You may have heard the expression “Less is more”. I first heard this years ago from my yoga teacher, and she would have a wonderful way of weaving it into class at the perfect time. She would have a knack of reading people's faces or tuning into their energy and knowing when her students had slowly backtracked into wanting to move, flow or stretch at 100% or beyond.

Listening to your body...

At the heart of what I offer - a functional, adaptive and inclusive way of moving and practising Yoga - is the practice of “listening” to your body - not with your ears, but tuning in to your body's sensations. It's your body's way of communicating with you.

It's supposed to be a respectful partnership, a conversation where both sides are allowed to suggest and react. Oftentimes though, it's a tug of war! The mind takes over with its wants, shoulds, expectations and tantrums, and the body responds with resistance, pain, injury and a total lack of cooperation.

Sound familiar…?

Your 75%

Taking everything to 100%, as good as it feels at times, can result in unwanted consequences down the line. Taking things to 75% however, provides space to balance the enjoyment of a challenge or practice with the respect that our bodies deserve.

There is a reason that our bodies are built with sensory receptors - so that we can receive its messages. The body is an incredibly complex, intelligent and wise vessel that sometimes has a few requests. By becoming more aware of its language and open to adjusting our behaviour towards it as a result, we cultivate a much friendlier and supportive relationship with ourselves.

Changing the inner narrative

Enjoy your activities whatever they may be and just begin to scan your inner space with them. If you're doing everything from a place of pushing, forcing, wanting and expecting, can you adjust your inner narrative towards encouraging, nurturing, listening and respecting? By doing that, you will already have dialled back to 75%.

By doing slightly less, you will provide for more long-term, sustained results.

Maybe you can see how this might apply in other areas of your life…?

Much love,

Claire