As you know, I have had a break from teaching this week, and it couldn’t have come at a better time, because as I finished teaching last Saturday my back decided it wanted a rest. It took me right back to last October when I first experienced debilitating pain, unable to stand or move … it felt like a real setback after everything I have been doing to get my strength
and mobility back. However, it wasn’t as bad as before, I could stand, I could walk, but I just needed to ‘pace’ myself and realise that setbacks like this happen and may not be avoided, but I needed to learn to live with them.
Things I know — I exercised, I strengthened, I listened to advice, but the injury still came back. I am sure this is something that many of us can relate to. It doesn’t just apply to physical injuries though, it could be stress, grief, anxiety, or
feeling overwhelmed. And we hear the phrase ‘pace yourself’ and think it means taking life at half speed, but the reality is that it can be like taking a long journey, the destination doesn’t change, but the speed has to … sometimes we can take the motorway at 70mph, others we take the country roads, stopping for roadworks, winding through country lanes. We just have to learn to recognise the difference for which road we take.
Our bodies tend to be remarkably honest, and
our minds are brilliant negotiators, but our bodies rarely negotiate, they simply tell the truth — pain, fatigue, tension, poor sleep, lack of concentration — these things don’t arrive to punish us necessarily, they just provide information, so pacing ourselves is learning to listen before our body has to shout.
When I felt the pain again in my back, I admit, I felt frustrated, because I felt like I had been doing all the right things, and I thought
what more could I have done? But the realisation that the mind and body are not machines, and sometimes they remind us that healing isn’t a straight line. Things that happen in life are asking us to slow down, pace ourselves, not because of failure but because we are human.
But it doesn’t just apply to our physical self. Our mind has to be part of this process and it can feel emotional. Frustration, sadness, anger … they are all emotional responses to situations
we find ourselves in, whether it be physical injury or grieving the loss of a loved one, nothing needs to be done quickly and immediately.
It’s hard when we live in a culture of more — more exercise; more productivity; more achievements; more steps; more hustle; must push through, must move on.
If we take a look at nature, for example, flowers don’t apologise for blooming later than others, the tide comes in
and goes out without feeling guilty, I think we are the only creatures who feel the pressure to operate at full capacity every single day.
To get a bit woo woo for a moment, think of a candle — if the flame burns too fiercely, the candle disappears quickly. If it’s protected and burns steadily, it gives warmth and light for much longer — maybe we should be more like a steady, burning candle, pacing ourselves so that our light lasts for longer, rather than getting dimmer
and burning out quickly.
We have to learn to trust ourselves, trust that we don’t have to force everything, trust that rest is productive, trusting that if we take one step back today it will allow us to take 10 comfortable steps forward tomorrow.
These are the principles I am putting into practice myself. I realised that I had quietly started measuring success by whether my injury stayed away, so when it returned, I felt as though I'd somehow got it
wrong. But perhaps success wasn't that I'd prevented it completely. Perhaps success was that I recognised it earlier, knew what to do, and gave myself permission to adjust my pace instead of battling through.
Do you recognise signs with your mind and body when it’s maybe negotiating the idea of ‘pacing’ yourself?
Think about this, there are times to step forward confidently, times to pause, times to recover, and times simply to be. The skill isn't
always knowing how to slow down. It's knowing which pace serves us best today.
Have a good week everyone — keep looking, moving, and feeling good.
With love and support,
Jane xxx
Summer Timetable of Face-to-Face Classes
