Welcome to this week’s Newsletter.

I hope you have had a good week and looking forward to March — which will bring us more daylight, more spring flowers, less rain (fingers crossed), more sunshine, and more blue skies. We have to keep hoping … the thing is when we get those days we feel more positive about everything, don’t you think? You could almost say they encourage inspired living because we feel more inspired to do things, like go for a walk, or to get in the garden.

But what inspires you? In fact what is inspired living? Is it waking up at 5am, leaping out of bed to meditate, is it drinking herbal tea that we have been foraging for ourselves, and journal about our 5 year vision? 

The reality for most of us is potentially reheating the coffee for the third time that morning, wondering what happened to Tuesday! Perhaps inspired living doesn’t mean becoming someone new, maybe we just have to notice what already lights us up and choosing a little more of that. I’m looking at inspired living and what inspires us in more detail in this week’s Your Whole Self.

JTP Book Club

I have two books this month to recommend. The first I was given by one of the JTP family called Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. I haven’t started this yet, but it follows the life of Demon who was born ‘on the wrong side of luck’ but how he craves for a better life — looks promising.

The second is Inheritance by Jenny Eclair. This is a multi-generational family saga, spanning from the 1950s to present day, based around a Cornish mansion named Kittiwake. This book has me hooked … I am listening to this rather than reading, so confess to falling asleep and having to re-listen, but I promise it is a great story. 

Face-to-Face Classes are fully back up-and-running this week after our half-term break, so check your diaries — and if you have to miss your regular class remember to sign out and book your Catchup.

Online Classes resume the live timetable this week. Remember to check out the members’ jtp.zone website for details of all additional special sessions with various props, specific workshops, and specific one-off programmes. Particularly this month of March — you might like the March Madness programme which is 30 days of Pilates, a different Pilates workout everyday in March — starting today! Or, if 30 days feels a bit overwhelming why not try March to Your Mat, which is a new workout for each of the four weeks of March. If you aren’t a JTP member you can purchase these as standalone programmes … contact us for details and these can land straight into your inbox to start now. 

See you in class.

So what do we think of inspired living? It sounds grand, shiny, glowing, but I want to encourage you to look at what it means to you. It doesn’t have to be about dramatic reinvention, it can be quieter than that. We shouldn’t feel we have to think big, we simply have to feel that life reflects what matters to us, even in small ways. Not about doing more but doing what feels aligned.

What does inspired living actually mean? For some, it can be about creativity, for others it’s finding calm. Some will look for challenge, others will simply look for freedom. Inspired living could mean:

• making decisions that match your values
• choosing health because you care about your future self
• saying yes to something that stretches you
• saying no to something that drains you
• prioritising rest without guilt
• moving your body because you can, not because you ‘should’

We shouldn’t fall into chasing someone else’s version of success, but ask what feels true for me right now?

We don’t need to go looking for inspiration either, it will show up in conversations when you feel uplifted and light, observing others and how they live, reading a book that changes your way of thinking, listening to music that makes you feel differently, spending time in nature, finding moments of stillness, moving and noticing how you feel stronger.

Sometimes inspiration can come from discomfort — that ongoing niggle that says something needs to change, feeling restlessness, feeling you could do more, it’s all feeding you with information.

So why does inspired living matter for wellbeing? It connects us to a purpose, even in small ways, and when we feel this purpose our energy feels steadier, our nervous system feels safer, it regulates us and gives us direction that steadies us. Physically we stand taller, breathe deeper, and move with intention. It swaps I have to with I choose to.

Please don’t feel that inspired living means we are always motivated, always positive, always productive, never doubting ourselves — it’s not Perfect living, it’s inspired living, which means coming back to what matters, again and again, even on tired days, even when life feels messy — it’s about doing the next right thing with kindness.

Here’s some reflection for the next week:

• when do I feel most like myself?
• what gives me energy rather than drains it?
• where in my life am I moving from I have to rather than I choose to?
• what one small choice can I make that feels aligned with the person I want to be this week?

No dramatic overhauls, just one small shift — inspired living growing from tiny, consistent decisions — not grand declarations, one small action that says I’m choosing to take care of myself and that is often where inspiration quietly grows.

Have an inspirational week — looking, moving, and feeling good.

With love and support,

Jane xxx