2 months. In fast forward. September saw us immersed in Zimbabwe and October, in the editing suite!
Read moreLife is messy.
In all its glory, life is messy.
We try to keep it neat, constrained and planned in pursuit of my least favourite word, perfection. This is not only exhausting but terribly futile and actually contributes to some of the "mess"...a reed that stays rigid in the wind will break into pieces.
Holding onto our plans and ideas of perfection creates hardship and disappointment. It’s tantamount to beating ourselves up because the razor sharp truth is that nothing works out exactly how you thought it would. Life happens, with or without you.
Pema Chödrön speaks about how, in the ocean of life, we desperately try to hold on to land instead of riding the waves. My own workings of this has been to focus on my vehicle of transportation, my raft/surfboard/boat/ME. I do my utmost to collect the facets of my life that I need to make my vessel (me) functionally strong - movement, love, passion, nourishment, personal clarity, my noise-canceling headphones, to name a few. These are things I can “control"...Eek, we need to lose this word too! How about manage? These are the things I have the ability to manage in my life, things I can carry onto my life boat, me.
To simplify, the rest is either land or the ocean - other people/circumstances/environments. And then there is weather, creating change, upheaval, possibility, healing, growth, cold, warmth.
Perfection is an illusion. We get an inkling of it every now and then, thinking we can keep it, that we must keep it. We can not. That's where we go wrong, forcing the good to be our only way, trying to "connect the dots looking forward" without allowing them/life to play out. Good and bad are both a part of the same party! Just as we put on boots, jackets & scarves, we truly need to layer to traverse ”going with the flow" or "weather a storm". Our weatherproofing muscles can meet the constant flux without constant erosion.
My practical suggestion is to always have a few external plans and the stability within your vessel to accept that none of them may pan out.
What makes you physically, mentally, spiritually, professionally, personally, emotionally stable? Pick six things your life boat needs to manage the ride.
Life is messy.
Move through the experience by keeping the physical manifestation of you, your body, happy.
And trust...
"... that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."
Steve Jobs
Package Deals
As soon as we accept the fact that nothing stays the same, we can understand that there is no way or need to control our customers.
Read moreHow to OWN your business
...rather than allow your business to own YOU.
Read moreSTRONG is my new SKINNY
Women ask “How does the real food/primal/paleo/LCHF/Cereal Killing way affect women?”
Read moreKeeping, Fielding, Bowling, Batting, Ballet?
Watching international sport stars, I can't help but ponder their daily routines, their mental strength and movement mechanics. The Australian Cricket Team sports physician, Peter Brukner is one of my new heroes. Number 1, he's just lovely. Number 2, he has wonderful people skills. And number 3, an awe inspiring wealth of experience in Sports Medicine.
From the delight of the Members Reserve, I watched Australia play England at the infamous Melbourne Cricket Ground in a One Day International. Having grown up in the era of Alan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Jonty Rhodes, Gary Kirsten & Jacques Kallis, it was a real treat for the avid cricket lover in me. Spending the whole day watching play offers reminders and therefore renewed respect for their movement! Also, I'm a fairly astute touchy feely people person...so when I've had a conversation with/spent time with someone, I get a sense of them and their bodies. So there I was analyzing each player I had chatted to at some point...seeing their biographies in their biologies.
Wicket keepers...that intense concentration, focus and hip flexion!! I want to get those hips on the reformer - mobilise in all planes, offer release and ease for the joints to allow for that constant squat. Spinal extension to open up the hips, shoulders and free up the head on the neck. Offer a zone of "nothingness" for the brain, to stream the cortisol and adrenalin of concentration out of the system.
The fielders...something similar, but a little less constant, more periodically explosive and fun. They are agile, quick to react and standing for long periods. They need spinal movements in all planes, explosive leg and arm and abdominal exercises. A Pilates boot camp if you like. I watched one fielder remain quite static in between overs, walking forward and backwards and could see he was hyper mobile with the tendency to lock into his joints which is going to lead to aching, tired global muscles which should be used for the dynamic movements rather than simple standing stabilizing. Again, the reformer is going to do the trick there...building global strength but more importantly intrinsic control over the joints...revitalize the elastic springs that are our ligaments and tendons.
Fast bowlers...wow the end range they need from their flank is going to require some extra stretching, with reciprocal strengthening...finding the balance between the muscle pairs required for that movement.
Spin bowlers...adding strong dexterity exercises involving the hand, wrist, forearm, shoulder joints.
Batsmen...core power, strength, rotation kinetic chain, sprint speed & technique.
Over dinner I had a great chat to one of these sports heroes who had actually tried a very certain brand of Pilates before and just did not get much out of it. He said it felt restrictive, pointless and very much aimed at a dancer. UGH! WHY!!!??? Joseph Pilates did teach a great deal of dancers but his work originates in boxing, martial arts and yoga...it is not necessary for it to be taught like a ballet class! Unless it is being given to ballerinas!? There is so much value to the original philosophy.
Check out this clip from 0:40 - 3:00
The body has a natural ability to heal itself, we discover more about this every day. It therefore makes sense that an innate ability to stabilize and move is there to access, albeit with a touch of facilitation.
Pilates Teachers, let's truly consider the body and person in front of us. Use the method, according to their requirements and individual approach to their own bodies. It just makes sense. I'd love to hear how you have worked the method around your client rather than the client around the method!
P.S. As a participant in and the Cape Town host of Cereal Killers Movie, I have met some phenomenally progressive people! Book here to see the Aussie Cricket team in Cereal Killers Movie. Prime Movers have a head start in ticket sales!
Physical comfort zones & a New Year
Yip, the floor is there and risks are necessary. However, I'm questioning undesired physical risks for the sake of challenge and ego.
Read moreDon't Fear FAT!
In early 2012 this very studious Irishman came to me to learn everything he could about Pilates and ended up teaching me all I instinctively felt about FAT. I KNEW I LOVED it! I'm half dutch, a real cheesehead who had had a tumultuous love-hate relationship with FAT and STARCH.
Just a few simple Cereal Killer facts set me free...
Which led me to experiment on myself, healing a long history with inflammation and experiencing boundless energy and vitality.
Click below to watch my (very small) participation in a documentary, igniting my own philosophies and the development of the Prime Living Plan - an 8 week programme offering an accessible way to living, eating and being.
Yekra Player
Yekra is a revolutionary new distribution network for feature films.
The film follows Donal – a lean, fit, seemingly healthy 41 year old man – on a quest to hack his genes and drop dead healthy by avoiding the heart disease and diabetes that has afflicted his family.
Donal’s father Kevin, an Irish gaelic football star from the 1960s, won the first of 2 All Ireland Championships with the Down Senior Football Team in 1960 before the biggest crowd (94,000) ever seen at an Irish sporting event.
When Kevin suffered a heart attack later in life, family and friends were shocked. How does a lean, fit and seemingly healthy man – who has sailed through cardiac stress tests – suddenly fall victim to heart disease?
Can a controversial diet consisting of 70% fat provide the answers?
A dash of Gratitude
Thanksgiving for the ability to move
the understanding of movement
the joy of movement
the language of movement
life's vernacular.
For people of passion
knowledge with generosity
expansion
flow
in sync encounters.
For the appetitive of learning
logic
intrinsic spirit
nourishment
natural ability.
Find a platform of movement, knowledge and learning here.
Co-oper-what?
Coopetition or Co-opetition (sometimes spelled "coopertition" or "co-opertition") is the collaboration between business competitors, a neologism coined to describe cooperative competition. Coopetition is a portmanteau of cooperation and competition.
This word came up several times last week when catching up with old school friends, most of whom work for themselves or, coincidentally, in various NGOs. Was it something we ate at school? NOPE, we’ve all EXPLORED which leads to the steepest learnings.
Co-operative competition...doesn't it sound alluring, futuristic, expansive and downright interesting?
After a few seconds of rolling it around like a new toy, I realised it is simply (obviously) a newly coined word having evolved from an already existing state or action. I LOVE THAT! It's a word WE, our era, created. So many of us have unconsciously (or consciously) adopted coopetition as a successful business and life tool. Many have grown into collaboration and this is a straightforward extension of that profound way of operating.
The more I freely soak up and discover on this 2013 of transition and expansion, the more I credit to forefront free-thinking. Follow the movement I say!
Relevance? Something so simple and again, obvious...except for those of us touched by the previous era of control = safety.
Who “owns” the World Wide Web? Is it even up for “ownership”? And what would be the point of that?
Google, the conductor of a vast global orchestra of information, is the maestro of the paradigm shift towards coopetition upon which the internet has thrived. If that little box could talk it would say "Let me help you find exactly what it is you're looking for." There is no claim to ownership, just direction onwards, towards your specific destination.
Movement is taking a similar path. Traditionally, specific disciplines have claimed superiority and fought for the hearts and minds of their followers. “STOP HERE! This is what you're looking for." they said. Many still do. Formats, professional points and processes can be handcuffs to exploration, growth and understanding. But the era of information and empowerment is upon us.
WHO “owns” movement?
NOBODY!
Everyone owns it in their own bodies and minds. Who are we to judge each other? Movement should and must be about coopetition to produce excellence and progression. Each person is different, each movement method has something unique to offer. There are no blanket recipes to suit all….only the mindset of OPENNESS to guide us.
Very early in my Pilates career, I spent a few hours with a second generation Pilates Master in New York City - this is someone who was taught by a direct student of Joseph Pilates (this mover would be first generation). I just called her up and asked if I could meet her and observe her teaching. Her friendliness, hospitality and pure openness to green, little ol’ moi left a lasting impression on me and I still enjoy her work immensely.
Much later in my Pilates journey, I stepped into another studio in New York City and even though we spoke different Pilates languages at the time, I was welcomed with open arms and given the opportunity to learn their nuances. We still share class participation, business ideas and referrals.
Throughout my career in Southern Africa and the United Kingdom I have been surrounded with what could be seen as "competition". Instinctively I steered clear of anything that felt inauthentic and unconsciously collected peers and colleagues who speak the language of collaboration and within ourselves fostered healthy coopetition.
An old-shoe, true friend is choosing what is right for her Self right now - her FOURTH Comprehensive Pilates Education Provider...now that's a Passionista because she certainly doesn't "lack" any training! She's opening her mind, body and world.
A fellow (amazeballs) collaborator introduced me to a thinking business consultant in the United Kingdom who, when overloaded with clients and projects, refers new enquiries/clients to her main 'competitor'. Her broadmindedness declared things simply and absolutely about the work, which directly impacts on her integrity and therefore, reputation.
I collaborate with wellness & movement studios and every day we bring each other more exposure, traffic and FUN! Keeping our work alive and thriving, rather than merely surviving on what can be a very lonely path.
With open senses, I can see and feel this movement gaining more and more momentum every day. I awesomely applaud those already aboard (there are loads ahead) and encourage others to LOOK, FEEL and jump in…for your own benefit.
The world has already changed and is ever-changing...information is free and so very available. Facebook NEVER advertised. It was free and open from the get go and actively improves its offerings - again, for free! That would go against ALL business models of the past. The open source models now lead us forward and I’m making sure I learn from them and take it all on board.
We can find and feel the GOOGLE in Movement. It’s joyful, liberating and stimulating to be this way…on the edge of progress.
Short start…how to open oneself to collaboration and coopetition?
- Blow the roof off FEAR!
- Trust your gut, not your head. The body knows.
- Never stop questioning WHY? HOW? WHY?
- If it resonates with you, jump in and share, share, share. It will come back.
It is a revolution!