5 Mindset shifts you need

On the right mindset to finding ease & progress on your 'health & fitness' journey

1. Don't lose the big picture:

The big picture is the reason why you do what you do. And in the realm of 'health & fitness’, for a great majority of us, it is to feel good in our bodies & minds, and to live a better quality long life. We lose the big picture when we:

• Compare our progress with someone else's

• Abuse our bodies by pushing it, when it is asking for rest, or

• Try to fit into societies standards of beauty

Oftentimes, we act out these tendencies unconsciously due to environmental influences. The need is to become more self aware and catch ourselves from losing the big picture.

2. Be ready to do the hard stuff:

When I say add ease into your journey, I do not mean slacking or taking it easy. On the contrary, it is doing the hard stuff so you can have ease in the long run.

Recently, I was having a conversation with my uncle & he was telling me how staying consistent with his 10 km walk everyday morning before heading out to work was making him feel more energetic. He said that he didn't miss the walk even on a weekend. Doing that is not easy but having seen the benefits he ensured that he got his daily walk in.

We are all looking for that magic pill that will help us feel better in our bodies & minds. And that pill is : consistency with that, which we know will give us results.

So, if it is important to you then commit to it. Consistency will follow.

3. Celebrate small wins:

As we stay consistent we begin to encounter so many delightful experiences. For someone starting yoga, it could be the new found ability to touch one’s own feet in a standing forward bend, or if you are weight training, it could be the ability to lift a higher weight with ease. Even though we may feel these wins are not big enough for a public announcement, they are still wins on our journey and worth acknowledging.

You can choose to share your win, no matter how small with someone you know who will appreciate it. It could be your Coach or a dear friend. I am grateful I have a Coach I can reach out to with my small wins. He always gives me thumbs up and applauds my effort & consistency. In case you have no one like that, then just give yourself a high five in the mirror.

Acknowledging our daily wins can help us generate positive feelings of success & fulfillment which can have us feeling better.

4. Question the relevance of imagery thrown at you by the world. Question and reason everything, not taking anything at face value:

The world is continually showing us perfect images that can have us veering away from our own individual purpose and goals if we are not aware.

A few things that I have discovered in my own journey are:

A. You do not have to aim for perfection in order to reap the benefits of a practice: For instance, it's ok to not have the forehead touching the shin in a seated forward fold in a yoga practice. The objective of doing yoga need not be to develop the flexibility of a contortionist. It can be, to be more present in our bodies, to progress at our own pace & in the process learn something about ourselves, our journey, & our being.

But today, when you look at any yoga studio advertising for itself, it will have the model exhibiting a superior level of flexibility. The imagery can be misconstrued to mean that the purpose of one's practice should be to reach that level of perfection.

I am not saying that you should not strive for that. By all means, you can. However, to reach such level requires many years of dedicated practice that you may not be in a position to devote. And that does not mean that you should give up on the practice. Even if you do yoga once or twice a week, you will still benefit. The point I am trying to make, is that the reason why you practice can be totally different and unique to you.

B. You do not need to obsess over exercise and food everyday. That is not healthy. A training plan designed by a trusted Coach that meets your needs & a nutrition plan that you can stick to (mostly whole foods with some fun foods thrown in) will do.

Please note these are some of the things that I have learnt to question & reason. You may not agree & that is totally ok. The point is to remain curious & stay true to your own purpose on the journey instead of falling for & emulating somebody else's truth.

5. Be supported on your journey:

Our bodies are meant for movement. The organ systems involved in energy metabolism, the muscular and cardiorespiratory systems function best when subjected to regular physical challenges. However, our current lifestyle is such, that involves very little physical exertion. Hence there is the increased need to structure our life in a way that we can intentionally include higher levels of physical activity. Best way to do this, is to be part of a structured program. This naturally brings in discipline and consistency.

We may think that we can do it all alone. Which in many cases might even be possible. But the journey can get dreary. And the tendency to fall off track can be high. Having companions on this path will make the journey enjoyable and you are more likely to stay consistent and experience progress.

With that I come to the end of the post. I hope the points resonated with you. Let me know which one had you nodding your head in agreement the most 🙂 I will be happy to hear from you.