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Women of Power alumnus – and the city’s Queen of Spin – Belinda Koo talks about her mental and physical rebalance and restructuring.
What was your inspiration for the recent restructuring of XYZ?
I launched my spin studio XYZ in 2013 with the intention of bringing friends and community together to improve their cardio health. I used to believe the more I spun and lifted weights, the stronger I’d be and the more I could do. I became very masculine and started comparing and competing with the men around me. It escalated to a point where I found myself being controlling, argumentative and arrogant.
It was with the help of a professional coach and after I’d joined the Aspen Institute in 2016 that I discovered the true meaning of power and intention. Spending five years exploring my Yin side and the concept of oneness has helped heal the different layers of myself and eventually inspired me towards the next chapter of XYZ, which has evolved into a space for people to do self-work and look inwards.
How has your mental and physical wellness journey evolved?
I used to put too much stress on my body by looking only at the physical gains from working out. During my self-discovery journey, I learned that the soft side of human nature is equally important. In Taoism, both Yin and Yang have a dot within each other, because balance is key. Spending a few minutes every day doing breathing exercises or even shouting out suppressed feelings helped me a lot in finding some form of restoration or renewal. People often associate Yin exercises with weakness. I now understand it’s important to schedule time for stillness and exercise from within to discover what’s suitable for your own body and mind.
What advice would you give stressed-out Hongkongers?
We’re our own masters, and it’s our duty to understand more about how we emotionally function. Our education system doesn’t provide the framework for us to learn about ourselves, so the solution is to search inwards and have more “me time”. Meditation, for me, is one of the best ways of doing so.
