Christmas
Merry Christmas. Enjoy your day with family and friends. Be Merry.
Your Core is a Tree Trunk
You might have heard Pilates folks talk about your core being like a the trunk of a tree–strong and solid in order to protect your body. This holiday season my family decided to test that theory.
We like over-sized trees–no less than nine feet (short for us) and the wider the better.
The tree was the most prickly tree I ever remember having, so we had to bundle up for protection.
In addition to sharp needles, the tree was so heavy that we couldn’t lift it. We needed leverage, so my boyfriend Matt volunteered to let us roll the tree on top of him so that he could lift it with his core (and legs). We rolled that tree right onto Matt’s core and instead of a Darwin Award, which we half expected, we had success–a beautiful tree to enjoy the whole month.
Black Friday
If you’re going to out shopping and waiting in lines today, don’t feel discouraged. Make good use of your time. Lift your kegel while in line. Engage your core–pull your belly button to your spine. Feel your abdominals engage all the way to your pubic bone. Stand tall with your shoulders back and down.
Happy Thanksgiving
I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy family and friends today. Really let yourself enjoy them and try not to get stressed about the holiday season.
Always Positive
We live in a society where we think we have to be happy all the time. We often take drugs to try and make ourselves happy. We seem to think it’s not okay to be sad. Sure, chronic depression is a problem that may need to be treated, but sometimes, it’s okay to feel down in the dumps.
It is okay to feel grief, anger and fear–emotions we tend to run screaming from. We can’t indulge them forever, but once in a while it is totally acceptable to allow yourself to be sad.
There is a concept in Taoism that explains that grief is okay. When bad things happen in life, we are going to be said. We have to allow ourselves to be sad, not fight it. Accept sadness, and when the time is right pull ourselves up from our bootstraps and get back on the path to a happier well being.
The start of the holiday season can be a tough time for people. Recognize that it is okay to feel the way you feel.