Kuwait Times

Published Date: July 30, 2010
By Abdullah Al-Qattan, Staff Writer

Some people usually seek a trainer's help for health problems or ask for advice on matters that concern changing their physical appearance. Others need advice on how to battle the few extra kilos stored during winter. However, another albeit small number of people, seek ways to empower their minds and spirits to reach a better understanding of life and most importantly, to establish who they are.

Paul Stewart who is a professional trainer, motivator, and a coach from New Zealand, currently residing in Kuwait, says that a human consists of three individual entities: The mind, the body and the spirit where each one of them needs different types of food and exercise to take complete control over their lives.

The beginning
Paul embarked on his profession in New Zealand at the age of 14. It was then that he learned the basics of physical training and the means of good health. "With time I found myself wanting more in life and wanting to know more about myself, so I decided to travel with nothing but a camera, clothes and a small amount of money that didn't even come up to KD20" he said in an interview with the Friday Times.

After moving to Australia, Paul explains that he found his life to be exactly identical to the one he had in his home town. So, in his own words, he decided "to get lost in the world again" till he really found himself. Paul got an opportunity to work on a crystal sea-cruise ship as a professional trainer. It was that cruise that anchored him on the shores of Kuwait because, as he says, after visiting over 20 countries he found himself here. "In Kuwait I felt most settled, even more than I was back in New
Zealand because this country has a lot to offer but you have to get what you want by reaching and grabbing it," Paul says. He went on to explain that "life usually talks to us, and choosing to listen or not is totally up to the person but the more you listen, the better you get at it and the easier our decision-making gets".

Paul adds that people in Kuwait are open to the idea of well-being both - mentally and physically - on different levels. Nevertheless, people usually come to seek solutions on health or fitness training as a means to fix an emotional or a mental problem, "and as a facilitator, I let things take their natural course while applying some general knowledge that helps the client identify the problem on his own".

Paul further opined that the willingness to change comes from within but sometimes we are faced with bad days that slows the process of healing. And that's when a person has to know when to take a mental break from things, he says.

Another way of dealing with life is to understand that life re-creates itself, and if you keep finding the same problem wherever you go then change has to come from within you rather than from the world.

Paul argues that in order to surpass mastering the art of being, one has to provide good nutrition and exercise for all three entities that make him who he is: the mind, body, and spirit. Paul further elucidated that good food for the mind is usually what involves high levels of thinking that gets the brain running. Good exercise for that would be to reflect on your life and understand what you want from it. After combining both tasks, a person will be able to attract good things towards himself, he said.


According to him, the spiritual entity is a bit more different to deal with based on one's beliefs and nature which may vary often from one person to another. As for the body, the verity of physical exercises ranging from light stretching to heavy work out, accommodated with good food makes it easy to be aware of what your body can do for you.