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I have a really vivid memory from my childhood… I was maybe three years old, maybe four. I was laying down on the floor, my head on a pillow, in the living room, watching TV. I had a glass of grape juice next to me in a Disney glass. I would get up and drink my juice and then lay back down. I vividly remember having the thought, “what would happen if I didn’t sit up to drink my juice?” because I didn’t want to have to keep sitting up and laying back down - it would be much easier if I could just stay laying down and drink the juice.
I grabbed the glass, stayed down, and then… grape juice all over my face and chest… and all over the white carpet. That’s how I first learned what gravity was. My mom, on the other hand, was not thrilled with my discovery.
Why do I bring up this memory? Great question. When was the last time you looked at something in wonderment? When was the last time you questioned something and experimented to find the answer?
In numerology, 2021 has the energy of the number 5 (2+2+1) which represents transformation. If you’ve been seeing 5’s everywhere or happen to look at your phone at 5:55 a lot more, it’s like the universe’s way of saying “it’s time” or “it’s coming.” Transformation.
One way that we can embrace the transformation and step outside of our comfort zone to welcome the growth that comes with transformation is committing to learning something new. I have been intrigued by qi gong and the subtle energetic movements of the practice. As an athlete, I am used to the aggressive, powerful, fast movements. Even with the yoga I teach and practice, vinyasa can tend to lean into the power, the aggressive, the speed. In tai chi or qi gong, it has forced me to slow down - something that I am continuously learning how to do in life.
People have called my mom the energizer bunny because she doesn’t stop. My dad would leave the house around 4:00am and come back around 7:00pm when I was in elementary school so that he could retire early. When I played basketball, I was usually the fastest. In track, my coach tried to make me a long and middle distance runner, but he quickly learned that I wasn’t having that. Hard work, long hours, speed are things that are not unfamiliar to myself or my family. Slowing down is something that my mom and I both struggle with and these last few weeks have been a test to that. My body has tried to make it difficult for me to do much outside of get out of bed, if that. My energy is low and while I look outside and see sunshine and say “it’ll be helpful for me to be out in nature! I should get some vitamin D! I should bath in the oxygen of the forest!” My energy is literally saying, “you don’t have to. You literally just need to drink water and lay in bed.”
I have worried that I won’t meet my goals if I don’t write right now. I have worried that if I don’t get the vitamin D from greeting the sun then I’ll get sick. The worry. The fear… it comes from the speed, the aggression, the masculine energy that I’ve been accustomed to, especially working in business and in sports.
So as I learn to slow down, I will also learn qi gong. I’ll be signing up for a qi gong course so that I embody vitality through slowing down in life rather constantly feeling like I need to push forward. Another lesson I’ve been learning - that I am enough in simply being me. I don’t need to keep pushing forward - I can be right here and that is enough. I can be who I am and that is enough. Slow down and enjoy this human experience without worrying whether or not I’m fulfilling my purpose or manifesting or achieving. Slow down. Be present. And enjoy this moment. Enjoy this life.. And that alone, is being in purpose.
What will you commit to learning this year?