Core Strength

In a recent conversation with a friend, we discussed how he was at the limit of being able to add more weight to his workouts.

I advised him rather than increasing the weight, he could try decreasing his stability allowing him to use less weight for more benefit. He didn’t seem to understand the principle behind this progression, stating that this would “only improve his core”, rather than the muscle group he was trying to work on, as though core strength was unimportant.

I pointed out that the easiest way to decrease stability was to do the exercise standing on one leg, that his legs contained the largest muscle groups in the body and were undoubtedly taking on some of the work, particularly if he was doing an upper body exercise.

With a weighted push or pull, being unable to rely on the strength of the lower body forces the upper body muscle groups, either the chest or the back, to work harder with less weight to achieve the result.

Improving you core strength is also the best way to prevent back pain, particularly if you are sedentary or seated for much of the day.

That’s the technical talk, but this conversation also got me thinking about how training and strength extend beyond the physical body and our muscles.

Being strong inside and out means working and training consistently, whether we want to or not, whether we “feel like it” or not, and it teaches us more about ourselves and how we handle the difficult things in life.

Having the discipline of training our physical body also impacts our mental and emotional ability to cope when life throws the harder, weightier stuff at us.

Life throws instability, often in the form of our relationships which force us to grow, develop and change in ways we hadn’t anticipated or would necessarily have chosen for ourselves.

Working out how to navigate the instability gives us skills and resources we may not have realised we possess and deep in our core, we grow stronger and more able to deal with the inevitable challenges of life.

Imagine A Woman In Love With Herself

The past few weeks I have been posting stanzas to my Facebook page, from the gorgeous poem "Imagine a Woman in Love with Herself", by Patricia Lynn Reilly, encouraging women to celebrate and embrace our wisdom and wholeness.

Women and men alike have responded enthusiastically to the poem, as different stanzas resonated, at various times, relevant to life situations and experiences.

Here it is in it's entirety...


"Imagine a woman who believes it is right and good she is woman.
A woman who honors her experience and tells her stories.
Who refuses to carry the sins of others within her body and life.

Imagine a woman who has acknowledged the past's influence.
A woman who has walked through her past.
Who has healed into the present.

Imagine a woman in love with her own body.
A woman who believes her body is enough just as it is.
Who celebrates her body's rhythms and cycles as an exquisite resource.

Imagine a woman who embraces her sexuality as her own.
A woman who delights in pleasuring herself.
Who experiences her erotic sensations without shame or guilt.

Imagine a woman who honors the body of the Goddess in her changing body.
A woman who celebrated the accumulation of her years and her wisdom.
Who refuses to use her precious life-energy disguising the changes in her body and life.

Imagine a woman who has access to the full range of human emotion.
A woman who expresses her feelings clearly and directly.
Who allows them to pass through her as gracefully as a breath.

Imagine a woman who tells the truth.
A woman who trusts her experience of the world and expresses it.
Who refuses to defer to the thoughts, perceptions, and responses of others.

Imagine a woman who follows her creative impulses.
A woman who produces original creations.
Who refuses to color inside someone elses lines.

Imagine a woman who names her own gods.
A woman who imagines the divine in her own image and likeness.
Who designs a personal spirituality to inform her daily life.

Imagine a woman who refuses to surrender to gods, gurus, and higher powers.
A woman who has descended into her own inner life.
Who asserts her will in harmony with its impulses and instincts.

Imagine a woman who is interested in her own life.
A woman who embraces her life as teacher, healer, and challenge.
Who is grateful for the ordinary moments of beauty  and grace.

Imagine a woman who authors her own life.
A woman who trusts her inner sense of what is right for her.
Who refuses to twist her life out of shape to meet the expectations of others.

Imagine a woman who participates in her own life.
A woman who meets each challenge with creativity.
Who takes action on her own behalf with clarity and strength.

Imagine a woman who has crafted a fully formed solitude.
A woman who is available to herself.
Who chooses friends and lovers with the capacity to respect her solitude.

Imagine a woman who refuses to diminish her life so others will feel better.
A woman who brings the fullness of her years, experience and wisdom into each relationship.
Who expects others to be challenged and blessed by her presence in their lives.

Imagine a woman who assumes equality in her relationships.
A woman who no longer believes she is inferior to men and in need of their salvation.
Who has taken her rightful place beside them in the human community.

Imagine a woman who refuses to use her precious life-energy managing crisis and conflict.
A woman whose relationships deepen in satisfaction and contentment without depleting her.
Who chooses friends and lovers with the necessary skills to navigate through the challenges of life.

Imagine a woman who values the women in her life.
A woman who sits in circles of women.
Who is reminded of the truth about herself when she forgets.

Imagine a woman who has relinquished the desire for intellectual safety and approval.
A woman who makes a powerful statement with every word she speaks, every action she takes.
Who asserts to herself the right to reorder the world.

Imagine a woman whohas grown in knowledge and love of herself.
A woman who has vowed faithfulness to her own life and capacities.
Who remains loyal to herself. Regardless.

Imagine yourself as this woman."