Ashley Soden is the Owner & Founder of Empowered Bodies where she coaches individuals to achieve empowerment by conquering the body and mind. Ashley is also a nationally qualified bodybuilder through the National Physique Committee, and highly sought after Body Transformation Expert. She holds her Bachelor's Degree in Behavioral Neuroscience and incorporates Neurolinguistic Programming and Cognitive Reconditioning techniques to her exercises for an overall lifestyle and behavioral-based approach.
Ok, so that's all the technical stuff about Ash... but who is she, REALLY?
Ashley takes most pride in being a mother to her beautiful two year old daughter, Stella, with her husband Ray.
Prior to having Stella, Ashley was under the impression she was unable to have a baby. Because of this, she struggled immensely with the deep rooted belief that something was wrong with her.
Her anxieties manifested in her daily life, even into how she approached diet & exercise. She was so unsure of herself that she doubted herself in her approach to everything, including fitness and nutrition. She yo-yo dieted and bounced back and forth between over-restricting & binge eating food. Her health was in a state of decline and she was in constant pain both physically and mentally. She neglected herself in many ways, and was her own worst enemy for quite some time.
And then she discovered she was pregnant with Stella, and everything changed.
Newly pregnant and motivated to keep it that way, she needed to be one thing only: HEALTHY. The subconscious belief that she needed to change finally came to the conscious mind... so, became educated on everything you can possibly imagine about the science of prioritizing health within the body and mind.
In order to achieve success, Ash understood that she first needed to study success to understand it and create a plan to achieve it. She understood the necessity to become the student and to learn as much as possible from the wisdom from the experts.
In August of 2018, Ashley had Stella via c-section, which made for a more difficult recovery.
By this point, she knew exactly how to prioritize and maintain health within the body. As a new mother, Ash knew she needed to go down a different path than she ever has before. She needed to set the example for her daughter of what it means to be a strong and graceful woman.
To throw herself into action, she knew she needed a motivator - so at 5'0" resting at 200 lbs sitting on the coach with her c-section stitches still fresh, Ashley committed 100% to competing in a Bodybuilding competition within 1 year. Her mom practically spit out her drink in laughter, like "HA um yeah, okay..." But she knew deep in her belief system that she could do it if she really wanted to.
So, she did.
All her combined years of education, research, personal experience, and trial/error led her to find out the truth behind what actually works, and how to obtain it from a place of health.
With her vicious passion for the human body, Ashley quickly knew that she needed to help others the way she helped herself. Through all her years of geeking out and studying the best of the best in the industry, Ashley was not only able to lose 80 pounds, but she won 1st in her division as well as the Overall Champion title -- all within 1 year of having a c-section!
Ashley realized her transformation was so much more than physical... it was emotional, mental, spiritual. Through this journey, she found EMPOWERMENT. How? By conquering the seven empowerment sectors: body, emotions, relationships, time, business, money and spirituality. And if she can do it, anyone can do it.
The following year, Ashley stepped on stage at the North American Championships and won second place in Figure Division, which are the images you see on this page.
Ashley's mission is to provide guidance to those who are inspired to follow a similar journey, and to help YOU find your own EMPOWERED BODY!
