More Than a Gymnast: Embracing What Comes Next

More Than a Gymnast…

Recently, I did a Better Late podcast interview with Pam Majumdar, a friend and fellow TLAG Park City retreater. (If you want to check out the whole interview it is available here!) We had this intriguing conversation about what it means to be a gymnast - and more importantly, what it means to be more than a gymnast.

For me personally, my experience at the retreat was a bit different than most. About a month before the retreat my back decided to rapidly deteriorate. I was frustrated and defeated and debated cancelling the trip. I mean why would I go on a personal development gymnastics retreat if I could barely walk without pain? God’s voice got louder in my mind encouraging me to lean in and go anyway, so I did… and boy am I glad I did!

Each and every one of the retreaters allowed me to show up as my whole and authentic self. And even a step beyond that, they all did the same - sharing our stories and connecting on deeper levels. They met me where I was at and celebrated just that. I truly want to express, from the bottom of my heart, how incredibly life-changing this experience was for me. They made me feel seen, understood and supported. I am so proud to have shared in these experiences with all of the Park City retreaters.

This clarified to me, loud and clear, what it means to be more than a gymnast. To be a human connecting through shared experiences, both good and bad. To be a human empathizing with experiences very different from my own. To be a human who has the capability to take a shared love for a sport and transform it into a trajectory that propels me further in my life.

Below is a sneak peek video into the transformational experience:

Embracing What Comes Next…

Abundance to me is an outpouring of gratitude for the present moment. Coming into the retreat I had set my sights on some pretty lofty goals and determined I would find joy when I achieved the end destination. The problem with that is, ever since I had been leading a life filled with fleeting happiness and forgetting to step into joy along the journey.

Danielle, our TLAG founder and retreat leader, spoke these words during one of our personal development sessions: “Your past does not = your future unless you live there.”

Anyone who knows me knows I am a planner - almost every single detail in my life I have planned down to the minute. But naturally, life never goes according to plan. And that is something I find very hard to swallow. Going into the retreat, I was feeling a bit clouded on the picture of my future. I knew what I wanted, but I didn’t know where I needed to be or how I needed to get there. Throughout this experience of an emotional reset, I was able to find clarity on just that… what comes next.

What I have come to realize is I can have both… joy along the journey and joy at the destination. And not only can I have both, but I deserve both. And you do too. That is the beauty of abundance - we all deserve to step into joy. And that is why is was so incredibly powerful to have shared in this journey with people like Pam, and the many other inspirational individuals on the TLAG Park City retreat with me.

“All those dreams you once had, keep coming back to me. I hope that you can find the strength to leave your light on. But I know that your world’s on fire and it’s hard to fight it, but please - because I need you.” -Leave Your Light On by Chris Lee

Gymnastics Beyond the Gym’s Four Walls…

So what did I learn about Train Like a Gymnast while I was there? That each and every one of us can have different goals relating to how we want to keep up our involvement in the sport of gymnastics, and all of those goals are incredible and beautiful in their own regard.

We all came from different places with different gymnastics backgrounds and very different current career paths in our lives and thus we all had very different relationships with the sport of gymnastics and wildly different goals in which we wished to pursue in regards to the sport of gymnastics. And yet, we all came together to support and encourage one another to reach those goals.

That is the beauty of this sport of ours- it is OURS. Which means we get to choose exactly how we wish to show up for it. Our goals can be ever-changing, but no one goal is any better than another. They are different - and thank God they are because we are all different! Difference is an incredible thing that should be celebrated.

Better yet, Danielle has created a Train Like a Gymnast App for just that… helping you, supporting you, and encouraging you to reach YOUR goals. So hop on in there and check it out for just $1 your first month.

And keep your eye out for our next retreat information because I promise you when I say… you don’t want to miss it!

Until next time,

Xo- Serena