A new year and a new you?
At the end of a calendar year, it is natural for us to become more reflexive. But being obsessed with our past is the definition of depression, and a uncompromising focus on our future is a pathway to anxiety.
So what should we do? Are New year resolutions healthy for us?
I used to make the same New year resolutions every year, to get in shape and be happier. I sometimes did a good job on them and sometimes not. Actually I consider that I am in pretty good shape and am generally happy, I’m not sure this is a result of countless new year resolutions or if I made the resolutions because I was going to attend to these elements in my life anyway. I love the feelings I get when I plan and dream what I might achieve, equally, I hate it when I let myself down.
My approach to fitness and physical well being has been a lifelong love/hate relationship. I like the feeling of being fit and able but sometimes I resent the effort it takes to get there. I decided that this year I would take a different approach. Little and often.
I have been practising yoga for about two years now and I credit yoga and pilates with my recovery of an operation on m spine in the summer of 2016. It’s a journey that I think I will follow for the foreseeable future, but I don’t really get the spiritual side of yoga. I do however love the impact that the poses have on my improved strength, all over my body.
So my New year resolution was to work on daily on my personal practices and routines that build me up as a person. And to attend to how I want to feel most of the time? I decided to kick off 2018 with signing up to ‘Yoga with Adriene’ #YWATRUE, a thirty day yoga journey.
To be honest I didn’t think I would stick to it but I did. I found that each day I was looking forward to getting on the mat and following her expert guidance. After a couple of weeks it became easier and I was starting to notice the improvements.
“In ten sessions you’ll feel the difference, in twenty you’ll see the difference and in thirty you will have a whole new body” (Joseph Pilates 1880-1967).
The same was true with the YWA programme. I felt stronger, more balanced and happier as the January wore on. January, the month most of us find long, cold, dark and miserable. This was such a refreshing change.
But what differences did it really make? I lost fat, gained a little muscle, became stronger and more flexible, and feel great. Ive decided to carry on my daily yoga routine and will continue to follow ‘Yoga with Adriene’, https://yogawithadriene.com.
Some days, I’m sure I’ll miss my practice; and many days, I'm sure I’ll feel like crap. That's normal. But I set my sights on feelings rather than things this year, and committed to a powerful practice routine rather than a moonshot goal.
If what you choose to do different this year is new for you, then grasp the opportunity with both hands. Allow yourself to be a beginner, no one starts out excellent.
Life is a wondrous journey made up from many smaller journeys, the tough dynamic of change and development. It is easier to stay where we are, in our comfort zone but we don’t grow there. We grow when we learn, when we push ourselves, when we show courage. Each journey starts with the first courageous step into the unknown and every step takes us further into our journey, further into the unknown. It can be daunting and frightening, but equally it can be beautiful and rewarding. Learn to immerse yourself into your journey, cherish the process of learning, of growing. Do not focus on the destination for there is no growth there, growth takes place on your journey. Stretch, push, explore, congratulate and love yourself, (Chris Enness 2018).
