Hello First name / there!
I’m loving working with our Eat Well members at the moment, some on-line, others on a one to one basis, and whilst they all have different goals: they’re enthusiasm and determination for change is infectious.
This week in the group two of our ladies, have signed up and tried two new sports classes - for both of them it was a first step at trying something new, something that piqued their interest, yet took courage to fulfil.
A friend of mine often talks about ‘putting her big girl pants on.’ It’s similar to ‘stepping out of your comfort zone’. However, ‘putting on my big girl pants’, sums up to me perfectly, that feeling of knowing: you’ve got to do it, you want to do it, but at the very same moment you want to run under the bed covers and never come out.
Well that’s what’s been happening this week at Eat Well and both ladies loved their classes and have signed up to return next week. For me, it was getting back into the cold water. I’ve not been in since October time, and I’ve fallen out of the habit… its so easily done.
Yet how could I advocate cold water swimming and our wild winter workshop without getting back in? An added motivation was I wanted some photos to share on the blog, so you could see exactly what we’ll be doing. After a gentle reminder text ‘Have you got those photos yet!!!!?’ from Sophie, I delayed no longer and I donned the swim cozzie and my bobble hat and demanded my husband take some photos as quickly as possible!
We were faffing around finding the perfect spot, for a before shot, when I realised he wasn’t wearing his glasses and just holding the phone in roughly the right direction. He is not a natural photographer.
‘They’re for the blog, make sure they’re as flattering as possible.’
‘I better get my glasses then.’
A gentle January drizzle began.
He returns, ‘Well smile then’
‘I am.’ gritted teeth.
I get into the water, he takes a few shots. I jump out and look at the photos. (I’ll be honest looking at photos of myself is always a shock, because in my head i am 20 and well in reality I am 50!) On a grey January day, just after Christmas, I feel myself wince.
‘You’ll have to do better than that, I can’t post those!’
He’s bored by now, I can see I’m losing his attention.
‘Well get back in then.’
And this time it wasn’t so bad, my impatience had eradicated the dread and I realised the water welcomed me in, I swam just a little and actually I felt myself relax, I smiled, this was good. I swam back to the side, climbed out and looked once more.
Aah that one is okay, I said dripping over my phone, I still looked 50 but the cold had already worked its magic, I was feeling the ‘Zing!’ Fear shouldn’t hold us back from when we really want to do something and getting into the cold water has helped me understand this.
As uncomfortable as it is for those initial first seconds, I breathe and I begin to relax, I focus on the water and my body adapts. The cold doesn’t disappear, but I definitely find more calm, a peace. I’ve conquered my fear, I don’t have to stay in for any length of time, but I know those few seconds will mean when I get out and dried off, a whole new feeling takes hold.
My skin feels alive from the inside to the surface, it ‘zings,’ I feel lighter too and a bounce in my step. It’s such a great feeling and difficult to quantify. The next time I still dread going in, but it’s a little more addictive this time, because now I want the ‘zing’ back! Challenging ourselves should be an active and constant part of our lives; we’re not in competition with anyone else, but wanting to learn more, experience more, it means our world can open up to so many unknown possibilities and that’s the most ‘zing’ imaginable!
