Last month I started doing a seemingly small thing that got me thinking in a big way.
I started taking a ballet class again.
A little background:
I danced basically from the time I could walk and was onstage shortly after that. One BA in dance, one MFA in dance, and 10 years of dancing professionally later, I stopped.
There were many reasons to move on from performing and while my physical practice currently keeps me moving and healthy, I was missing the ritual, rigor, and something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on…
So, I found my ballet slippers in the back of my closet, and back to the barre I went.
Besides being VERY sore after, I started thinking about that thing I couldn’t put my finger on. The thing I felt I was missing. The real reason I wanted to experience that kind of movement again.
Last week it hit me.
Gentle strength.
There is a phenomenon in dance where you become so strong, so clear, so refined that you actually become gentle and effortless.
Yes, we need to get stronger. Yes, we need to challenge ourselves but to what end? Really what we are looking for is to become strong enough for things that once felt hard to feel easy. To build enough strength to be gentle. To have our lives feel a bit more effortless.
Beyond the physical body, I think this idea has a massive impact on how we view our health and well-being overall. How can we be confident enough in our strength to pause, rest, and be gentle with ourselves body, mind, and spirit? In our gentle times, how can we harness that self-love to know that pushing ourselves a bit will serve us later?
That combination, or really the balance of gentleness and strength, is something I think we could all use more of.
This month in the membership we will explore what it means to be strong and gentle because when I think about it, we can’t have one without the other.
To get moving today with strength and ease check out the Evergreen Membership risk free with a 7-DAY FREE TRIAL. You’ll get immediate access to this month’s classes and playlist the entire library of workouts, and even a free livestream class with yours truly. 😉
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE FREE TRIAL!
See you on the Mat!
xx,Â
Joss