Welcome to this week’s Newsletter.

I hope you have had a good week — dodging rain, and ducking into the sunshine when it appears.

It has felt like a busy week for JTP HQ. I have had a lot of appointments to attend regarding various health issues and results from further investigations, which I feel quite positive about. It certainly feels like I have allowed certain things to build up over the years, which have now started to develop and cause further issues but I am getting good advice, I just need to follow it. 

I think because I have been busy with lots to do, I have felt like I have been rushing a bit … I have been pushing my timings and when this happens I tend to leave things to the last minute as I try to fit more and more into a limited amount of time. Keith has a name for me: last minute Mini … no offence taken, because it sums me up. I think I blame business, but actually I think it’s just me. If you knew Jane… it’s just Jane!, Keith would also say 😉 Anyway, I thought it might make an intriguing Your Whole Self, because I can’t be the only last minute Mini in the JTP family … surely…

This coming week we welcome Jenny back from her travels, so she will be back in class from Thursday. We have also got all the Summer Timetable Classes up on the Calendar for you to check and schedule. Mary’s replacement classes have also been arranged for Wednesday 2 September — morning classes only — that were cancelled on 20 May due to a family issue for Mary — if you are unable to attend please arrange a Catchup for these classes at one of our other venues. We will text everyone who was affected by the cancellation individually.

All Face-to-Face Classes are running as normal this week … remember to talk to your Coach if you have any concerns about the exercises and the effects on your body, so that they can give you appropriate advice and help. That is what we are there for.

All Online Classes are running to the regular Live timetable, with all classes recorded and added to the members’ jtp.zone website. This enables you to schedule them into your own timetable and time zone if you are travelling. Last week, JTP-ers joined me in Live Online Classes from the Lake District, Yorkshire, Oxfordshire, Bristol, Spain … as well as Loughborough, and the surrounding villages of Leicestershire. I also regularly hear from those who take me on holiday with them and do some Pilates while away, sharing our workouts with their family and friends — I love to hear the stories of your travels so keep them coming in and we truly can keep moving together, wherever we are in the world.

So, Keith’s nickname for me: last minute Mini …. Is it inaccurate? Sadly it isn’t. 

Is it unjustified? Sadly no, it isn’t. 

There is indeed a tiny bit of truth in it … more than a tiny bit to be totally honest. I have always been the same: leaving revision for exams to the night before, leaving presentation planning till a few days before, often telling myself that I work better under pressure and to be fair, things do usually get done, which is why this habit has stuck around. But I can’t possibly be the only one who does this, can I?

My question is therefore, Why? Why do we do it? (Using the royal We of course). It’s not always because we are disorganised, sometimes it can be quite the opposite. But it can be due to a little spark that comes from having a deadline, it gives a sense of focus, a bit of pressure that sharpens the mind and gets things moving. It’s that feeling of right … let’s go, and then things DO get done. That of course, feeds into the little part of me that says I did get it done, it wasn’t too bad either, so maybe I am at my best if I leave things to the last possible moment.  

However there has to be a but here, because leaving things to the last moment comes at a cost. It can cause underlying stress that is being carried right up until that last moment, then it can feel like rushing, the conversation you have with yourself of Why did I leave it this late? And this can then take away the chance to enjoy the process. There is no thinking things through calmly, no feeling of being in control, no space being given.

So here I am wondering … Is it about changing completely, or understanding our patterns a little better? Because it's not that we need to become ultra-organised weeks in advance overnight. But maybe it's about creating a little more balance: by giving ourselves just enough time without losing that spark that helps us get things done. We shouldn’t be calling ourselves out for being last minute, because it doesn’t always help. But by noticing it, smiling about it, and trying to gently adjust, we find ourselves in a better place to start. 

I don’t believe that this should be about stopping being last minute Mini altogether, but perhaps about becoming a slightly earlier version of her. Just enough to feel a little calmer, a little more prepared, but still very much yourself. 

I’m probably not, therefore, going to become a fully reformed, plan-everything-weeks-in-advance kind of person. Last minute Mini is still very much part of who I am, and as one of my fondest memories of my Dad was him standing at the front door holding my coat because I was leaving the house right at the last minute … in a way I want to stay loyal to that memory, because it's very much part of who I am. But maybe I can start to show up for myself a little earlier now and again, give myself a bit more space, a bit less rush, and a slightly calmer conversation in my own head. I’m not promising perfection, just a slightly less last-minute version of myself. What do you think?

By the way, this week’s Your Whole Self came to me as I rushed to teach my Saturday Morning Movement class online at 9.30am just yesterday. Those who attended will know 😉

Have a good week everyone — keep moving, feeling, and looking good.

With love and support,

Jane xxx