We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kayla Civello a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kayla, thanks for taking the time to share your lessons with our community today. So, let’s jump right in – one of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. Where does your self-discipline come from?
My self discipline comes from the will I built from within at an early age. Between the ages of 11-14 years old I navigated my first very dark bout of life. After enduring unspeakable trauma, my brain and body chemistry changed rapidly. I went from an easy going, happy child, to a teen that attempted multiple suicide attempts. During these years although I did not know it at the time, I became reliant on the very little light I had within and focused on surviving. Survival and discipline are definitely two separate things but furthermore it coincides with the next dark period of life when I was 24 years old. I became pregnant with my first daughter. I experienced several complications and went into labor with her at 22 weeks gestation. By the grace of the Universe, and against the odds I remained pregnant for another few weeks which made a massive difference for the baby although we were in an incredibly fragile circumstance. I delivered my daughter the day before hitting week 25 and she miraculously lived. Becoming a new Mom under these conditions was terrifying. It very much brought me back to my early years of survival I described above. We had a very lengthy and brutal stay in the NICU. The will that I found within a dark time had propelled me forward. Although similar to my past living in survival mode this nightmare we were living was about to become one of my greatest blessings in the future. Fast forward a year and a half later, we had experienced 115 days in the NICU and a lengthy duration of our daughter needing oxygen at home. We had gone to many appointments and my sole focus was her and her healing. There had been absolutely nothing I had done to take care and heal for myself.
I found myself in a very dark time, once again similar energy to the time I wanted to take my life. I was breathlessly sobbing on our bedroom floor this one particular morning and the pain was too much to bear. I understood in that very moment that to experience another way of living, I would need to endure several painful changes. I peeled myself off the floor and made my way down to our home gym in our basement. From this very moment I stepped into a doorway of infinite potential. I had no idea that my life was about to change in ways I had never imagined. Day after day, and as the weeks moved past I found myself falling in love with the transformation process I was undergoing not just physically but mentally. The newfound discipline that I adopted was the catalyst that propelled me forward. In addition to weight lifting, I adopted several other tools to become a better me. Whether it was talk therapy, practicing yoga, reiki, spending time in nature, spending time with like minded people, listening and reading self-help positive material. I did whatever it took to continue on this feeling of wellbeing as I never wanted to experience the pain I did in the past. The discipline it required to adopt all of these tools and create a new life for myself was daunting. But I never gave up for a second.
The love I then had for myself, I wanted to share with other people. After a year into my self expansion journey I decided to get my certification as a personal trainer. I had practiced and studied for many months until Kayla Civello, CPT became my reality. As life continued to unfold and I continued to have the discipline to create what I desired. I launched what was formerly known as “Kayla Civello Training” now “Katalyst Fitness by Kayla Civello” when I was 27 years old. Now moving into 32 years old, I have been blessed to work with hundreds of women. I have been able to give them the gift of self-belief through movement and without the discipline I have practiced within myself by business would not have scaled 6 figures in 2023. I now have 2 girls, my youngest of which I birthed in 2021. Her birth required us to return to the NICU and it was entirely traumatic revisiting the shoes I once walked in years ago. Although this hardship was difficult to navigate, 3 months after having her I returned to my business and built a foundation that would build a community that I never expected to blossom. I wake up 3 days a week at 3:45am to start my day in addition to several other days at 5am to take care of myself. The discipline required to keep this schedule in play is strenuous. But the passion I have for helping these women keeps me going. I love what I do and I value the discipline it has taken to create this beautiful life not only for myself but for others as well. If I did not experience the hardships I spoke of above, I would not have the discipline I have today.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am the proud owner of Katalyst Fitness by Kayla Civello, a small business located in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Katalyst was founded during the pandemic and will be 4 years up and running this June 2024. As a 31 year old women and mother, myself I have set my focus on helping other women feel at best. I have a unique gift that I am able to give to other women and I call this the “gift of self belief”. I enjoy highlighting the positive qualities in others that they have a hard time seeing themselves. I get to help access these changes through movement, particularly strength training. I understand and believe that many of us are operating at a lesser capacity when we are bound down by generational conditioning or past traumas. My intention is to teach women that they are worthy of more than they have given themselves credit and they are capable of doing absolutely anything they set their mind to.
Strength training is one of those things that require you to be patient with delay in gratification. Sure, you feel the endorphin rush after a good lift but what is key to moving in a positive direction is to continue to show up. Nothing happens overnight and it truly is the small steps that lead to the overall bigger picture that allow you to move into a different space. I love seeing these women come into our gym with an unsure attitude. Many of them having a pessimistic view on life. But slowly and surely, if they continue to come, I watch them blossom into a different version of themselves. A version they have never met or experienced before, and from there I get to see the outcome of this version ripple on to several areas of their lives. Whether it is their relationship with their kids, spouse, job whatever it may be. I do know that all of this momentum came from a change that they made within themselves and the beauty in that keeps me loving what I do.
As I promote the training I offer as “Mind, Body, and Spirit”. It is just that. Movement is not just for the physical, it is equally as important for the mind and for the spirit. The gift that I am able to share with these women is a gift that continues to give back to myself, as I believe ” Ek Ong Kar Sat Gur Prasad” in other words “The creator and the creation are one”. I am a mirror for them as they are a mirror for me. The amount of growth that comes alongside this is infinite,
Right now, I offer in person group training sessions 6 sessions weekly located out of Rip City Academy, located in Dalton MA. Which is also my brother’s baseball training facility, it is very cool to be working alongside him and without his bravery I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to impact so many amazing lives.
I am working on a branded app project that will give women access to my trainings worldwide! The app has been something that has taken many months to piece together and I hope for it to launch sometime this summer of 2024. In addition to the in-person training and the app build, in the beginning of 2024 I launched an online Katalyst merch shop that offers a variety of styles for women to wear in the gym. I am having fun coming up with new merch creations using different materials and patterns. The merch store is a manifestation as I created my first piece of merch in 2021. Since then, I have sold over 2,000 pieces to those that support me and it is an incredible feeling to watch the merch options continue to grow and be shipped worldwide. I am so grateful for the evolution continuing to take place!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three qualities that were most impactful to me during this journey so far would be first and foremost is to be authentic and operate from the heart center. Authenticity is the bridge to connection with others. In a world full of highlight reels, filters, false expectations, and in-authenticity. Showing up as your highest, most authentic self is what is going to attract dream clients and customers. There is no easy way or quick fix when it comes to what I offer teaching women’s strength training. It has been important to me to show up vulnerably, and authentically through all stages of life. Especially during periods of hardship. Without trail there will be no tribulation and I think that it is equally important to share the losses and the wins during life. Our lives, bodies and energies continue to evolve. Roll with your evolution and continue to share even when it feels scary or challenging. People admire the truth, lead with your heart.
Next, I would say being able to hold empathy with a boundary. It is very important to me that my clients feel seen. heard and valued. I am a compassionate and empathetic person. But with that comes a cost, and without holding a boundary other people’s life issue can have an effect on your personal energy. Practicing empathy and holding space for others is a beautiful thing, to ensure there is no energy leak on your end it is important to hold your ground with an appropriate boundary. This sets the tone to ensure that although you care about this individual, your life at the end of the day matters the most to you. Take care of you while taking care of others!
Although we already touched on discipline, I believe that this is a quality that cannot be dismissed when having success in your business or within your life as a whole. Discipline is going to propel you forward on the days that you don’t feel like putting in the effort. Discipline is the highest form of self-care and self-love as you set a promise to yourself that you cannot break. The world is full of broken promises, and to achieve anything worth wile in this lifetime discipline is the secret ingredient that one will achieve their ambitions with.
If you are early in your journey or just starting out authenticity, empathy, boundaries and discipline are all things that require day after day practice. In time, the more you work on yourself and focus on whatever it is that you need. All of these qualities will become easier and more routine. Just like anything in life. The more you practice the better you get!
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
Right now I am surfacing from one of the most challenging and intense burnouts I have faced in the 4 short years I have been in business. In spring of 2023 I noticed some changes within my mental and physical state that I ignored and deemed to have no time for as I thought they would dissipate over time and perhaps this “was just a phase”. Unfortunately, not tuning in to the subtle signs snowballed into major signs come summer into fall. I had been experiencing what felt comparable to the flu after participating in exercise whether it had been lifting weights or running. Two movement modalities that I value so deeply that they are embedded into my being. I did not want to stop, even after feeling sick and unrefreshed after movement I let this continue on for far too long.
It wasn’t until my hair started to noticeably come out, I could not make it through the day without napping, I had a red hot, flushed face and permanent hives all over my body. This is when I listened to the screams by body had been crying for months. There was no amount of rest that felt repairing. If I slept for 12 hours, it felt like 3, my joints aching on fire. I was barely able to continue on showing up for my clients but somehow, someway I did. After realizing that I was living in a prolonged state of fight or flight. I knew I had to surrender and change my routine majorly. I had to take a break from lifting weights and completely stopped running. This was a hard one to swallow because both of these practices were my lifeline.
I began tuning into myself and setting appropriate boundaries with others more than before. I knew that I needed to rest harder then I was to work and this was something I needed to re-write. I did not understand how to operate in this manner as rest to me in the past I had associated with a time in my life where I was anxious and depressed. Rest was foreign and all I knew was how to press on. I saw a functional medicine practitioner where we ran several tests to rule out autoimmune conditions.
I began to heal my gut, lower my cortisol, and balance my nervous system. This was a lengthily process that I am still practicing and understandably recognize that I have many months ahead of me. Since about the beginning of January my efforts started to turn into positive momentum. My scalp was noticeably healing, and my hair wasn’t coming out in bunches, I began to feel refreshed after sleeping and did not need naps during the day. I began to lift and run again and after 3 months of consistency and dedication all while honoring my body’s natural cycle. I have been able to fully rebuild the strength that I had lost. I began to train for my second half marathon, in which I will be running in just a few weeks. I have not been in a state of high histamine, no hives or severe allergies. The gratitude I feel for my present state of health and capabilities is immense.
With all of that being said, I have been very conscious of my body and the signs she shares with me. I have experienced some regression now and then but not to the extent of the severity that I had in the past. It is important for me to continue to say no to things that are not in alignment with my healing and what serves my body best. This was definitely a trying time that I learned so much from and I can only hope that within the future I am able to maintain good health with due diligence! I am so glad that I did not give up on my business during this time because aside from having a new baby 2.5 years ago. This was the most challenging time within business ownership that I had moved through so far.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kaylacivellotraining.com
- Instagram: katalystfitness_bykc
- Other: I am in the midst of launching my new website where you will find me at www.katalystfitnessbykc.arketa.fit
Image Credits
The clear professional looking photos are taken by Alix Kirshner. The group iphone photos are taken by me!
