hey babes,
it’s hot - YES!!! i love a warm dry, sunny day so very much. i hope you’re able to put on some booty shorts, drink all the iced coffee, and enjoy it 😎
focus, the law of attraction, and abs
to get pretty real: my belly has always been my (literal) soft spot. we all have somewhere we feel vulnerable about or have something about us we feel we can’t control, and that’s always been mine. i’ve never been overweight, not even chubby, but i’ve never had a particularly chiseled midsection either - until now (a work in progress :) i can remember being kindergarten age and sucking in my little kid belly to appear thinner, a habit reinforced by years of ballet training and not the highest self-esteem. i was told over and over to pull in, brace, or scoop my abs in to get a stronger core, look better, be a prima ballerina/bikini model and achieve nirvana. and i also cue pulling in at the belly when i teach, don’t get me wrong - but more on that later.
the thing is, for me, all that clenching and gripping and trying so hard didn’t change my abs, not really. sure, i made some major improvements when i started teaching full time and studying pilates, but i was still always a little sensitive about wearing crop tops and thought no one would think i knew what i was talking about if they saw my decent-but-not-amazing stomach.
it wasn’t until i got pregnant that my abs really started to change. aside from the obvious differences, i found i was feeling my abs engage more fully, more deeply in my workouts, even as i got bigger and bigger. my low belly (that holy grail) especially was “turning on” like never before, almost without me even trying. i wouldn’t be able to see the changes for quite some time, but i knew i felt a powerful difference, and sure enough, now that i’m 10 months post-partum, my abs have never been so strong or looked so flat.
i chalk it up to the shift in my perspective in and outside the studio. since my abs weren’t going to get any flatter while pregnant, duh, i could let go of that goal and just focus on working where i was that day. between that and setting up my alignment properly, i was able to make the real changes. once i shifted my focus from flat abs to just being where i was, i was able to really change. no overtrying, no gripping or clenching, no expectations or perfectionism. just bring really present and connected.
i wanted to share because it seems to me that all the law of attraction/pop psychology/ internet advice is actually pretty right on. to make change, we must first be present and love ourselves, accept our bodies, honor where we are that day and focus on the journey (the workout) rather than the destination (perfection, abs, losing 10 pounds, etc.)
Take care babes, keep pulsing, and I’ll see you at the barre/on the mat/in the studio!
With love,
Annie
