Teheli Sealey taps into the power of the mind

While the rest of the world was dealing with the realities of the covid19 pandemic, Teheli Sealey was fighting to recover some semblance of her life following an accident after a Carnival fete in 2020.

"I was having the time of my life, lying on the grass in Mandela Park (Port of Spain) when a car ran over my head, twice. Front and rear tyres. Nobody expected me to survive."

The months that followed were difficult for the personal trainer, health coach, yoga and pilates instructor and author as she struggled physically, emotionally and mentally.

"I was battling brain trauma, PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and I was in a lot of pain. Sometimes I cried because of the emotional pain, and other times my body would cry without me knowing because of the physical pain.

"I felt myself spiralling out of control and didn’t want to be around people. Every day I would lie in bed and look at my wall decal that said 'believe in yourself.' Eventually I just focussed on the 'believe' because I felt the Lord wanted to use me as a message," Sealey told WMN.

She put all her energy into her healing, and on October 31, 2020 was able to run the 26.2-mile TCS New York City virtual marathon along the bike path in Chaguaramas. Even the doctors were surprised at how quickly she was healing.

"I ran with great friends with loving energy. This was about getting my health and life back. Not just surviving but thriving. It was the highlight of the end of the year 2020."

But that mental strength didn't develop overnight.

Like her body, Sealey, 45, has invested a lot of time and energy into training her mind to help her achieve her goals, short- and long-term. For her, though, understanding the power of the mind didn't happen until she was in her 20s. The last of seven children, she grew up very sheltered, unable to do the things that children in that era did.

"Things like riding, swimming, playing in the road were not part of my childhood... My mom was always fearful that something would happen to me. She was a model and more interested in making her girls look pretty."

And even after her mother left the family and went to live in the US, that fear stuck with her.

"My mom was unhappy in the relationship and I suppose because I was the last, she asked me for permission to leave. I felt privileged but didn’t know the cost of it because I was nine."

She never saw her mother face to face after that until Sealey visited her in Baltimore 19 years later, and never again after that.

"She died on the day I got my wedding dress in Miami some years later. She refused to come to Miami to help me choose the dress because she was living in fear... As it turned out, she was calling my siblings and me while she was dying. Her phone records showed that ours was the last number she called.

"She died on the Friday and was found in her apartment on the Monday. She was always so worried about what could go wrong that she didn’t get to enjoy what could go right. She taught me everything I know about love and fear. I grew up being very fearful. That has a lot to do with lack of self confidence but wasn’t aware of it at that time."

Sealey was able to break free of that fear when she discovered the power of exercise and being outdoors. The first time she became connected to nature was during a hike from St Joseph to El Tucuche in the rain. She said it was painful but exhilarating.

Eventually she began walking and going to the gym. Slowly, she developed a relationship with exercise and began building confidence as the layers of self doubt peeled away.

"I wasn’t born confident. I had to work hard for it. I was raised to be obedient and people always told me what I could not do, but not what I could do."

Her fascination with movement led to her wanting to become a personal trainer.

"But I wanted to do it right. I am very meticulous."

She got certified with Ace Fitness American Council of Exercise in 2011, and has to maintain her certification by updating her training every two years. She then did the STOTT pilates training programme.

"It was very rigorous. Like becoming a doctor without the degree."

And then yoga certification with Karen Stollmeyer at Bliss Yoga Holistic Center in 2015.

She subsequently started Teheli Sealey Wellbeing, Health and Fitness Influencer Ltd with the slogan get fit-spired, join the evolution of limitless thinking.

"My body improved, I started reshaping my mind, my confidence grew, I made bolder decisions, and took control of my life."

So much so that she began venturing into unknown territory.

In 2017 Sealey went hashing in Guyana and almost drowned three times because she couldn’t swim. She decided to take swimming lessons.

"I was like GI Jane. I had long natural hair, and I cut it all off because I was committed to swimming I had to take the necessary steps."

Less than a year later she signed up for the Subway classic open water swim.

"I put all my energy and effort into swimming... I did it and everyone was rooting for me because I had done it. It was amazing."

The following year, with no training, Sealey ran the UWI Spec half marathon.

"After that I was hungry, on the lookout to see what else I could do."

She did her first Rainbow Cup triathlon in 2019 and four months later did another in Barbados. She did the Run Disney marathon in Florida in January 2020 and the TT International Marathon two weeks later with an injured ankle. She then put in the effort and made the qualifying time for the Panam Games swim meet in Colombia in May 2020.

"I had spent all of 2019 getting my body right. I was in the finest shape of my life and I was crushing my goals. It was Carnival and time to party."

And then tragedy struck.

"But the most beautiful things in the world can come out of tragedy. I was able to see the beauty although it was one of the worst day of my life.

"I remember a perfect stranger was crying, took my number and he called for two weeks later to make sure everything was all right. A friend stayed with me throughout and and stroked my hair, people were calling and cooking food. That is love," Sealey said.

And although getting to where she is now was hard, her will power and her ability to appreciate gratitude were helpful.

"I bought my own house at 45. My mind is fit and I’m working on my spirituality. I started a gratitude journal in 2018. It's now called Grateful and is sold on Amazon. My book about the accident and dealing with PTSD, The Light, is coming out in August, and my first children’s colouring book for girls is coming out in July. It's called I Am and is all about affirmations.

"The value of gratitude can change your life. I have personally experienced that...Now, I am in the process of becoming a global success and not just financially."