Without going into a lot of detail, I’ll say that the last year of my life was tougher than expected. By fall, I didn’t feel at home in my own body. I worried that I’d never get my mojo back when it came to the work I do—and that is so much a part of my self-identity. I closed out what I’d hoped would be a year of renewal feeling unsure and unattractive.
It was time to try that age-old trick: the reboot. And since, for me, most things fall into place when I’m “at home” in my body and keeping active, that was where I needed to start.
So, today marks Day 9 of what I’d intended to be a 7-day stretch of working out and making sure I was eating when I was hungry (and what my body was actually hungry for). With my trusty friend Jessica Nadeau by my side, I’ve taken barre, slow burn barre, Vinyasa yoga, and reformer Pilates in seemingly endless combinations, using a week with my partner traveling and my work flexible to plan my life around Six Degrees. And yes, there have been some Asana Stretch classes in there, too!
Day 4 was the toughest, I’ll readily admit. I was tired by then, bone-deep tired. I had taken three days without candy or dessert to try to get out of my Halloween habits, and I finally knew what it was like to have sore hamstrings and hip flexors. But I’d signed up for class and I knew Jessica would be there, so I schlepped it across town for an invigorating barre session with Heather, then felt good enough to keep it going with Vinyasa Yoga with Becky. To my surprise, it was starting to click. My body was reforming its habit of movement, and I went home dreaming of the next day’s class.
Yes, in these nine days I’ve eaten some less-than-stellar food (what up, french fries?). My weight hasn’t budged and my clothes don’t yet fit better. But I feel reconnected to two things: my body and my Six Degrees community.
Now that tomorrow’s a scheduled “rest day,” I hardly know what to do with myself! I’ve planned an evening including the first fireplace trial of the season and a night filled with editing and dog cuddling. While today I feel ready to conquer the world—and the Reformer—I’m also ready to close out my “reset” period and get back to a more realistic, balanced schedule. For me that means working enough to never feel overwhelmed, working out enough to feel like I’m letting my body enjoy its potential and readying it for a good night’s rest by bedtime, eating what my body craves (because I can trust that, if it’s getting enough movement, it’ll tell me what it needs), and inhabiting each moment. When it’s a moment of movement, I’ll be right there for it. When it’s a moment of rest, relaxation, or even total indulgence, I’ll be right there for that, too.
Give it a shot! Try your own, custom boot-camp or even a weekly goal to help you get back into your groove. Sometimes you’ve just gotta reboot and see if that fixes the problem.