Tag Archives: wellness program

What Do You Need?

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My body is letting me know that it needs gentleness rather than intensity.

This is not my practiced inclination.

But when I don’t listen to the subtle guidance I receive, it becomes much more obvious. Pain is pretty good at getting my attention.

So for the past several weeks I’ve been moving my body gently—stretching, Tai Chi. I’m more focused on loving my body than testing it.

Lately, I’ve heard many people talking about being more sensitive than usual, and I’ve heard many explanations why.

What I know for me is that this is a time for observation, contemplation, renewal, and listening. It is a time to soothe my overstimulated nervous system, and to give myself the necessary peace to revitalize.

I have to resist the temptation to yield to any sense of urgency. My muscles are not atrophying. My weight is not rebounding. My health is not deteriorating.

In fact, I have the opportunity to create a new workout and wellness program, and to get to know my body in a new way. I am choosing to see any frustration I am experiencing as the desire to learn more, expand more, dare more, and create more.

Contemplation is a part of creation. I have time to consider my options. To listen to my body and determine the direction that feels right to me now. To gather all the information I may need to start out on a new course.

Sometimes, the best action is to be quiet and listen.

Giving myself time to recover and figure out a new path is not familiar ground. In the past, my exercise switch had only two settings—off and on. Either I was working out at full intensity or I wasn’t working out at all.

So here is something in between.

I’m aware of the fear that I will lose all the fitness progress I have recently made, and I’m reminding myself that my fitness will never be “done.” My fitness—and wellness—are always in the process of becoming. There is always room for growth and improvement.

And I’m not the same person I used to be. Moving my body—even gently—feels better than not moving at all. I’m more connected to my Higher Self and more in-tune with the guidance I am receiving.

This place of rest and recovery is temporary. It is just where I am right now. There will be a time to push and progress, and I will know when it is time to pick up the pace.

I’m curious, has anyone else felt that this is a time to rest and renew? Or are you feeling invigorated and resilient? What choices are you making? What’s working best for you?

Together we can do it!

Photo by www.freedigitalphotos.net

You Inspire Me!

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“Gee I wish you could do these workouts with me.”

While those words are true, I would have preferred that I had kept them to myself rather than speak them to my husband, as I did last night.

I’m pretty sure he’d like to be doing the workouts with me, too. Something that, at least at this point, is not possible because he has some health challenges going on. And he’s rocking the treadmill and swimming workouts that he is doing, which are much kinder to his body.

But I’m not the first spouse to wish their partners were in a different physical place and I won’t be the last.

Often, when people I work with are starting to see results from a wellness program, one of the things they say is how frustrated they are because their spouse or partner really needs to be doing this, too—and won’t.

It’s normal for people to get a little evangelical about eating plans and workouts that are working for them. I’ve certainly been dogmatic about it in the past. But telling people what they “should” do does not work.

People have to find their own reason Why they want to be healthier, and they have to find their own way.

What does sway people is results. I tell my clients that the best way to inspire their significant others to take their wellness seriously is to show them. When people around you start to see the changes, they begin to believe it’s possible for them, too.

And this is true about life. One of the first steps in creating the world that you want to see is letting go of focusing on what others “should” be doing and start focusing on doing the work you need to do to be the best possible version of you. And then let the power of your results demonstrate how others can do it, too.

What are you doing today to create a healthy and happy life? What vision of you can you reach for that will inspire others to seek it for themselves?

Together we can do it!