‘We need to bring you back into balance”

In well-being circles, we always hear ‘we need to bring you back into balance’. But what if you’re already in balance cos you’re alive (and if you weren’t in balance you wouldn’t be alive?). You’re body always strives for homeostasis, so balance is its jam! It’s how our bodies grow, heal and live, man ✌️. As an exercise and nutrition coach, balance then is my jam too, inside and out.

If you’ve followed me a while, you’ll know I had a tennis ball sized tumor removed from my brain, notably my cerebellum which is the part of our brain responsible for balance. But I learned to walk again, in fact ran a marathon a year to the day to celebrate (qualifying for Boston too!) and then another two for good measure. But I have residual ‘balance’ issues. No wonder really when you take a big chunk out of something, it’s always gonna change it. I have also lost sight in one eye cos of weird ‘high tide’ mark on the back of my eye from the tumour’s pressure. It changes stuff!

So I was told I had ‘lost’ my balance. Diagnosis complete and that’s it for life. But I was alive, I had this second chance! I just feel this new me had to work a bit harder. And it cost more energy!

I like this view cos ‘balance’ becomes something you can work with: how much energy do you need to keep where you’re at, can you see any info that’s missing, what about a little bit extra to see you a teensy bit better than last time? I haven’t ‘lost’ my balance; I am a balance machine and I’m full of potential!

I love this saying: “You can’t control the wind but you can adjust your sails.” It makes a lot of sense, right? Life changes and change with it and all that. Well, that’s not really what it means to me. It means, it’s not what happens to you but how you react to make a better choice!

You too are not broken. You too are full of potential. And that starts with your choices and your perspective that follows.