Back on track? Or a new train…
It’s about 2 months since New Year Resolutions were made and it’s a great time to reassess progress for the goals and plans that were set. Here’s the best advice – make it judgement free! Judgement and “shoulds” only layer in criticism and negativity. If we come from this yucky space we will either move away from self-care and actualization, and/or feel unnecessarily terrible along the way. Instead I encourage you to reflect objectively. What are your goals? What are you doing every day that moves you toward them? And how will you feel differently once you have reached them? Each of these questions gets answered and assessed objectively – free of SHOULD. Only then – ask yourself: do you need to “get back on track”? Or do you need a NEW TRAIN?…
.This is a question I often ask my patients and needed to apply it personally quite recently. In May of last year, an old neck injury reared its nasty side and I was suffering quite badly from migraines as a result. My amazing Osteopath and RMT were able to help me return to migraine-free as long as I wasn’t doing any upper body weight training or yoga. Yoga has been my release for more than a decade. It’s been what kept headaches, tension, and stress-build up away and gave me an opportunity to move my body in a way that made me feel both challenged and competent. It was “my thing”… so for months I struggled with its absence. I felt broken, frustrated, and impatient. My goal was to get back to yoga. To “get back on track”. The more I focused on that, the further my body seemed to drift from that. I wasn’t working on what my body needed, I was just doing what it tolerated while I awaited the day I could return to my activity of choice ☹️. And then, a local studio advertised for adult ballet. It was a turning point for me. I decided to join that day (I didn’t even have shoes). After that first class I was ignited to say the least. My spirits were so high, my soul well-fed, and my body felt both challenged and competent. I had a new train. After one month on this new train I returned to yoga for the first time in 6 months – migraine free! I had focused on building strength gently and correcting posture, while spending an hour a week for just me sharing collective energy with some amazing women. My new train still got me to the destination I desired (being able to do yoga) and also allowed me the opportunity to develop what I needed along the way.
.If you are struggling with “shoulds”, getting “back on track” or finding your new train please don’t hesitate to reach out. We offer in-person, phone, and video consultations and we are here to help. Practicing Naturopathic Medicine is not about the what, as much as it is the why and the how. We are here for YOU.
Wishing you a beautiful rest of your day or evening – wherever you are while reading this. Know that you are enough in this very moment but what keeps us growing and thriving is creating thoughtful, self-loving goals for ourselves with specific plans to move toward them; gathering strengths of all kinds along the way.
