Welcome to this week’s Newsletter.

I hope you have had a good week —  we have after all seen the sunshine and blue skies at least twice this week… hurrah!

I was listening to a podcast this week and the chat was about them participating in a Spin class and they were comparing the bits of the class they preferred. One of them was talking about enjoying the sprinting sections, and the other was saying they always lagged behind here but made up for it on the climbing sections as they could keep going, make up ground when all the sprinters began to flag. It made me think about whether or not I was a ‘sprinter’ or a ‘climber’ and perhaps how this has changed as I have had to learn a different way — Your Whole Self below this week looks in more detail and asks you to think about what you are — are you a Sprinter or are you a Climber?

All Face-to-Face Classes continue with this Spring term, and if you are in Jane’s classes this week she will be brining a little toy to test your breathing techniques … mwahahaha !!!

Online Classes are running to the usual Live timetable — all classes are recorded and in the members’ jtp.zone website for you to repeat, or do for the first time. 

Don’t forget the Special Events available on the jtp.zone for March: March Madness — 30 days of movement through March; and March to Your Mat — 4 weeks, 4 workouts focusing on posture, balance, mobility and strength. These can be found on the Home page of the jtp.zone — just scroll down to find the Extra Programmes and Challenges section. 

Do you know people or have you ever noticed how some people seem to move through life at the speed of light? 

Maybe this is you. They decide something on a Monday, start on Tuesday and by Thursday, they are onto the next brilliant idea. 

Meanwhile, the rest of us are still making a cup of tea and wondering if we remembered to put the washing in...

For a long time I thought life was supposed to be lived like the former, with quick decisions, quick progress and quick results — a sprint. However, things have been changing for me, and I have come to realise that life has become more of a climb.

I think it's true to say that sprinters and climbers move very differently through life. I think when I was younger I would have described myself as a sprinter: quick to start, quick to learn, quick to move on to the next thing. If there was a finish line I wanted to get there, preferably first, or at least quickly. 

However, something has changed, and I am much more like a climber now, not racing, not rushing, just steadily making my way upwards, one step at a time, sometimes slowly, sometimes pausing, but always continuing. It might take longer to reach the top, but there is something reassuring about steady progress.

Let’s consider the Sprinter — they bring energy and momentum. They jump into new ideas with enthusiasm, learn quickly, move fast through projects or stages of life, thrive on challenge and pace, and potentially get to the ‘finish line’ quickly. Sprinters can be exciting to be around, as they can motivate and inspire ideas and change. However they can also be exhausting and even the fastest sprinter eventually needs to stop and take a breath. 

Now for the Climber — they move differently, building things steadily over time, staying committed even when progress feels slow. They develop resilience and patience, support others along the way, and keep going when things get tough. The Climber might not reach the finish line first, but often develop something deeper — staying power. Rarely will they leave you behind, but pace the progress allowing others to travel with them.

As Climbers it can get a bit tricky if they start taking a sideways look at Sprinters and see them racing ahead. Doubt creeps in, and climbers will start to ask themselves why is it taking me so long? I should be further along by now. Yes, Climbers can fall into the comparison trap, but the truth is we aren’t all designed to move at the same pace. There will be some who surge forward quickly while others are building something strong and lasting over time — neither is better, just different rhythms.

Understanding your natural pace can be incredibly freeing. If you are a sprinter and you see this in yourself, you might need to remember to pause and recover. If you are a climber, you might need to trust that slow progress is still progress. Stress and tension start to appear when we try to live at a speed that doesn’t suit us, and when we stay true to our own rhythm, then something starts to shift. We have less comparison, more self-trust and more confidence with the path we are following. 

The mind and the body will know when it’s right, so ask yourself are you a sprinter or a climber? Perhaps you are a bit of both, depending on the season of life, but whatever your pace, the important thing is that it is your pace. The journey is far more enjoyable when you stop trying to run someone else’s race.

So this week work on trusting your own pace a little more, remember there isn’t a right speed for life — sometimes we might sprint, sometimes we climb — but the key thing is we keep moving, feeling strong, not exhausted.

Have a great week — keeping moving, looking, and feeling good.

With love and support,

Jane xxx