The importance of a fluid practice

CW: Menstruation

In today’s quick read I’m sharing a story from another awesome client.

We’ve been working together almost a year and they have been super-dedicated to developing their personal practice. During this time they have  made some amazing improvements in their strength and flexibility, reflected not only in their dance but in other activities they love to do, like walking the dogs.

Recently, they’ve had some long term studies coming to a climax, requiring some increased study time to get things completed.

They said to me that if they carried on with the movement practice as it was they were going to prioritise the movement and the studies wouldn’t get done!

In one respect this was music to my ears, as so many people tend to put other things before doing the movement nourishment our body needs. My client said that in the past, before she started working with me on her regular practice, she would have done exactly that - the studies would have come first and the movement would have gone out of the window!

However, that’s not really what we want, ideally our practice should be fluid and adaptable - life happens and so many different things can come up. We don’t want to have to sacrifice our practice because of them but at the same time we want to allow space for our other commitments, or even for spontaneity - after all, after two years of uncertainty and lockdowns  we deserve some fun! 

And for those of us who menstruate, we may want to consider the ebb and flow of our monthly cycle - although we may want to show up regularly for our practice, what this looks like each time may vary according to where our hormones are at!

In my client’s case it was easy to adapt the programme for a few weeks into more of a maintenance practice - and now the studies are over they are  ready for a more intense focus again.

One of my fave tips for short term interruptions is to have a favourite short video or two to hand - saved somewhere obvious on your computer or phone - so you can get to it quickly and have a no-brainer movement practice when life gets in the way of your longer session.

In my own personal experience I’ve had periods where work has been busy and I know I’m only going to have 20-30 mins per day to get in both my strength and dance practice. What I do is create a quick playlist with one song for each task. For example - a relaxing song to gently warm-up the spine and lubricate the joints, something a bit more lively for some strength and conditioning, a song for some isolation practice and one for shimmies, plus my latest performance track (that could vary according to what you are working on) and finally one more relaxing track to cool down. That’s 6 pieces of music - just 20-30 mins depending on the track length, and you have a well-rounded, focussed brief practice!

I would love to hear from you!
How fluid is your practice?
Have you made some changes recently to fit with life events?
Do you have some flexibility to allow for monthly changes?
Or perhaps you are focusing on some movement goals and your practice is coming top priority over other things?

I would love to know! Scroll down and Drop me a line in the comments!

PS… Happy Hips Toolbox is back… starting 4th April! Watch this space or let me know in the comments if you are interested!