BASS PRO MIDWEEK MOTIVATION - Lessons from a headstand

Hello runner friends!

Welcome back to the Bass Pro Fitness Series

MIDWEEK M😊TIVATI😊N blog!

Now let's get started by talking about an activity that many of the runners I know practice regularly... yoga, which is a disciplined set of motions that includes breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific body postures for overall health and relaxation. And while I have done yoga on many occasions, I can tell you that attempting some of these poses is neither healthy or relaxing at all for a newbie such as myself because I can't seem to find balance or do the moves with precision. In fact, for the person watching, my attempt to do yoga is most likely a cheap form of entertainment and the subject of a few jokes. 

With that being said though, I'm always in awe of people who can nail those amazing poses and make them look effortless—the very thing that drew me to examine a recent post by my running friend, Randy (whose poses I have admired for quite some time), who decided to take his friends and followers behind the scenes of what goes into a snapshot of  “the perfect pose” and the things we can all learn from it... things that, I feel, will provide the extra motivation many you might be needing right now. 

So here we go, in Randy's words using Randy's selfies... 

Six lessons from an evening headstand practice... 1) falling is inevitable, getting back up is optional... 2) how would you know what to improve on if everything came easy... 3) those happy ending, goal accomplishing, everyone's smiling pics on social media, generally have hours of hard work, sweat and failure behind them... 4) practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes progress... 5) "I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)... and 6) sometimes you can be the best yogi in the park even when you're falling

And this is where it gets good... let’s dive into each lesson.

Lesson 1. Falling is inevitable, getting back up is optional. Oh how true this is. No matter how good you might be running now, there is always something that will knock you off of that cloud you're on. That "something" could be anything from an injury to burnout or even to changing responsibilities or a family emergency. But the point is this... you and I cannot control most of the things that make us fall but we can control the way that we react to those things. And, most importantly, whether we allow those things to keep us down. Yoga is all about being flexible which is another lesson we can take away from it. When met with opposition, resolve to be able to bend without breaking. When your circumstances abruptly change or get altered, make the choice to modify and respond to them in a way that will allow you to keep pressing on and working toward your goals.

Lesson 2. You wouldn't know what to improve on if everything came easy. Oh man, is this true or what? Difficulties show us areas in our lives that need improvement. After all, you wouldn't be able to run a marathon without the lessons you learned during training. Think about it... you learn to pace yourself by going out too fast and then dying halfway through a run, you learn how to properly hydrate and eat by bonking midway, you learn what causes blisters by wearing the wrong socks. Do you see where I'm going with this? These are all things you need to know to run a marathon but would never learn if the training was easy. So view your difficulties as stepping stones and embrace them.

Lesson 3. Those happy ending, goal accomplishing, everyone's smiling pics on social media, generally have hours of hard work, sweat and failure behind them. This one actually made me laugh. Just getting the right running selfie on a training run can burn precious minutes. Think about that person crossing the finish line of the Dogwood Canyon trail run or the Bass Pro Marathon or Half Marathon. Behind that smile are countless hours of training, chafing, blisters, fatigue and self-doubt. Those after-race photos they later post having coffee and laughing with friends doesn't tell the story of the hard work, sweat, and failure behind them. And they certainly don't show the pain that runner might be experiencing just trying to walk or maneuver a small curb or a flight of stairs. They might make it look easy but you can be sure it's not--so don't compare your journey to theirs. It will just steal your joy.

Lesson 4. Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes progress. Okay, so by definition perfect means to make something (in this case yourself) completely free from faults or defects, or as close to such a condition as possible. Not only is this impossible but it would make the world a boring place! We are who we are because of our faults and imperfections; faults and imperfections that can be improved on but never made perfect. So rather than striving for perfection and then throwing up your hands in the air when you finally realize that you will never reach that mark, why not say to yourself, "Today I will strive to be better than I was yesterday. I will improve on_________ (fill in the blank) and then tomorrow I will strive to be even better still." Get where I'm going here? 

Lesson 5. "I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13). So this I absolutely love. Find where your strength comes from and tap into it. Don't rely on your own willpower or determination to get you through those hard days of training, lean on God. Not a believer? Find a friend or family member who will lift you up and encourage you when you're feeling weak and worn-out. Don't try to do those headstands alone!

Lesson 6. Sometimes you can be the best yogi in the park even when you're falling. At the 2016 Olympics, one of the most amazing pictures of sportsmanship was caught live. The moment earned Abby D'Agostino and Nikki Hamblin the headline,"Runners who helped each other after dramatic fall hailed as symbols of Olympic spirit." Abby was involved in a chain-reaction tumble on the track at Olympic Stadium with New Zealand’s Nikki Hamblin. Instead of scrambling up to keep running though, D’Agostino went to Hamblin, helped her up and urged the New Zealander to keep running. Later, Hamblin did the same for D’Agostino as she, also injured, struggled to finish the race. They were winners in the midst of their falling because they did the right thing!! And you know something? Five years later, you can be sure that the world has forgotten the winner of that race but the world will never forget the acts of kindness those girls displayed. Never! That's what truly makes us the best that we can be.

So there you have it friends. Who knew you could learn so much from a yoga headstand and a humble runner who isn't too proud to tell it like it is? Six lessons from a simple move that I hope inspired you in some way to be a better runner all around. Now get out there and get in those training miles with a smile on your face so you can post those selfies. 

Happy Running!!!