October was Mental Health Awareness month. People across Australia singularly or in teams signed up for the One Foot Forward charity fundraiser organised by Black Dog institute.
My friends and I formed a team of five (we named our team An Extra Mile) and walked each day at our own time and pace. Knowing my colleagues were walking the extra mile was very comforting and motivating. Together we raised over $2000 by walking 527km combined.
During the challenge, my husband came home with sports shoes for moi. If you know me, I will never put sports shoes on my feet; as a matter of fact, in my single days, a guy in sports shoes never stood a chance.
I didn’t show any interest whatsoever in these sports shoes – but when he mentioned they had Bluetooth in them and could track where I walked, I suddenly developed a slight interest as I was thinking just the day before how to accurately measure my walking distance covered throughout my walkathon.
The shoes were a fit, and the next day – reluctantly – I put them on for a walk. I asked my feet: Why are you so unhappy with these shoes? Tell me? They are not that uncomfortable, what does your feet have to say?
After twenty minutes or so, my feet answered my question. When I was nine years of age, Sinterklaas (a Dutch Santa Clause) made me run in front of the students at my primary school and most of the kids were laughing. When I had finished my round, he allowed me to take only one sweet from the big bag.
Oh, my goodness… All along I thought, something much worse must have happened because I stopped running a long time ago and did not want to wear sports shoes. Perhaps Sinterklaas wore sports shoes or was it de Zwarte Piet? (his elven sidekick). It doesn’t matter who and what… but what does matter is to figure out why? The why I did not want to wear sports shoes, why sports shoes were a deal breaker and why I avoided walking past big crowds for years. When things gain meaning and awareness, you can let go of things, make sense of it and find peace within – the story changes and life makes a whole lot more sense.
Often, in my clinic, clients have a-ha moments… once they have a clear understanding, we can shift trauma even more and move forward. It is often the unconscious mind that triggers us, and makes us react to things without making sense.
Perhaps you too have had an epiphany, insight or realisation in your life that resounded deeply, causing a significant change to your life.
If you are aware of something that feels amiss or out of place – it could be just a habit, a belief system, some pain etc, ask your body What is the story attached to it? Once you figure it out, your whole perception may change.
My name is Jose Toussaint, Kinesiologist in Brisbane-Bayside. 04 346 26 307.
