Hey there Reader,
My background is in Exercise Science so I’m pretty fascinated by the human body and how it works. I’m still a Certified Personal Trainer and for years taught traditional group fitness classes (before I switched to primarily yoga classes).
So why am I telling you this?
Well, because, I’m going to give you a little science lesson right now.
You might already know this (many do), but humor me and stay with me for a bit.
To get stronger or gain muscle endurance, it takes repetitively placing greater resistance on a muscle than it’s used to. The muscle actually has to be challenged enough that the tiny muscle fibers that make up the muscle can break and then heal.
And when they heal, they heal stronger than before.
And that, in a nutshell, is how a muscle gets stronger. Simple, right?
And if you don’t challenge your muscles, they will atrophy, which essentially means they will shrink and waste away to only what is actually needed in your daily living. And if not challenged in your activities of daily living, they will just continue to waste away, making even basic tasks challenging.
Phew, that’s kinda scary, right? Sorry about that…didn’t mean to go that far down the rabbit hole with you. But, now I bet you’re super motivated to start lifting weights if you weren’t already😂.
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Instead, I wanted to go here…
Your brain works the same way.
When you stop challenging it–to remember, to focus, to concentrate, to learn–it starts deteriorating as well.
But when you make the conscious effort to choose to learn something new or train your brain with puzzles, word finds, crosswords, Sudoku, creative projects, some other problem solving thing, it continues to grow and change and even build new pathways and open new energy channels. It’s truly amazing! Until the day you die, you could still be growing your brain if you wanted to (IDK about you, but I want to 😉)
And because your brain can grow and change in this regard, so can your central nervous system. And this includes your mental-emotional health.
Specifically, your ability to heal hurts and traumas you’ve had in life. But in order to do that, you have to get uncomfortable.
Just like your muscles need to be put under strain to grow, so does your mental-emotional capacity.
So when you have a “heavy” day or a day that feels like it’s filled with anxiety, it’s OK. We all have them. And when we do, we’re being given the opportunity to allow uncomfortable feelings into our lives.
Because it’s in the uncomfortable that growth happens. When you refuse to get uncomfortable, you go the other way. You shut down, you become rigid, you stuff feelings and emotions rather than giving them space to breathe and dissipate.
I talk about this a bit more in today’s podcast episode, and simply hold space for you to be uncomfortable.
And if this email is landing in your inbox on a day that you need a little more encouragement or to be virtually held with good vibes and love. Then know that I am sending it your way.
You’ve got this, just like you have those reps at the gym, you can indeed use the bad days to build resilience and a better understanding of who you are. And to heal the hurts that you’re carrying around with you.
Until next week…
Helping you find the rhythms in all you do.
Cheers,
Cathy
P.S. There’s just a few more spots open in the 7 PM Candlelight yoga class coming up in a couple weeks. I’d love to have you join us. Click here to find out details.
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