To really tell you about who I am now, I want to take you back to pre-school. In what could very possibly be my very first memory at school, my teacher asked my class to line up to go outside for a fire drill. Distressed, instead of hopping into line to do as my teacher instructed, I marched up to her and demanded to know, “Where exactly are we going? How long are we going to be there? And when are we going to be back?”
I was paralyzed with fear of the unknown, even as the smallest child who should have literally no cares in the world. But I firmly believe my experience as a dancer did two important things for me: it allowed me to learn what it means to go with the flow in so many more ways than one, and it opened the door to other movement disciplines like strength training and yoga which gave me physical strength and mental fortitude to move through life with so much more joy.
I can’t pretend I don’t have some of those innate reactions today to compulsively check and double check my work, plan for anything and everything I can, and strive to know exactly what is going on and how should I prepare to navigate it all, but learning to utilize movement to my advantage – to train my body to know it is strong and resilient – changed my life. It has made me feel at home wherever I am. This is why I move daily. This is why I find physical challenges like triathlons to train for and accomplish. This is why I made it my profession.
Physical movement is more than 45 minutes or an hour out of your day, or at least, it can be. It can unlock a lot more. It can show you your weaknesses, but it will simultaneously hand you the tools to make them your strengths. Thanks for stopping by my little Internet living room. It’s a cozy place that I really love, and I hope you feel welcome to stay awhile – it wouldn’t be the same without you.
