut it and I had to start somewhere to fix it. The penny dropped and at the age of 31 I took the first step and I stopped smoking and realised I had to turn my life around. I found a lovely lady called Nikkita and started doing her Bootcamp classes 3x a week. Wow what an emotional challenge that was for me being at a weight of 97.4kg and with no exercising for over 10 years, my journey finally started. I lost 15kg in 12 weeks. Slowly I got more and more confident and something inside of me wanted more. I started running again and managed 3 charity races, but then my legs started giving me issues. Not only did I have to work on losing weight, finding myself , getting fit, dealing with emotional eating, finding ways how to deal with the loss of my dad, doing a nutritionist course to learn which foods are healthier to eat, I had to deal with a NEW problem in my life. Another setback, as I had to stop running. Giving up wasn’t an option and I started physio on my legs, knees, hips and coccyx. It took a good few years, but with physio and insoles inside my trainers, I slowly started running again, but still couldn’t reach more than 5km. In 2016 I really pushed myself and with very little training, I managed to complete my 1st 10km in a very long time. It took me 1 hour 26 minutes, but I did it!! I then only carried on with 5km runs because of the pain in my legs.
I then was introduced to Sheila through a mutual friend and thought I had nothing to lose and as I am open minded I thought ” Well let’s see if this “crazy” lady from Oz that plays sounds can help my legs I have nothing to lose”. After doing a lot of thinking, as I don’t like Skype or any other video calling, we finally had a Skype session where Sheila played some sounds, realigned my body and balanced my chakras. She also gave me some sounds to play daily to help correct my body. I still play them daily, as it DOES work. I went from wearing orthotics permanently to now running in a standard trainer with no orthotics. Since then I have lost more weight, my way of thinking has changed and I have overcome a lot of my anger issues. Most of all I have been able to run with no issues and can run 5km & 10km races. Currently I am on no medication and feeling better or should I say the BEST I have felt in a very long time. As a result of this, I have 3x upcoming 5km races, 1x 10km race and a 40mile (72km) cycle race this year. By following the ABS programme, I will also be training for the London Landmark Half Marathon in March 2018. Depending on training and time, I am even considering entering for the Cape Argus Cycle Tour in Cape Town in March 2018.
My journey might have started only 5 years ago and I might have only “met” Sheila a few months ago, but I got my life back on track and I believe this is only the beginning of an amazing journey. I wish I had met Sheila earlier, but I believe everything happens for a reason and everything in its own time. I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be. Thank you for believing in me when I was ready to give up!!
Additional Information:
By eating healthy and exercising daily, I now no longer need to take any medication. I also enjoy doing other sports and going to the Gym regularly doing Boxing, Spin, HIIT classes, Yoga and road Cycling. I love raising funds for charities and I dedicate my time to run for charities like Race for Life – Cancer, Epilepsy, Autism and Tommy’s – Save a baby’s life. This year I will run 3x 5km for Race for Life – Cancer, Colour Rush London, Glow in the Park London and do a 72km cycling race from Palace to Palace which is riding from Buckingham Place to Windsor Castle. I am training for my half marathon which is in March 2018 and in amongst all of this I recently did my qualification in First Aid, Animal Reiki level 1 and also Reiki & Beyond Level 1 & 2.
Wisdom:
Face the problem that is stopping you achieving your goals. Never give up, no matter what life throws at you. Dream big – Make it Happen!! Be patient and slowly work towards your goals. Listen to your body and treat it with respect – you only have one body so love yourself. “Fitness is like marriage. You can’t cheat on it and expect it to work. Work as hard on your diet as you do in the gym”.
I wish I knew / Hints & Tips:
I wish I had started 10 years ago – it is never too late to make a difference.
Respect your body, don’t over train and rest when needed. Recovery is just as important as training.
In my case on my journey 5 years ago, I set a few goals on a vision board and wanted to run again, lose weight, change my eating habits, deal with the issues that caused me to get where I was, BUT I had to learn the damage didn’t happen overnight, so it wasn’t going to be corrected overnight. Learn to be patient and don’t be so hard on yourself, allow everything to happen in its own time. THAT itself takes time to master, as I STILL struggle with that from time to time. If your body needs rest, love it, listen and don’t feel guilty for skipping a session. Eat healthy to the best you can, train smart and rest the body, mind and soul.
Wish I met Sheila earlier. Although I already knew the answers to most of these things, I needed the finer tunes and wisdom from this incredible lady. The sounds have helped me tremendously. Not only with running, but also to help with day-to-day things like going to the mall and the gym and be surrounded by different kinds of energies. Basically I am highly sensitive to other people’s energies and seem to soak it all up like a sponge and just like with running, I play my sounds before travelling on public transport, going to the mall, gym and other events. It now all make sense as to why we sometimes feel the way we do. I am so grateful to be part of this lady’s life, as it has helped me on so many levels. So with much love I would like to thank you momma Sheila for taking care of all your extra children. You are undoubtedly a wonderful soul, thank you!!
Link to “justgiving” account to raise funds for Charity:
