I’m passionate about helping you navigate life’s obstacles with resilience and positivity.
Meet Cynthia Portugal
My name is Cynthia Portugal, and I wear/have worn many hats in my life thus far. I have been married for 30 years to a wonderful man, and we have 3 young adult children. Throughout our marriage, my husband and I have come together time after time after time to navigate through countless challenges and crises in our children’s lives. We have endured a massive amount with our kids due to mental illness, psychotic disorder, substance/processing addiction, and/or learning differences. I have come to fully embrace that nothing is ever a straight shot upward in life and there is always a struggle right around the corner. We are all a work in progress through our entire life. But, for the first time in years I feel as if our family unit has come to a better understanding of one another and each other’s unique circumstances and hardships. We are all on our own life’s journey, and trying to navigate a road to recovery as individuals and as a family.
Before we had children, I had a brief career in Human Resources management. After obtaining a BBA in Marketing, and an MS in Human Resources Management, I worked in the HR field for a number of years. After my husband and I had our first child, I chose to be an at home mom. My husband’s career is very demanding with little flexibility, and at the time this seemed to be the right decision for our growing family. Parenting was, and still is one of the hardest jobs I have had to date! I learned very early on that each baby is born into this world with their own unique personality and disposition. Helping these individuals to thrive and be the best they can be given their unique strengths and challenges is incredibly demanding and often taxing. For a while, I very much enjoyed being a full time mom to my young kids but, as they got older I began to feel depressed and lonely during the day as I navigated three carpools, meal planning, cooking, errands, doctors appointments, homework, and the daily challenges that children experience academically and socially. I began to develop a strong desire to create something of my own apart from my mom duties, in addition to creating more meaningful connections with other adults during the course of the day.
Thus, in my late 40s, when my children were 14, 16, and 19, I began to reinvent myself in the workforce. I wanted to create work I loved while still being able to be there for my kids. In 2015 I became a certified group exercise instructor, and shortly after I became a certified personal trainer. Prior to my reinvention, I was always physically active and enjoyed the endorphin high a great workout provided. I have always enjoyed hiking, spinning, biking, swimming, weight lifting, and outdoor physical activities. Movement and exercise were and still are my therapy of choice! Initially, I worked at the YMCA for a few years, and then in 2018 I began my own business as a personal trainer and fitness instructor. I specialize in working with ages 50 and beyond at any level of fitness and working with any aged person recovering from an injury. I do personal training at my client’s home, home gym, or online, teach online fitness classes, as well as in-person fitness classes in Houston, Texas. You can learn more about what I do and the services that I offer on my website, Spin With Cyn.
Life is always full of ups and downs, but during the time in my journey when I was beginning to work again, life kept me hitting hard with one giant curveball and crisis after the other. If it were not for my interests, exercise, and work that I love, I would have drowned from sorrow! My interests, movement, and work kept me going!! Although I would never wish hardship on anyone, the silver lining with immense struggle is emotional growth. During the rough patches, I felt myself gaining a better perspective daily. I had begun and continue to embrace what Maya Angelou calls an “attitude of gratitude”. I learned that although life can be completely devastating and awful, it can also be wonderful all at the same time. My life was turned upside down at home which was beyond depressing, but my business was growing and thriving quickly, which was thrilling. So much terrible and wonderful was happening simultaneously. The work that I was enjoying so much was providing me with a buoy to keep me from drowning.
I also learned to never ever ever give up HOPE! Even in the worst of times, keep H.O.P.E alive always! Hold, Onto, Positive Experiences.
It is because of my experiences with my children that in addition to the work I do as a personal trainer and fitness instructor, I have also decided to become a certified life coach, and provide coaching services to parents and/or family members whose lives have been turned upside down trying to help their child or loved one with a mental illness, psychotic disorder, a substance/processing addiction, learning differences and/or any kind of life-altering crisis. Parents and caregivers, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!! I have a passion for this work because I have lived it, and if you have any of these struggles with your kids, I get it 300%. I very much look forward to working with you as we navigate through my 4 cornerstones of coaching:
Self Care
Self Compassion
What’s Lost, What’s Left, What’s Possible
Re-engagement In Life
My husband and I are not in control of our kids’ lives and their futures. But, we have found that we are stronger working together to help our 3 children navigate life moving forward. Furthermore, despite all of our kid’s hardships, we survived as a married couple while growing individually as well. In life, when we can come together as a collective we have the potential to be incredibly powerful. Throughout our life’s journey, our family members were all growing through what we were going through. I continue to make my marriage, my own self care, friendships, as well as my work and interests a priority in my life, while I continue to offer emotional support and unconditional love to my kids. My children are all survivors of very unique and difficult circumstances and are warriors for very different reasons. They might have more sets backs in the future like every human alive, and I hope they continue to have resilience, strength and insight to help get themselves back on track. I am so proud of them and what they have conquered and navigated in life thus far, and I look forward to seeing them pursue their goals and chase their dreams one day at a time.
Little by little, we travel far!
Just keep moving forward, one baby step at a time!