Taking life at your own pace
During our holidays, I took part in a Yogilates class (basically a mix of yoga & pilates). It was one of these typical fitness classes with an instructor demonstrating and giving the rhythm. And I realised that even though I was familiar with the exercises and my body has felt stronger in the past couple of weeks since starting going to the fitness, I couldn’t keep up with her rhythm. Or rather, when I tried, I did what my physio had specifically told me to pay attention not to do: I stopped breathing and just rushed through the exercise.
I realised that in the past years, I had surrounded myself by people that supported me in being mindful and listening to my body and my needs (while at the same time staying focused and moving forward just the right amount) - be it my physio, my yoga teacher, etc. This has been such an eye-opener for me, and a couple of years in, I feel that my mindset has slowly shifted and I am seeing that all the work I have put in is paying off.
As mums there is the societal pressure of doing things right, of following the crowds, of fitting in. This pressure may be particularly obvious when it comes to parenthood or women in general - but it is all around us in our daily lives!
There is the image of being the black sheep, the odd one out, in a field of fluffy white sheep. But what if we changed that narrative? What if we reframed this image? There is not one black sheep in a field of all the same white ones. We are all different and therefore, it should rather be different coloured & shaped sheep that are happily living their lives. And we are just one of the sheep on this field, doing what we choose to do, being who we want to be and growing alongside all the other sheep.
On that day in Menorca, I decided to be the odd one out. It’s not always easy and it does take some courage to leave all expectations aside and just follow out own path. But in this fitness class, I went at my rhythm, I modified some exercises that did not suit my body’s needs at this point and in the end, I felt glad that I had made it through the whole class without rushing or pushing myself to the extend that I wasn’t feeling well in the end. And you know what? It felt great! Because I worked out in a way that suited my body and my body really enjoyed it!
When was the last time you did something that was against the mainstream? When were you the odd one out? And how did that make you feel?
(On a side note, I personally found Zumba classes way more fun than Yogilates - I’ve loved dancing since I was a kid and I’ve missed it in the past years, but also because you just go with the music and if you mess up the steps, you just catch up on the next ones again).