Transition
It’s a wild coincidence that this quote from Junot Diaz came up on my social media feed. I’ve been watching the docuseries Generation X (TV Mini Series 2016) - IMDb on Disney+ the past few days, & Junot Diaz is one of the commentators. If you’re GenX like me, it’s a fascinating learning experience about what has influenced our upbringing, mindset & activism.
From the Berlin Wall to Tiananmen Square (I still get chills of the man standing in front of that tank) to the Challenger disaster … from Wikileaks to calculators to Atari … from Sex Pistols to Nirvana to sampling … also, we invented Google … can you even?! … so there’s that culture-defining accomplishment.
But I digress …
I’m excited to be back with you in the studio in September! Check out my in-person classes at OmBody Massage & Wellness Studio & register HERE.
September’s classes will be all about TRANSITION — from summer to fall, summer break to school, vacation to work, yoga pose to yoga pose … breath to breath.
And transitions TAKE TIME. There is no hurrying through a successful transition — sure, you could buzz from one appointment to the next, but how to you FEEL at the end of a non-stop day (week … hell, YEAR)?
This is the first year I’ve taken the month of August away from teaching regular classes — I LOVE teaching — & I am noticing a big difference in how I’m returning to teaching in-studio, online, & at Penn State. This time of transition has allowed me to:
— rest my brain from creating
— remember my inspiration & motivation for teaching
— be rejuvenated by my fave place to be — in Nature
— offer gratitude for the privilege of teaching & sharing space with all of you
— return with renewed motivation, joy & intent
I’m currently reading Inner Workout by Taylor Elyse Morrison. Her definition of SELF-CARE has resonated with me, so let me know what you think.
I’ve heard “self-care” described as a way of resistance to a culture that sees humans as machines … also as a way of managing stress … and/or as a practice for the privileged few. All of these descriptions have some merit. Yet Morrison’s definition of self-care offers a more inclusive & at the same time individualized take:
“Self-care is the act of listening inward & responding in the most loving way possible.”
(Let me know what you think … for me, there’s a sigh of relief & a letting out of internal pressure on what self-care “should” look like … what about you?)
This listening inward requires TRANSITION.
Transition FROM the jumping out of bed with the alarm blaring, rushing out the door compulsion …
Transition FROM the tuning out & zoning out & numbing out resulting from overwhelm …
Transition FROM racing past, ignoring or otherwise neglecting the messages from our bodies & nervous systems …
And if you’re like me, these ways of being are REALLY HARD to transition from. Painful even.
Many of us may not have a choice in some of the hurrying that we do. Our jobs, our families, our responsibilities may require a little or a lot of go-get-em-ness.
And yet, I also imagine that if you’re like me, there are times in your day when you’re hurrying & don’t need to be … when you’re working & ignoring the fact that you’ve had to pee for the last hour or that you’ve been scrolling mindlessly for 30 minutes, reducing your already too-short sleep cycle.
Intentional time for TRANSITION is an act of SELF-CARE. Of listening inward & responding in the most loving way possible.
So whether it’s allowing a few extra minutes in the morning to move into your day … or actually scheduling into your phone / calendar “This is an extra 10 minutes between appointments” … Consider reflecting on how TRANSITION can influence your daily life in these next few weeks. This is the perfect time, too, as we move from Summer to Fall, when the seasonal transition is quite evident in the leaves, temperature & daylight hours!
See you at OmBody for a class or private session!