The Importance Of Showing Up To The Mat

Why its so easy to give up, and why its so important to carry on!

Hey guys, this blog is going to hit some home truths but its SO importat that you read, and take on board what i'm saying... because you know its true!

So, you've looked into being more mindful, you hear it somewhere on the news, read a 'Daily Mail' article or maybe even a friend has been talking about it for so long you're finally convinced!

What do we do next..? We follow a Youtube video, maybe buy a new gym outfit or even a yoga mat, possibly look up a local class.. we take the plunge and we turn up for a taster or a free class!

And you love it.. you feel like youve taken the deepest breath in years! You find that niggeling pain has finally eased for the evening, and you find you've actually really enjoyed yourself! So you plan to go the following week... and maybe you do.. but, things start to get stressfull at home, or work. Washing gets on top of you or you find you stay up a bit late the night beore making work seem extra stressfull.. so instead to going to a wellness class, we hve a quick and easy dinner, and watch an extra hour of Netflix.

And I don't blame you! There are plenty of nights where I have a frozen dinner or miss my bedtime or dont take off my makeup properly beacuse the world seemed a little heavier that day... and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that! The Problem is what we are doing, is not giving our mind and body the desperate reset its begging for you to give it! The days when its the hardest to turn up to the mat are more often than not the days we need it the most.

In this societal world, we crave quick easy fixes, that hit our quick feel good hormones, and make us feel better in five minutes rather than 50 minutes. Let me go a little into the science that happeing within the mind.

Our body runs of chemicals and hormones, all with varying jobs to keep us at the right temperment at the right times. Humans are cyclical beings, meaning we run on a cycle. Whether that be a 24 hour cycle (majoritivly Males) or a 28+ day cycle (most females), we are not the same hormonally hour to hour, or day to day, so when we keep an identical routine day in and day out, our body reacts differently depending where we our in this hormonal cycle; repeating the same daily pattern will not generate the same daily results. Therefore, our chemicals spike and dip diffferently, depending on the situation and our cycle. what might not seem stressful one week may be incredibly daunting the following or previous week. These hormonal spikes include our cortisol, and our adreneline which increase your stress levels.

So when our stress levels rise, and our SYMPATHETIC nervous system kicks in (our fight or flight response) we look for an instant fix or relief, often being, a dopamine chasing activity. This can include high sugar or fatty foods, alcohol, a quick gym trip, spending sprees,  doom scrolling and binge watching TV. We get a quick hit of feel good and instantly feel better. However, this feeling fades quickly and we  look for the hit again and again. What we're doing here is not taking ourselves out of the sympathetic nervous system but just disguising it. We dissociate from the reality of the stress we are facing instead of centering ourselves and bringing ourselves into a state of a regulated nervous system, and evetually, after repeating this pattern a few times, we remember why we researched yoga or wellness classes in the first place.

Now this is what happens when you show up to the mat instead-

We take a breath, instantly we send a signal to the brain that we are SAFE. Our fight or slight system tells us to hold our breath and be aware of danger ahead, so a simple deep breath breaks that connection and tells your brain that you are safe and we can enter our PARASYMPATHETIC nervous system. This is the rest and digest, where we notice that our heartrate decreases, reducing the blood pressure, our digestive system begins to increase in activity- allowing us to digest our ood properly and absorb the nutrients (did you know, your brain and gut are so connectd, 90% of our serotonin (the feel good chemical) is made your gut!), our vegus nerve is activated, sending signals from the brain to the abdomin to all our vital organs and our immune system kicks in with inflamation reducing. All this from a simple breath!? Imagine how much better you'd feel including some basic body movements connecting the breath to the body?

This is why continuing to show up to the mat consistantly stregnthens these pathways and allows you to reach a deepened sense of zen more easily. We continually let ourselves down by breaking promises to ourselves, letting self care and self love fall to the wayside, generally when we need a little extra!

So, treat yourself. make a vow, maybe aswell as buying yourself a little chocolate treat or planning a take away instead of cooking, ALSO show up to your mat, take a deep breath, and spend just an hour a week, instead of scrollig, looking after yourself in the most deepest way possible. You know its whats best for you, and our of 168 hours a week, I promise you can find time for a little self care, you deserve it.