Coffee With ChrissyInspiring Stories
WORLD BUILDER AND FIGURE BODY BUILDER
KATHRYN THE GREAT
What do a bodybuilder, a Doctor of Natural Medicine, a university lecturer and a fitness trainer have in common? Quite a lot, if you're Kathryn Avramakis.
Kathryn Avramakis is a gorgeous lady. Looking at her standing on stage in little more than a bikini and a big grin, it's hard to believe that she was once bed-ridden and wracked with pain. After a severe accident that left her unable to walk for two years, doctors told her she would never live a normal life again. Today she's fighting fit, and a world champion survivor.
Kathryn remains undefeated in over two years of bodybuilding competitions, and beat 150 other challengers (many of them half her age) to the crown of Miss Universe in Austria. "I'm still in disbelief!" she says. "To have had a clean sweep in competition, it's unheard of." Despite severe backache, jetlag and an unexpected bout of tonsilitis upon arriving in Austria, Kathryn's faith in her own abilities and steely determination helped push her through to the top of her field.
Over a decade ago she was a different woman, struggling to face a life of rehabilitation and immobility. In 1994 Kathryn was involved in a serious car accident. When she heard her spine snap, she recalls going into severe shock, knowing that her life would never be the same. It caused her not only physical injury, but also a massive blow to her personal wellbeing and will to survive.
A lifelong lover of sport (in particular sprinting and martial arts), the partially paralysed Kathryn found herself spiralling into depression and negativity. "I basically lost hope. I felt that everything was hopeless and I wanted to die. My life dramatically changed from that moment.
"I spent nearly two years lying flat on my stomach, on the floor, immobilised and unable to walk. Nothing eliminated the pain. Instead, it intensified to the point where I began to lose hope and quickly spiralled into a deep depression. I was just lying there barely breathing, barely living. I felt trapped inside a body I couldn't get out of. I became desperate for that moment of peace, and just wanted one minute of being pain-free.
"Somewhere deep inside my spirit, I knew there was another way of dealing with this. I didn't want the pain to control me anymore. I knew there was a God out there, because I had heard His guiding voice throughout my life. I began to seek Him, to speak to Him. I felt His presence more and more as I began to focus on him. I felt His support and love as I began to develop a friendship with Him."
One day something happened. Kathryn felt an awakening inside herself, as though seeing her situation through another lens. "I stopped being angry at the world and began to see everyone and myself with love. I knew that God was going to heal me. I spoke to God differently, more gently, and I felt His presence and His love. He became my friend, my comforter. Lying in pain on the floor was easier now that I became friends with God. Loneliness became easier to deal with, and my depression slowly began to lift."
Kathryn found herself able to express gratitude in the simple things in life, even the simple gift of breath. She felt blessed with love, with the birds singing outside, hearing her mother's voice in the next room, and at last felt blessed for being alive. She visualised herself walking along the beach with freedom and ease. "I knew that God was going to do a healing, but I didn't know when. That was fine, because now love flowed through me. I was no longer angry, upset, and full of self-pity."
She decisively marked on her calendar the day she would wiggle her toe, then marked the day she would move another toe, as well as her foot. Finally she marked the day when she would lift her body up from the floor.
"One month later, I was lying on the floor talking to God. I felt a rush of bright light entering my body from the soles of my feet up through my spine. It lifted me until I stood upright. It was an intense bright light - I saw it, I felt it, and I heard it. It sounded like a gushing noise, illuminating and surrounding me. As I walked, I felt I wasn't touching the ground. I felt I was gliding. The pain had completely disappeared! I knew it was God, as I sensed His presence and felt safe. I felt an amazing peace and comfort in it."
Kathryn's body was totally exhausted by the experience, but as the pain began to creep back in, this time it wasn't as intense. "Something had changed. My body was in less pain than before. I was still unable to stand up straight and wasn't able to walk yet, but I felt free! God only took away the pain for a moment, but He took me away from the pain forever."
Every day after that experience, Kathryn was healing more and more. It took another few months until eventually her body could stand upright long enough to walk for a few minutes at a time. "I was content with that. I wasn't in a rush to walk again, because I knew God was healing me internally first."
Several months later, and with God's strength, she went into rehabilitation and back into the gym to rebuild her atrophied muscles. It was a lengthy process, but eventually she regained her strength and began to train, eager to reach a level of fitness that she was all her life. She had developed a rock-solid faith, one that encouraged her to be positive and slowly rebuild her damaged body.
Three years later, Kathryn's training at the gym caused a relapse, which encouraged her to accept the major surgery she had previously turned down. After her second recovery period she took on the rugged hills of Machu Picchu in Peru. "The altitude there is so high you can barely breathe," declares Kathryn. After a gruelling five-day trek, she was ready to return home to build on her fresh outlook, and her newfound knowledge she could conquer mountains.
"After Machu Picchu I needed to build up my muscles. And like a lot of things I do, I basically got carried away!" Most body builders require at least a year of special diets, weight and cardio training, however after only 10 weeks at the gym, Kathryn was ready to enter herself into the first Victorian state competition.
After this she began her long training journey to more local championships. Kathryn entered 12 competitions and won first place in all of them, including two Victorian titles, two Australian titles, one Southern Hemisphere title and eventually the international title in Austria (NABBA/WFF). "The day of the competition, I got up on stage and was oblivious to people around me. I was in a zone and in tune because I knew I had been given a second chance," she says.
Kathryn is also a qualified Doctor of Natural Medicine, and teaches clinical acupuncture. In the past she has travelled to China and Taiwan to work in hospitals, and continues to run her own clinic today, specialising in pain relief. She currently runs her own business, Body Excellence By Kathryn, a pain relief clinic and fitness training centre, using the lessons she has learnt along the way. And it's no surprise that her toned physique and confident air inspire many people on promotional materials for her business.
There's really no knowing what this ‘all or nothing' woman will achieve next. Kathryn Avramakis is a living embodiment of the fact that with self-belief, faith and a lot of courage you can overcome your obstacles, live your dreams and "move mountains"!
For more information or appointments contact Kathryn on 03 9855 9555. Visit www.bodyexcellence.com.au and www.totalwellbeing.com.au
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