Unfolding

I am not, by nature, a patient person.  I like to get started and get whatever it is done.  This is one reason that Pilates is good for me; I have to slow down a little.  I’m pretty sure I’m not the only person who finds this useful, if occasionally frustrating.

When we slow down, we begin to notice things.  Maybe an exercise is easier on one side than the other.  Maybe there is one particular area of our spines that needs more warming up than the rest.

Some of those noticings can travel into regular life.  We find that we are shifting the way we hold our pelvis while standing in line at the store.  We realize that the desk chair is not helping our lower back pain.  Perhaps shifting the backpack to the other shoulder could help with that crick in the neck.

What might we see if we take the time to breathe?  What might unfold?

Practice...

We learn what we practice.  Of course we do.  That’s obvious.  Except it isn’t.  We think:  I work out; I can do whatever.  If we primarily work on strength training, cardio challenges may flummox us.  If we spend all our time on the treadmill, those moving boxes may prove more challenging than we expect.  There are several ways to work with this.

One way is to cross-train.  We all need to work with our cardio, our strength, and our flexibility.  Balanced workouts keep us, well, balanced.

Another way is to accept what we are.  Some of us, like Gimli, are natural sprinters.  Others excel at heavy objects.  We can do the minimum of the things that come less naturally and focus on what we love.

We will improve what we work on.  Let’s work!

Math, Flowers, and Fitness

The Fibonacci spiral is found in nature.  Flower petals, among other things, spiral according to the golden ratio, as do seashells (and you thought the picture was just because I like flowers…).  Each iteration of the spiral builds on the previous one, growth spurring growth.

Sometimes our fitness growth seems invisible, but it works the same way.  Each small increment builds on the previous growth as we spiral upwards.  We can all grow.