Newsletter, April 2018: Adulting and challenge
Being an adult is a funny thing. You do things you never quite anticipated, and you are faced with making decisions that you never really thought would fall into your lap.
Some of these decisions are easy (“what do I have for lunch?”), and some of these decisions are more challenging, (“should I buy a house/change careers/marry my long term partner?”). All of the small decisions you make leading up to the bigger decisions are a way to practice exercising your voice. You learn sometimes you make a decision that could have been better (“the Mexican food restaurant down the street really IS overpriced and not worth the wait”), and every time you decide something life changing, like moving to a different town, you learn that things move forward, that it’s okay to not be fully sure because things have a way of working themselves out.
Movement is like this. You challenge yourself physically at a level you can tolerate. You may not succeed every rep or every attempt, but with practice, you become more consistent. As your skills improve, you slowly work towards more challenging skill. The easier skills are a foundation for skills that require more strength, focus, and flexibility.
In my business life, I recently contacted my landlord about exercising my option to renew my lease. He wrote back, enthusiastically, that that was great, he would start working on it, but would I be interested in a larger, different space for approximately the same amount of monthly rent?
As I read the e-mail, I found myself immediately recoiling at the idea. I like my space, it has great natural light, and feels good. As I thought about it, I realized that if I stayed put, I was limiting an opportunity to potentially grow. After I looked at the space he was proposing, I felt myself shifting towards what could be instead of what currently is.
I move in a few weeks. I am still nervous because change is hard, and I am investing in more monkey bars and play opportunities, but I am also excited. The worst that happens is I don’t grow at all and I make a little less money, but hopefully, my vision of 3 or 4 movement providers plus me will be eventually realized.
In my physical practice, I am working on the pop-up (if you don’t know what that is, check out the video here: https://youtu.be/EQHwNVfnmwQ). I didn’t even realize this was a goal until my coach started putting the building blocks on my program. As I became stronger and more competent at the skill, I began to see where the building blocks could potentially go. I am far closer to realizing the goal than I ever thought possible.
It’s okay to have initially strong reactions to change, but if you can step back, and honestly assess why you are opposed to trying something different, sometimes opportunities can emerge you may have missed otherwise. And these opportunities can be life altering.
Yours in health and wellness,
Jenn
Upcoming events:
I am excited to be teaching at 360 FitHaus in LA Saturday, 3/24. This four hour workshop explores the feet, hips, and pelvis. More information, or to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/unlock-the-full-power-of-your-hips-tickets-41022317857?aff=efbeventtix
Suggested reading:
If you are interested in how C-sections are performed:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4315586/
Pain and back stiffness:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-09429-1.pdf
“Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance,” by Alex Hutchinson. Great read if you are curious about the science of our physical capabilities. (And very readable).
“Laterality in Sports: Theories and Applications,” by Loffing, Hagemann, Strauss, and MacMahon. If you are a movement geek and nerd (research heavy), this is an excellent read. The chapter on Embodied Cognition is fascinating.