As an author and conscious storyteller,
Rebecca Tinkle has been intrigued with the world of energy, and how she fits into that world, since she was very young. When her weight became an issue, after an extended period of depression, she chose to look first at the lessons buried deep within the weight for insight before shedding the actual pounds.
In this interview, she tells us how, by delving into the Solar Body practice with an open mind and heart, she was able to tackle her own personal issues of unworthiness, enabling her to finally lose the extra weight she'd been carrying.
CYE: When did you begin your
Solar Body training and what was it like for you?
RT: It was October of 2014. Even though the exercises are totally easy, in the beginning I got tuckered out easily because I was considerably overweight. The first time I tried to replicate the motions Ilchi Lee was demonstrating was pretty humorous, because my arms were flailing about, practically tangling around me… but after a little practice the motions have become so fluid that my
Solar Body routine is where I experience complete freedom from thought, as well as harmonization of body and spirit. It’s become a very meaningful and beautiful time of day for me.
CYE: Tell me about your relationship with your body.
RT: When I was young, I definitely had B-o-d-y I-s-s-u-e-s. I’ve never been athletic so I used to keep myself at a semi-low body weight through calorie restriction, and a lot of harsh self talk. The fear of being “too fat to be loved” was my motivator to stay thin, though I never really stayed thin.
After I gained the 80 pounds during the first year of my "great depression," I tried many times to lose the weight, and many wonderful people tried to help me, but I still didn’t have the personal power to really make a change. I knew I had a choice: I could hate myself, think I was ugly and unworthy of love… or I could make what I was beautiful.
I started telling myself that I was perfect… just as I was. I eventually believed myself. I was big, I was tired, but the fact that I was holding onto extra body weight no longer made me feel unworthy. A lot of really great things happened in my life while I was at that size: I became an author, found a mentor, found myself, fell in love, moved to Sedona, fell in love again.
CYE: How much weight did you lose, in how much time?
RT: I lost a total of 85 pounds in six months.
CYE: Did you have setbacks?
RT: In the beginning of my
Solar Body Training and Solar Body Diet that Ilchi Lee prescribed, I was losing about a pound per day. After about three months I was feeling stronger than ever, but my weight loss plateaued a bit. That was a little frustrating. But after a while my body was ready to let go again and I went back to my pound a day weight loss pattern.
CYE: How long have you been trying to lose weight?
Or, maybe I should ask, how long have you been trying to keep that weight! Some say that extra weight is a form of self protection. Do you see it that way?
RT: Eh, I've been trying to lose weight, on and off, since I was in the third grade. I think as many factors contribute to issues of extra weight as there are people. Each of us possess a unique combination of body chemistry and energetics, physical strengths and weaknesses, and psychological makeup.
For me, holding onto extra weight in a weight-conscious-world was training wheels for total and complete self-acceptance. I had to fall unconditionally-head-over-heels-in-love with myself. Letting go of the weight came after I had really integrated that lesson.
CYE: What were some of the obstacles you faced because of your weight, personally and socially?
RT: The message that “I wouldn’t be (really) loved if I wasn’t thin” definitely came from somewhere. But that message only became an obstacle after I believed it. This whole process was about unbelieving that message. When I no longer believed that I was invaluable to the world if I was too fat, I no longer needed to struggle with weight. The Solar Body Technique was perfect for me because it was rooted in the gentle but powerful energetics and principles of nature. It was more about self-love and body discovery than about pushing my body to lose weight to look a certain way.
REBECCA TINKLE is an American writer and film producer. Her most recent book is
The Secret of Mago Castle, a spiritual adventure novel, set in Sedona, Arizona. She is a meditation enthusiast and a Body and Brain Instructor. She will host CYE.com's upcoming monthly webinar,
Solar Body Supporters. The live free webinar which launches on June 16, aims to help raise awareness about the benefits of a Solar Body practice.
Click here to get a free copy of The Solar Body: The Secret to Natural Healing.