I would like to know what it means to you to live in your own True Form.
Optimal Living for me is living a balanced life. This means I’m getting enough sleep, eating healthy, getting exercise and spending quality time with my loved ones; while maintaining my responsibilities. I have several hobbies I enjoy and I notice if I don’t attend to these for a while, my soul starts to ache and I long to restore myself to my True Form. This balance I strive towards is on all levels including spiritual, emotional, mental and physical.
Often there is a quality with which I attend to my life that is Living in True Form. My focus is clear, I have a presence to me that is available, in the moment and flowing effortless through my life. At other times when I’m distracted I am not living optimally in my True Form.
I love the words True Form, as an athlete, and a belief based person I experience that when my body is aligned and working as it was designed to function, I experience an internal freedom from discomfort, I perform my daily tasks better and I interact more fluidly with the people I care most about.
Take running for example. Running is a sport that I did not enjoy in middle school or high school as I was focused on “keeping up with others.” I hated the pounding in my head, the heat in my cheeks, my sides cramped, I felt slow and less than other faster people, and I was not in my True Form. My focus was external and how I compared myself to others, and didn’t measure up in my mind. These comparisons are worthless for each individual finding his or her True Form. It’s different for everyone. Many years later after having my first child and being quite overweight I decided to take up running for weight-loss and
ease. I could push the toddler in a stroller and run at the same time. Three running steps followed by 10 -15 walking steps and three more running steps until I could teach myself to run. I signed up for a half marathon 6 months away as motivation to stay with my discomfort. I had decided I didn’t want to be heavy the rest of my adult life. Shortly after my race and the completion of breast-feeding, I had lost so much weight someone asked me if I had cancer. I was not in my True Form. Running didn’t hurt anymore, I’d learned a nice easy pace (very slow) but I was glad the weight was gone. The hormone changes and weight swings were not optimal. Fast Forward another 12 years. Running has become a new source of discomfort as I braced against pain in my knees and low back. This bracing against pain while trying to still run actually created more pain and discomfort. Faced with giving up running completely or finding a
solution I sought out one practitioner after another to help accurately diagnosis this pain. Again I needed a goal to keep me motivated. I signed up for a half-iron man triathlon. The most difficult part would be the 13 mile run. After seeing: two chiropractors, two podiatrist, 4 sets of custom shoe inserts, 12 weeks doing the wrong physical therapy exercises, two sets of x-rays, 3 massage practitioners, and 1 acupuncturist, I found yet another physical therapist who had an accurate diagnosis and better yet a solution. Rest. Rest
Rest. All that and I was told to do was rest three times a day. I was astounded. I was told my cure was to lay down to allow the spaces in between my vertebrae to elongate and hydrate–essentially take the weight off my feet (and those that know me know I rarely ever sit down, let alone lie down) and return my joints to their True Form. Ahhhhh Haaaaaa. There it is, when I am aligned in my true form there is no pain or discomfort. When I clear away the blocks to optimal functioning (in this case physically removing back pain) I experience a sense of freedom. I spent 3 hours with a private coach who video taped my running form, made several corrections, which I practice now each time I go out running. I follow my REST program which allows my spine to hydrate and function optimally, and I practice proper running form, and when I do all that I am free to run without pain or discomfort. I have found my True Form. Ture Form can always be improved upon as well. Now that I practice my running form and REST plan, I develop further skills to improve my running. I’m experimenting with different paces and speeding up a bit. The challenge of course is to maintain True Form.
What is your example of discovering your True Form? The above example was on the physical level, remember there’s emotional, relational, mental, spiritual and more.
Optimal Living for me is living a balanced life. This means I’m getting enough sleep, eating healthy, getting exercise and spending quality time with my loved ones; while maintaining my responsibilities. I have several hobbies I enjoy and I notice if I don’t attend to these for a while, my soul starts to ache and I long to restore myself to my True Form. This balance I strive towards is on all levels including spiritual, emotional, mental and physical.
Often there is a quality with which I attend to my life that is Living in True Form. My focus is clear, I have a presence to me that is available, in the moment and flowing effortless through my life. At other times when I’m distracted I am not living optimally in my True Form.
I love the words True Form, as an athlete, and a belief based person I experience that when my body is aligned and working as it was designed to function, I experience an internal freedom from discomfort, I perform my daily tasks better and I interact more fluidly with the people I care most about.
Take running for example. Running is a sport that I did not enjoy in middle school or high school as I was focused on “keeping up with others.” I hated the pounding in my head, the heat in my cheeks, my sides cramped, I felt slow and less than other faster people, and I was not in my True Form. My focus was external and how I compared myself to others, and didn’t measure up in my mind. These comparisons are worthless for each individual finding his or her True Form. It’s different for everyone. Many years later after having my first child and being quite overweight I decided to take up running for weight-loss and
ease. I could push the toddler in a stroller and run at the same time. Three running steps followed by 10 -15 walking steps and three more running steps until I could teach myself to run. I signed up for a half marathon 6 months away as motivation to stay with my discomfort. I had decided I didn’t want to be heavy the rest of my adult life. Shortly after my race and the completion of breast-feeding, I had lost so much weight someone asked me if I had cancer. I was not in my True Form. Running didn’t hurt anymore, I’d learned a nice easy pace (very slow) but I was glad the weight was gone. The hormone changes and weight swings were not optimal. Fast Forward another 12 years. Running has become a new source of discomfort as I braced against pain in my knees and low back. This bracing against pain while trying to still run actually created more pain and discomfort. Faced with giving up running completely or finding a
solution I sought out one practitioner after another to help accurately diagnosis this pain. Again I needed a goal to keep me motivated. I signed up for a half-iron man triathlon. The most difficult part would be the 13 mile run. After seeing: two chiropractors, two podiatrist, 4 sets of custom shoe inserts, 12 weeks doing the wrong physical therapy exercises, two sets of x-rays, 3 massage practitioners, and 1 acupuncturist, I found yet another physical therapist who had an accurate diagnosis and better yet a solution. Rest. Rest
Rest. All that and I was told to do was rest three times a day. I was astounded. I was told my cure was to lay down to allow the spaces in between my vertebrae to elongate and hydrate–essentially take the weight off my feet (and those that know me know I rarely ever sit down, let alone lie down) and return my joints to their True Form. Ahhhhh Haaaaaa. There it is, when I am aligned in my true form there is no pain or discomfort. When I clear away the blocks to optimal functioning (in this case physically removing back pain) I experience a sense of freedom. I spent 3 hours with a private coach who video taped my running form, made several corrections, which I practice now each time I go out running. I follow my REST program which allows my spine to hydrate and function optimally, and I practice proper running form, and when I do all that I am free to run without pain or discomfort. I have found my True Form. Ture Form can always be improved upon as well. Now that I practice my running form and REST plan, I develop further skills to improve my running. I’m experimenting with different paces and speeding up a bit. The challenge of course is to maintain True Form.
What is your example of discovering your True Form? The above example was on the physical level, remember there’s emotional, relational, mental, spiritual and more.
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