09:10

Quick Talk: Why Pushing Harder Is Making You Weaker

by Dana Retzlaff

Rated
4.5
Type
talks
Activity
Meditation
Suitable for
Everyone
Plays
139

You have been told that more effort leads to better results. But what if pushing harder is actually slowing you down? In this talk, you will learn why overworking your body can lead to fatigue, tension, and burnout, and how working with your body instead of against it creates more strength, energy, and resilience. Through personal insights and practical steps, you will discover how to stop forcing and start flowing for better health and performance.

OvertrainingCalorie RestrictionBody AlignmentStressChronic TensionAutoimmune DiseaseVisualizationSelf CompassionInflammationSustainable HealthFatigueBurnoutResilienceOvertraining EffectsCalorie Restriction ImpactStress And Weight GainVisualization TechniqueInflammation SymptomsSustainable Health Practices

Transcript

Hey I'm so glad you came here to find out why pushing harder is making you actually weaker.

Let's get started with this first question.

Have you ever felt like no matter how much effort you put in your body isn't responding the way you want?

When I would have to answer this question I would have said yes many many times.

I was pushing so hard.

I've increased my training.

I cut my calories.

I ignored the pain.

I ignored fatigue and I did this to only feel even more stuck.

I wanted to lose weight so desperately after gaining some weight after a phase in my life and I felt like the harder I pushed the more it just backfired and put me in an even worse position and even when there was some change like when I saw my body changing with calorie restriction with cutting out all kinds of foods and overtraining myself I maybe saw my my body changing for a time but then I I kind of binged and I couldn't hold it.

This was not sustainable and I really didn't feel aligned with it so I was just miserable about it.

So the question here is what if your body isn't a problem but the way you're approaching it is?

We always think we are programmed to think that the more effort we put in the better the results will be but this is just an old programming and this is not this is not actually true.

When you think of it the moment you let go of things they just kind of appear in your life and it's the same with your body.

The more resistance you bring to your body the more hate there is the less your body wants to work with you and it's starting to work against you.

It's the same way as autoimmune diseases work.

The more hate you have towards yourself the more negative feelings there are in your mind the more your body starts to work against your own tissues and it's kind of eating or hurting yourself and it doesn't have to be autoimmune disease you're facing but just the fact that your body is working against you through tension,

Through pain,

Through fatigue,

Through burning out whatever symptoms are rising for you.

The thing is that your body is designed to thrive.

It's not designed to be forced into submission.

So what actually happens in your body when you overwork it?

When you overwork it like I did I was going to the gym like six times per week one hour really heavy weightlifting and then half an hour on the Stairmaster then on top of that walking 10k steps a day so I was just like moving three to four hours a day and then I was trying to restrict myself to like 1,

500 calories maximum with no sugars and then because I didn't want to restrict myself and stuff I was feeding myself with this healthy gym food that's not really healthy like artificial sweeteners and like a lot of bad things I thought at that time were just the right thing for my body but what actually happened in my body is that my nervous system was so stressed out that my cortisol level spiked through the roof the whole time I had so tight fascia my my neck and my shoulders they were so tight all the time my lower back was hurting all the time and I had so much inflammation in my body my skin I had so bad acne in my in my face my skin was overall really really bad and dry all over my body and my gut started to to break down I couldn't digest a lot of foods anymore I was bloated after every meal that I ate and I felt just so bad I had like really I can't remember a day in that time of my life where I really felt happy I was so miserable and the more you push your body the slower your recovery gets so the lower your energy is and that just creates chronic tension your muscles are building when you recover and when you're not giving your body any rest your muscles don't have any time to recover and it's the same with anything in your life you need to integrate you give you you need to give your body time to experience to integrate to recover so you don't need more discipline what you need is a badger alignment with your body a flow to work with your body if you think of it how would your life change if your body worked for you and not against you maybe what you're able at the moment to close your eyes take a deep breath and then visualize the reality where your body feels effortless where you feel strong supported healthy what if you could reach your peak performance while doing less not more this is where I am at the moment my body is changing so fast and I'm doing way less movement and I'm eating way more than I used to and my body is just in the best shape it has been in a very long time and I feel so energized I am happy in my life right now and I'm doing less so what is one small shift you can make today to start working with your body instead of against it and maybe it's not something else you need to do on top but maybe it's to to do less maybe instead of going to the gym for six times this week maybe you just want to go four times or maybe instead of restricting your calories today maybe you just eat a little bit more today whatever it is for you write it down and commit to it for yourself so try this today before you push through fatigue or pain pause and ask your body what do you need and then trust the answer that's coming up thank you so much for listening today I would love to hear your insights your thoughts on this if you agree with me if you have something to disagree some blockages some limitations that you feel when listening to this I would love if you share it in the reviews and I hope you have a beautiful day you are so loved so beautiful and you are so needed in this world

Meet your Teacher

Dana RetzlaffKarlsruhe, Germany

4.5 (22)

Recent Reviews

Jim

March 13, 2025

Thank you so much Dana! I too have forced things like that and now that I’m a little older and I need to slow it down. Many blessings to you 🙏❤️

Mila

March 1, 2025

I just let go of so much pressure! Thanks for sharing so many personal insights🫶

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© 2026 Dana Retzlaff. All rights reserved. All copyright in this work remains with the original creator. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

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