I haven’t lost the plot but you can be forgiven for thinking so with a title like that! So you might be wondering what do these three things have in common. The answer is quite simply that they all made me feel like I wasn’t good enough, they almost stopped me in my tracks and held me back from doing something I felt passionate about.
What the flip am I on about? Well ever since I started to dabble with yoga I came to love it, it helped me rehabilitate some chronic knee, hip and shoulder injuries. I have come to appreciate the soft flow as much as the strong dynamic style of practice.
I began to consider sharing my yogi love and perhaps becoming a teacher, I wanted to add a new soundtrack, sense of humour and some interaction to the experience too, some yoga classes can be a little too quiet and serious for me.
But as soon as I started to dabble with the notion of becoming qualified I quickly became intimidated by anything #yoga as it seemed to be synonymous with beauty, physical perfection, extraordinary back drops, impressive feats of flexible strength and an impressive selection of super expensive yoga pants.
Despite being strong and a decent mover I had no party trick – no handstand or balancing act to show for my years of practice.
As for my feet, yogi’s have beautiful feet – decorated with toe rings and anklets but I’ve been blessed with a cracking pair of bunions. So I talked myself out of the notion of ever teaching yoga.
Yet fast forward a couple of years and here I am fully qualified and running yoga classes.
Why? Because a couple of things challenged me to re-think these limitations and find a way to overcome them. These are unique to my situation but I’m sharing with you because if you’re ability to change and grow yourself right now is plagued with doubt or you’re finding excuses it needs to stop.
So my gut instinct continued chatter and I began to listen. I found myself creating yoga sequences in my head, putting together playlists and nagging Matt to try out this ‘n’ that movement. When I was doing this stuff I observed how energised and excited I felt, hours could pass by without me realising – a good sign that you’re blissfully content. A lack of this in your life is often a driver of deeper health issues, just think about that for a moment.
I then came across the Freestyle Yoga Project which advocated a fusion of yoga and dynamic movement skills, it simply added fuel to my fire and they offered a teacher training qualification that worked with my schedule, but I only discovered that because I was still looking, exploring and hoping… I hadn’t given up.
And finally what about my party trick? Well I hadn’t quite sussed that one by the time my first class arrived and it turns out if you rock up with an energy, passion, enthusiasm, big smile and decent soundtrack you can shine at the party without having to put your legs behind your head. So there was me worrying about lacking something I didn’t even need.
The icing on the cake, or should I say sticking plaster on my bunion was the discovery of some awesome Sweaty Betty pilates socks that went some way to hiding my bunion, or at least enough to ensure it wouldn’t cause someone to fall out of a standing bow. Not a solution but a little something that helped me find a way.
Alongside all the above there was something else required to help me overcome the self doubt and that was a FOUNDATION that I’ve needed for all my latest adventures and scary steps with numerous Fitter Food projects. A foundation that promoted healthy blood sugar regulation, hormone health and digestion because all of these govern your energy, determination and emotional state including confidence. It’s everything we put into Fitter 16 to help build an army of healthy, motivated and driven achievers who can sprint off and starting smashing goals.
The key ingredients are a nutrient rich diet, a knowledge of nutrition that allows you to adapt where necessary, a movement routine, sufficient sleep and a strong, kind relationship with yourself and your body.
Over to YOU
So that’s me but what I’m trying to address here are the limitations YOU might be imposing on yourself right now in the face of change.
Changes are not just about professional development either, they can be geographical or emotional where you know you need to relocate and build a new life or leave a relationship.
You may doubt your confidence, capabilties, strength, ability to evolve or adapt in the face of the unknowns this will bring.
So you need to start by getting your FOUNDATION in place and build the departure platform for the start of your adventure.
Nutrition, exercise and lifestyle habits will give you the energy, mental determination and robustness required for you to step up, step forward and begin to break down barriers, tackle limiting beliefs and finally work towards some life changing steps. I couldn’t do what I do without the above. Like me if you don’t give up in your heart and head you will find away to succeed and develop solutions and workarounds when the going gets tough.
REMEMBER sticking around and stagnating for fear of change is just the worst and will usually manifest in some unhealthy lifestyle habits that bite you in the backside further down the line, often excess, addiction, dependency or simply self destruction. It’s easier to escape with half a bottle of wine or family sized bag of chocolate than step up to make mistakes, be judged, receive criticisms and experience some hard times.
BUT I’d rather YOU work your way through all the above than do nothing and feel nothing, so trust me the BIGGEST mistake you can make right now is an excuse not to change.
Get your good self together – join Fitter 16 if you need a team like the folks below – so you have the drive and strength to get going and don’t give up no matter how big your bunion like obstacles might be.
