The BirthFit Functional Progression.
At least once a day, I lie down and try to teach my body to tune into something it has forgotten. Almost forgotten. Today, after several months of practice, I can finally feel a few muscles slowly relaxing into their intended roles. I can feel others getting stronger. Waking up. But most days, stability still seems very far away. So much dysfunction and confusion is mixed into the way my body has learned to move.
I know, in my head, that taking time out of my day to correctly rebuild my postpartum core is a small act of love. I am honoring my body and my self. It is an outward symbol of the internal choice to be patient, nurturing, and disciplined. But if I'm being honest, most days I do not enjoy it.
For me the difficulty of the functional progression goes much deeper than the patterns of movement it slowly resets and strengthens. It's a daily confrontation with my ego. My personal weaknesses and struggles take center stage: focused attention, complete presence, and slow, intentional action. Choosing this day after day takes a long-term discipline I'm not sure I have yet.
But I do crave growth and self improvement (however slow it may be). So most days, I choose to face myself. I sit quietly in that physical and mental place of discomfort. When I feel myself rushing through or moving without focus, I do it over again.
By beginning all my workouts this way, I can settle into a better understanding of my body's current ability. There is no way to convince myself I'm farther along than I am (or suddenly ready for more volume). I recalibrate my bodily awareness every time.
I am not confident enough to say I will always be diligent or that my deficiencies will one day be strengths, but over time, I have built enough trust to know I will usually choose the hard thing over the easy.
We all need our own daily dose of humility . (Though I would also say we all need the functional progression to some extent 😜) We need something that makes us uncomfortable. Something that forces our ego out into the open. When we find whatever that something is, we then need to visit it as regularly as possible. If only to show ourselves we can.
-megh
Me attempting BirthFit Functional Progression 1 (based on DNS principles).