It's been a little while since I posted last. Life has been busy and I have been involved in some special projects to do with the Stretch & Roll classes that I run. I have also started teaching Teen jiu jitsu classes again (since last September) and have been putting into place and developing a curriculum for that. It's a technical class for the teens to help bridge the gap between them finishing in the younger childrens class and being able to start in the adult classes. One of the things that I really want to do is encourage them to think for themselves, to find their own moves and path on their jiu jitsu journey and to generally love it as much as I do.
And then there are the special projects for my Stretch & Roll classes, ranging from 1-2-1 sessions for women who wanted to reach some goals they had set themselves, to putting together taster sessions for others.
I have also been doing some creative writing of my own for my story books and short articles.
How is this year going for you so far? We are now into March, two months gone already, the year started slow but seems to be going faster the more we go through the year.
I have an accessible class on a Thursday night, if you would like to come in (please let me know), or if you would like a mobile session 1-2-1, or would like me to put together a session for a school pamper evening, or a charity event, or anything along those lines, please get in touch.
I continue to use my own Stretch & Roll class for my own strength and conditioning for the jiu jitsu that I train, as well as using it for my own mindfulness and relaxation, always working with what I have in the moment, and celebrating who I am.
Remember to SPARKLE this year, 2024:
Sleep
Play
Adopt a positive Attitude
Rest and Recover
be Kind
Laugh a Lot, Love a Lot, Learn a Lot
Eat
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Start 2024 by focusing on you. Stretch & Roll is amazing for de-stressing, building confidence and resilience, it's a social space as well as a safe space. To join in with my class, or to book a mobile session, please send a message. Please include your telephone number and let me know if there are any particular goals you would like to achieve. It's never too late to start your self care journey.
Treating yourself to booking a place in my class is like treating yourself to flowers. It will bring colour into your life, it's a powerful gesture and will help build resilience. Watch yourself bloom, the more class sessions you do. Learn to work with the body you have, how you are feeling in the moment, tap into the inner strength that you do have. Stretch & Roll is all about exercise and fitness, but done in a mindful relaxing way. It's a lovely supportive atmosphere and is very much suitable for women of all ages. If you would like to try a session, please get in touch.
PS. This lovely photo used is a
Photo by Sidney Pearce on Unsplash
October is Pumpkin season. It also feels very Autumnal and cosy. What have I been up to the last couple of weeks? Well, last weekend was all about a 24 hour Jiu Jitsu GrappleThon that I did at the gym where I train, for a Hospice charity. Our GrappleThons are for really good causes. I stayed the course of the 24 hours and when I finished, although I felt tired and rather bruised from all the rolling (!), it also gave me an incredible feeling of achievement. Every time I do a GrappleThon I know I am a little bit older.
What else have I done? I've taught Teen Jiu Jitsu and that's going well. The teens are great working together and they are engaged in their listening and I can therefore see the progress they are making. Today's teaching session was followed by taking our two family dogs: Arthur and Milo to a field that is fenced in for security but where we can comfortably let them off their lead to run about and be free. The result: a lovely sunny October afternoon watching the dogs tire themselves out and enjoy themselves, and after a bath back home for them both, they have spent the rest of the day relaxing. Like me!
On another note, I have to commend Pamela Anderson who has been in the news and on social media, for going make up free and stylist free at a large event. I think she looks great for her age, that she wants to look her age, and that she is proud of her grey hair, the natural lines and wrinkles on her face, embracing her age. It also however, makes me feel a little bit sad - sad that no-one has picked up on and noticed all of the other women who have been doing that same thing for a long time now - normal non-celebrity women who have chosen to go grey, to go make up free, to wear what they love and feel comfortable in. It's been hailed as a new revolution, but this revolution has been going on very quietly now for some time. So well done to all you lovely ladies out there, who have chosen to do this also - to embrace your age, because not everyone in this life gets to grow older. I see you all.
Did you know that all kinds of music can be heard in my Stretch & Roll class sessions? Normally, I will keep the playlist on shuffle, so that the ladies who come into class can have a mixture of fast paced and slow paced songs to do their exercise to. But occasionally we have a themed evening and/or if it's a 1-2-1 session then whoever I am doing the session for gets to pick the music exclusively. You can bring your own or listen to my playlist :) One week you may decide you would like a really fast paced workout, another week you may prefer a slow paced more relaxing meditative workout. The thing is, you get to choose. Music can be a powerful tool in creating the right kind of exercise and mindfulness workout. It can soothe us, it can energise us, it can give us focus, it can allow us to let our minds wander. What's your favourite kind of music and what's your favourite song? Just taking 3 minutes or so out of your daily routine to put on a song and move is exercise, or even just putting on a song and allowing yourself to pause for those 3 minutes, can have such a great benefit. Let music become a part of you.
I used to teach children's jiu jitsu and now I am back teaching this again. The Teen class that I teach is on every Sunday morning from 11 to 11.45am in central Bristol. That is my first piece of news.
My second piece of news is reflecting on all the private 1-2-1 sessions I've done with several of the ladies who come into my Stretch and Roll class every Thursday evening. These really enable me to tailor the routine even more for them and it makes the session feel even more personal. And then when I have a session where all of my ladies are in together, it is like one big catch up where we are all catching up on what we have all been doing and how we have all been and how we all are. I love that about the classes and the ladies who come in.
It's been a long time and a tough journey, but this week in class, on Monday, I got promoted to Brown Belt. I've been using purple hearts, as you may have noticed, on a lot of what I write. Guess now may be the time to update that also to brown. Watch this space!
Also this week, I am excited to tell you that Kinergy are offering some more of their Somatic Sessions. For those of you who may not have heard about Kinergy, they are a great local organisation who help people who have experienced trauma, sexual abuse and rape. Somatic sessions are all about the body and feelings and emotions and connections. If you would like to know more, you can either get in touch with them directly via Google, or you can contact me and I can pass a message on to them. I am one of their Ambassadors.
It's Time To Focus on Yourself!
Recently I treated myself to a new camera. An instant Fuji camera that I have loved the look of for so long, it's been on my wish list for like I think ever!
I have had digital cameras in the past, with cards for saving photos onto, and in more recent times, i've embraced the camera on my phone, but this year, i craved the concept of being able to take a photo, spend time watching it develop, seeing how it does develop, the light the shade, and having something tangible and tactile that I could hold in my hands as a memory. It has also helped to increase my focus. For it's made me more aware, it's encouraged me to be more intentional with the photos that I take, and it's a really mindful grounding experience. You are in that moment, nothing else matters, except looking through that little lens (no big screen on the back) and really dialling into the things that make you happy (or sad), or whatever emotion you feel.
So, thinking about my new instant Fuji camera, it's time for you to think about where you are in your trauma recovery, where you are in the healing process, how you cope with any anxiety, stress, aches and pains that you might feel, it's time for you to focus on your mobility, your general level of fitness, to seek out a safe space to exercise in, to discover some new self confidence and resilience, it's time to focus on yourself.
It's Mother's Day tomorrow here in the UK. Today is my son's 30th birthday (the 30th anniversary of my "Push" day!), so this weekend is an extra-special one for me.
Why not treat your mum to an hour's worth of pamper exercise mindfulness time for herself. I have a special 6 week and 10 week offer running currently from tomorrow until the 19th April: 6 weeks worth of class sessions for £6 or you can choose 10 weeks for £10. Put simply, that means it's only £1 per session if you book using the code MOTHERSDAYGIFT. You can book by sending me a message/using the contact page to contact me. Please make sure that you include your mobile telephone number as otherwise I will not be able to accept the booking request.
You can book for yourself or for your mum on this offer. If you would like to book a session but can't make it to the venue, and would like a mobile in your own home session instead, I am also able to offer a special discounted rate for all mobile sessions booked while the 6 week/10 week offer is on.
6/10 week special offer bookings placed are all payable on the first session that you do.
What did you do today?
Nothing, I did nothing.
Let's reframe that, shall we?
What did you do today?
Well, I rested, I recharged my batteries, I recovered.
My blog is late this week, because I went to the gym for an hour yesterday. I lifted some weights, I did some pace running on the treadmill and I did some hill incline exercise by walking to get there and home again. I lived.
Friday we had a funeral for a friend and in work I heard the news of some more passing of people loved so very dearly. I reflected.
Catching up with a colleague, we reminded each other and ourselves that for the most part, it's best to reflect on yesterday, live for today and plan for tomorrow.
That's not to say that vision boards are out the window. Because they are not. I have one, with things i hope to have, places i hope to go to, things i want to achieve, hopes and dreams for myself and for my family. I make plans. But, when you've created your vision board, as a great many life coaches and vision board gurus will tell you, put it away, maybe get it out occasionally to look at.
In the meantime, while you are waiting for your vision board and your subconsicious to do its thing and work its magic, reflect on yesterday, plan for tomorrow, but make sure you live for today.
My blog this week is all about giving yourself permission to make yourself shine!
An hour in my Thursday class will give you a healthy glow and will either relax you or energise you, depending on what your goal is.
This week's class was the first week of the year bringing in my alternative version routine. Every so often, for the regular ladies who come in, I take out the usual routine and put a different one in. I think it's good to do that, it engages the brain, it brings about a lot of laughter as the new moves are introduced, and it means that when we settle back into the usual routine the following week, it helps the body to recognise what it is used to and what it isn't.
This week I went one step further. I train BJJ, jiu jitsu, and my class routine is what I use myself for my own strength and conditioning. This week though I decided to introduce my regular ladies as one of their new moves for a song to some shrimping, side shrimping, posting out of the foot and leg. That was going out of their comfort zone, but they rose to the challenge and they put in a very good effort. I've challenged them that by the end of the year, they will be doing the shrimping around the room.
The shrimping move is about mobility and co-ordination. It's about knowing that there is more than one way to shrimp, and working with whatever angle of shrimping is the most appropriate in the situation you are in. Used in BJJ, jiu jitsu for trying to escape an opponent who is on top of you, and/or to get yourself in a better position.
This week, in class, my regular ladies truly shone. They shone bright with their chatter and their giggles on the shrimping exercise, and I was dazzled by their willingness to try something that was completely different for them.
We find our inner glow when we feel good about ourselves and when we do good things. The inner glow shines so bright that it makes us twinkle. Even in the darkest of moments, take some time for yourself, find what it is that you have to make yourself shine. You deserve to sparkle!
There are three things I am taking away with me this week!
One is that we have a gorgeous glam art deco bathroom, that has been renovated over the last couple of weeks. It was an upheaval but one that needed doing, and it has been on my wish list now for a long time. it's how I envisaged it in my head, in real life it feels even more beautiful. It's light but cosy at the same time, and we have so much more space to move around in, thanks to deciding to take the opportunity of trying a different layout. What I am taking from this is that wishes do get to come true, it doesn't matter how long you may need to wait, sometimes you don't know unless you try, also I have in effect by changing the layout in our new bathroom, made more space for myself, and it's now gone from a room that was mainly a functional room to a room in its own right, beautiful on the inside.
Two - in my Thursday class this week, one of my ladies made a comment. We were doing one of the movements in one of the sections of the class routine, and she said how that particular movement was her hardest out of the whole routine. That was actually a lovely positive comment to hear. Nothing is ever always easy, we have things that challenge us, push us a little, but the fact that she had noticed and had tuned in enough to what she was doing, and with her body, to recognise that it was the hardest movement for her, was a good thing. It also led to a conversation with her and my other lady and myself in the class, where I shared what my most difficult movement was (even though it's my own class routine!), and the other lady shared too. In that moment of mindfulness, we all bonded a little more. It also led to a conversation about why I encourage my ladies to tailor the movements to fit with them, and we also exchanged what movements in the routine we loved the most. Building on this, I added in a Ladies Choice segment to this week's class so that my two lovely ladies could explore and choose their own movements for one song.
Three - I have a little set of mermaid cards that I made for myself - sometimes I will take them out, shuffle them, turn one over and whichever one shows is how I intend to be, what I would like to incorporate into my next day. It's something that I created when I was ill with my trauma and the mermaids helped me with making it through the day. You can do this with any image, flowers, birds, animals, whatever resonates with you - my mermaid for last night for keeping in my mind for today, was my sleeping mermaid. She looked so serene, and it has been a reminder for me today to sleep, rest and recover. And so my Sunday so far has been staying in bed a little bit longer, having a lazy morning, coffee, biscuits, pamper time, putting on one of my lovely puff sleeve bright coloured tops, brushing my hair, cuddles with our dogs, Arthur and Milo, putting some washing on, doing some mindful washing up (we don't have a dishwasher) and just simply going slow (Tai Chi with my movements), as I rest and recover - tomorrow is a work day, but today because I've slowed everything down, it feels like I have all the time in the World!
It wouldn't pay for us all to be the same. And you know what? I quite like being different!
And that's why it was nice to see two new ladies who have mobility problems come into my class this week, with their carer, for a trial taster session and so that they can see what movements in the exercise routine work for them and which ones they should adapt.
The main thing here though is, as I mentioned to them, my classes are not about giving ourselves a hard time about what we can't do. Instead it's about working with what we have each time we do the routine - it's an hour of being able to check in with how you are feeling, how your body is feeling, identifying any aches and pains, or balance issues, checking in on our stress levels and then just being in the moment. The class was full this week but there was still space in the room for us all to be different!
My Thursday evening Stretch & Roll Exercise Class started back this week. It was a good session: Barb, Lynn and Naz, we caught up on how we all were, swapped stories about our Christmas festivities, looked at some goals and things we were looking forward to this year, and in the walking part of the class, fell about laughing as we moved. It was a good session and nice to see the classes open again after the Holiday Break. If you would like to join in, let me know by sending me a message - details of how to to get in touch are on the website. Please don't forget to include your location and contact telephone number. That helps with me being able to get back in touch with you :)
So, today is New Year's Day 2023. How many New Year's resolutions did you make last night or in the days leading up to last night, or this morning? Me, I made none as such. Some years I have made a few, but this year, I made the very conscious decision not to, in the strictest form of the word. Not because I am not feeling resolute, but because more than anything this year, I intend to focus on being kind (more kind) to myself. I give, I share, I help where and when I can, I work hard, i try to factor in rest and play. This year though, I will focus more on sparkle, and glitter, Cosy Club Breakfasts as a way of reconnecting with dear friends, Afternoon Teas, having Snowball cocktail drinks (not just for Christmas), styling myself with colour and the things that I love to wear, more sustainability and embracing pre-loved and vintage, treating myself to another gorgeous bangle, date nights with hubby, pamper time with my beautiful daughter, and when I choose to take some days off of work for annual leave, to focus on rest and recovery. All of this though means really and truly being kind to myself and that also means not putting pressure on myself to conform, to do, to say all of the right things all of the time, to give myself space to breathe and to see what I can achieve. What does your New Year mean to you?
