Project Posture

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😜)

Project Skip Leap

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?

Project Pancake

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!

Cheers!!!!