If there is one thing I really took back from my recent Primal Move Workshop experience, it was the lesson we all learned about being spontaneous. At the workshop, we discussed the nature of how to move freely through different body weight progressions. While it seemed tricky to get our bodies to cooperate at first (I am routinely humbled by how difficult it can be to master body weight exercises), we finally realized that letting ourselves run loose lead to having more fun as we played around with different primal move poses. Even more so, sticking to the playful nature of the poses actually lead to better overall mobility. NEAT! I am still blown away by how agile I have become having completed that workshop. All that aside, I wanted to use that lesson in mobility to talk about the “big picture” here. Today, it’s all about how being more spontaneous helps us to move effortless though the tricky parts in life and allow us all to have more fun!
This first year of Primal Fitness Pittsburgh has already been an amazing year, but sometimes, even the happy folks like me can feel the added work pressure from..well…working too hard. I woke up last Friday only to feel a sense of (for lack of a better word) “meh” as I realized that I was just trying to do too many things all at once. I decided to do something spontaneous in an effort to just clear my head and gather my thoughts. I bundled up, grabbed some of my belongings and ventured out of my apartment and walked further into the East End. I really had no clue where I wanted to walk to, but I just decided to keep on walking until I felt called to stop.
I walked from Regent Square to the East End Food Coop. When I arrived, it seemed that the doors of life had opened up as I walked through the open doors of the store. I was greeted with a surprise hug from a friend of mine who I hadn’t seen in quite some time. We got to talking about our lives, our careers, and as it turned out, we realized that we had both oriented ourselves towards a life in the wellness field. I, of course, chose personal training, but my friend had chosen health coaching. We got to talking about marketing our businesses and I was soon informed by my friend about an upcoming event that I could attend to advertise my business. “You need to surround yourself with like minded people, and I really feel this would be perfect for the both of us!” One thing led to another, and there I was, registering for a local health event to engage with said like-minded people.
A a celebratory coffee was in order to toast to the invite to the event. Nothing warms the soul like special invites and a cup o’ joe 🙂 From there, I decided to catch a little coffee buzz at the Coop and then began heading back to my apartment in Regent Square. It was such a beautiful day out that I decided to do my own impromptu Primal Move workout at my favorite spot in Frick Park. After all, I was already suited up in my training gear (I swear I live in workout clothes these days) so nothing was really stopping me. Practicing all my body weight movements and mobility work was just a great way to de-stress and be at peace, moving primally around nature 🙂
It’s funny how a venture out to an unknown place can give us the mental reset we need to live out our calling. When I returned back to my apartment, I began to respond to my long list of emails and answered some much needed questions for a few of my prospects. I ended up with a new client by the end of the day. With all the more events in store in the future, I feel like more doors are about to be opened 🙂
That day last week where I decided to just walk away from the comfort zone of my apartment really taught me something about life. As strange as it sounds, sometimes our own stress becomes a sort of “comfort zone”. We can be so used to working so hard on our goals that we can find it difficult to leave it behind us, even if only for a moment. When we leave that comfort zone and journey out to the unknown, we often find that we are happily greeted by people who are willing to encourage us and help us through the rough patches in life. We become more productive, more capable of handling those tricky situations we encounter. Most of all, we are able to enjoy our lives more as we savor the simple little moments of joy each day. Get out there and leave your comfort zone this weekend!
Remember to eat smart, train hard, and enjoy your life!
Janelle Pica, RKC
