What is Mind/Body Drama?
It’s when you plan to go running in the morning, and your alarm goes off and the first thought you think is “Oooooh! I can’t Dooooo itttt, I’m tooo tiiiiirrrrrrrred!” (Yes, I believe we even whine in our heads).
It’s when you plan to go to a class, and your friend (who you see all the time) calls and asks if you want to go get chicken wings. You decide to go eat the mounds of food and ditch the class, and you think “I’ll just go next week”.
It’s when you’ve actually made it to the class, and instead of paying attention to what exercises you are doing and focusing on getting stronger, you are looking at yourself in the mirror thinking “Oh My God, I’m so FAT!”
All of the above = Mind/Body Drama! Ever been there?
Let’s just stick with these examples:
A-The “Oooooh! I can’t Dooooo itttt, I’m tooo tiiiiirrrrrrrred!” scenario. First of all, many of us do this. The trick is to see past your crap. You are literally telling yourself crap. Think one step at a time. You can really break this down into baby steps. Here’s what I do:
1st- I keep my eyes open and stare at the ceiling (maybe as long as 5 minutes if it’s a really rough day)
2nd- I sit up and stare at the wall (hey, I have made progress here!)
3rd- Stand up
4th- Walk to the bathroom
5th- Brush my teeth
And then I’m usually past the point of allowing myself to bail. Clearly, this even gets dramatic for me! I have worked my way around my baggage. Yesterday, I planned to go to Omar Sandoval’s “Impact” class (kicking and punching on the bags- good stuff!) and my mind was telling me all this crap- you know- the I’m too tired nonsense. I let it keep going as I went through all of the above steps. It was even still telling me that I was too tired while I was walking to the gym, and STILL going when I walked into the class!! Then I bounced around for an hour and had all this energy. So go figure. I’m not saying that there aren’t times when you actually need to rest, I’m just saying to look a little deeper into your mind to see what the truth is. Practice!
B-You ditch the class you were planning on going to because something ‘more important’ distracted you. Usually, if you let something distract you once, you will allow it again. The ‘giving into distractions’ becomes the habit vs the ‘going to the class’. Do what you can to make the exercise the habit, and then allow for a little give here and there. In this specific circumstance- invite your friend to go to the class with you. It’s a win/win!
C- The “Oh My God, I’m So FAT!” scenario. Ok, so you made it to the class. Congratulations!! Now you are staring at yourself in the mirror and judging yourself. Is that really going to help? Remember, what you focus on expands. So if you are focusing on how terrible you look, how can you begin to look better? I’ll be the first to admit that I think we all judge ourselves pretty harshly, BUT you can adjust your thinking! So when your mind goes there- hit your CANCEL button, and begin to focus on the exercises you are doing, the muscles you are working, the fact that if you can get your head out of the way you ARE getting STRONGER!! Your body doesn’t have a choice- you’ve put it on this path, it’s getting stronger! So focus on that, and that’s what will expand. You will feel better. Guaranteed. You may have to hit that cancel button in your mind several times in an hour when you first start this, but just like with anything- the practice will make a huge difference.
Let me know how it goes!!
Your Wellness Coach,
Miranda Zukowski