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Tasha Edwards, M.S., NBC-HWC

@iamtashaedwards

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Dismantling the Wellness Hierarchy.
Real Wellness for Real People.
Health Coach. Group Movement Aficionada.
Mental Health Advocate.
Lovergirl. Rebel.

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Yesterday was another day in my ordinary life until I decided to go into Marshall’s on a whim. I was feeling down and frustrated. I went to the candle section to try to find a scent that might lift my spirits. I found nothing. I then turned around to face a smiling woman.

She said, “I know you.”

I hear that a lot. I‘ve been around on the fitness scene for a while and I’ve taught hundreds if not thousands of classes. It was her warmth on a day that felt heavy that made me feel some type of way.

When she told me I inspired her, I felt conflicted. I used to hear that all the time when I was young and thin and in demand. To be told that at this stage in my career, well, it meant a lot. It meant a lot because it reminded me that I’m still me.

Social media will lead you to believe that only certain people with a certain number of followers, of a certain age with a certain body type who make awesome AI flyers and host picture-worthy events can inspire. The truth is being who you are consistently in every phase of your journey is inspiring. The people I most admire don’t even post on social media. The people I most admire have grown older like I have grown older. It’s their resilience and their self-awareness and their determination that draws me to them not their car, their hair or their ability to edit a reel. Maybe that’s what also draws people to me.

I have planted a lot of seeds over these last twenty plus years and to watch them continue to grow pours back into me in a way I can’t describe.

What am I thinking about for the week ahead?

✨I’m thinking about how beautiful it’s been to live to see all of these versions of myself.
✨I’m thinking about how all of us are inspiring someone we’ve never met just by being ourselves.
✨I’m thinking about how I still have work to do and it counts whether one or one million people see it.

I won’t tag you (out of respect for your privacy to not want to be on my post) but I will say thank you for the hugs and the love yesterday. You inspired me to keep on keeping on.

Happy Sunday. ✨☀️🤍

#SundayThoughts #TheWeekAhead #Inspiration #BeYourself by @iamtashaedwards

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2 hours ago

When it was time for me to do what I needed to do in line with my purpose and vision for my life, nobody asked if I was afraid.

Perhaps nobody considered that I could be afraid because I didn’t “appear” afraid.

The truth: I have been so afraid about what I was about to do and knew I had to do that I couldn’t sleep at night. I doubted myself. I asked God to choose somebody else to do. I cried. I fought against it.

That’s the thing about purpose: You can’t escape it. You can’t run from it. You can’t reassign it. You do the thing and it doesn’t matter if you are afraid. Because you are willing to do it afraid, you will change the lives of people around you. You will build resilience. You will find joy even when it’s hard. You will find peace even when it pushes you beyond your limit.

I woke up this morning afraid but ready. I’m ready for the next step towards my ultimate purpose.

Here’s what I’m thinking about for the week ahead:

1) I want people to see the love I have for what I do. I want that @Verdine_White and @DNice energy. I want people to look at me and KNOW I’m doing what I was put on this Earth to do.

2) I can’t escape the work that comes with this assignment and I have to make some changes to make room for that. I’m already tired but I’m willing. I am more than willing. I’m open to the possibilities and that is powerful.

3) Purpose isn’t done in isolation. Purpose is best fulfilled in community. I am grateful for the people who have stood behind me, are standing with me and those who still stand for me in the future. I am not really good at asking for help. I’ve always been the helper. Not allowing people to help you is pride and ego and what a lot of us have been taught (Gen X 👀). I will need help for the journey ahead.

Today = one class taught, one book bought, one step closer.

Be afraid. That should never stop you from being who you were meant to be.

Happy Sunday. ✨☀️💜
#SundayThoughts #TheWeekAhead #Purpose #AudreLordeQuotes #FeelTheFearAndDoItAnyway by @iamtashaedwards

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7 days ago

I’m on the couch with my feet up, covered with my weighted blanket, drinking my coffee and watching Good Times reruns. My mind is full of things I need to “do” but today I recognize I just need to “be.”

My mental health is stable these days because I know my triggers (most of them), what regulates me, what environments best suit me, what people best support me. Most importantly, I am learning when to take a deliberate break (different from just falling in the bed or staring into space because I’m mentally exhausted). And, as I have said before and will say a million times, therapy and medicine help.

Today is #WorldMentalHealthDay.

I hope you take a moment to pause today.
I hope you give yourself permission to say yes today.
I hope you give yourself permission to say no today.
I hope you ask for what you need today.
I hope you get what you need today.
I hope you make your mental health a priority today and every day.

Happy Saturday. ✨☀️💚

#MentalHealth #MentalHealthMatters #TakeCare by @iamtashaedwards

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8 days ago

Imagine what you want to see for yourself and put it on a magazine cover.

This was an idea shared at the @healthcoachingconference last weekend. When I made this cover, I realized I was already living my dreams but not letting other things end so I had space to be fully immersed in what it is that I have.

I need room.

I have been consumed by friendships that need to end, habits that need to be changed, biases that need to challenged, fears that need to die. I am cramped up in a jail cell, exhausted and stressed when the key has been in my pocket the entire time. If I let myself out, I’ll have all the space I need.

Here’s what I’m thinking about for the week ahead:

1) Let it hurt and let it end.
2) We all have power. We are often too afraid to use it. We fear being powerful beyond measure. Who taught us that?
3) I am a giver with a high output and it’s exhausting. Finding myself in situations where there is true reciprocity has been refreshing. Givers need love too. We also need boundaries.

➡️ With that being said, I need your support. I started a Substack but it’s just a record of the journey I have started. Please consider subscribing (there are both free and reasonably priced options). Or you can just buy me a cup of coffee because I am about to have some long nights. The link is in my bio.

Make you a magazine cover and make it a great week! 🤜🏾🤛🏾

Happy Sunday. ✨☀️💛

#SundayThoughts #TheWeekAhead #Reciprocity #MakeSpace #Dreams by @iamtashaedwards

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14 days ago

October holds two important conversations:
Breast Cancer Awareness Month and
Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

➡️ 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime (Black women experience higher breast-cancer mortality and have the highest lifetime risk of triple-negative breast cancer).

➡️ 1 in 3 women has experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner (Nearly half of women who experience intimate partner violence experience it for the first time between ages 18–24).

💕 Get your mammograms (if cost is an issue, know that there are often times community resources to help cover these at no cost). Also, do a self breast exam EVERY month. Early detection can save your life.

💜 Text ‘START’ to 88788 or call 1-800-799-SAFE 24/7 if you need support in a domestic violence situation. Have conversations with the young women in your life about intimate partner violence.

🤍 Be of non-judgmental support for your friends and loved ones who may be going through either. Share resources. Advocate.

Awareness ➡️ Action.

Happy Saturday. ✨☀️

#BreastCancerAwarenessMonth
#DomesticViolenceAwarenessMonth by @iamtashaedwards

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15 days ago

I had to make a choice yesterday I didn’t want to make. I heard @JennaWolfe in my head from all those years ago when she spoke at a conference I attended:

“The time is now or too late.”

I am not resistant to change. What I am is addicted to comfort.

Change often times requires us to leave the familiar and walk blindly into the unknown. I have taken this walk many times in my life but last night was hard. I didn’t want anything new. I didn’t want anything different. I wanted what I wanted.

That “wanting what I want” is normal but paralyzing. Choosing comfort, the safe, the familiar can feel good at times but it is limiting. It’s also dangerous. Complacency lives there.

So here I go, drifting away from the shore, knowing faith is my anchor if I need it and both scared and excited about what may be headed my way.

The time is now. I never want to live through another “too late” moment.

Is it time for you make a choice to change?

Happy Thursday. ✨☀️💙

#Change #NowOrTooLate #FaithIsMyAnchor #Choices by @iamtashaedwards

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17 days ago

Being a grandparent does mean you’re getting older. Being a grandparent also means that your priorities change and you don’t concern yourself with certain things from your younger life. My priorities have changed. I’m so grateful.

It is a blessing to experience this stage in life.

With that being said, help me wish Gigi’s big girl a Happy 1st Birthday!!! You’re going to rule the world, girl!!! 💜🎂

Happy Wednesday! ☀️✨💜

#1stBirthday #GigisBigGirl #Grandparenthood by @iamtashaedwards

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18 days ago

Your life can go full circle if you don’t know throw away the pen mid stroke. That pen may stall, run out of ink or even break.

The pen is replaceable. You are not.

Here’s what I’m thinking about for the week ahead:

1) Despite what you see on social media, NO ONE lives a perfect life. It’s not the post worthy moments that ultimately shape us. It’s the moments that have us on our knees, weeping and wailing and wondering why and how we respond and come back from such movements.

2) Your path may be longer and harder with a heavier load to carry and it can feel unfair. It doesn’t mean you can’t come back from it.

3) Some people who love you very much will not know how to support you. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need. Try not to assume they cannot give it to you. Let them decide if they can or not. If they cannot, it doesn’t mean your life is over. It means you may need to seek other means of support…..and that’s ok.

Your life is worth fighting for. So are you.

Happy Sunday. ✨☀️💚

#TheWeekAhead #SundayThoughts #SuicidePreventionMonth #KeepMovingForward #TroubleDontLastAlways by @iamtashaedwards

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21 days ago

Last night, I was awarded as “Coach of the Year” at the @healthcoachingconference. My goodness. God is so merciful and brought me to this moment after a season of feeling like I lost everything.

I haven’t won an award in a really long time. I’ve never spent my time thinking about it. I just do the work. I’ve been in the health and wellness industry, in different capacities but consistently, since 2004. It feels nice to be just a regular person living out her passion and to be recognized for it.

I just do the work.

Thank you to @drjessmatthews, Coach Jay and the committee for seeing me and honoring me in this way. I have put my heart and soul into the health and wellness industry from so many angles, in so many places.

I am living the comeback story I didn’t realize I was writing while still helping others write theirs. That’s God’s plan.

i’m celebrating this moment in time right now, but when this is over, I’ll just go back to doing the work.

#CoachOfTheYear #HealthCoachingConference #JustDoTheWork #TheComeback taken in San Diego, California by @iamtashaedwards

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22 days ago

I’ve been thinking about dancing a lot lately.

I may never go back on stage but it’s something I need in my life. It’s one of those things that fell off my list because adulting took over my life. I keep telling myself I don’t have time and I don’t have access when the truth of the matter is I have a body, have been a choreographer for over 40 years and, apparently, have time because I watch A LOT of YouTube.

What’s stopping me? Me. Wanting to be perfect. Wanting my old body back. Lying to myself about being busy.

Here’s what I’m thinking about for the week ahead:

1) I say this, literally, every day to the people I coach: “One small step in the right direction is still progress. Consistency over perfection will get you where you want to go.” I even did a presentation for @NASMFitness entitled “Small Steps Matter.” What do I not believe this is true for me too?

2) I am low key; not low energy, low effort, low presence or low output. I don’t know if that’s a bad marketing strategy, my attempt at humility or just not really caring anymore what people think.

3) I am so excited for the week ahead even though last week kicked my butt. I won’t let the disappointments of a previous time (last week or last decade) keep me from being fully present and anticipating the best. It’s over and I’ve gotten all I need from it. I’m ready to move on….in all the ways.

I hope you take small steps towards joy this week mo matter what.

Happy Sunday. ✨☀️🫶🏾

#TheWeekAhead #SundayThoughts #SmallStepsMatter #RecklessJoy by @iamtashaedwards

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a month ago

Some of the hardest days of my life were made better or worse because someone listened….or didn’t.

Some of those times were worse because I was told I was just too sensitive and why didn’t I just “let it go” or “get over it.” Things got better when I surrounded myself with people who just let me feel (thank God for mental health professionals).

I also needed people around me who would get me up and out, remind me to do the things I loved, push me to help myself even if it meant just getting out of my pajamas and going to Walmart.

Mental health crises are not something people willing sign up for and shouldn’t be treated like a paper cut. We can do our part. Thank you @ProjectHopeOrg for the suggestions.

Here’s what I’m thinking about for the week ahead:

1) I’m thankful to have choices.
2) I’m thankful to have real friends.
3) I’m thankful to health insurance for my therapy and my meds.
4) I know what it’s like to just want it all to end.
5) I am proof that you can begin again.

Take care of yourself and each other this week.
Happy Sunday. ✨☀️💚

#SundayThoughts #MentalHealth #Support #SuicideAwarenessMonth #Hope by @iamtashaedwards

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a month ago

It’s a day in my life I’ll never forget.

May peace be with us all today. 🙏🏿🕯️

#WeRemember #911 by @iamtashaedwards

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a month ago