I am pretty sure I was recognized from behind today. (Not by my behind but by my perma-bedhead. )
Can we all just be honest for a moment? Don’t we all have a secret need/desire/want to be seen, recognized and known? Isn’t that kind of the point of social media?!
So today, instead of being known for my wacky bed head I would like to challenge myself (and you) to be known for being kind, for being present, for being different in the best possible way,
*I acknowledge that yes, I don’t want to be invisible … but it is Christ in me who I really want to be known and recognized as I go about life.
Did you know that you get to make the rules for your own life? Yes, those rules should come from an alignment with who you are and what you are about. (I am called to this life and role and my faith in Jesus is the undergirding of my everything.)
For me success changes from day to day. Today dressing for success involved putting on my workout clothes and getting down to business (move my body.) This is something I get to do and choose to do to bio hack my bad attitude.
My life today involves 3-4 sick babies/toddler/preschoolers (one of which escaped her crib like a ninja at 4 am — her latest feat in a long list of parkour exercises she performs daily.) What more can I do? Fetal position? Head in the sand? Pint of ice cream? Nope, none of these will help me ‘feel’ better.
I still have to be a wife, mother, friend, daughter, human. So I am going to play with my latest toys (heavier kettlebells — hello 50lbs! (*pssst… you are kicking my butt mister.)
How do you overcome a rough start to the day? Let’s learn from one another.
I have done it. I have booked my theory exam to become a Canfit pro Personal Training Specialist. As all things in my life, I find correlations between what I am learning and my daily happenings.
I was studying yesterday in a very noisy food court as it is less noisy (and demanding) than my own home. I was on the chapter about foundational movement practices and how to adapt those movements to your client based on their level. I am my own best/worst client.
Some days I feel like all of the pieces of life are passing me by. I struggle daily to do all the things. My foundations seem to be solid but progress is slow in all areas… or so I thought…
It turns out that if you randomly decide to learn how to do something and practice a tiny bit every day, that eventually you will be able to do the thing. And then the thing will actually get easier.
I am going to take the win. I am going to embrace the now. And I am going to take all of those teeny tiny steps towards whatever the thing of the moment is; until I master it and move on to add the next thing. I am grateful for today. What baby steps are part of your wins this hour/week/month/year/decade? (Obviously keeping all the babes loved, fed, clothed and safe is a big daily win for me.)
Recently I was in a small virtual group intensive training to become a personal trainer. One exercise we did with one another was assess one another’s physiques.
There were two particular syndromes we were watching for related to possible muscle overuse, weakness or injury. As it turns out, I have both. Jackpot!
While this could feel like defeat to some, this is an opportunity for me to be proactive in how I progress in my personal personal training. “To thine own self be true.” (Hamlet, William Shakespeare)
Nope, not recommending a level of selfishness or self focus that becomes all encompassing. I am saying my truth at this point in time is that I am not perfect. At any given point in time, I will not be perfect. This is not permission not to do something. It is information by which I can form a plan of action. In other words, it is a call to action.
May we all, as we receive glimpses of truth; (whether it comes from the TRUTH of the Bible (my favourite source of wisdom), a well meaning friend or family member or from a simple moment of introspection …answer the call.
Marco. Polo.
Don’t give up. Regroup and keep going. Day by day, moment by moment this will look differently .. but one tiny action is still a step forward.
Posture can change.
This is me assessing my own posture. Shoulders forward (nope, not ideal), butt tucked, also not optimal for lower back health and the posterior muscle groups. (Pun intended😜)
I spent way too long last summer trying to talk myself into jumping off our boat into the lake. When did I become the fearful one? How can I be paralyzed in some ways and so free in others?
In fitness I have learned about muscular hyper mobility as well as impingements. How can one body be so free in some ways and literally/stuck/ frozen/limited in either strength or mobility in others?
I love the word ‘undergird’ .. mostly because it makes me think of girdles .. and I think ‘girdle’ is a funny word. In order to find freedom in my mind and body I have had to go to the core. The root of who I am. The core of my being. The part the girdle holds in place. 😜
My days are not my own right now. My life is not my own for this very busy season. But that doesn’t make me less ‘me.’ If anything, I am more ‘me’ because everything else has been stripped away. It has been stripped away by a pandemic, trauma and loss, our life stage with all of our children and the fact we are aging. Mid life crisis anyone??!
Life is full. Life is crazy. Life can be chaotic. It can be stressful. It is definitely tiring. But our core, the core of our family, of our ‘us’-ness is still consistent.
My core is strong, dysfunctional in some ways but stable in others. But as the plumb line of my life slowly aligns with truth and heals, I know that things will feel better and I will get better at the ‘more’ of life.
Fear doesn’t get to define me. I will not be held back by my body, toxic thoughts, toxic relationships or poor habits. These are things I can control. These are things we all have power over.
What method do you use to find your alignment in your life, your plumb line?
Sometimes I choose to do some things because they are fun. As of January 1, 2022, a lot of people are trying to change their bodies, mindsets, habits and more.
We lay out our ‘resolutions’ and plan using SMART goals. (specific, measurable, attainable, rad, terrific?) — ok, I may have forgotten what the letters stand for.. (R-realistic, T-timely.) Seeing as I forgot when New Year’s Eve was this year and also don’t know what day of the week it is, perhaps SMART goals aren’t for me.
Instead, I am choosing to sprinkle in a bit of play. Not just play with my kids but play for the sake of playing. My form of play currently involves skipping, jumping, dancing, hopping, leaping and crawling. Imagine ‘playing’ and accidentally reaping the benefit of forming a regular practice of body movement. And that regular movement subsequently makes you stronger, leaner, more limber and more importantly releases all of those happy happy hormones that make each day feel just a bit more manageable because of a over abundant sense of well being.
How do you play? How could you incorporate play into your life? You may not want to leap around like I do but maybe you do want to climb up a snowy hillside and slide down on a piece of cardboard. The sky is the limit where our minds and bodies are concerned when we set out with a joyful mindset.
I would love for you to engage with me by brainstorming on what play looks like for you. (This is beyond exercise people! This is embracing your inner child and remembering how to have fun!)
I lost something. It was kind of important to me. It supported me in a lot of my undertakings. I lost my butt. My butt as in my gluteal musculature. I am now the proud owner of a pancake bottom.
Although I have been successful at continually moving my body in some capacity over the past 3 months, I have not been quite so successful at my weight exercises. When one does a substantial amount of movement without the benefit of weight resistance, then the result can be a loss of muscle mass.
The good news is, my body remembers. My muscles remember what to do. There is still some residual strength there to go about my day to day. But for the sake of my overall health, especially as I am considered ‘mid-life’ (*GASP*) I must improve on that endeavor.
As most fitness professionals like myself do, I delved back into…. GOOGLE! Yes, I googled how to do what I need to do. I consider that a soft opening, a little kick in the tush to jog my brain into action.
I remind myself daily that I am a wife and proud mom to 6 children with a 7th in heaven (5 of whom are or would have been under 4 years of age.) They all take up space in my brain, in my heart, in my life. To manage my energy and my stress (parenting is hard!!) I need to prioritize more intentional movement.
I have adopted a ‘can do’ attitude for this week.. I don’t know what next week will look like..
This week, I have chosen to capitalize on the infant’s floor time play and have done planks, push-ups, and core exercises. I have chosen to do some lower body work with an infant strapped on to my body (notice the theme here?? this adorable infant is my daily sidekick in pretty much everything… sometimes even trips to the bathroom.) I don’t even know what later on today might bring let alone tomorrow, but I will draw on the resources available to me and take action. A little bit day by day is enough.
This isn’t about welcoming in the new year. This is not a resolution. This is about listening to myself & my body day by day, little by little over time. Forever!
I seem to be accumulating an abundance of travel mugs lately. That may be because of my need to a) use the adult equivalent to a sippy cup b) preserve the integrity of my coffee temperature as it often gets put aside. I have spilled my coffee 4 times even with my new ‘sippy cups’…
I’ve been trying on a few subscriptions for size in the past couple of months. Our family now has a bone broth subscription and I have a monthly flower subscription. On top of that we are using a local meal kit service, a cleaning service and I have a couple of fitness classes too. Phew! Did I make you tired just listing all of that? Failure to plan is a plan to fail. (Did I just swear? I feel like that could be taken as curse words for someone..)
We have been in a holding pattern which has allowed my very busy brain some space to plan ahead. Our family is growing again. We shall soon have 4 children 4 and under. Plus two bigs who also live under our roof. It is a lot. This is a lot. Planning is required.
I’ve had to ask for help. I’ve had to hire help. I sometimes have to beg for help (“here, take this baby.. I am going to have a bath.”)
There are pieces to the puzzle I haven’t quite figured out and others I am trying on for size.
Overall I am feeling extremely grateful. And in the moments when I feel overwhelmed I will stop to smell the literal rose in my flower bouquet and sip some coffee, bone broth or just plain enjoy a crazy meal with my crazy family.
My Fall plans got waylaid. As I find myself in a season of waiting, there is a nervous energy about me. Nervous energy usually results in some kind of need for focus. How do you harness nervous energy? Beats me… which results in things like ‘Van Gogh’s knees.’
I am once again working on my fitness endeavors and this is next to impossible as I have the sweetest little newborn baby boy (is 2 mos still considered newborn?!?) who pretty much insists on being attached to my body all day, every day. But, I am not easily deterred. Baby on me or no, I will learn this!
The mom brain that recently allowed me to mail off the key to our community mailbox parcel compartment instead of actually opening the box is the same brain pursuing this quest. Difficulty level 100…no 1,000… no… 10,000,000!
So, if in the next little while you find yourself wanting to participate in the above mentioned class, do brace yourself for the best verbal cues of your life — and by ‘best’ I mean Van Gogh’s knees. You’re welcome.
I have had to pare down my daily activities in recent days. I have done this in the name of both self care and survival.
Pushing pause on a few things that matter to me has been hard. And in the interest of mental health I need to find ways to integrate some of those things back in.
One thing I have added into our lives is playing music that either soothes or energizes me. I may also be singing along because that is just part of how I connect with my music.
Along those same lines, I have added in small Zumba sessions because it lifts my mood instantaneously and serves as exercise at a time when I find it next to impossible to have my hands free of babies.
I read the smallest little bit of my Bible app daily to make sure my mind is focused on things that guide my heart and mind in a way that serves myself and my family well.
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