Heavy Weights, Big Faith, and the Power Within

Embodying She-Power: Halima Khan's Journey Through Fitness and Life

In this episode of 'Leap 2 Empower,' host Shaila Lalani interviews Halima Khan, a trainer, coach, and life motivator at Khango. Halima shares her journey from a small-town upbringing to becoming a key figure in the fitness industry. She discusses her initial struggles with health and body image, her transition from the corporate world to pursuing her passion for fitness, and the vital role of her faith in overcoming life's challenges. The conversation delves into themes of self-discovery, resilience, and empowerment as Halima emphasizes the importance of embracing one's true self and the transformative power of fitness. The episode concludes with rapid-fire questions, shedding light on Halima's personal joys and motivations.

00:39 The Journey to Khango

02:58 Overcoming Personal Challenges

05:12 From Corporate to Fitness

12:50 Building Khango and Its Impact

19:13 Facing Financial Instability and Finding Faith

20:05 Navigating a Male-Dominated Industry

22:12 The Power of Intuition

23:29 The Importance of Routine and Mentorship

27:38 Embracing the Process in Boxing and Life

32:54 Advice for Women on the Edge

36:00 Rapid Fire: Soul Sparks

37:49 Final Thoughts and Empowerment

Thanks for tuning into Leap 2 Empower for real stories of real people who dared to leap.

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If this episode moved you, share it with someone who needs it. And remember your leap doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be yours.

Transcript

Shaila 0:00

Hello Leapers and welcome to the new episode of Leap 2 Empower I'm Shaila Lalani, and this podcast is to honor the real life stories of people who dare to leap into the unknown. Today's guest is the living embodiment of She-Power. Halima Khan is a trainer, coach, and life motivator at Khango, and the kind of woman who walks her talk and shows up with fierce intention. But beyond the power and discipline, Halima is a woman with a heart of gold. She's deeply grounded, and always rooting for humanity. I am excited to have you on the show today.

Halima 0:37

Thanks Shaila. I'm so excited to be here. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here and for Khango because that's how I know you. Yes. And so little did I know God has a way of working things out to putting people in your path. And I think I told you one day too, you never really pick who your people are gonna. And so you were one of those people where I just never would've guessed having you being such a person in my life. Yes. So it's been a fun journey that we've been on together too. I agree. An adventure. For sure.

Shaila 1:03

I agree. So our mutual friend Farah, who goes to Khango had said, Shaila, you need to try this. You need to try this. And I finally made my way. And she's like, Halima said, you'll be fine. Just try it. And I didn't remember that now. Oh, you were the friend. Yes. And then I came to the gym and the first few times I met you. I'm like, oh my God, she's so tough. I don't think I can do this. I was like, who is this girl? Can she stop screaming? And then it was like I didn't know to work out any other way. That was the way, like it, it was a way to push me to, on the way baby. Definitely the Khango way to push me through the barriers.

Halima 1:45

That's awesome. Yeah. You're consistent and you show up. And Farah was definitely afraid of me and the experience in general. And she kept showing up too. So that just goes to show like the uncomfortable things that we have this like inkling or somebody in our air to do, as you say, and what we're talking about is take leaps that get you to where you're supposed to be.

Shaila 2:04

It was definitely a big leap for me, for sure. And like you said, uncomfortable leap that I had to get over.

Halima 2:11

I'm so proud of you. Oh, thank you. And so thank you. Just to see you see that fear, right? Yeah. From the beginning and then I knowing like I don't wanna deal with her shit right now. I'm not here for this day. I knowing that and sensing that, but you still showing up and working through that and then your like aches and pains and ailments and just the discomfort and like being afraid to pick up like heavier weights. And so now seeing you being like, no, okay, I'm gonna try. Yes. And also seeing you in your healing journey, not just from the inside, but from the outside too. Yeah. And working with Gersh and knowing that how your consistency in showing up for your workouts has helped you have actually less pain and feel good about yourself to show up for yourself. So definitely it makes me really proud that you embraced that and you got through the icky part.

Shaila 2:55

Yeah. I look forward to it every week now. Yeah. So let's talk a little bit about you, Halima. Tell me who Halima is, what leaps did you take?

Halima 3:06

Yeah, well, who Halima is would take a lifetime since we're here. Long story short, I guess I'll give you Cliff notes of where I hopped around. Grew up in Sheridan, Wyoming, a small town of, at that time about 1600 people. And I'm so grateful to have grown up in a small town because I would not be the woman and the girl and the person I am today if I weren't. Yeah. Right. I mean, values and all that was established through the roots of us being in a small town. So that's where I started. As soon as I graduated, all I wanted to do was get out of there. And I ended up going to the University of Denver. I got accepted to a couple schools in California. USC was my dream school I wanted to go to, and I got accepted and I couldn't go in 'cause my dad said it was too far away. But I was like, whatever. I wanna go to law school. And I think that's typical in our culture too, if like somebody becomes a doctor, somebody becomes a lawyer. And so at that time I thought that's what I wanted because I subconsciously was pleasing what the thing to do was. Yep. Or thinking to make a choice that would make my parents proud. And that would give me a title and honor and make money. And it led me to a a, adventure, a venture of a lifetime. Yeah. Really is the best way that I would say it, because I'm nowhere close to that now. But yeah, I went to the University of Denver. I studied finance and international business, so I double majored in those two. And then I double minored Spanish and legal studies and then thought I was gonna go to law school. And as I pursued my legal studies minor even, I was like, this cannot be it. So, I got an offer once I obtained my finance degree, and it was either in Dallas, Texas or San Diego. Okay. And I was like, finally I get to go to California. My dad can't say anything. So I picked California, and I moved to San Diego. I was ready, they had set me up, they gave me the offer, assisted me with my move, and everything's getting taken care of. Yes, it was just awesome. And it was a good paying job. All the things that you think are great to have, of course coming outta, coming out of college. I was working corporate world, and

Shaila 5:07

I would've never imagined that. Seriously don't see you as a corporate world person.

Halima 5:12

It's funny that you, like, I so many people would say that now, but I knew that, was my path. Okay. Took pride in it. And, I was working out throughout college, right? So that was my like, freedom. In high school I was a pretty girl. Growing up, I was tall, I was big, I was brown, I was everything opposite, but I thought I was like everybody else. There was obviously some bullying in there, but I was just so set on who I was and I thought. But I never thought that it was bullying even at the time. Okay. But looking at it now, I was like, man, I dealt with a lot. But then I went from fat girl to eating issues, or not even eating issues since I was born. I like couldn't digest things. And my family always joked 'cause they were like, she's a middle child, she just needs attention. So she's got all these gut issues. And my mom was like, even when you were like two years old, we'd go to McDonald's and you would just throw up all the time. You just eat and you throw up. And eventually it took a toll. So I went from fat girl, to not to getting sick cause I couldn't tolerate food anymore. Right. To being able to eat and overeat whatever I wanted to. Not being able to eat. So I got really skinny. And I couldn't eat anymore. I would eat a grape where I would drink water and I would want, I would wanna throw up. Because no one knew what it was and the doctors thought it was in my head and they wanted to put me on an antidepressant or, anxiety pills. Yeah. But I ended up in the ER a, a few times because I couldn't even control the pain. And so they'd have to inject me with painkillers so I could just withstand the pain. And then once I stopped eating, I had to get fed intravenously. 'cause I wasn't eating anymore. It wasn't worth it to me. So then I came back, I lost a lot of weight and, all the rumors were going around that I had an eating disorder, so I was going, I had to go to Colorado for all this too. 'cause they found out what was really going on. I had got my gallbladder removed when I was 14, as a active kid. I had liver issues early on. Wow. As like somebody would never drink who never, it was just like wild. They put a stint in my stomach because I had all these gastric issues. I had peptic ulcers. At that time, they didn't, people did not know what celiac disease was. And I'm grateful for a doctor who was in western medicine, but he was also very, into the cities of Eastern medicine. And he learned about the lineage of, of our people and like some of the digestive issues and, body issues, health issues they have in general and like for looking into the indigenous of our people. And so he was like, it would be no surprise if you had a gluten issue. Because I was eating gluten and it was making everything flare up because my body didn't know what to do with it. So I got pancreatitis at 15 years old. So yeah, I became a pretty girl. Did all that thing because of my gluten issues. 'cause I lost weight and I was sick of hearing people have all these issues with me. So I just rejected it altogether. I was tired of hearing the comments from everyone, and being outcasted. I was also trying to graduate high school early. Okay. That's how much I wanted to be done. Ready. You were smarty pants. Yeah. That, was an issue too. Yeah. But yes, I always believed that you can pick up and learn anything. No matter what it is you can apply yourself. If you wanna get better at something, you study it, you learn it, you execute it. Mm-hmm. But don't make it your identity. I was gonna graduate from high school early. That's what I wanted to do and then, I needed one more elective and it happened. I didn't graduate early, by the way. 'cause I guess according to the world about the experience of being able to graduate high school if you're into that kind of thing. The community and experience and your friends and, yep. Yeah, it wasn't me. And the last class that I could take or what would fit into my schedule was sports specific strength and conditioning. Senior in high school. And I'm like, I got up this far along without having to do the PE thing and the gym class and be with these athletes and I didn't wanna be around 'em. I just wasn't into it 'cause of how, what I went through with them. Yes. And, the teacher, Mr. Elliot, I had like reservations about him too, and I was like, oh, now he's gotta be my teacher and my coach. And, okay, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. And you did it. And I did it. And that's where I learned how to lift weights. Yeah. Like we were lifting weights. We were blessed it was a very nice high school and they believed in their athletics. Yeah, that's the foundations of where I learned how to lift weights was Coach Elliot and Wow. Sheridan High School, uh, sports specifically. And then did you continue lifting weights for there? Yeah, so I found freedom in running, like be like, this is the time I can get outta the house at least for a little bit, so I'll go for a run. So I found freedom in that. And so I got into, I started taking group fitness classes and I would lift in the weight room freely without any like, thinking I didn't know what I was doing because of the confidence that was put in me in high school. Mm-hmm. And, there was a trainer on the floor who had been watching me for a while and he was like, have you, thought about competing? Okay. And I was like, what do you mean competing? He's like, bodybuilding. And I was like, oh, no, no way. Wait, what do you mean? And, at the time, for those of you who are into bodybuilding at all, Phil Heath was, he's was a Mr. Olympia and Mr. Olympia is like the highest that you can go in bodybuilding. Okay. Earned prices and money and, okay. Just to give you a view on what that is. And he was training, or he was one of the trainers for Phil Heath. Phil Heath was still in college, but he was playing basketball at the time I think. And so I was like, okay, I'll give it a try. And so I hired him and he taught me so much about, he got me into the bodybuilding world and I just started like loving that and couldn't get enough of getting into the weight room or doing this and so that was in college. And then I had another dear friend and I would take her class and she was a track and field athlete and I would see her and I'm like, this woman's awesome. And, she was another catalyst to get me into the fitness world too 'cause I would just see her as an example. But then you still pursued business. I still pursued business and I was gonna start, I gotta get my workouts in. Everything was in walking distance where I was in San Diego too. And I could walk to work. And then right behind where I lived was a boxing gym. But it was like a new fancy, bougie style boxing gym called the Boxing Club. But I was just really there to use their equipment. And then I started doing spin classes and there was another guy who was like, have you thought about doing this for getting certified? And I was like, no, I just really liked this. 'cause I, what, what happened is I did not like my work. Yes. And so I would go to the gym before and I would go to the gym after. So I was like in the gym all the time because I didn't realize how much I disliked my work until I really realized I disliked my work. Apparently I would socialize and then I got promotion put in a corner office. And I'm in an office, like in a corner cubicle and I've got computer screens that I'm looking at, like is not right. The woman that I had met, that I told you about in college, her and her husband became family friends and they, gifted me with a distributorship to a direct sales company. Okay. So I've always worked, like always had multiple jobs. I just love working. And I also like like money at the time. So then I got into the supplement world. Okay. And I learned all about supplements and I was going to conventions and I was sitting on panels and learning about what the side med board has to say. So I learned all about supplements. Wow. Which is why you have Khango Supps. Khango Supps. Yeah. Fast forward all these years later. Full circle. Yes and I didn't do much with it at the time, but I was like, okay, that's cool and she put me in contact with her dear friend who lived in San Diego and I started making a little bit of money with it. Mm-hmm. And then this, the guy who certified who was like, you need to get certified for spin. I started getting one certification after the next and learning about personal training and then doing all that on the side. So I was like making a little bit of money there. And then I was making a little bit of money with the, with the supplement thing, and I was still making money with my job, but I was just like, this is, it was taking away my job. JOB job was taking away from the things that I love to do, love to, and that was paying me. And so I had the rough conversation with my parents that I was gonna take that full time.

Shaila 12:57

And how did that leap go?

Halima 12:59

That was not the best. And I've always been that girl who just, if I, like I said earlier, right? If I see something and I wanna do it, I'm gonna do it. Don't stand in my way.

Shaila 13:08

So you, so that little voice in your heart was louder and louder. Yeah.

Halima 13:11

Yeah. I always felt like you should do what makes you happy. Yep. And what brings you joy and peace. Yep. And I didn't think that, 'cause we're not taught that in high school or college. Maybe now we're more aware of it. At that age, but was never about what's gonna bring me the most happiness, what's gonna bring the best out of me. And I never also thought that a job should make you miserable. Until I had the experience. And it's oh, this is miserable. This is not how it should be. Yeah. I just endured it so I could have stability. But then I can't do this anymore. The conversation with my parents, my mother eventually was the way my mom is whatever you do I'll support you, I hope it works out. Kind of feel, you know? Yes. And she's just always had my back and everything. There's always that motherly instinct where it's like, why? And, my dad is my dad, and he was very stuck in his ways and very upset and he didn't wanna be a part of any of it. And it's a culmination of all of us making our choices that we decided to do for ourselves. So not the choices that our parents wanted to make, our culture wanted to make, or our religion wanted to make, or our people, or what his people wanted us to do because it would make him look good. Yeah you stood up for yourself. Yeah. That's brave. And then fast forward now, fast forward. Yeah. It's taken me all around the world, all around the country. And I couldn't imagine doing anything any different. We have our own, like everybody had their own routes too, right? Yes. This is a full family affair, but it's incredible to turn around all these years later and be like, go up to a doorstep or walk into our place or sip on a drink or, and have our name on it. This is our gym Khango. It's our family has been put into this is what we're doing now. Yeah. When initially it was like you're gonna do what? Be a trainer. You count people's reps sell vitamins. And so now that I'm looking at it, talking out loud, it is pretty mind blowing. And not just like we're a gym but like we are the best. And I would like to say, and we went to a convention recently where I realized there is nothing like this in the world. We are providing an experience that is not just about a workout, but it is a full experience that will change you to the core. Yep. If you're willing to withstand the uncomfortable of it. Yep. And, it's something that people seek out. It is known across the world because we are international. And our clientele is the best clientele too. Our people are awesome and you can attest to that. Yep. And just who we attract and what we attract is just pure greatness.

Shaila 15:44

I was definitely a little intimidated. I will, I won't lie, but once you become part of the gym, you feel like it's home. Yeah, that's the feeling that you get. And even though I may dread driving there and I'm like, what am I gonna put myself through? But when I'm there, I love it. And when I leave I'm like, thank God I went. Yeah. That's awesome. So just the value system that you guys have as a family, it definitely shows that you want this world to be a better place through fitness. Yeah, absolutely. And you wanna make a difference in people's lives through fitness. And wholistically fitness, not just the outside, but wholistically. You are training yourself to become stronger from the inside and outside.

Halima 16:30

Yeah. And we call ourselves Khango Warriors, right? Yeah. We all have a warrior in us, and each of us as a family member have gone through our own journeys of pain, discomfort, battles of whatever it may be. And the goal is not our clients are Khango warriors. Yeah. Because it's to train you for life outside of the battlefield. Yeah. The battlefield being like the weight room. Right. But like to train to equip you. And These are by no means easy workouts. They're scalable. But to trust us, to have people trust us with their bodies where you're in a position where you have to become vulnerable. Yeah. Because you're doing things that you don't know. Yeah. You're using equipment you don't know how to use. And when it comes to vulnerability is when people become their most authentic selves. Yeah. And everybody then deals with it in a different way. I think people think about fitness too generally. Where it's like, well, your trainer and your making people look good. And to me it's far beyond that because of what fitness has done for my life and for me and my mentality, and now my family, and it's changed my life. It's saved my life. It's brought tears, it's brought every single emotion. And I believe that we are a safe space for people to overcome whatever they're facing in their life outside of just their personal, physical challenges.

Shaila 17:53

It's basically transformed your relationship physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Absolutely. Fitness has Absolutely. And through fitness, you find your way of everything. Yeah.

Halima 18:03

And it is, it's changing lives. So our family is big on legacy, right? And so what we're doing as we're changing and saving lives too, because I guess ours is more changing. And when you can change within yourself, you can save everything else around you. And so it's cool that we get this impact of us being a family and in our own ways, being able to change people's lives. And so when you come to a legacy, it's not that person made me look good in a swimsuit for the summer season. That person made me look good, feel good, become a better person, wanna be a better mother, a better father, a better sister, a better human being. By stepping foot and being around that culture and that atmosphere, that is, to me, the biggest joy and what is most rewarding to me.

Shaila 18:44

That's amazing. Speaking of joy and rewarding, I do wanna go to the other side and talk about challenges. Through these leaps that you've taken to where you are today? What was there one that you can think of that was like the breaking point?

Halima 19:01

Yeah, the biggest has been financial. Yeah. Yeah. When you leave security and you're going on a literally a dream and a vision Yeah. Is, has been the biggest thing and it's terrifying and it's hard. That's a lot of people's biggest fears is losing that stability and you did it, and I've lost it more than once. And it's also taught me how to steward money better and how budget better and how to live more frugally. Because when you're young too, you go through these phases and I unfortunately learned things the hard way. Yeah. And so, you ride the highs and they're high, high, and then the lows are low, low, low, low.

Shaila 19:39

And what gets you through that? Like what keeps you grounded when you're going through your low points or these challenges?

Halima 19:45

My faith in God. Hands down. Has gotten me through every single storm, every single struggle. Every single, every single high. Every single. And I have been down, like, down, down. I can't imagine, I can't imagine, oh, I wouldn't be alive. Yeah. If I didn't have faith in God.

Shaila 20:03

I feel that. I feel it. So just the journey that you've talked through, how did you stand up for your self worth in your space being empowered woman that you are?

Halima 20:15

Yeah. It's twofold, right? I also grew up with a lot of brothers. I have one sister, and my one and only sister. But around a lot of masculine energy. And my dad is also like super masculine. It was never like treating her like a girl and I'm so grateful for that. It was all, if you guys wanna do this, then you gotta be willing to do this with her. I found comfort in that, I guess, or not even comfort, but it was familiar to me. So it was so familiar that it didn't seem out of place. Yeah. Where I was like, oh man, I'm a woman going into this industry that's male driven, male dominant. But I've had a lot of different careers and jobs and places that have been male dominated. So I never saw it that way. On the same token though, the reason that, looking at it now in hindsight, that's probably why I struggled more when it came to being promoted or I don't ever like to put it on that, but it's also when you are in a male driven, dominant industry or position, the you're gonna be overlooked. How I saw it was like I stand out. So I think it's my perspective of I was attracted to it in a sense of the challenge. So I was attracted to the challenge of what's the hardest thing I could do or what's going to, what's gonna. Give me that challenge. This is what I chose to do, so you have to know that no matter what you choose to do, if you're meant to do it, you're gonna have opposition. Yes. Agreed. And you can never play victim to that opposition. Absolutely. So I never fell into the victim mentality of, oh, I'm not getting this because I'm a girl. Maybe there's something about you need to work on. It's how I always see it. I always introspect. And so it's made me the woman that I am today. And obviously there's a lot of growth I still have to do, but always finding that what is it that I need to learn? Mm-hmm. How do I grow from this? What do I need to work on? Mm-hmm. Because I don't support having the victim mentality.

Shaila 22:01

Oh, I love that. I love that. I've always seen you as somebody who's so authentic and speaks from what she believes in her heart. And I feel like you just have this intuition. What role does intuition play in your journey? It seems like it's been pretty loud so far.

Halima 22:17

Super loud. And it's crazy how that gets attacked too, right? When you are struggling, like when you have those setbacks, right? Financial, familial, whatever, the setbacks, maybe. My intuition has been my guiding light in everything. And I never knew it until probably more recently. Even though I was a child. I know I've always had that because my mom will even tell you, would just always whatever she felt she could do, she just did it. That's beautiful. Even if I was awful at it, it's like she believes she can do it, so she's gonna go do it. And looking at it now as an adult and a grown adult who's gone through many spiritual journeys, my intuition is my gift and that's how I make my choices. That's how I learned to even press into something. I went through a phase where I blocked it out because I thought it was misleading me and misguiding me not knowing that life is about an adventure and lessons. I always thought that there was a destination to get to. And so it made me go into my head more. And go off of logic and does this make sense? How does this work? Why? Because it's not the natural energy I possess. It's led to overthinking. Mm-hmm. Which is not the place that I'm meant to be.

Shaila 23:25

What is your practice that guides you to listen to that inner voice of yours?

Halima 23:29

Yeah. It takes an intentionality and it took a lot of healing over the years also to uncover that there did need to be some routine in it, but there does have to be consistency and routine in it to where it becomes a naturally, a daily part of your every moment. And I've had incredible mentors in my life too. I can't say this was all me, but people guided me in the right direction and I'm super grateful for that. And those people, it started with journaling. I was at a retreat and we had to sit in a circle. And I didn't even bring a journal. They gave me a blank piece of paper. And I go, you want me just to sit here and write on this? And they're like, yeah, we'll play some music. And everybody's writing. And I'm like, what? What are they writing about? Yes, that's me. I still have a hard time, so tell me more. I remember sitting there and having someone be like, she came by and she like rubbed my shoulder and it was just like simple. It was like simple like that to where I just let my shoulders down. I took a deep breath and she's like, even if you just wanna sit here and listen to the music. So I sat there and I was the music and I started crying. Wow. Yeah. And it was a room full of silence. And there was live music, a band there. Okay. And I was sobbing. And then I was like, maybe I should write how I'm feeling right now. And so that's how really it started. Hmm. And then, I was put in a position where I was in fear of my life. Okay. And I had nowhere, I didn't know where I was gonna go because nobody knew. And I had the courage to reach out to this person and be like, okay, well I need some help. And she's like, well, okay, well you can come here for a little bit, but there's gonna be some conditions. Mm-hmm. And for me, I was like, rules again, I'm just trying to get over all this, like being controlled, being manipulated, being destroyed, having everything taken away from me. And so she's like, I'll let you think about it. And you took it. Yeah. And one of the conditions was that I would need to have daily quiet time. They're not even bad conditions. Like I pray for this stuff now where I'm like, I just need to be alone. Right? Yes. But, yeah, that was one of the conditions. And So I moved back to San Diego. I was in Arizona, moved back to San Diego, and I moved out there and I was like, how am I not getting a job right now? How is this not happening? And in my head I'm like, I need to make money. Like, how am I gonna just sit here? I have bills to pay. I had zero income, zero. Mm-hmm. And how did that work for you? And I sat there every day and I was like angry, 20 something. And I'm just like, this is so stupid. I have to read this Bible and I need to write on these journals. I don't even know what I'm gonna write, so I'm just gonna start writing the scripture. And so I just would start writing what I read and in writing what I was reading or what stood out to me, I should say. Not word for word writing, but I would get led to the next thing and the next thing, and then I'm like, let me write out what I'm praying for. And okay, now I have nothing else to do anyway, so I'm just gonna write now here, and I'm gonna write, like, and it would just get led on this adventure. And then I would get led to, she's like, okay, now you're here for the adventure. So what I do to keep me grounded is I make sure I journal and I have alone time and I have, a time of quiet and stillness. And I've developed a routine just based off of that routine of my circumstantial life at the time. And so in the morning when I wake up before my feet even hit the ground, I make sure I open my eyes and I thank God that I can move my body. I check my body, I can move my body. And I intentionally, before I even get out, I start stretching my body. And I have I've had these autoimmune stuff that has caused a lot of inflammation too, which helps me because it's very difficult to get out of bed otherwise. And, working out to me is very spiritual. And if I don't have that, I feel like my intuition is off too. Because I release all the unnecessary energy or whatever got stored. I'm the v woo of the family. I know, but there's always spiritual battles that overtake at night and that affects our day too, whether we know it or not. And so that's why working out to me first thing in the morning is very important. And I always, always make sure I end my day with gratitude

Shaila 27:20

It's interesting, I would've totally not known that you also have your aches and ailments, but you overcome them and defeat your mind and you say, you can do this, and you fight through that and you show up. That's beautiful.

Halima 27:36

Well, I think you touched on it. Because I've come to learn, especially through boxing, that, our mind is everything. Our mind is everything. Mm-hmm. And we can tell it what to do and what to believe and how to feel. And there are natural forces, but it also can control certain aspects of what might be super painful or what might be, something that's out of our control. What we can control is our thoughts and what we believe shapes our world and so if it's a thought and it goes into our head, it's festering in there. And if we then speak it, it becomes a reality. Once you speak it, it goes to the heart. And so then the body begins to keep score. Mm-hmm. Once it affects the heart. Yeah. Yeah. And so that's how our vibration can vibrate higher or lower. It's just what works for me and how I feel. And so, yeah, be mindful of your thoughts. Be mindful of the words that you speak.

Shaila 28:30

You're truly very inspiring. You've had the lowest points in your life and your faith has guided you to where you are today. That's beautiful. And you just wrote your way through life. I didn't even think about that actually. Yes. So what is Halima dreaming of leaping moving forward?

Halima 28:49

Yeah, I have a lot. I have a lot. And one of 'em just kinda came out because I've been working on this like devotional kind of book and so that's been something I've been working on and it's been about eight months, six to eight months. I get inspired by an idea, that's the, that's that. Obviously everybody in my world knows that boxing is huge for me right now, and I'm in a position where I'm finally, learning a lot and applying myself, not just learning. And so I have a fight that will be coming up whenever it's God's timing. Amateurs we're starting, but the goal is to go pro with boxing. And I don't know, we got ask my coach, but he doesn't want me to ask him, so I'm not gonna ask him anymore when he thinks I'll be able to fight. So he's being wise with my timing of everything. Okay. But it's Halima, she'll be fine. Whatever she puts her heart to, she can do. Yeah. And God's gonna get me through the rest, whether it's good or bad. Yeah. Thanks Shaila. Yeah, of course. And I am on a huge spiritual journey once again. And so I have a desire to take that somewhere. Mm-hmm. Because my desire is to help heal the people around me and then also have an impact on humanity. And I see the value in that just through my own journey and experience. I'm going to Greece. And so I also wanna make that more of a thing where it's consistent in these retreats. And that's been a life goal. And it's crazy how that unfolded. And that wouldn't have unfolded if I didn't come to Houston. Yeah. And if I wasn't at Khango and if we didn't have Khango and everything, that's why we have to be along for the adventure is the process. And someone told me this was like recently too, and you hear this a lot about trust the process. And I've always thought I was trusting the process, but I was also controlling the process. And that's how grace is so real and so sufficient too because I willed a lot of things to happen on my own just because I knew I could do it. But then I've been humbled enough to be like, you're not God. You're not in control of every single aspect of your life. And in that I thought that I was trusting the process because I was controlling the process. And when I got into boxing especially I learned that a whole different meaning of that. And then I had met someone who asked me, and he asked what I was like, how well, I fell into that personality scale. And I had somehow along the conversation he was like, oh, well you're thinking about this opposite than what you should be doing. And I was like, well, huh huh. And he's like, you have all backwards. And I was like, I have it backwards. And the natural flush part of me, like the original version, we wanted to be like. No. And contest the whole thing. And he was like, you're not enjoying the process. You have to enjoy the process 'cause that's what it's about. Mm-hmm. And then when all I cared about was getting to a fight, and that's where my struggle was coming from, was I just wanna be able to fight. I just wanna be able to fight. And it was driving my coach crazy. It took another coach to come in and be yeah, you just gotta know this is the process. And then I'm like, how do I become better and how do I become more intuitive and how do I do this and how do I do that? And every person on different occasions said it was like five different people. And it was just do the work. Just do the work. And that's what gets built. For me, I'm training for a sport, so the work is in the physical, actual work and the mental training. And in that comes the spiritual side out with it naturally, but doing the same thing over and over and over again. But not just going through the motions, how can I get better tomorrow? How can I get better today? Yeah. I'm gonna do the same exact thing. There's gotta be a way you can get better. So if you're constantly doing the same exact thing over and over and over again and you're getting a different result, even if it's 1%, that's how you get 1% better. Yeah. And that is ultimately the process. And that's what makes you into the human being that you are. If you embrace it.

Shaila 32:29

I feel like that's life in general. Yeah. Everything in life. That's when they call it you're getting wise, right? Mm-hmm. Like smarter and wiser. Smarter is the process of doing things. And wiser is the experience of doing it consistently and getting better at it. That's amazing. So I'm glad you aced that and you are in the awareness. And I asked this question to all my guests. Okay. What is one leap that you would advise a woman who's is at the edge? What would you say to her to take that leap?

Halima 33:02

Have the courage to discover who you are because it sounds easy and it is messy and it's hard and it's ugly because most of us don't do that work to be bold enough to be like, who am I really? Because for me, I've struggled with self-love and what the meaning of that is. And, I had to learn the hard way and the long way. And then also the short way, the same time that it comes down to you. And the only way you can fully love yourself and is, number one, accept yourself. But not only do you just accept yourself and say, oh, that's just who I am. You fully embrace it and find ways to continue or to refine yourself and to being the person that you wanna be. Mm-hmm. And the person you wanna become. Because once you know who you are and why you are the way you are, then you can correct whatever needs to be modified to get you to be the person that you wanna become. So in order to do that, you have to live and to who you are authentically. Yeah. And also if you're living as you are authentically, you're not consumed by trying to please the world around you, including yourself. Yeah. And it's a process. It's a huge process. It's, I guess, surrender. Right. And it's hard to look at the ugly of us. It's wild that we can't even see the ugly truths of our own selves because all we've done is mask them with different labels that everybody else is trying to put on us. So you gotta be willing to just, not just rip the bandaid off, but be able to like bulldoze and knock that whole thing down. And that's ego. Mm-hmm. And pride. Mm-hmm. And expectations and fears And doubts. Doubts. And ultimately it comes down to, I have built this whole version or facade or this person and now I have a kid, now I have family, and now I have this, and now whatever it may be. I'm not saying it's easy, but when you work on yourself and you understand yourself, you become a better person for every single person around you. And the first person you're better for is you. Yeah. And you can have all of these titles and be all these things to everybody else, but if you don't show up for yourself, you have a no foundation, you're building a house on sand. Yep. And eventually there will be something that will make you crumble. And if you're built on sand, it takes a lot more work to build back up than if you're built on a solid foundation and you're like, okay, let's pivot. And here I am.

Shaila 35:31

I will say healing is definitely not easy, but when you get over that hump, because healing is evolving as well. Yes. Right. It's not a destination, it's a process. And the more you heal, the more you find out your true self, who you truly are, and you take the next steps and it's just evolving constantly. We've learned so much from you today. You are truly a she power. So thank you for sharing your story with us today. We will now move into something I like to call soul sparks, which is basically a rapid fire round. The first thing that comes to your mind. Okay. Mind. Okay. If money were to walk in through the door right now, what would you say to that?

Halima 36:13

Welcome. I've been waiting for you.

Shaila 36:15

What brings you joy?

Halima 36:16

What I do every single day with what I do with my, my work and really my day. Yeah. What I get to do.

Shaila 36:22

What's your guilty pleasure snack?

Halima 36:24

I'm gonna have to say these chocolate covered dates that I now just discovered over here. Aren't they just amazing? Wow. So, yeah. Farah, if you're listening, we need some chocolate covered almond dates from Dubai.

Shaila 36:35

What does empowerment mean to you?

Halima 36:37

To me empowerment means embodying who you truly are and not being afraid to stand in it, walk in it, and inspire others to do the same.

Shaila 36:46

Beautiful. What's the most unexpected song that we would hear from your workout playlist?

Halima 36:51

I have a lot of worship music. For those of you who walk into the gym and hear other things.

Shaila 36:55

If your intuition had a voice, what celebrity would it sound like?

Halima 36:59

My intuition. I'm only used to what one voice and that's mine. Perfect. You are a celebrity of your own. This is good. This is true.

Shaila 37:07

One bold thought that you want to leave our listeners with.

Halima 37:10

For so long I lived in fear for so long of being rejected, abandoned, abused, taken advantage of making the wrong choice. Like all of those things that we fear in life. There's so much more I could name for forever. And all of that came from me being afraid to be me. So you gotta love you to not be afraid of you. So don't be afraid to be yourself and discover who you really are.

Shaila 37:36

Beautiful. Thank you so much for joining us today, Halima. It was such a pleasure to have you on the show. Yeah. Thank you for having me. I don't like to talk about myself when we did this. Yes. So thanks, we did it. Thank you so much. If Halima's story moved you, Take a moment today to check in with yourself. Her journey reminds us that empowerment starts with the truth. Standing in who you are, even when it's hard and loving yourself through every version of your becoming. If this conversation sparked something in you, share it with someone who needs it. And remember, your leap doesn't have to be perfect. It has to be yours. Your story is the light someone else is waiting for. Until next time, keep leaping. Keep believing in your magic.