Welcome to this week’s JTP Newsletter. Today is Women's World Cup FINAL DAY. Everything crossed for the Lionesses. Let's bring it home!!!

I hope you have had a good week and are enjoying the weekend — if you are reading this when it comes out at 6am on Sunday morning!

Pre-class chats this week got me thinking about a few things, one of them revolved around the Lionesses success and sport in general, and the discussion was about not being chosen when sports teams were being picked at school, and the lasting effect this can have, but also the person chosen to do the picking often feeling uncomfortable about being put in that position. More about this in Your Whole Self.

Bone health and strength is such an important part of our wellbeing and I have been banging on about it forever, so I thought I would share a weight bearing exercise which is aimed at helping with keeping our wrists, arms and shoulders strong. 

This is an introductory exercise that can be built into a daily routine to help maintain bone health and build strength. Work appropriately for your body, and it can be done against a wall if you don’t feel comfortable on your knees.

Keep away from pain and if you have any questions about this or any Exercise Of The Week, please get in touch.

Were you always the last one selected to be on the team at Rounders? How did it make you feel and have you recognised that feeling cropping up as you have found yourself in different situations in life? Thankfully I don’t think this happens in schools any longer, but it's not just in schools, it can happen in all aspects of life, and can have a huge effect on confidence, participation, actions and behaviour. 

It's amazing how those kinds of experiences as a child stick with us as we pass through life. I know a lot of people were completely put off from participating in any sporting activity due to these kind of experiences at school. The feeling of not being good enough, odd one out, not part of the team, always being left out, not wanted. These seem quite extreme when written down or spoken out loud, but I know that some people do carry it through life and are reminded of those feelings on occasions. Lack of confidence to participate, and lack of confidence within group situations are clear examples of how those early days experiences can have long term effects. 

The effect is that when something bad happens eg, not being picked, if we believe that it will always happen this way in the future, then this is when our thoughts are lying to us, and this is when confidence is bashed.

I want to reach out to you if you recognise these experiences and feelings, I want you to know that those feelings were caused by someone else’s thoughts and perceptions about who you are, and those thoughts are not the TRUTH, they are purely thoughts NOT the actual truth. 

We often hear stories from hugely successful people in all areas of life that they too struggled with rejection. At the age of 8, Harry Kane (top premiership footballer for those who may not be football fans) was released from the academy of Arsenal, they stated he was a bit chubby, he wasn’t very athletic — imagine facing that level of rejection at such an early age. 

Obviously Harry Kane has gone on to be one of our top all-time goal scorers, scoring over 200 goals for the club and country. Thankfully he was picked up by Tottenham Hotspur academy who turned that rejection around to make him the success he has become. What would have happened if Harry Kane had believed Arsenal’s perceptions and thoughts about him? 

It's very easy to keep hold of these thoughts and feelings, it's not so easy to stop believing them, but next time you find yourself in a situation of feeling ’not good enough’ and that feeling is based on past experiences of not being chosen, remember that those experiences were based on someone else’s thoughts and perceptions NOT THE TRUTH.

Have a good week, and know that you will always be in my team.

With love

Jane xx