“I am free to enjoy this moment”
‘People do not decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures’, said FM Alexander.
Information and knowledge are useful. Putting these into action is even more useful. Committing to doing this action one, three, or ten times a day – then you’ll really start to notice the benefits.
As many of you know, one of Alexander’s major discoveries about us mammals is that the relationship between the head and spine govern the coordination of the rest of us. Yes – all of us! Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual – we don’t separate – its all one thing – our Self.
Zen Garden, photo by MJ (not Lucy’s garden)
“I am free to enjoy this moment”
Some of us love our gardens and work in them, lovingly tend them every month, every week and every day.
Others tend to slash and burn – they go out occasionally – cut back the hedge, prune the tree, tidy this up, trim that, cut the lawn and dig and plant all in a day. Exhausting!
Do you go to your garden or allotment the same days each week, do a little, chat a bit, enjoy the moment, and plan and plant?
Perhaps you are like me and you potter occasionally and delight in allowing your garden to rewild itself and leave nature to do it’s own thing. I like to sit and read in mine, and bounce on the trampoline.
I do have a bit of garden dug for young sir, and have planted some potatoes, cress and snap peas so far!
What kind of gardener are you? Please let me know what you are enjoying in your garden – and how your body is doing.
Perhaps you have more of an indoor space… do you have any living plants?
Here are three simple questions you can ask yourself as you approach the next single task in the garden:
- am I balancing?
- am I aware of the space around me?
- am I breathable?
I could go into all sorts of Teaching about bending your knees instead of bending over from the ficticious waist. I might mention aligning your head, spine and pelvis. I could even suggest using tools which are a good weight and size for you and the job you are doing so you don’t strain yourself and do give yourself an advantage.
I might go on to suggest you stop when you first hear your body’s call for rest, ease, and kindness. If you ignore the early signs and signals, you will have a bigger bill to pay later.
I would like to suggest you stop work before you are finished so you can be sure you are in charge of yourself, rather than the size of the task or the hands on a clock.
What if you stopped before you were exhausted, so that you have some energy to clean and put the tools away, tidy up, wash your hands and eat well and rest well?
I’m not going to tell you what you ‘should’ do, as that isn’t my style. Should doesn’t give you much choice and I am a big fan of choice. Ought is a demand too and often brings on extra tension. But you Must listen to others… this word ‘must’ will certainly take you away from the Land of Choice and stop you listening to your body.
Before you stop ‘just’ listen to the word ‘just’. This is a great way of squeezing something extra in – particularly alarming when you are going to finish gardening for the day and you ‘just’ decide to do one last little job! This is a recipe for accidents.
We might be too tired, and not paying so much attention to what we are doing or how we are doing it with our body-mind and race through and do some damage – either to the task in hand, or ourselves!
- So if you are prioritising completing the task and nothing else – know you have a choice.
- If you are telling yourself what you ‘should’ and ‘must’ do before you stop. Please stop already.
- If you are ‘just’ going to squeeze in an extra job, please don’t.
Tomorrow is another day. You are free to enjoy each and every moment. You are free to stop at any point. You are free to look after yourself as the priority.
If any of this needs clarification or you know you aren’t going to be able to stop mid-job but your body would like you to, please ask for some support and coaching. Change can be tricky to manage when we are left to our own devices. You are not alone, how can I help?
“I am free to enjoy this moment”
If you are curious as to how this gardening topic could be worked with on-line, give me a call and we can have a chat. If you are shy, just send me a line in an email and we’ll start where you are.
