This Very Moment

“Every moment of our life can be the beginning of great things.”

Joseph Pilates

 

There are many famous Joseph Pilates quotes about the spine and its health, the effect of our physical fitness on our minds and spirits and the need to combat the damaging effects of modern life – and that was way before we all had a cell phone in our hands! He was a man ahead of his time when it came to exercise. Nowadays, we read or hear the phrase, ‘mind/body’ or ‘mindfulness’ almost daily from every kind of source as the effects of a sedentary and high stress lifestyles are widely known to cause negative physical and mental illness.

Do a little digging into the world of neuroscience and you’ll find oogles of information about neuroplasticity – the ability of the brain to form and reorganize synaptic connections, especially in response to learning or experience following injury. You can also follow @hubermanlab on Instagram or on YouTube where Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist and professor in the Department of Neurobiology at the Stanford School of Medicine, presents complex information in such an accessible and easy to understand way. Basically, he explains all the reasons we can feel optimistic about our potential at any point based on science.

While I haven’t required scientific research to validate the strong intuitive understanding I have of the brain body connection I experience easily when I’m in my comfort zone, I have found the science to be energizing and confidence supporting when I am stuggling OUTSIDE of my comfort zone. Learning a little about neuroscience has helped me to appreciate that these more challenging moments are where I can experience the most growth. While it is fairly easy for me to coordinate my body to new whole-body movement, learning to play the piano or work all the technology I need to navigate during this pandemic, for instance, is quite challenging to my system. It is here that I know I must breathe slowly and calmly and move through the process of discomfort without any sign of reward on the immediate horizon. Instead of growing frustrated at a lack of coordination in comparison to my comfort zone, I have begun to feel excitement that I am creating new and awesome pathways in my brain while I learn new things.

The pandemic has forced most of us to learn new ways of communicating, working, socializing, exercising…you name it, we’re doing it in a new way. Pilates’ quote is an awesome reminder to know that in each moment, in each decision, in each part of our journey whether it is an easy place or if it is one of our most difficult, that it can be the beginning of something great. In learning new skills of whatever kind, we are literally molding our brains. It is such a hopeful and wonderful thought that whatever choices we were making yesterday or this morning, we have the option of choosing a new one in this very moment, to transform, to redesign our very being. What would you like to try today?

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