Thanks for the heads up! I have half a class left from last week to enjoy. Plus I feel some floor rolling is called for in weather like this :) Hope you’re all okay, catchya tomorrow morning (or whenever I manage to get out of bed early enough to catchya)

Great class to shake off the cobwebs of 2024 and get the spine excited about 2025! (And as always, great to just see your face!). Thanks, Emma!

I used to make New Year's Resolutions back in the ol’ days, and they always came from this gnarly place of punitive contempt for who I was with a very critical “get your sh*t together” tone. And I’d basically write detailed “resolutions” in every domain of life that basically took up all the hours one had in a day, so I’d be quite miserable whilst trying to be a robot and do said resolutions, and then I’d inevitably fail them and need to eat another dose of feeling defective. I’ve mellowed up heaps over the years, and now the idea of resolving to do something for a year seems a bit… bizarre. Perhaps that’s my commitment phobia showing, but I don’t even know who I’m gonna be in a month so pledging an oath to do a specific something for a whole year is quite ambitious. I like having little mini experiments for trying out a little something over a week or month to see how I go or how I feel, with no pressure to stick at it if it doesn’t stick. And that way you get 52 or 12 of them over the year rather than a big giant one! Way more fun. But… What I do really like doing around the turn of the year is reflecting. My default is to remember a lot of the sub-optimal events, and the “lessons learned” or “opportunities for improvement” (which is PC way of saying the ways I stuffed up). So it’s a great exercise to put some energy and focus in to the opposite positive things like: - what I did that improved my quality of life (e.g. Groundwork), - what I’m proud of (e.g. winning around of chaseys by climbing a tree :P), - what some of my most favourite moments were (e.g. travel shenanigans) - what I’m grateful for (e.g having a piano, and Neighbours who don't complain about me having a piano) - what gave me contedness or delight (e.g. Sherlock) - - And from that activity, I can tap in a bit to what my values are and potentially what some of the gaps are that are. Armed with that, I can look forward into the next year and make really loose conceptual “New Years Gentle Intentions” that are inspired by injecting more of the stuff that I saw added meaning / goodness – perhaps proactively reaching out to friends, or seeking more opportunities to get in to some trees, contemplating anywhere one would like to holiday to, maybe… maybe joining a choir eventually maybe (or just entertaining the idea of it). Etc etc. I guess the next step would be making it a “SMART Goal” and put measurable metrics on them. However, I have a propensity to procrastinate things as soon as they have a deadline and then they become a source of stress, so this year I’ll just let them marinate in the background of my conscience!

I'll be there! With a movement partner! (Although I did consider rocking up solo and taking notes and hoping no one would shame my introverted ways)

Me three. Perfect drop in. (I actually felt like the floor was embracing me towards the end and got emotional) (emotional in a good way)