The yoga mat story and “saved spots”

Hey there!

 

I hope you had a great weekend!

 

On Saturday, we went to a local play where the kids put on a show, “The Lion King”! It was so cute and our neighbor and friend, who is in 6th grade, did a great job in her part – it was so fun to watch her!

 

As a kid, I was soooo shy…I could never have done what she did (even now, I doubt I could act with a straight face!).

 

Have you ever felt like you couldn’t do something, or maybe you didn’t fit in?

 

I sure have!

 

One of my clients told me a story about how she didn’t feel like she fit in (I’ll share one about myself another time!).

 

Many of my clients have been to other workout places over the course of their adult life.

 

This particular client had a free trial to a local place, and she was ready to get started.

 

It sounded like she was pretty excited to begin taking care of herself again. You know, after years of putting everyone else in her family first, she was feeling kind of crappy about how she looked and how she felt.

 

She was nervous about her first day at this local workout place.

 

Nervous that she wouldn’t fit in.

 

Nervous that she would look stupid.

 

Nervous that she wouldn’t be able to keep up.

 

So getting to this studio was a big deal. After all, the first step is the hardest, right?

 

Well, she showed up.

 

She was proud of herself for that.

 

She was excited and ready to meet some new women.

 

She goes in, throws her mat down on the floor – no particular place and then it happened….

 

The lady next her says “Um, I’m sorry….that spot is saved for my friend.”

 

What? Saving spots at the gym?

 

Is this kindergarten?

 

She knew right then and there…this place wasn’t for her.

 

Luckily for me, she didn’t throw in the towel and kept looking for the right place!

 

I know how I would have felt…excluded, not accepted, all my confidence in the pooper, and just completely intimidated if that happened to me.

 

I want you to know something:

1. There’s a place for you – be persistent about finding your tribe and community.
2. Other people you don’t even know – yeah, their opinions don’t matter. I have a qualifier: if a person is going to show up at my funeral and they would cry, they matter, and their opinions might matter!
3. You deserve support and to be made to feel included.
4. Your intuition, your gut about the people you are surrounding yourself with is probably spot on. I’ve been to gyms, conferences, etc. where I didn’t feel right and with good reason…those people and places weren’t for me, and it held me back.

 

If you’ve been taking care of everybody but yourself and you’re feeling kind of, well, not so great about yourself, and you’re worried that you might look stupid and can’t keep up with everyone else or that your fat will jiggle when you exercise, please contact me, and let’s talk. It’s time for you to put yourself on the list of things to take care of.  :)