Dedicated To The Ones That Struggle
As I get older, a single realisation becomes more + more apparent: nobody has it together.
Literally, no one.
Everyone has their struggles, their demons, their challenges...EVERYONE. Even a Zen master is working away at something; if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t be here, meditating. If someone tells you that they have it together + that by signing up to their FB group/online community +/or by buying their perfectly branded angel cards/crystal set/dream catchers, then you, too, can ‘live your best life’... be suspicious, immediately. They are hiding something!
Rather than a negative thing, the realisation of the shared struggle, the across-the-board anxiety + overwhelm has revealed itself to be something of great value. It’s empowering. Actually, ‘empowering’ is the wrong word... ‘Relief’ is a better one. As soon as you realise that everyone is struggling, the pressure valve releases automatically...
It’s okay that you feel a little awkward around others... it’s okay that you had a shit day... it’s okay that the words ‘gratitude journal,’ ‘blessed,’ + ‘affirmation’ aren’t part of your day-to-day vocabulary... it’s okay that you don’t have the perfect body + live the perfect life (can you even imagine what it would be like to actually BE that flawless person, anyway, in constant fear of being thrown off that pedestal of perfection?!? It would be bloody awful!)
When I’m not teaching Pilates - or practising it, planning it + thinking about it - I work in admin. I talk to a lot of people + I like to go a little deeper than the pleasantries. I genuinely take interest in hearing about what’s going on in other’s lives. I like it because you get to learn about all sorts of things; about other countries, cultures, beliefs + suchlike. At Clarity, we see people of all different backgrounds, from all walks of life. And guess what? While we all have different experiences, incomes, ambitions + opinions, my ‘research’ tells me that we share similar values + face the same fears. It’s been an enormously liberating realisation + - most importantly - it’s this realisation that has engendered a deeper experience of compassion.
I take this compassion into the classroom.
Sometimes I worry that I’m not doing enough for a student or I beat myself up because maaaybe I stumbled with a cue...BUT! Then I put myself in my students’ shoes: it probably took courage - or, effort, at least - to rock up. It would’ve been waaay easier to laze in bed all morning, especially during these cold winter days! Time is precious + they sacrificed their time to come to class. How great is that?! The effort my students make to show up, to listen, to learn + to explore movement is my motivation for doing what I do.
T H A N K Y O U !
If you are self-conscious, please don’t be.
If you are nervous, guess what? I am too, when I meet a new ‘body.’
If you are unsure, please know that I doubt myself all the time.
BUT! I face the fear + I do it anyway. I have so much faith in the power of mindful movement - indeed I have found it to be transformative in my own life - that I rise above the struggle, the nerves, the anxiety, the EVERYTHING... because I know it works. And I’m so bloody grateful (+ honoured) that you turned up to class, entrusted me with your body + decided to share your practice with me + your fellow students.
You little ripper!