I talk a lot about and promote the idea of moving to feel good in your body. Its become a core value of my practice and in my business as I try to help others embrace this feeling of self-love through movement. While I was practicing this morning, I started to really think about my journey to embracing this approach in my workouts and in my life.
Growing up as a dancer, I had to practice and learn the technique of ballet, which is very precise, controlled, and created to look a certain way. As someone who was not particularly comfortable or confident in her own skin, I found a lot of comfort in that specific structure. I later took that structure with me as I began teaching barre workouts, where the movement, again, is based on small, controlled engagements. In reflecting on the bigger perspective of what movement can teach us, I believe that how we practice movement directly translates into how we move through our day.
After years and years of trying so hard to control and fit into the small box of these techniques, I was yearning for something bigger… mentally and physically.
That thing was M3.
When I step on my mat, I start by thinking about how I want to feel. I think about the bubble of space and energy that I carry with me. What do I want to carry with me throughout my day? How do I want to move through my life on this day? By tuning into those intentions, my movement practice becomes a practice in being human, rather than focusing on just working out a muscle.
Now, of course, there are positions and alignment to follow so that we can be sure we are learning and caring for our body in the proper ways, but challenging our perspective to look at exercise as a practice in how we want to feel can be revitalizing.
In this current (temporary) normal of staying at home, there is a lot we can’t control or plan for. We have no idea what next month will look like.
We are learning to move, shift, be fluid, be patient, and really sit with ourselves, both mentally and now physically.
This is the human practice that I aim to reflect in my movement practice and vice versa; it is the manifestation of how I want to flow in my body, and the flow I want to reinforce in my life.
It is my hope that M3 helps you to find these moments of light and reflection. That you can take the time with me to tune into yourself, and to think about the energy you want to embody and the way you want to feel. You can lean into these feelings and follow them to find a place of self-love. Because when we raise our vibration internally, it radiates out into our family, our community, and our entire world. It becomes a practice that can benefit us during times of crisis, as well as long after once we begin to build our lives back up again. Take some time to reflect on what you want to bring with you, what you should leave behind and most importantly, what values and emotions you want to carry with you into your next phase.
