I love the phrase “learning to stay.” Listen in as you say those three words to yourself. In this age of Instagram, Instacart, and just about insta-everything, it’s challenging to train ourselves to be committed.
“Learning to Stay” is also a book written by Pema Chodron, with insights on how to live life with awareness. Chodron talks about when we learn to stay committed so much more unfolds.
This applies to our workouts as much as our inner work, I think.
Over the holidays, I had several clients whose old injuries flared and were as welcome as Scrooge turning up for Christmas dinner. Working with perseverance, they made their way back to feeling good.
That’s the real gift of Pilates practice, when something occurs and you’re able to build insight rather than fall apart. Injuries are incredibly frustrating, they can also help us heal in deeper ways. They can help us see the need for ongoing self-care.
Learning to stay helps us fine tune our patterns. Like those lightbulb moments clients share, “I noticed when I went back to sitting in my office chair my back did better and I could stay out of trouble.” Or this gem from a client with nerve pain re-visiting after four years, “ I know what it is now and I know if I just do the exercises it’ll get better again.”
Learning to stay, we gain traction, we gain awareness, we gain cognitive strength along with muscular power. We change our relationship to pain and build tools to work at deeper levels.
What are the practices you’re committing to in 2023? Let’s join together by learning to stay with Pilates.
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