Hi friends,
Well, here we are. Still here. Still.
The ironic thing is I’ve have been anything but still these past ten weeks of shelter in place. Moving my business from a physical space to the online realm, moving non-stop chasing a very active 2 year old boy and moving my own body more creatively than I have in years.
Many of the things I held to be true (or at least held to be the norm) have been rattled, turned upside down and rearranged as I’m sure rings true for many of us. Although I have made my career out of moving, (first as a dancer and now as a movement teacher) my movement practice has always felt fairly formal, compartmentalized and in some ways separate from “real life”. Dance in a dance studio, Pilates on a reformer, Yoga on a mat in a room with other yogis or at least a space in my house that was yoga-ish…think candles and maybe a cool looking plant. Yes, my physical practice informs the way I perform daily tasks and helps my body stay healthy and moving well, but “movement time” and “mundane task real life time” have often felt very separate.
Fast forward to 10 weeks at home and Pilates is now done with every prop I own including some random household items that sub for other equipment and the toddler just stole my foam roller and is riding it like a pony and my yoga mat is doubling as a train set foundation and the plant is dead because even though I’m at home ALL THE TIME I can’t find time to water it and the line between formal movement practice space and living space, at least for me, is completely erased.
I have no choice but to integrate my practice into my life, “for real”. Not always at a specific time, not necessarily in specific place, but in the context of my life as it looks right now. To normalize and de-compartmentalize my movement and exercise. (And prioritize, but that’s a different post…)
The result of all of this for me is to take my physical practice out of the shadows of a formalized space and time and insert it whenever and wherever. Squats while the coffee brews, sure. 32 pound wiggling toddler adding extra challenge to pushups, great. Pilates bridging sequence while a YouTube video of me doing a Pilates bridging sequence uploads, done. As the spaces, times, context, duration and physical loads or obstacles are kind of always changing now, I find myself getting more creative, flexible and strong. It’s not really multi-tasking, it’s inviting movement into events and spaces in my life where it hasn’t been as welcome before now.
I hope as the world moves toward a “new normal” that movement finds its place in places that were typically off limits before. Foam rollers in office spaces, yoga mats in the classroom, reformer instead of a couch… (too far???)
So the next time you find yourself in a place or a moment that is completely unsuited to movement or exercise, please move or exercise. Thanks.
With Love,
Joss