CONNECT with Sheila Botelho Podcast

How Strength & Stillness Transformed My Business Strategy | EP 475

• Sheila Botelho

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They say art imitates life, but what if business imitates self-care? This year, I pushed my body in two seemingly opposite directions—strength training and yoga—and what I learned transformed the way I lead, decide, and grow.

In this episode, I break down five surprising lessons from lifting heavy and slowing down, and how they directly apply to scaling your business with less effort but greater impact. We’ll talk about the power of increasing resistance (instead of avoiding it), why stillness is a strategy (not a luxury), and how flexibility and adaptability will always put you ahead of the competition.

If you’re a high-achieving founder who wants to scale without burning out, this is your roadmap. Plus, I’m giving you three simple action steps to apply these insights to your business starting today.



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Sheila:

They say art imitates life, but what if business imitates self-care? This year, as I pushed my body to build strength and leaned into stillness to restore it, I started noticing the same patterns in business. What we practice in our bodies reflects how we lead, decide and grow. We lead, decide and grow. Hi, welcome to the Connect with Sheila Botelho podcast. I'm a self-care strategist and success coach committed to helping you reconnect to your purpose, elevate your wellbeing and build your version of a happy, successful life. And I'm thrilled and happy myself as I look back at the last few months where I decided to prioritize my physical fitness in a way that I hadn't in years Now.

Sheila:

Movement has always been a part of my life, in fact. Running around climbing trees as a kid and then even tapping into the good old 80s version of 20-minute workout when I was 10, that kind of got me into working out, and I don't know how healthy that was at that age. But hey, what canminute workout when I was 10, that kind of got me into working out, and I don't know how healthy that was at that age. But hey, what can I say? I was a product of the 80s in my younger years, and I'm really grateful, though, for the discipline that it created when I got up early and did that and how I felt in my body. So I take movement breaks, I do body weight workouts.

Sheila:

With all of these things that I have been doing in recent years, something was starting to feel off, and my body just wasn't responding the same way. My focus felt scattered, my usual strategies weren't working the way they used to, and I realized something what worked for me before wasn't necessarily what I needed now. And hey, I'm in my fifties, my body's changing. It's all good, we are always changing. By the way, if you take a look at yourself, where you are right now compared to where you were in your teens, your 20s, your 30s I don't know where you are right now in your life. We're always shifting and we need to pay attention.

Sheila:

So that realization, though, led me to two major shifts returning to the gym and lifting heavy weights again, and committing to a yoga practice Not the kind that would just kind of slide in whenever I had a moment and last as long as I felt it should and maybe just kind of do a few stretches and roll up my mat, like I was doing at home At first, when I looked at these two things, though, they seemed like two completely opposite approaches One about pushing and building strength and the other about slowing down and creating space. But the more I committed to both, the more I saw the connections, not just in my body but in my business. Because business, like self-care, requires a balance of strength and stillness, expansion and recovery, discipline and trust. So today I'm sharing the biggest lessons from this experience and how you can apply them to your own business. Growth Plus. I'll share three tangible action steps you can use right away to bring these insights into your work. Let's start with lesson one Strength creates stability in business.

Sheila:

For years I've worked out at home and while that was great, I realized I was missing real strength training because I don't have the full setup you would find at a gym. And my son, who's really into weightlifting, reminded me of how I used to hit the gym at 5 am, get my workout in and be home before he and his little brother woke up. And back then I was lifting heavier, I was doing resistance training and my body really thrived. But over time I drifted away from that and my movement became mostly about walking, functional fitness, fitting it in right, and the problem was that I was maintaining but I wasn't building, and, of course, my body was changing. And that's the same thing that happens in business. If you only do what's comfortable, you might maintain a certain level of success, but you're not growing. Strength does not just happen, it has to be built. So here's an example in business, perhaps you've built a solid client base and things feel steady, but instead of challenging yourself with, like, a bigger offer, a higher price point or a new visibility strategy, you just stay where it's safe. And this is similar to how, in weightlifting, when you're progressively overloading. To build strength, in business, you have to increase the intensity of your challenges to build capacity. So here's a business takeaway for you If you want to grow your business, you need to challenge yourself. That means lifting heavier, whether it's taking bigger risks, raising your prices or stepping into leadership roles that stretch you. First, though and we're going to get into this other piece of it, the other side of the strength, so that you know how and when to do this, and that leads me to lesson two Stillness is a business strategy, so, at night, I balance the heavy lifting by doing hot yoga.

Sheila:

That's what I started to do, and let me tell you, as an ambitious, idea focused person, creative person, entrepreneur, stillness can feel very unnatural. My mind would, as I lay on the mat at first, to get centered. My mind would be racing with ideas, dms, content creation, sales, my team. And then something shifted the stillness started to work on me and I realized that slowing down wasn't the enemy of success, it was the foundation of it. So here's the example for business. Have you ever had your best ideas come to you Not when you're actively working, but when you're in the shower or on a walk or lying in bed before sleep? Well, that's because clarity doesn't happen when we're frantically pushing forward. It happens when we create space for it. I've seen this in my business that when I force something, it feels heavy, but when I step back and allow space, the right solutions come effortlessly. So here's the takeaway your best strategies won't come when you're sprinting from one task to the next. Best strategies won't come when you're sprinting from one task to the next. They come when you give yourself space to pause, reflect and let inspiration land.

Sheila:

Lesson three flexibility and adaptability win. Every time, between lifting heavy and yoga, I realized I needed both strength and flexibility. So lifting weights makes you strong, but without flexibility, strength can lead to rigidity, injury and burnout. And yoga stretches and opens the body, but without strength flexibility alone doesn't create power, like some of those poses take a lot of strength, and in business you need both. You need structure and systems. That's the strength piece, but you also need creativity and adaptability. That's the flexibility piece. So, for example, if you're too rigid with your business model, you'll struggle to pivot when the market shifts. And hello, isn't it always shifting? Oh, my goodness. If you're too flexible, constantly changing things without consistency, you won't ever build the traction that you need. So the entrepreneurs who tend to succeed are those who know when to hold structure and when to adapt. And here's the takeaway If you're too rigid, you miss opportunities. If you're too flexible, you lack the stability to scale. So finding the balance between strong strategy and creative flow will serve you well. Lesson four expansion is uncomfortable, but it's always worth it.

Sheila:

Yoga taught me something unexpected, and especially in that hot, hot yoga room growth feels awkward before it feels natural. When I started doing new poses, I remember how stiff I felt and maybe even a little uncoordinated, finding the new muscles to stabilize myself. And so you know, maybe even a bit ridiculous, but the more I did the poses, the more natural they became. And it hit me. This is exactly how it feels to try something new in business. I mean, throw in the heat, and it's a whole new level of discomfort. And so, in business, throw in things outside of yourself, shifting in the economy, and that is a whole other level of discomfort too. So, for example, think about when you first started showing up on video. For instance, if you have a personal brand and I feel like every business that I see right now, if they're not a personal brand, at least with that element of it, I don't know who's going to be seeing them right? So, trying to show up on video, maybe you were writing content, making offers. It probably felt awkward at first, right, but the more you do it, the easier it gets, and once you expand, you can't go back to the smaller version of yourself. So the takeaway here is being uncomfortable is a sign that you're expanding. Lean into it.

Sheila:

Lesson five your breath is your power in business. One of the biggest shifts I would say I've experienced through yoga is becoming more aware of my breath. It's something I don't typically really focus on otherwise, and in a tough pose. They teach you to breathe through the discomfort when it's interesting. Often we'll hold our breath right. If we're uncomfortable In business, then when things get stressful, you can look at breath as being your anchor.

Sheila:

So, for instance, before a big launch or an important sales call, or even a high stakes decision, your breath can shift everything. Instead of reacting emotionally, you can learn to pause, breathe and respond with clarity. So before making a decision, I invite you to take three deep breaths and notice how it shifts your energy before you take action. So, with all of that said, I've got three action steps for you to apply this to your business. The first is identify where you need more strength. Are you playing it safe? Where do you need to lift heavier, whether it's taking more risks, making bigger asks or increasing your visibility.

Sheila:

Two schedule stillness into your work week. Literally set aside 10 minutes of quiet, uninterrupted time each day to reflect and listen to your intuition. Put it on your calendar. Day to reflect and listen to your intuition. Put it on your calendar. Set an alert that it will happen. And three breathe before big business moves. So, before you make a decision, train yourself to pause and take three deep breaths and it will just signal that calm groundedness that will help you make a decision that feels more aligned with really where you wanna go.

Sheila:

Your body and your business are so very deeply connected. When you train your body to be strong and adaptable, you build a mindset that can also withstand the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. I'd love to know which of these action steps will you try this week. Dm me on Instagram at Sheila Abatello and let me know what resonated with you the most. Thank you so much for tuning into this solo chat. If this episode gave you insight or a new perspective, share it with a friend who needs to hear it. And if you want more strategies for building a business that aligns with your wellbeing, download the embodied success method and meditation in the show notes. Have a beautiful rest of your day, being strong and being flexible. Big blessings.