I plank. Around the world. It’s my “thing”. Whenever I find myself at a unique location or in a foreign country- I plop into a plank and have someone snap a photo. I’ve been doing this for a decade now and have a little over 100 pictures in about 70 various locations and countries.
On this particular plank pose I am in Mammalapurham, India, with 3 of my children and we have taken the day off from working at the school In Barathapurm and are visiting ruins and temples. This area was fascinating. We could see some of the history of southern India has it unfolded before our eyes through hieroglyphics, statues, writings and buildings. As we stood at the front of this building and looked up I mentioned to my younger son “that rooftop would be a great place to plank- do you think we could grab that shot?”
“Sure mom- if you can get on top of the roof!”
My older son climbed with me and we went on top while the other stayed below with the camera. Was it hard to scurry up the top of this building? YES. But was it going to give me a different plank photo then ones I had taken in the past? I hoped so!
I dropped into position when all of a sudden I felt my older son begin to stand (only with one leg) on my flat back.
“Dude! There’s no way I can take your weight and hold this pose.”
“Don’t worry mom- I won’t- it’s just for the photo.” He arched his arms into a muscle pose and we both laughed as we realized he would look like he had conquered “mom”.
As he slowly pressed his foot into my back I wondered “could I take more weight? Would my back hold it?” And I realized that if I tightened my core and focused on my form- I could easily hold additional weight.
We both laughed. Yet when I saw the photo I thought ‘whoa- that really does look like he’s standing on me and I have the weight of the world ? on my back’.
I thought back to how many months it had taken me to get my “plank game on”. To all the yesterdays of hard work and endurance to even be able to get down and hold a 2-3-4 minute plank today.
I remembered all the mornings of getting up and NOT wanting to head to the gym, NOT wanting to do what I knew I needed to do in order to hit my goals. (There were lots of those mornings and still are today).
And this phrase would hit me “Push harder than yesterday if you want a different tomorrow”.
So I would get up. And off I would go. Pushing myself harder in that moment so I could have the tomorrow I was striving for.
And it wasn’t always easy.
Many times when I am lamenting my woes internally, I turn to things that are edifying to help pull me out. Even just googling the word “inspiration” will pull up a lot of quotes that inspire! I remind myself to try a little harder- give it one more chance- hold on a little bit tighter-I remember to be gentle with myself, to speak with love and patience so that I might have a different tomorrow.
Even if today seems like an absolute flop, I just need to push a little harder through it to experience something different the next day.
I just have to tighten my core and focus on my form. As long as I do those two things I can hold nearly any physical weight. Emotionally speaking, I have to tighten up as well. Tighten up my habits. Put things into practice that maybe I’ve let slide a little bit. And then I can endure.
Because isn’t life simply 24 hours at a time?
We all have the opportunity every evening to turn over a new leaf. To release the day. Relinquish it.
Then sleep.
And arise up the next day refreshed and ready to tackle another 24 hours. A clean slate before us. 1,440 minutes of choice, opportunity and renewal to try something differently. To become stronger at a goal. To strive towards our pursuits. To NOT slip back into old habits or behaviors that no longer serve us. To adopt and change our ways into something better, different or with a more positive outcome.
On those days when it feels like the ? is on our back- weighing us down- may we remember that we have to push harder through that moment to have the different tomorrow we truly seek.
What do I let weigh me down?
What can I push through today- even though it might be hard?
How many times do I remember to turn over the previous 24 hours and release it willingly?
What IS my plan for my 1,440 minutes each day?