Having Fun Finding Out What We Can Do...!
I am sitting on the balcony back ‘home’ in Gros Islet, watching a video that Rodja made this morning of us training… I am up to the last exercise called ‘Clusters’ where the whole sequence of the previous four moves is put together in a total body movement…
This exercise asks that you are aligned, relaxed and strong in your core; and that the whole of your movement is fluid and flexible… It asks for stillness in motion; for relaxation within effort; and that the ‘pain’ is not so great as to slip over the threshold… In other words, it is important to train to an optimal level which means you get to the end of the workout!
I reached this last exercise very tired… Rodja and I trained together and the aim of the session was to challenge one another - and ourselves – and to beat the clock in the process!
We worked together in competition; competition at its best and most powerful…
In Latin, the word competere means to strive together; com means together and petere means to seek.
Rodja and I used the competition against the clock and one another to strive together… To seek and to discover what was within us…
We worked to a level that was fun… This way, although it was hard and the workout stretched - us as you can see in this video - we both enjoyed it… This means we will
want to come back and do it again; get faster !
One of the reasons I am still ‘running to learn’; apart from the fact that I love it… I love the creativity, I love that I AM still learning… Another reason I explore through running, is that over the years I have been discovering how to release one of my most ingrained and deepest patterns – a pattern of pressure - of over pressure.
There was a lot of expectation put on my shoulders as a young athlete; this isn’t uncommon, and is done often with the best intention from the adults around the young person.
They see the talent and they want the best for them. Often they are totally unaware that their own un-lived story is caught up in the life of the child, and so pressure is exerted from an unconscious place onto a child that is often then motivated to please, rather than to connect to their own flow…
I also understand that I this is part of my own life’s work; and that I came in with this work to do, this unraveling to unravel. It feels to me it was inevitable that I would incarnate in an arena where I was given the best scenarios to deeply explore 'pressure'; and in so doing develop the understanding and skills to be in a position to lead others to the threshold of their own minds; their own understanding too.
The challenge for me has been, and still is, to harness my willing energy; harness the passion and the delight in finding out what I can do, but – truly listen to my body within that…
Today when I was training with Rodja; I was on the edge of my threshold, but loving the session.
We came to the last exercise where we put all the movements together – I was very tired – and my inner knowing voice said – ‘I need to go down to the bar only for this set…’ so that was my first move – and then the ‘old story‘ kicked in, and I said to Rodja ‘I could try with the weight; at least start with the weight and see…’ – when my inner seeing had already seen that this was not a good idea!
I would never ever do what I was about to do to me to someone else; so this demonstrates the degree of imprinting of this pattern… and this is where Rodja came in…
‘Use the bar only’ he said… ‘Listen to your body…'
It was all I needed. It was the only coaching he gave me all session; and it was perfect. It went straight to the point within me where the releasing needs to happen…
Our patterns are so ingrained, and also sometimes so subtle; that they can start to play out without us really noticing… I could have tried with the bar; I may well have ‘pushed’ through, but then the old wound can be opened… ‘this isn’t fun, this is too hard, and I don’t measure up…’
And instead of being fun, it all starts to become hard, and tension arises… and then down the road injury can happen… the mind finds a way out of this pressure through the body, it breaks at the weakest link activated by the root wound…
“I must do more, push hard, succeed to be okay, to "earn my place"...'
And so this is why I run still; this learning, this unraveling, this journey of discovery of how to allow my sprit its expression through my body, and so give my creativity its unlimited universal arena and truly enjoy what I was born to do every single step of the way…
After training Rodja and I went into Castries... Rodja had invited me to be a guest onto his fitness slot on RhythmFM 95.5 radio. The station is in the Sans Souci area of Castries… Keena the radio presenter welcomed us warmly, and then the three of us spent a really enjoyable time together talking about health and fitness and the human condition.
It was a great experience, we explored the positive benefits of retraining the body and mind; of building confidence, of returning again to the child like state of no self concept, so that as we age we are not limited by social conditioning; but instead join together to support and encourage one another to discover what is possible… And have fun finding out what we can do rather than feeling we can’t…
It is Rodja’s sons 4th birthday today, so after the show, he went to see him at school; he pointed me to the bus stop and I had my first experience of travelling on a bus in St Lucia!
It was fun; the buses are mini buses, one swept into the bus stop and I climbed aboard. I worked the system out quite soon… paying happens when you get off.
As you near your stop you say ‘next stop driver’, and then when he pulls in, you hand your money in and he gives you change…
I was right by the door, a slidey mini bus type of door, so every time we came to a stop I allocated myself ‘door monitor’ duties and pulled the door open to let the next person on…
I felt a childlike pride in myself for navigating another new experience! When I arrived back here, I called up to Anadi to come down and let me in - and when he appeared my first words were...
‘I’ve come back on the bus’!!
