HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND A HUGE WELCOME TO NEW WEBSITE SUBSCRIBERS, NEW PILATES & YOGA CLASS FRIENDS.
Its that crazy time of year again when the to do list is as long as your arm and the socialising list of people to see before and around christmas is even longer! Children are excited and bouncing off the walls and older children are out having festive fun with their friends and then New Years Eve Celebrations to plan.
At Christasm time thre can be alot of presssure to spend Christams with all of the family or certain members of the family.
Jonathan and I have alwasy been in the mindset of everyone doing whatever makes them happy . We are staying at home for Christmas with an open house for friends and family to visit. Jonathan's children are celebrating Christmas with their late Mothers Mother and Jonathans Mother wants to relax and do her own thing at home she isn't big on Christmas and is unusual in wanting to be alone but she is adamant despite invites from all of the family and I know tht she says what she means and means what she says and you don't mess with that!
My Mother has booked an air b and b in Norfolk and will be spending Christmas with her Great Grandson. So that leave Jonathan, Samson and I to our own devices which we are completelty happy with. We are both looking forwars to some time together to relax and unwind and remember who each other is in this crazy world an din these crazy times life is manic.
We have been working on many things this year both in Pilates and Yoga.
Firstly, in Pilates we have been focussing much ore on effort and much less on the outcome. We have no control over the outcome but we do have control over how much effort we put in to something thats in our control so that is where I have been encouraging You to focus your mind.I have also encouraged You to get out of your confort zone and expect and accept inperfection, To get confortable with being imperfect and imperfect exericses and poses in yoga. Its was hard for all of you at first and still remains a challenge but you have grown so much in your Pilates and Yoga as a result of letting go and accepting your imperfections and mistakes. It's ok not to be perfect, that's how we all grow and learn.
I have been watching the progress of each person in Pilates and Yoga all year, and I have given you feedback in newsletters emails and in person.
Pilates Friends.
We have been working towards other goals In pIlates that are individual to you like increasing range of movment in the teaser, roll up, lowering the legs on The one Hundred or legs from table top to legs up.
For those of you that have been injured It can be hard to watch others dong this and feel as if you are not progressing but that is not true at all. For you its been about consostnecy, and building up strength slowly and carfully, a hard task that requires slef love and respect as well as a bucket load of patience. Dont lose hope, dont give up, littel things are improving, take note and celebrate each achievement made, all of you.
Dont be afraid to mix in a few reps of the exercose at the next level with the lower level to help you gain more strength and improvements, if it doesnt suit your body this time at least you have tried. Dont settle for anything less than a healthy free moving body, its easy to get used to feeling tight and stiff and accept ti as the way it has to be. You can change that.
I set a specific goal way back in the late summer of you completing the plank for 2 minutes by Christmas. with or without modifications.
When I set the goal of holding the Plank for 2 minutes by christmas, You all got on board with it. Along the way that sneaky little doubter crept in to some of you and told you an dyour body it was too much, and perhaps you thought You wouldn't get there or that I would let it go. But neither of those two things have happened have they? You kept showng up, working hard, focussing on effort and not the outcome and here you are stronger, wiser and healthier as a result. YOU nailed it at the beginning of December, ahead of schedule.
You have also been braver this year, trying new things even if youre not sure you can do them, you have learnt to let go of striving for perfection and focus more on effort not the outcome, you have learned to shrug your shoulders and try again and again if you stumble, if things on the mat aren't perfect. Becuase of this you have grown to appreciate that exercises are hard work and that someties we have to give up temporary pleasures and come onto the mat and put the work in to gain something much more permant much more lasting.
For example. gaining Increased flexibilty and range of movement in the spine, a stronger core and a stronger body that serves you well in your lifes activities not just on the mat. Creating a body and mind that helps keep you independent and physicallly able in many different ways of life, because whats the point of exercising if not to serve you in a positive way in your daily life?
I feel I have got to know you all a lot better this year, and I absolutly love that nobody takes themsleves too seriously, that from time to time we can have a joke and a laugh, that you have all bonded as a classs and welcome new friends in and support and encourage them with your stories of your own past struggles and how you have overcome them.
So thank you for practicing Pilates with me, Thank youresf for being cinsistent, for showing up each week and putting in the effort and for never giving up.
Thank you for all your appreciation.
THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTIM OF MY HEART FOR CHOOSING ME TO BE YOUR PILATES TEACHER.
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YOGIS
Congratulations to all of you, for showing up on the mat each week, for being consistent, for accepting all that Yoga has to offer for being patient and keeping an open mind with each pose you approach, Yin Yoga isnt a quick fix and you have to be in it for the long game to reap just all of the luscious rewards and experiences that Yin Yoga has to offer and there are so many. Yin Yoga is alwasy there for you like a good friend, whne you're happy, when youre sad, when you're stessed, when your body feels tight, when you need a bit of calm. You have definetly learnt to allow your Yin Yoga practice to bring yo back to balance both mentally and physically you are yeillding more and more.
Letting go of control is a serious business and it takes time to build up the courage to trust that your body wont let you down and your body knows best. It takes time to learn how to let go.
It is incredibly rewarding not just for you but for me too, I get to see the shift from a busy mind to a quieter calmer mind.I get to see the physical changes in you, I get to see your bodies opening up and I get to see the looks on your faces at the end of each session. A look of sheer joy, calm, and completeness, so thank you for chooisng to practice Yin Yoga with me.
Thank yourselves for embarking on this incredible journey, a journey that doesnt have an end and one whuch is full of twists and turns and surprises and challenges both mentally and physically.
To finish off here are some quotes form a chinese Philosopher Laozi- otehrwise known as Lao Tzu
Whenever you feel stessed or impatient in life and on the mat or you feel low or need inspiration or a bit of a lift think of these quotes, They are some of my favourites.
from Laozi, a chinese philospher. He said ,
"Nature does not hurry yet everything is accomplished". Lao Tzu
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step"
"The snow goose need not bathe to make itslef white, Neither need you do anything but be yourslef".
" A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving"
Have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year.
I am looking forwartd to introducing Pilates lovers to Yin Yoga this week comencing 18th December amd I look forward to closiing our group pracitce this year with an extra deep dive into replenishing yourslef both mentally and physically.
I look forward to seeing You all back on the mat on for Group Pilates and Yoga on Wednesday 3rd January with continued focus on effort not the outocome, new goals and continuing with the plank. I wont be leaving my mat and I hope you dont leave youre entirely either. Ill be back on the mat for one to one sessons Tuesday 2nd Jan 2024.
Much helth, much happiness, much love, much peace.
Jo xx
Nidderdale Fitness, Pilates and Yoga.
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