Approach life with lightness, curiosity and diligence
Once upon a time, I used to come to the mat for the sheer joy of it. I’d roll around, stick my bum in the air, shake it out and feel all sorts of good. But over time, the motivation shifted. In a recent newsletter, I asked “What keeps you coming back and unrolling your mat?” And the answers we heard were more poignant, and frankly more crucial. Your thoughts reflect mine. I used to do it just for fun and joy, but now I do it because my body and mind feel stuck, and sometimes in pain, if I don’t. This is what you guys said:
“Because it stops me from getting migraines and having to clock off my life for days.”
“Because when I do, my hormonal fluctuations aren’t so rampant and I don’t lose my temper (as much!) at the people I love.”
“Because if I don’t, my Sciatica will act up and I won’t be able to walk.”
I believe in curiosity as a practice, on my mat and in life. I believe in approaching life with a sense of lightness and ease and in holding on loosely to everything I thought I believed. But I also believe in diligence, perseverance and commitment. In the power of showing up, for ourselves, for others and for the things that matter. Our movement practice is no different. Discipline is hard and rather un-trendy. But it matters. It helps to have others, in community to motivate us and hold us accountable. That’s part of why I decided to run live Monday morning classes. Because it really makes a difference to the quality of my week ahead. And practicing alongside 100 or so other movers really helps keep the motivation going. Really excellent teachers and flexible access also help enormously. So that’s what we offer here, in bucketfuls. Just the sheer power of showing up, being there for you, for myself, for each other, diligently doing the work.
We’re here for ALL of you
As I move into my 50th return around the sun, my body has changed. I embrace those changes, approaching my new body with a sense of curiosity. It’s tempting to be frustrated that I don’t move in the same way, that my body feels more creaky, needs more rest, that my face is lined and my skin thinner.
But I find these interesting new developments. After all, wouldn’t it be boring to stay the same?
My movement practice is far less stretchy. I focus more on the functional movement, moving my body in interesting ways every day, keeping it supple and strong. Plus I can still tie my shoelaces and get up off the floor and play around with the dogs. That’s the beauty of keeping a movement practice.
But I certainly don’t feel beautiful all the time. And, surprise surprise, I don’t feel positive all the time either.
I want this space to be one where we burn to the ground any notions of how we are supposed to look practicing yoga. But even more deeply, I want to give a big kick up the arse to any notion of how we are supposed to FEEL while practicing Yoga – or indeed while practicing Life.
While we strive to cultivate energy, positivity and health, we do it in a way that acknowledges and honours our other feelings – of fatigue, discomfort, rage, pain, grief, sadness and all of the other challenging emotions. We can be so suppressed by trying to keep positive and hold it together, I want this to be a space where we can just relax and be whatever we are feeling in the moment, where my friends and their friends and our whole movement family can be seen and accepted in the fullness of our experiences. However that might be.
Oh, and my dodgy tracksuit bottoms? Well I’m afraid to report they haven’t aged quite a gracefully as the rest of me. And no, that’s not a subtle birthday present hint! I love them more than ever.
Embracing the superpower of menopause
Like so many who pass through the transitions of perimenopause and the menopause – or who pass through the fires of life in general – I feel more and more done with people-pleasing, done with conformity, done with appeasing. I feel now freer than ever of society’s dictates that this is how a company should be run, this is the aim and purpose of setting up a business. This is how life is meant to look. Letting go of the expectations of youth, and the pressure to look and act a certain way feels like a liberation and the things that really matter come more into focus. Devising our Menopause for Modern Life course alongside the Red School was a huge awakening of the wise power stored in these beautiful later years.
In youth, it feels like time will go on forever, anything feels possible, and that is a wonderful experience. But as time narrows, this brings a sharp focus into what really matters, what the purpose of life is, and gives more direction and purpose to the days ahead. Boundaries are set, time is shorter, there is less need to accept the less-than-helpful but well-meaning advice or directions that I would have done in my youth. And that sharpened focus on what life really is about, and taking no more nonsense is a beautiful and now much cherished superpower.
The revolutionary act of rest
Fundamentally, the MOVEMENT of Modern Life is revolutionary still. It is still a movement which needs to forge ahead, because it’s a movement into internal wisdom, of an inner knowing of the right class which will nurture body and mind. It’s absolutely revolutionary to listen inwards to our body and minds as to the best practice to do, rather than just doing what is on trend. And more than ever, I realise that Movement is held and nurtured by STILLNESS and rest.
The energy and creation of our early years was a beautiful and fertile time, and we continue to feel the verve of possibility and expansion. But it seems so much more interesting now to have this movement anchored in deep listening, in reflection and inward growth. My nervous system is calling for deep rest. My body knows that stillness and learning to relax is an integral part of the flow of life. This is revolutionary in a world which prioritises go-go-go, has us running on empty, wants us to be endlessly busy and productive. I now believe that rest and listening inward is deeply revolutionary. We are all exhausted, have diseases of stress, insomnia and a depleted nervous system. The finest work we can do is to listen to our bodies and the rest it calls for. This is a truly sustainable practice.
I want this online space to be one that offers us tools to clarify our sense of self, joy and purpose. That encourages us every day to listen in to determine what our bodies, minds and spirits are asking for. One day it might be Yoga Nidra. The next it might be some strength building. There is such maturity in listening to our own wisdom, it is perhaps the most fundamental practice of all, and we often have to get quite quiet and still to hear the whispers.
It doesn’t matter where you are in your life’s journey, if this speaks to you, drop me a line. Tell me how you feel and what YOU want to see from this Movement.
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