Letting Go of Summer

The summer always seems to pass by so quickly. Somehow if it doesn’t start off with a splash (and I mean quite literally - a jump into a lake very early in the summer), or even if it does, it just never feels like we have enough time to indulge in the little joys and the slower pace.

Personally, I feel that I am constantly chasing the routine that summer can bring - the early morning reflection, the wandering, the late evening sunlight. 

As someone who fills up her schedule with private clients, teaching classes, creative meetings, and self development practices, I never feel like I’ve satiated my desire to un-schedule my days. 

Days when I don’t have any obligations. Days when I can wander over to the swimming pool and stay however long I desire. Days when I can go for long walks without worrying about being home in time for a meeting. 

But within this same craving, is also a craving for the routine. 

Routine brings ease.
Routine brings calm.
Routine brings groundedness.

And so as we approach the end of August and move into an energetic season of more hustle and bustle, I am preparing myself. Sorting through the things that bring me joy and the things that make me feel stressed. Claiming the most sacred parts of my day that feed me. Giving up the need to control what I can’t control. And inviting a more summer-y feeling into the fall season. Is this possible? 

The exercise for me, is to find the little ways we can shift our approach to our daily lives. Embracing what is working, and allowing it to catch hold in a meaningful way - even for a short while. The atomic habits. The micro routines. The spontaneous activities. Inviting all of these things into the fall season, as pieces of the summer that we can hang onto. 

Each summer when I am out at the cottage, it’s like a re-set for me. I find new meditations that replace the ones I used the previous season (or often the entire year), I rid myself of rituals that are no longer serving me. I change up my breakfast routine (I stopped having my morning smoothie for the first time in a year, for instance!), I change up my morning movement postures, I shake up the order I go about my journaling, my showering, my outdoor time. 

And now, I’m piecing it all back together, to put it into order. 

I’ll be teaching my Monday classes again, changing the name of Swing into Monday into Push Pull Hinge Squat and adding in a new class called the Art of the Turkish Get-Up. I’m looking for one of our Kettlebell Wellness coaches, and searching for a new StrongFirst kettlebell coach to teach my Deep 6 class (all of the kettlebell skills in an express routine) on Monday evenings. 

On Wednesdays I’ll be changing my Slow Flow Yoga class to a Posture Flow class, integrating the practice of Egoscue Postural Alignment with a focus on the flow of the breath as we move from standing to seated to reclining postures. And I’ll be adding in a new class called the Practice Room, where anyone of any level can join the Zoom room to practice kettlebell skills with the guidance of an experienced StrongFirst coach. 

On Fridays the class that I’ve named “TGU it’s Friday” will be changing to “Double the Bells” to more accurately reflect the double bell work that we do in this longer and very satisfying class (don’t worry, I always instruct to those in the Zoom room, and those of you who don’t have matching kettlebells - it’s still all-levels friendly). And the Recovery & Mobility class that I began not too many months ago will continue, with more clarity than when I first introduced it into the schedule. This class will carve out time for you to slow down and pay attention to how you are using your body, what has become tight, and what needs releasing with the help of a tune-up ball or something similar. 

And because I will no longer be teaching my Posture Reset class on Sundays, I will have more time to dream up new classes, new courses, and hire new instructors and coaches (including a Posture Alignment Therapist and Physiotherapist who I have been chatting with over the past few weeks), who will bring their own style of strength training to YOUR daily routine.

What do you need more of in your own life?

Is it more dedicated recovery time? Is it more skill-building to stimulate your neural pathways and break out of patterns you have gotten yourself into? Is it increasing the weight of your kettlebells so that you can lift heavier to build your bone density and your muscle tissue? Is it all of the above? 

As we all prepare for the September to December season, I’d love to invite you to explore the Kettlebell Wellness Seasonal Pass. Four months to dive into kettlebell strength training, postural alignment, movement and meditation, the art of kettlebell training and the all-encompassing Turkish Get-Up, with time to practice, time to Swing Kettlebells (you’ve gotta check-out coach Avril’s Swing Strong Class if you want to dive into kettlebell swings as a go-to cardio and strength building practice), time to develop a grounded routine that serves you for the next season, and far beyond.

Our seasonal pass is available for purchase on the kettlebellwellness.com website under Prices and Plans. And if you’d like to chat with a real person about your specific needs and circumstances, please book yourself in for a call with my wonderful Community and Operations Manager, Cara, who will help you figure out what makes the most sense for you in your journey towards forever strength with the ease and convenience of a few kettlebells. https://www.kettlebellwellness.com/start-strong-call

She’ll tell you about our Learn to Kettlebell, Flow with Kettlebells, and Elevate with Kettlebells courses, our virtual studio tours, and our on-demand studio, in case Live Zoom Classes aren’t in the cards for you at this time. Our Virtual Strength Studio is packed with options to meet you where you are at, and the season of your life and routine you are currently in. Here’s to letting go of summer in the ways that feel supportive to you and finding the groundedness that routine can bring. 

Warmly,
Kettlebell Karen