I write this as I eat a bag of Siete chips, big headphones on listening to Hamilton, sitting outside on the front steps of my apartment to soak up the things that have been missing in my life lately: sunshine and warm weather. Life doesn’t feel as hard as it did a few months ago. That could be the feeling of seasonal depression leaving my body or feeling optimistic about the future.
I’ve been thinking of this concept of adaptation and boundaries lately in regards to both my practice (yoga, meditation) and life. I wanted to share in case it resonated with you.
Adapting to me means meeting someone where they’re at. It means meeting yourself where you’re at. It’s being able to put down an idea you’ve had and pivoting when the puzzle pieces aren’t fitting together. It’s equipping yourself with tools to know how to handle these things when they happen. It’s building internal awareness.
How I think it fits into a practice/flow/fitness regime:
In a classroom setting, I love giving my students options. I recognize that each body is unique in the way that it moves and I no longer want to teach from a space of making others feel incapable. When you step into any fitness class or program, if it hurts*, do not keep going. If the class is labeled “most-hardest insane cardio inducing back-flipping workout” you can be the person doing a hip stretch, not minding the back flippers around you. If your mental space, back pain, heart rate is asking you to slow down, then listen. Use those props. Modify the exercise. These are the tools you can ask a professional about and educate yourself with. When I design a flow, I am looking at every possible way from basic to extreme to include in the flow. I want my class to be an opportunity to explore, not feel less than. Anytime you move, it is exactly that (but becoming stronger is also pretty cool too).
Perhaps, life:
It happens. We plan, and no matter how much we plan sometimes things change. We can either get mad about it or decide it was never for us in the first place. I’ve been struggling with this idea that I have to continue doing things the same way if not better than they used to be. To offer something as a business that is way better than what someone else is offering and I noticed an internal shift. I wanted to give up. Ruminating on the past is/was getting in my way of creating. How could I succeed if I didn’t look like these other businesses? And where did these rules and regulations for what a business is supposed to look like come from in the first place? What makes me any different?
The comparison game is something I am trying to pivot away from. That sometimes what I have to offer can be different and the rules and regulations put in place are made up anyways (at least the non-legal ones). My friend Vanessa reminded me recently that whatever I do doesn’t have to be perfect, I just have to start. And whatever I start can be formatted around the boundaries I know I need. In a world that sometimes feels out of control, this is something I can control. Think of some things in your life that could be derailing you from solace, the feel good feeling. What are some boundaries you can draw to obtain that solace? Start small :).
There are incredibly exciting things I am going to share soon. Until then, be brilliant and patient with yourself.
-B
*My definition of hurts is anything that feels pinching or burning.
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