Five Faves / How I regroovenated my skiing

Here are a few things that have really moved me recently. All these things in some way helped me have the best ever ski day in the powder last week.

It feels like I’m giving you the ingredient list and I hope you make something of your own from some part of it. Perhaps you take only one or perhaps none of the ingredients offered, People have asked me, what happened to your skiing? It was regroovenated, each week a leveling up, so much so that people comment that they notice a difference. As I try to answer that question, it is hard to tease apart the elements that have come together and seems impossible to say it was any 5 things that came together to make it a magical day.

Our ski instructor is from England and he encouraged us to get stuck in. Just go play, and did I ever. I got stuck a few places along the way: in thick trees (requiring a bit of rescue bushwacking, thanks Frazer), stuck in a snowy trough between boulders, ( Anna yelled, “June is stuck in a hole.” I self rescued), stuck in piles of snow, and luckily not stuck on a chairlift that got stuck in the morning. There was some amazing skiing inbetween all the small crashes and fall downs and lots of laughter, whoops of delight and a few other exclamation. I had the most fun ski day!

1 . Dr. Becky Kennedy’s Ted talk or one of her many podcast appearances. In this talk she describes rupture and repair in relationships. I did not think I would be drawn to a “millenial parenting whisperer”, as she has been described, but I really like her message. You don’t even need to be a parent. If you had a parent, there may be something of value in what she shares. The first podcast I heard featuring her as a guest was, episode 130. Breaking Cycles & Reparenting Yourself with Dr. Becky Kennedy, on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast. I remember laughing and crying listening to this one.

2. Ladies Ski program at Lake Louise Ski Resort. I love the skiing, my instructor, the women in the program.

3 Journaling practice that includes two way prayer. This is another blessing from listening to Elizabeth Gilbert on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast. Recently there have been several episodes about this. For example, #268, #281 and others

4 Map your Archetype Profile, or MAP course offered by Joanne Avison. I began this course with trepidation and end with such gratitude to be guided through the practice of considering our lives through an archetypal lens,

5 Yoga practice that brings all elements together, or rather reminds us that they were never separate and my many yoga teachers over the years.

Skiing is a great arena to notice our biomotional nature and nervous system states. If I am in a stressed beyond my resources and find myself in a fight or flight state, my skiing is crude, with abrupt movements and more forceful than necessary. This survival skiing wastes energy and is not very skillful. If I’ve gone into freeze mode, I collapse and sit back and get tossed around if I am moving and I am wanting to stop and wishing for different terrain or snow conditions, a state of affairs my ski coach calls shopping, also not good for acheiving stopping or getting anywhere useful. Finally, when I’m able to be present and open for social engagement, I can feel what is going on, I can choose a path and I have a smile on my face. Skiing is fun! I recognize all these modes in myself.

I feel like this is way too much blah blah blah when I could just show you a page from my art/feelings journal. ( I picked up this journal from Christy, an art therapist, when I visited her open house at a truly magical place, Blackbird Healing Arts Collective.)

I was skiing a couple of weekends ago and I noticed some rather inaccurate self talk after a private lesson, so I did some journalling of various sorts between then and my ladies ski lesson. There is a moment in Dr Becky’s Ted talk where she has her two hands in front of her some distance apart. In one hand is identity and in the other, behaviour. What I noticed in my narrative was that I was merging the two hands. It dawned on me that I was putting extra pressure on myself to be the good student and all sorts of other expectations and amping up my stress level so much so that was making it harder to ski. It is hard enough without the added pressure. I saw the underlying story behind my perfectionism and people pleasing. This was such a relief. The remedy was self-repair for harsh self talk. I own the narrative and can edit it and claim my self-worth unconditionally regardless of awkward skiing or any other awkward behaviour and I am working on being kinder to myself in the future. In fact I made up a ski spells/mantras/reminders courtesy of the magical child archetype incorporating my intentions.

Modifying a quote from a Zen teacher, “Not one atom is against you.” to Not one snowflake is against you.

A mantra that I first heard on an On being podcast featuring an Father Greg Boyle, “Now, Here, This,” I’ve changed to Now, Ski, This.

My favourite thing that I finally heard after many many repetitions from my very patient, very good ski coach, Frazer, “Nothing much changes about the way we ski this…”