Start Where You Are
Alexandra Windsong
©2019 Alexandra Windsong, All Rights Reserved.
Alexandra Windsong
©2019 Alexandra Windsong, All Rights Reserved.
I've been in this place before. In my late thirties, after a few years of being pretty sedentary, I decided to start hiking again. On my first day out, less than ten minutes of not very fast walking had me puffing like a steam engine and my heart feeling like it was going to jump out of my chest, and it's pretty hard to feel peaceful when you can't breathe and you feel like you're gonna have a heart attack any minute. If it was going to be like this every time, I knew I wouldn't be taking many more walks in the woods no matter how "soothing for my soul" it was.
And then, stuff happened. A series of losses, including five deaths one right after the other, and some health issues made for some very challenging years during which I stopped hiking at the very time my soul needed it the most.
Fortunately, after returning from The Abundant Heart Retreat a couple of weeks ago, I found myself being more mindful of my own self-care, and realizing that I needed to start walking again. Since then, I've been getting back out into the woods walking almost every day. Not walking far yet, or fast, because my body isn't ready for that. But, I'm hiking again and going a little farther each day. Soothing my soul, feeding my spirit one step at a time. As to the distance and the speed? It will come. In time. I've done it before. I can do it again.
Over the years I've learned that it's important to go at your own pace, to listen to your body, your heart, and your mind and to start where you are, not where you or someone else thinks you should be. It's a concept I use a lot in working with my clients: starting where they are and going at their pace, not mine or anyone else's. Making changes in our lives can be challenging, and lasting change usually happens one step at a time, and at a different pace for all of us. And we don't all start in the same place either. Be patient and kind with yourself. Don't compare yourself to anyone else. You'll get there when you get there. And yes. Sometimes you have to start over. Again. And that's okay. It's not a race; it's a journey after all.
Fortunately, after returning from The Abundant Heart Retreat a couple of weeks ago, I found myself being more mindful of my own self-care, and realizing that I needed to start walking again. Since then, I've been getting back out into the woods walking almost every day. Not walking far yet, or fast, because my body isn't ready for that. But, I'm hiking again and going a little farther each day. Soothing my soul, feeding my spirit one step at a time. As to the distance and the speed? It will come. In time. I've done it before. I can do it again.
Over the years I've learned that it's important to go at your own pace, to listen to your body, your heart, and your mind and to start where you are, not where you or someone else thinks you should be. It's a concept I use a lot in working with my clients: starting where they are and going at their pace, not mine or anyone else's. Making changes in our lives can be challenging, and lasting change usually happens one step at a time, and at a different pace for all of us. And we don't all start in the same place either. Be patient and kind with yourself. Don't compare yourself to anyone else. You'll get there when you get there. And yes. Sometimes you have to start over. Again. And that's okay. It's not a race; it's a journey after all.
One final observation: on my walk the other day it occurred to me that walking is, in and of itself, a rhythm. And that when I walk in nature I become more attuned not only to the rhythms of the natural world around me, but to my own natural rhythms and needs as well.
So spending a weekend focused on vibration and rhythm with music and drumming has me returning to the rhythms of walking and nature, and therefore, returning to, and becoming more aware of, my own natural rhythms and needs. hmmmmm Definitely something to think about.
So spending a weekend focused on vibration and rhythm with music and drumming has me returning to the rhythms of walking and nature, and therefore, returning to, and becoming more aware of, my own natural rhythms and needs. hmmmmm Definitely something to think about.
The next time I went hiking, I started with just a five minute walk, going as slow as it took to keep me from feeling like I was going to keel over. And let me tell you, that was pretty slow. From there I added a little more time to my walk each day, initially just a minute or two more, eventually five or ten minutes more, depending on how I felt. Within a year, I was routinely taking three - six miles hikes, sometimes going as far as ten to twelve miles. I continued my daily hikes for years, and they were a big part of my mental and emotional healing at the time. And oh yeah, there was a side benefit for my physical well-being as well.
Until next time . . . Peace & Blessings,
Alexandra
Alexandra
I decided to change my approach. To be successfull in the long run, I was going to have to let go of any preconceived ideas I had about how far and how fast I should be walking, listen to my body, and start where I was, not where I thought I should be. Something that can be very hard for me.
Hiking or walking in the woods has always been the one thing that can be guaranteed to soothe my soul and feed my spirit. Being in the woods, surrounded by nature, away from the energies of other people allows me to regroup and balance my own energies. It relaxes me. It heals me. Every single time, without fail, it brings me back to myself. And unfortunately, it's something I've gotten away from over the last few years.