Physics are involved, one way or another...

I don’t know if Einstein actually said this, but the internet says he did:  The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.  Sure, he was talking about physics and the universe and relativity, but I’m going to use the quote for a fitness purpose because I’m fresh out of cosmic problems to solve.  I recycle like that.

When we are new to fitness or when we try a new activity or sport or when we learn a new exercise, sometimes we discover that we have way too many body parts to keep track of at once.  It can be overwhelming.  We get the feet under control and suddenly our arms are flailing around like the tentacles of a panicked octopus.  Meanwhile, the ball or puck or beat has blown by us.  This is totally normal, if not always pleasant.

In the Pilates workshop I went to recently, we were discussing assessments.  Often, clients have a whole bunch of issues going on at once.  The very helpful advice?  Pick two things to focus on.  Do some work on those compensations, those particular issues of form, and see what happens.

The point is, we have to start somewhere.  Maybe getting our feet under control is enough for now.  We can deal with the tentacles later, and the ball/puck/beat after that.  It’s also possible that when we figure out the tentacles, the ball/puck/beat will handle itself—we get the benefit of some chain reactions.

When we give our bodies and our minds time to process new information, we get better.  It can be hard to be patient, but it is usually worth it.

We can do this.