Stop pursuing every single possibility. Stop chasing after people who don’t reciprocate our efforts. Stop using busyness as a distraction. Stop doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. Stop assuming every slight is about us. Stop enabling the internal noise of doubt and criticism. Stop mindlessly consuming. Stop long enough for the change we need in our lives to catch up with us. Just stop. We may be on the right path, but we don’t need to be in a state of perpetual motion. That’s how we miss the conversations our body and soul are trying to have with us.
I’ll let you in on a little secret – over the past six months, at least one student in every one of my weekly classes has experienced a major life upheaval – a death in the family, a serious health diagnosis, a devastating change of circumstances, or overwhelming stress.
At least one of you has been in some variation of distress in every single class.
What does this tell us? First, that you are all far more similar to each other than you realise so there’s no need to feel self-conscious, and second, that your mental and emotional load may be heavier than you care to admit. Grief doesn’t suddenly evaporate; we steep in it for a long while as it flows and settles. Sudden life changes require new habits that need time to take shape and grow roots. If we’re constantly in motion – physically or mentally – we’re not learning to manage things; we’re delaying an outcome, avoiding a weighty truth. And all of this will manifest in our breath, our balance, our joints.
Spring is often lauded as the exciting energy of new beginnings, but that doesn’t mean we now need to be incessantly moving. If we haven’t allowed enough time to reflect, heal, and transform during the hibernation of winter, mindless movement is merely adding another hurdle to our growth, not a renewal.
So perhaps this Spring the focus needs to be less about dynamic movement and more about an empowering pause – to plant the seeds of a fresh perspective, establish new boundaries for healthy growth, and cultivate strength that will bloom within in preparation for whatever awaits us on the path ahead.
But for now, take a breath, and just stop.