Become the Author of Your Own Story—with Sam Cunliffe - EP001
Holistic High Performance Podcast
Release Date: 11/23/2020
Holistic High Performance Podcast
Few people are as aware of their bodies as professional dancers are. Their bodies are not only their source of vitality and expression, but their livelihoods, and therefore need to be respected, maintained, and healed. BetsyAnn Baron has a unique view of body awareness, as a former professional dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. Her own experiences with injury and healing led her to the next phase of her life, that of a massage therapist and Structural Integrator.
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For some athletes, their path is clear and straightforward, often laid-out for them from a young age. For the rest of us, athletics, as in life, is full of twists and turns, and forks in the road. Our next guest perfectly illustrates this non-linear road. Jennifer Wheeler was a collegiate runner, who transitioned into Roller Derby, and then into professional road cycling. Even then, she left to take a job, have a child, and returned to cycling while trying to balance it all.
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During the past year we’ve all been spending considerably more time at home, and have had more time to rediscover some more simple pleasures and joys.
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Author, coach and instructor, Mary Marshall, is a strong proponent of upgrading the concept of mere goals to that of Smart Goals – the idea that goals should be realistically achievable, incremental, and in the case of 2020, adaptable. As in life, and as they are part of life, goals need to adjust to our changing realities and life circumstances.
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Coach James Laurence is the Founder and CEO of Legerity Sports Performance, a coaching program for high-performing athletes of all ages based in Covington, Washington. James played football and ran track and field for the Antelope Valley College Marauders before earning a football scholarship to Western Washington University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in exercise science. James has 17 years of experience training a wide variety of elite youth, high school, collegiate and professional athlete
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Our host, Daniel Christofferson, is the Founder and CEO of Holistic High Performance, a state-of-the-art performance and recovery center based in Seattle, Washington. He has been working in structural integration since 1996, helping thousands of clients transform their lives through the alignment of body, mind and soul. Best known for working with athletes, Daniel and his team support clients in realizing relief from pain, recovering from injury, and fulfilling their optimal athletic potential.
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Wendy joins Daniel to explain how she discovered yoga as a girl growing up in the backwoods of Louisiana. She discusses how she was introduced weightlifting later in life, describing how she came to compete and win on the world stage and what self-care practices she uses to increase her training capacity. Listen in for Wendy’s insight around the parallels between yoga and weightlifting and find out how she is navigating the pandemic—on rollerblades!
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Chloe joins Daniel to explain how she discovered her love for pole vaulting and why she chose a professional career over college. She shares what it’s like to be a pro athlete in training for the Olympic Trials, describing the drills she is doing to improve her technique and walking us through the training progression for her sport. Listen in for Chloe’s insight on recovering quickly from injury and find out why she is considering massage school as a complement to her career as an athlete.
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Whitney joins Daniel to discuss what inspired her transition from dance to track at the age of 16 and share the highlights of her career as a college sprinter at Colorado Mesa. She describes the challenge of balancing a full-time job with training for the Olympics, explaining who she goes to for support and how she is staying motivated through the pandemic. Listen in for Whitney’s insight on viewing body work and other self-care strategies as a necessary investment in yourself and your career as an athlet
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Neil joins Daniel to discuss what happened the day of his traumatic climbing accident and describe the serious injuries he sustained as a result. He explains the elaborate healing routine he adopted post-surgery (while he was immobile) and explains why the early days of physical therapy were such an emotional experience.
info_outlineMost of us see ourselves as the main character in our story, and we react to our circumstances based on subconscious programming. But what if we have the power to become the author of our own story as well? What if we can create our own reality and make the choice to be happy in any situation?
Sam Cunliffe is a world-class athlete, setting the world record in the long jump at the age of 11 and then becoming one of the top 30 basketball players in the country by his senior year of high school. Sam graduated from Rainier Beach High in Seattle in 2015, where his team won the state championship and he was named State Player of the Year. He went on to play college ball at Arizona State, Kansas and the University of Evansville.
On this episode of Holistic High Performance, Sam joins Daniel to share his experience growing up in an athletic family and describe the challenges he faced as a standout high school basketball player. He walks us through his college career, describing how he was influenced by other’s opinions and temporarily lost his joy for the game—until he learned to let go of expectations and be grateful for what IS right now. Listen in for Sam’s insight on taking responsibility for your emotions and learn how YOU can write a story of peace and self-acceptance, no matter what’s going on in the outside world.
What You Will Learn
Sam’s experience growing up as the only boy in a big, athletic family
What inspired Sam’s transition from track to basketball at the age of 11
The challenges Sam faced as a standout high school basketball player
How being influenced by other’s expectations led Sam to leave Arizona State for Kansas
Why Sam lost the joy of playing basketball at Kansas and started partying to escape
What Sam learned at Evansville about being happy in any situation and how that translated to the court
How losing his identity as a basketball player during COVID inspired Sam’s awakening
How working with a holistic coach is helping Sam become the author of his own story
How to let go of expectations and accept and be grateful for what IS right now
Sam’s decision not to return to Evansville for his senior year and what he is growing into now
How we can take responsibility for our emotions and respond rather than react to our circumstances
How Sam thinks about applying what he has learned in an NBA setting