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Josh Komen

@joshykomen

3.1K

followers

1043

following

📕 Author
🎤 Speaker
🧍‍♂️ Coach
👧 Husband & Father
😮‍💨 2x Leukemia thriver
🙏Joshua 1:9
@www.Joshkomen.com
@ranuihouse Ambassador

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Sometimes there are moments we need to bookmark, moments of significant meaning that you know that will never happen again.
When I saw the world through @blake_weston27 eyes I knew he’d capture for all of us what this moment encompasses....ill let you decide.

I only knew Dresden from a bag of stem cells a place I had never seen yet somehow it was part of me, it was in my blood - literally.

A city which played a role in my fight, in my survival.

For 27 years, I carried a single dream close to my heart, to represent New Zealand on the track, to wear the black singlet with pride.
But cancer came and stole that chance away, turning what felt like destiny into a door slammed shut.

Yet, dreams have a way of never really dying. They change shape, they find new paths, and sometimes, they come true in ways you never expected.

In Dresden, I ran the 800m not just a race,
but a full circle moment of a dream and a second chance. I may have finished last, but I was alive. I finished what i had set out to do.

This moment where I reclaimed a piece of what cancer, life tried to take - my spirit.
This wasn’t just about running, it was about fortitude, faith, and fulfilment

This picture captures that moment
the culmination of pain, struggle, and unwavering gratitude for everyone thats helped, stood beside and those who are not with us today.

It reminds me that no matter how long or how difficult the journey,
there is always a way forward.

If life demands everything from you,
remember that every step even the hardest one can bring you closer to the dream you thought was lost.

Never let go.
Never give up.

Because sometimes a dream survives not despite of the struggle, but because of the meaning behind it.

Thank you @worldtransplantgames for creating this concept of celebration

📸 @din__ernst
📸 @blake_weston27

#nevergiveup #grateful #meaning #dreams #transplantation #leukaemia #bonemarrowtransplant #dresden #newzealand #silverfern #fullcirlce #thankyouforyoursupport taken in Dresden, Germany by @joshykomen

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a year ago

Josh Komen has beaten leukaemia twice and survived more than 10 heart attacks...

At 23, Josh was once one of NZ’s fastest 800m runners chasing dreams of going to the Commonwealth Games, until life threw him the ultimate curveball.

Josh is such an epic human. He has been through so much and is one of the most positive and grateful humans I’ve ever met.

His incredible story is live for everyone to hear now - watch or listen wherever you get podcasts! taken in Auckland by @joshykomen

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a year ago

“Celebrating life after transplantation” - @worldtransplantgames

The transplant games were founded in 1978 Portsmouth England by a Dr named Dr. Maurice Slapak - A transplant surgeon. Inspired by the Olympics and Paralympics.
It’s a similar format but for Transplant recipients and donors.

The games promote a celebration of life, awareness of transplant donation, selflessness, resilience, hope and meaningful connections.

The aim is to provide the importance and awareness of transplant donation, foster a sense of community, inspire hope and motivation by showcasing the potential for a fulfilling and active life after transplantation, while also advocating active participation in personal health and wellbeing living a healthy and active lifestyle.

Its special.

This year there will be 15 transplant recipient’s flying the flag for New Zealand 🇳🇿 in Dresden, Germany 🇩🇪 to compete at the world transplant games. The games are more than just competition over 60 countries come together to celebrate LIFE.
Appreciation and gratitude for the extension we have all been given. To acknowledge the ones who are not here, and the ones who gave so much to others.

It’s deeply meaningful.

The @nztransplantgamesassociation are seeking a sponsor, to help with funding for uniforms, enabling us to wear the silver fern on the world transplant stage! 🇳🇿🇳🇿

If this is you and would like to be involved please drop me a DM, or message @nztransplantgamesassociation
Any little bit of support is appreciated.

As Viktor Frankl said “Every human is questioned by life, and that person can only answer to life’s questions”

For some it’s the world transplant games - to celebrate life, that we are here still breathing and are deeply grateful.
🎥 @jackrubycreative
#transplant #heart #lung #kidney #pancreas #bonemarrow #life #celebration #breath #grateful #participation #meaning #doner #organ #bonemarrowtransplant #gvhd #worldtransplantgames #nztransplantgamesassociation #sponsor by @joshykomen

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a year ago

Mental health wears many hats.
A few tools that have helped me:
-Communication.
-Faith.
-Connection.

#keepbreathing 😮‍💨
#meaning #connection #faith #connection by @joshykomen

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2 days ago

Breathe with meaning:
A three part series workshop

Breathing is life and it is often one of the most overlooked aspects for our health. The way we breathe can shape our physiology in meaningful ways, and it’s one of the few tools we can weave into daily life to feel focused, present and vigilant

Over 3x 90 minute sessions, we will explore how breath shapes the way we feel, think, and move through the world. Each session follows a personal assessment, education and then a breathing practice to put into action.

Week One: The Biomechanics of Breath
We begin with the body. What a breath looks like from external to internal. The mechanics of stress, pressure, and the physical architecture behind every breath you take.

Week Two: The Biochemistry of Breath
We follow the breath as it travels through the body, understanding the chemistry of how we breathe and why it matters.

Week Three: Brain, Body, Breath Connection. We turn to the mind and bring it all together, exploring meaning, prediction, anticipation & anxiety.

Through the three workshops we aim to give you an understanding of your own physiology so we can create more flexibility to the demands of daily life.

Details:
Held at Sports Clinic Christchurch, 156 Bealey Ave, starting 12 November.

To book, there’s a link in my bio which takes you to my website www.joshkomen.com/events - click Events, and grab your ticket.

I Look forward to seeing you all there 🙌

#Keepbreathing 😮‍💨
#brain #breath #body meaning by @joshykomen

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5 days ago

I’ve had some fantastic opportunities to speak to teams, but this one was special. Recently I spoke at Fertility Associates, and it was a talk I’d been carrying for a long time.

The theme was giving life, creating connections and making the most of the life in front of us. Fitting, because the legends in that room are life givers. They had a helping hand in giving life to my wife and I in a way I struggled to anticipate. Working with what what was described as “not the best sample” though my wife Sibille must of been very fertile, turning it into two beautiful girls.

I understand not everyone gets a result like ours, we are very blessed to have two healthy girls.

So as much as it was a talk about life and living with awareness of what we do have, it was also a thank you, for the greatest gift life could bestow.

Life can be fragile and fantastic at the same time.

Thank you @fertilityassociatesnz for allowing me into your space and thank you for helping make miracles happen. 🙏

#life #blessed #keynote #connection by @joshykomen

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17 days ago

I used to measure it by the outcome. Set the goal, chase it hard, and if it didn’t land the way I’d planned, I’d carry that as failure. Over the years my body hasn’t always cooperated with my plans. Opportunities have come up that I was too sick, too sore, or too run down to meet the way I wanted to, and for a long time that really got to me.

What’s changed isn’t the setbacks, it’s how I define success. These days it’s less about the outcome and more about awareness in the moment. Playing with my girls. Really listening at the dinner table. Being fully in conversations with friends, and with my wife. Being where my feet are, instead of replaying the past or rehearsing a future that hasn’t happened.

When I notice my mind has wandered too far, I use a breath to bring myself back. A gentle nasal breath in, and a nice slow exhale out. I focus on that to reset, and bring my awareness back to where it should be.

I’m not perfect at this. My mind still wanders. But I’m learning to notice quickly and come back. For me, that’s success now.

I know there many ways to define success- How do you define success?

#keepbreathing 😮‍💨
#success
#breath
#awareness by @joshykomen

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a month ago

Pressure is interesting I learnt a lot about it while skydiving, from an instructor named Gary Byer. He told me, you can’t see pressure,it’s just a feeling we carry inside.

Most of us know that feeling well though, not from skydiving but from paying the bills, the mortgage, or holding a family together while life keeps changing.

Pressure comes in different ways, yet it’s still the same internal feeling. And sometimes it can become too much.

I have felt this.I’m not immune to it either. Sometimes it still gets me.

This isn’t a fix, just one small thing I do when pressure starts to build and compound. It hasn’t solved every issue I carry, but it’s helped me see a way through one feeling at a time.

Pressure is really just an internal signal, predicting a negative outcome or perceived expectations that hasn’t happened yet. It’s anticipation of past experiences or the unknown.

What’s changed for me is sending a different signal, top down, from conscious thought, instead of reacting to feelings that are only guessing and assuming. More often than not, life turns out better than what we predicted.

So when pressure shows up, I stop, pause, and create some space. I take a few connected breaths, and assess have a conversation with myself of what’s actually going on. Then I take one small, decisive action toward the things pulling at me, and that alone helps alleviate the weight of it.

And I often find something meaningful from the experience.

It takes choice to hold space for pressure instead of running from it, choice to respond instead of react. Each time we do, we build a little more capacity, capacity to carry the bills, the mortgage, and still be okay, even when it’s difficult.

We’re never going to escape pressure. But it’s about understanding the feeling, not letting it overwhelm us into indecision, and reframe what we’re feeling.

#keepbreathing 😮‍💨
#space #breath #conversation action taken in Christchurch, New Zealand by @joshykomen

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a month ago

Becoming a father was something I could not of fathomed until it actually happened. Sibille and I are beyond blessed to have two beautiful girls.

There are days where I just look and observe, watching them engage in life and it brings me to tears. It’s that simple. watching both of them and wondering.

Though one of the many lessons fatherhood has taught me, and something I’m still learning and growing into, is how much weight my words carry. I know they can shape my girls in ways I won’t fully see for years. Words can be like a spell. I don’t always get it right, but I try to stop, reflect, and ask myself how I could have done better.

Yesterday we walked into the forest, and our oldest, only four, said quietly, “The forest feels so good, it makes me feel so calm.” Another day, swinging at the park she lent back while swinging feeling the breeze and said, “Dadda this just makes my heart feel so good.” Those small words are the ones that make my heart feel so good.

Being a dad is not easy, but it is incredibly rewarding, and lately I’ve found myself thinking more and more about my own dad, and everything he quietly gave me along the way. He worked hard, every single day, without ever asking for recognition.

Raising our two girls, I understand the weight of what he carried and the love behind it.

I am very proud & grateful for my dad. For his hard work, his steadiness, and everything he taught me, even the lessons I didn’t realise I was learning at the time.

To every father out there doing the quiet, unglamorous work of raising their kids- it isn’t easy, but it is so profoundly meaningful.

#keepbreathing 😮‍💨
#dad #father #meaning by @joshykomen

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a month ago

Stress is part of life, but your breath can change your relationship with it.

A lot of stress actually comes from the predictions our body makes, the meaning we attach before anything’s even happened.

Join myself and a host of legends on September the 3rd - Thursday evening 6.30 PM @bodyfix_christchurch - Rated New Zealand’s number one gym, and maybe soon its best breathing gym too …… 😮‍💨

We will assess where you are at with stress and breath, educate on how breath can influence your nervous system and the predictions and meaning we attach to stress, and then apply it in a breath session to help leave with understanding and application for everyday life.

This isn’t about control, it’s about connection to stress and your breath.

Spots are limited, so book your spot through the @bodyfix_christchurch website or give them a call. Look forward to seeing you there.

#keepbreathing 😮‍💨
#breath #stress #meaning taken in Bodyfix NZ Ltd by @joshykomen

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2 months ago

What an absolute privilege it was to stand on the stage at the New Zealand International Convention Centre in Auckland for the Retirement Village Association - R.V.A. conference.

(No I’m not retiring)

I was fortunate to speak to one of the largest audiences I’ve spoken to.
Sharing my story on adapting to change incorporating meaning, breath and connection - the work that matters most to me.

Speaking to an audience is something I still can’t quite believe.

But the real highlight was sharing that stage with a man I truly respect @sumostevenson.

We met serendipitously in Melbourne, back when things were different for me, I was going through treatment @petermaccancercentre and somehow that meeting turned into a genuine friendship.

Scotty took time out of his busy schedule to sit down for a coffee with me, and we’ve caught up now and then ever since. He’s one of the best communicators, arguably the most recognisable voice in New Zealand, and watching him work a room is something special. So getting to share a stage with him, as a friend, was the real gift.

Viktor Frankl once said that the more we give ourselves to another person or a cause beyond ourselves, the more human we become. That’s exactly what that day felt like.

Thanks R.V.A and thanks Scotty - What an awesome event to be part of. Great people, and one I’ll remember for a very long time.

#keepbreathing 😮‍💨
#meaning #breath #connection #grateful

Thanks Jeremy hill photography for the 📸🙌 taken in New Zealand International Convention Centre by @joshykomen

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2 months ago

This day last year I ran a I race I thought I’d never run. I ran for the country I never thought I’d run for. There is a photo from last year that I keep coming back to.

It was taken moments after I crossed the finish line in the 800m @worldtransplantgames in Dresden.

I’d collapsed over the finish line, completely overwhelmed with emotion, and two strangers stepped in and picked me up off the ground.

It wasn’t until months later, scrolling back through photos, that I really looked at who those two men were. On my left, Paul, from Germany. On my right @montague.summers from Australia. And that’s when it hit me.

Fourteen years ago I was diagnosed with leukemia. My stem cell donor was German - and donated in Dresden Germany. Then years of treatment that followed to manage graft versus host disease, happened in Australia.

When I needed life - a helping hand two countries and the people within them gave me a second chance.

And here In this photo a Kiwi in the middle, being lifted up, quite literally, by a German and an Australian. Nobody staged that photo. Nobody knew the story behind it in the moment. Two people just saw someone overwhelmed and reacted with intention.

I think about that a lot. As Viktor Frankl said, meaning is not something that’s handed to you, and it is not
something you make either. It’s something you search for and find. When I look at that photo now, I see more than a finish line. I see the two countries that quietly carried me through the hardest years of my life, showing up again, without even knowing it, to catch me when I fell.

My life has been flooded with moments like this unintentionally unintended meaningful moments. Those moments are always there even when you collapse meaning is always to be found.

#keepbreathing 😮‍💨
#meaning #transplant #germany #australia

📸 @din__ernst by @joshykomen

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2 months ago