Meet Ashe Higgs of Inner Strength Gym in Tempe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashe Higgs.

Ashe, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was originally from rural Central NY state. I moved to AZ in 1997. I always wanted to pursue martial arts and fitness but never had the opportunity until 1998 or so, at which point I decided to look for the best teacher I could find. I was interested not just in self-defense, but also a philosophy and way of life. In 2001 I found the teacher I was looking for in Sam FS Chin, who had recently begun teaching his family’s martial art of I Liq Chuan to the public.

I Liq Chuan is based on Zen and Taoist philosophy, so the most important lessons it teaches are balance and harmony with nature, but it is also a very effective fighting style.

I competed as an amateur full contact fighter and won the following titles:

• Gold Medal – 2007 Taiji Legacy (full contact, light heavy weight)
• Gold Medal – 2008 World Kuo Shu (unlimited weight)
• Silver Medal – 2009 Legends of Kung Fu (full contact, heavy weight)
• Bronze Medal – 2009 Legends of Kung Fu (forms)
• Inducted to the Internal Martial Arts Fighters Hall Of Fame – 2010

Meditation is also an important part of our training and in order to strengthen that practice, beginning in summer of 2017, we began formal training under Ven. Jiru of the Mid America Buddhist Association (MABA) is his practical method.

All these skills inform my coaching practice which focuses on harmonizing our day to day lives with an ancestral diet and lifestyle.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Initially, it was a very difficult path, as I was a distance student of GM Sam Chin, so progress was slow and there wasn’t much interest. However, over time, as I continued to practice and gained skill, more and more people began to become interested.

Today, many more people are becoming aware of how harmonizing our diet, and lifestyle (which includes physical activity like martial arts) with an ancestral approach, is beneficial to our health and wellness. People are also becoming more aware of all the benefits of a mindfulness practice, so naturally more and more people are seeking out the kind of coaching help I can provide.

Inner Strength Gym – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am a holistic health coach. My business focuses mostly around online coaching, working with people from all over to help them improve their lives through martial arts, meditation and nutrition. I’m also a Precision Nutrition level 1 certified coach. Precision Nutrition is the gold standard of nutrition coaching.

The 21st century is a radically different environment than the ones our genes are adapted to as human beings. Although many aspects of modern life seem normal to us, they are not, and often have drastic and negative consequences on our health and wellness. I draw on my varied background in training with some of the very best to help people establish habits that harmonize with our nature in six key areas:

• Eating a whole food diet
• Movement and exercise
• Reducing exposure to toxins
• Sleep Quality
• Stress management through mindfulness and qigong
• Forming a healthy social network of friends

These six key areas have been found to help prevent or reduce symptoms of many of the chronic diseases we find ourselves faced with in the 21st century.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
As a coach, success is defined by sustainable results, both for myself as a business owner, and for my clients. So often people lose weight, for example, but gain it all back because a diet is not a lifestyle. Helping people create a lifestyle they can maintain over the course of their lives is the goal.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://innerstrengthgym.com/
• Phone: 3156020777
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luoyegongfu/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TempeInnerStrengthGym/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ashehiggs
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/c/ashehiggs-svn7svn

Image Credits:
Jack Meyers

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