You may not be able to find your way back, but you can find familiar. This has been resonating with me a lot lately. It’s common that new clients come to me wanting to reach a specific goal that takes them back to a moment in time. Be it pre-pregnancy, pre-injury, pre-surgery… whenever it is, it seems to be a vivid moment frozen in time where they ‘felt their best’. A large ‘X’ marks the spot that they want to teleport back to in the timeline of their life.
Y’all should know I’m human and I try my best to keep it real around here so I must admit — I’ve found myself in this boat recently too. It’s easy to get discouraged with postpartum fitness and my postpartum body. I have easily fallen victim to wondering if I could be doing more or if I’m not doing something right that fitness is hard AF and I’m still in maternity jeans. And who can blame me with messages about ‘getting my body back’ everywhere I turn as a new mother. And don’t get me started with those unsolicited comments. Or the subtle ‘eye check’ from head to toe when I mention I have a 5 month old. I see you. Eyes forward, buddy. The ah-ha moment came for me while I was having a similar conversation with a client. All too often we spend too much mental energy on “getting back” that we fail to realize, maybe we aren’t meant to find our way back. Similarly, we spend so much mental energy on achieving the body we think we should have, that we fail to realize how great the one we’re in is. Bodies age. They evolve. Sure we can take care of them to slow that process, but bodies SHOULD change.
I might never find my way back, so instead, I’m choosing to open my eyes and focus on finding familiar. I’m unsubscribing from the ‘get your body back’ message, and subscribing to #teamlovethisbody. I challenge you: instead of beating yourself up. Instead of killing yourself in the gym, agonizing over every detail or giving power to ‘what am I doing wrong?. Give yourself grace. Find the familiar. Celebrate how far you’ve come. And dammit, love that body you’re in.