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Allowing Ebs & Flows in your Movement Practice: Don't STOP - BEND.
October for me (and my family) was BUSY. In particular due to us moving. Moving is ALWAYS plenty of work. When the work is over, it then becomes a process that carries over several weeks as you settle into your new environment. With moving to a new rental home, also comes NEW routines, NEW timing of things (such as walks to and from work), NEW environment etc. That's ALOT of BIG changes in a very short timeframe.
And guess what? It takes it out of you!
October has been a wonderful reminder that life is NOT about PUSHING all the time. We ALL need that reminder to a greater extent today I feel, than ever before. Times, like my family and I have had this month, get FULL, DRAINING, and there's plenty TO DO. Building a healthy lifestyle is about creating not only RESILIENCE but FLEXIBILITY in your routines, so that we can allow the ebs and flows that life brings, to find their way to allow us to CONTINUE (not STOP) caring for ourselves. I wanted to share mine here with you as an example and to show you that although my routines have changed this month - They have NOT stopped.
This is an incredibly common to hear clients say things like;
"When things slow down I'll 'get back to my habits'.... "
"I 'fell off the wagon' because things are hectic right now..."
"I'll 'start again' after the weekend..."
The "starting-stopping" isn't the focus to work with. The INFLEXIBILITY in your routines and mindset IS! Too often we are hesitant to SLOW things down, GO EASIER, SHORTEN up exercise times or ADJUST anything! What happens next is the only possible thing TO happen... WE STOP. TOTALLY. Rather than doing SOMETHING for our deep health, when life gets heavy, busy or completely chaotic we JUST STOP. Which ironically makes it THAT MUCH HARDER to get started again each time you stop because you're building the "STOPPING muscle" much more efficiently than the "STARTING muscle".
I wanted to share this example from my October to show you what it looks like to work WITH the ebs and flows that are inevitable in life. With that, comes an understanding that we CAN'T ALWAYS BE PUSHING, IMPROVING or BE AT OUR BEST. Sometimes, it's 100% enough to JUST BE.
October brought my regular movement practice and daily routines into a shift. I still was moving, but in a less structured and intentional way (in the sense of my health habits) and more in a "this needs to be done" way. It's been a month of mental practice for me. Strengthening that mindset that says "It's OKAY!" to NOT be trying to create too much, be too intentional with my movement practices and/or improve anything at this time or to be doing DIFFERENT things from my norm for a few weeks.
My strength sessions, meditation sessions, mobility work etc all were impacted as I navigated my way to figure out my new timing of things in my days/weeks. The first 2-weeks of the month were a total wash in that regard. All we were doing was loading, unloading, lifting, pushing, pulling, moving, bending, reaching, figuring out how to arrange things / where things will go, unpacking boxes, setting things up.... It's moving. No surprises to anyone here. I was quite content to read my books and just relax before work if/when I had time. Rooms weren't all organized, I was still getting used to the new environment / change (all good, just different) and I was simply pooped.
Yet, let me show you why this is not "bad" in my head:
I'm not striving for any goal on a timeline right now and I'm not putting myself on any timelines (for work and/or personal goals) during this time
All month I've been moving, lifting, pushing and pulling things as we moved, continue to unpack and organize things. So I AM moving in VARIOUS ways. Lots of variety in movement and loads/resistance.
I don't have infinite energy. My time and energy has been in getting settled in our new home and by the time there's "time"... I'm done for the day.
I walk even more than I did before in our previous home
To reiterate, my October CHANGED my routines but it didn't STOP me doing things that are healthy for ME. The things that were still present were in a way that didn't ADD more tension to my already busy, tired and stressed physiology.
I am a 2km walk one way to/from work now. Meaning the LEAST amount of walking I do on a weekday is 4km. Sweet! Some days are 8km when I do split shifts. Awesome! That's not counting any walking sessions with clients as well! WOO!!! Starting this final week of October, I'm just under 70km of walking (without having to think about it or plan it in my days like I did the past 4-years).
My movement practice has just shifted as life brought some ebs and flows my way.
It hasn't STOPPED.
It's IMPORTANT for all of us to recognize, as this month has for me, that there are timeframes in life (sometimes a few weeks, sometimes longer) where responsibilities and life DO NOT allow us the energy and/or ability to create change within ourself. THAT'S OKAY!! It's important in these times NOT to force the matter, but to work WITH IT. The problem is, we continuously try to FORCE more and more on our already stressed and exhausted physiology. And then get upset with ourselves when we can't stick to it or don't see results.
When life is HEAVY, find your minimums. Don't STOP, but instead figure out what you CAN still do. It was easy for me in this case since my travel is walking to work. Then add the lifting, bending etc that comes with unpacking/moving... Again, the bonus is no thinking/planning required. These were my minimums. If I wasn't walking much that day, unpack more things, move more things around ... If I wasn't doing that, walk (at least) to work and back today for 4km of walking. With hockey sprinkled into my weeks as well.
All month, I've been itching however to get back to my regular routines that allow me to feel my best and manage my brain. 🤣 This last week of the month as I write this post, I can say that we're settled enough (though not done everything yet of course) at home and my body is saying; "Okay! Let's build things back into the day". It's a nice feeling to be there again.
I want to reiterate that it DID NOT COME FROM FORCING it.
It came from LISTENING TO MY BODY.
I'm taking the next few weeks with words such as REFRESH, RENEW, RECHARGE at the forefront of my approach and mindset. Allowing my energy to naturally CONTINUE it's build back up to where it was before the chaos of any move. And you know what? It's EXCITING. It's a BLANK CANVAS really. I can look at what my days involved before the move and now, and adjust accordingly if I want. For example, walking or running BEFORE the move was an intentional thing I made sure I fit in during my afternoon breaks after lunch. Now, I don't NEED that because they're automatically built into my day. I can use that blank canvas to create something NEW! That's a great, refreshing feeling.
In between clients yesterday I got on my mat for a session and used a few more words to help me focus: PLAY, FEEL, RECOGNIZE. There was NO plan. NO intended intensity or duration. The GOAL was to MOVE, FEEL and PAY ATTENTION through the "Play-Feel-Recognize" theme.
I ran through 9 different movement exercises. Some strength oriented. Some mobility oriented. I was GATHERING DATA on myself...
Just move. Play around in different movements and resistance states.
Listen to my body. Where is it at? What's it feeling right now?
Making a few notes here and there on any tension I felt in my body or anything to work with as I build my daily routines back
Paying attention to HOW it feels to just get on the mat and move around again after a few weeks
You may have already guessed - It felt GREAT! It felt motivating and I felt the urge for MORE of that. The exploration of MYSELF and how I feel RIGHT NOW, TODAY with NO JUDGEMENT beyond that is what makes me WANT MORE. Now I can take that information I collected and continue to PLAY and CREATE over the next few weeks. I can LET MYSELF play, feel and recognize what I WANT to go after NOW in this new chapter for myself and my family.
I plan to continue to help build my client's resilience and flexbility in their habits by helping them RECOGNIZE opportunities to ADJUST.
Drop some weight today OR increase some weight today
Move a bit more today OR move a bit less today
Move a bit faster today OR move a bit slower today
Work hard today OR recover well today
Go after a goal / target OR stay the course and turn your attention inward to let things be, as they are, right now.
Don't STOP your health because of life or you will FOREVER be putting YOUR health on hold.
TIME doesn't stop in this ONE life. Build your ability to be resilient and flexible so you can BEND instead.
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