Justin Roethlingshoefer has spent his entire career focuses on people's health and performance, trying to especially help those who often neglect their physical well-being. Now he is focusing on bringing together spirituality and health in his new book "Holy Health" (coming out on August 11th). His goal is to help everyday readers as well as religious leader live a life where their physical health can help them fulfill their spiritual and divine purpose. We talk about what led to him writing this book, and the need for religious leaders to care for themselves as much as they care for others. We also talk about the power of coming together in moments, and why the celebration of health is not just a physical act, but a spiritual one as well to restore the body, mind, and spirit. Finally, we discuss being Canadian, playing hockey, and listening to The Tragically Hip.
This past weekend, I had the distinct displeasure of participating in an event called “The Muddy Dash,” put on by the company EventLab. I used to put on bike race events, and I have participated in I don’t know how many athletic events. Without a doubt, this was by far the absolute worst experience in almost every way from an event planning standpoint. Way too many participants for the venue, resulting in standstill traffic on single lane roads for over an hour. Not enough staff to process the participants. An unimaginative course with few built obstacles. The “EPIC PARTY” at the end was just a guy in a tent playing music. The whole affair was pretty chaotic and sad, well under what was marketed on the website.
This wasn’t a one-off situation either. If you go online and look at reviews for Muddy Dash, you’ll find many of the same comments. Regardless of the location around the US, it seems that the experience is just as bad. It takes real commitment to continuously go that far below expectations and seemingly do nothing to fix it.
On the other hand, it was a great example of what happens when you get THE UN-WOW wrong.
Another positive from the day was the way in which the participants created a wonderful vibe despite the other short-comings. It was especially great how you had people of different body types, ages, athletic abilities, costumes, all creating this kind of “community of the moment”, laughing and joking with one another. We were all there to have fun through physical activity. There was no timer and no one seemed to care about their speed. We just wanted to be active in a different kind of way than just going to the gym or going for a run. It is amazing how people coming together to exercise can even overcome the greatest attempts to sabotage an experience.
My guest today knows a lot about exercise and physical fitness. Justin Roethlingshoefer grew up in Canada playing hockey (as one does). His focus on fitness then extended to his college major in Exercise Science and a masters in Exercise Physiology. From there, he worked with teams such as Washington Capitols, Anaheim Ducks, and the National Hockey League as a performance coach. Today, he is the Director of Performance for The Hockey Summit and the Founder of “Own It,” a health system for high performing leaders.
He also is the author and founder of Holy Health, which is his effort to bridge “Scripture and science, helping individuals, pastors, and churches restore health of body, mind, and spirit.” And the book Holy Health is coming on August 11th.
We talk about his early interest in physical fitness and transformation, leading to his current focus today.
Justin talks about the need to take a more holistic approach to health that incorporates the spiritual with the physical. While there is a growing interest in health and wellness, these messages leave out an emphasis on optimizing the body in order to live one’s calling. Justin also talks about the importance of identity transformation, breaking generational patterns of alcoholism, abuse, poverty, and privilege to embrace the potential of a different life. While that might start with the body, it also has to include the spirit as well.
We also talk about the Canadian band The Tragically Hip, and the importance of coming together whether that be to watch a band on its final tour, to embrace exercise, or to live a spiritually-inspired life.
Justin Roethlingshoefer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-roethlingshoefer/
Own It Coaching: https://ownitcoaching.com/
“Holy Health” Book: https://holyhealthbook.com/
Justin Roethlingshoefer Books: https://justinroethlingshoefer.com/books/