Staying True to Your Star
Part 1 of 3-part Series about Coach Eli
Coach Eli James is energy. Coach Eli James is movement. Coach Eli James is a force like no other.
So, who is this Coach Eli James?
I’ll start by saying I found out about him the way most people find things these days: scrolling.
Perusing Instagram back in February, I came across a reel of a man demonstrating what looked like a simple arm and shoulder movement sequence aimed at sloped upper back, poor-posture desk workers like myself.
The movement seemed simple enough: arms up and out like two cactus appendages, rotate the shoulders downward ten times, then raise the arms upward as though pumping ten times, then combine the movements in a paired sequence for ten.
The effect was amazing. It is the antidote to prolonged desk sitting and keyboard pecking, and it opens the shoulders and trapezius muscles, while unclenching all the tightness that builds while in that desk-jockey position.
But the guy demonstrating this easy but complex movement in said Instagram reel was even more intriguing. With the body of a god, the look of a prophet (think: modern-day Jesus complete with rose-colored glasses), and with a laid-back yet slightly goofy but earnest personality, it was impossible to look away.
This was Coach Eli, Instagram fitness and lifestyle influencer, and someone whom I would soon become well-acquainted with once I joined his growing flock.
Spiritual literature helped her get through those years of raising six kids under the age of 11. It rubbed off on me as I grew up, I stayed connected to my natural side. She allowed me to just be me.
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The youngest of six siblings, Elijah James Matelson was born and raised in Southern California and was largely influenced by his mother’s spiritual serenity and his eldest brother’s drive for health and fitness.
“My brother showed me the ropes,” Matelson says. “1000 free throws. 6 meals prepped nightly. The gym daily. Routine. Routine. Routine. My brother didn’t lead with words, he led by example. ‘Can I workout with you?’ I would shyly ask as I approached him at the gym. He nodded. This is where discipline was first introduced to me. If I didn’t show up to the gym for thee days my brother would make a comment in passing that pissed me off and made me want to get back in there. It worked. I became obsessed with fitness.
“This “go-go-go” was balanced with a safe, nurturing space provided by my mother. I grew up clinging to her hip. She read Tao Te Ching while pregnant with me. Spiritual literature helped her get through those years of raising six kids under the age of 11. It rubbed off on me as I grew up, I stayed connected to my natural side. She allowed me to just be me.”
Matelson was called to music in ninth grade and played in the high school marching band’s drumline, literally shouldering the bass drum on a body not quite suited for the heavy load. This experience unfortunately resulted in a low back injury, which plagued Matelson for the rest of high school.
This propelled him to seek exercise and fitness as a means to heal himself the natural way. Following in the footsteps of his older brother, who was an aspiring basketball player, Matelson began practicing yoga, changing his diet, and gradually regaining his physical strength while developing what he calls bodily wisdom.
At the time, his mother pointed him to The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, which further inspired Matelson to develop awareness, to live in the moment, and to receive all that life had to offer.
“These books were my first tastes at any type of “self-development,” and I was all-in,” Matelson says. “Through more experimentation, I discovered I felt that same presence reading The Power Of Now, but this time during movement. Yoga. Animal Flow. Walking meditation. These were now my hobbies. At a very young age, my outlets became health, movement, and mindfulness.”
Fast forward to a healed body and stronger mind after his high school years, Matelson went on to study physical therapy and biomechanics. He began amassing a deep understanding of movement, posture, and exercise, which he went on to utilize with hundreds of clients once he became a certified personal trainer.
Matelson’s immersion into health and fitness drove him to develop his own methods to attain optimal physical, mental, and dietary health, which is what is now known as his Embody method.
As Matelson began moving his content online, a TikTok post about posture mid-pandemic garnered over 3 million hits, which was the sign he was looking for to continue sharing his online training development routines, all while building a following of clients. And so, Coach Eli was born.
When you have the freedom to follow your bliss, you can create any new possibility imaginable. That’s freedom.
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As one of those clients, I can say that the process and the results are phenomenal. Not only does Coach Eli and Coach Ryan walk you through the process, they challenge you, listen to you, energize and inspire you. There is a community of fellow recruits looking for that extra push in life who support each other along the way. It’s a virtual community that often feels effortlessly and quite serendipitously connected.
Most recently, Coach Eli’s content appeared on a segment of the Rachael Ray Show in which he taught viewers three simple moves to fix bad posture.
For Coach Eli, this was yet another step in the right direction for both his Embody fitness program, and toward his aspirations to be an actor and health and fitness influencer.
“Launching Embody has brought me the fulfillment of giving back to my mom,” says Matelson. “This showed me what’s possible if you put yourself out there in life and just go for it. The followers, the impact, the content, the creation, the clients, the lives changed–all of that is incredible, yes, but what’s even more incredible is that I stayed true to the “star” my mom called me. I followed my bliss. I went for it. Now, I see what’s really possible in life. Not just for me, but for any and every person I will ever interact with. Beyond business and tons of followers, Embody has brought me fulfillment from the inside-out, and that is true fulfillment, that is winning, because when you have space to just be you, when you have the freedom to follow your bliss, you can create any new possibility imaginable. That’s freedom.”
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Photo courtesy of Coach Eli