How to Spot Phone-y Art & Remember Your Own Well-being

Happy Sunday, Movers! 

Today I'm going to give you an easy fix that will help you find out what wellness support is for YOU. And it starts with a stroll through the Van Gogh gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.  

Last weekend, after hosting the most beautiful bridal shower for my sister, we spent the morning strolling the MET, waiting for our turn to see  Van Gogh.  There are two kinds of people in museums: the kind that stroll and gaze, and the kind that stop to read every single exhibit plaque.  And then there's me - so I guess that's 3 kinds of people... 

I prefer to pull up my favorite playlist (you can listen here) and make up my own stories about the art as the tunes play through my ear buds. As an adult, I've always done it this way.  And yeah, I'll read a few plaques along the way, but the museum experience I'm after is much more like Mary Poppins & Bert jumping into the chalk drawings to play - immersive. 

When I'm looking at a painting, I have an overwhelming desire to feel the paint and Van Gogh always taunts me with his brushstrokes. But, since touching is off limits, and I do possess a modicum of self-control, I improvised this immersion.

The best way I know how to "feel art" is to set what I'm seeing to music and let it dance with me.  (BTW - try this one in nature; by the water or while looking at trees.  You'll be amazed as to how quickly the environment catches up to the music in your ears 😉.) The busy Sunday crowd at the MET, however, was getting in the way of my plans. They, too wanted to capture the paint...through their smartphones.  

Trying to navigate my special view/listen/feel-the-paint-experience was futile amidst the sea of vertical rectangles, so I shifted my focus to immerse myself in the performance art of a crowd of people, looking through a crowd of phones, at famous art.  Clicking, cropping, tilting, zooming - each person had a different approach to gathering the art into their personal cloud.  They were hungriest for Starry Night - a crowd pleaser for sure - and gathered tightly, staring through 2 dimensional screens at the brush strokes and globs that were daring them to look beyond.  I wondered if they realized that the actual painting was on the other side of their phones...

Ok - so as disheartening as this scene is, we've all been there - wanting to capture a coveted image to memorialize the fact that we had the experience. And you know what? If we look up for a moment, we'll see that this urge to gather, collect and record is also present in our wellness practices, too. 

Have you ever lusted after the idea of "being fit?" Wearing a certain jeans size? Having a [insert trending body ideal here] body? Smoothing out wrinkles? Making every recipe out of kale? Does this desire *actually* come from seeking an experience of your own well-being? Or is it more about capturing what the wellness industry tells us wellness looks like - having evidence that we are "doing health," just like when the pictures on our phone proved that we saw famous art?

Take a moment to be still.  When do you feel that your well-being is alive? What are the circumstances that lead you to say "Yes. More of THIS."  When does the feeling of being well dance with you? I'm willing to bet that these moments don't involve a product, supplement, or jade roller.  (I honestly don't hate a jade roller - it just captures the wellness zeitgeist so perfectly!) 

I want you to know that as I write this, I'm navigating through a new medical protocol for Hashimoto's and I'm still battling a high viral load of Epstein Barr Virus - it's not easy.  My definition of "well" has many shades, and presently most of them are quiet and have little to do with the classes I teach.  Work is fulfilling but for me, well-being happens without performance.  When I'm flaring, I rarely sense a craving for cardio.  Instead, it's quiet, restful, and nourishing.  It's an experience that makes me say "Yes. More of THIS."  

There are ways to condition, challenge, fuel and recover the systems of your body.  But if we spend all of our "self-care currency" on gathering evidence of our wellness practices without a clear definition of what it feels like to be well for us as individuals, aren't we just consistently moving the finish line? 

It's more than likely that you're either doing something in the name of health and wellness that you think you should be doing, or not doing something that you want to do because you haven't put it high enough on your personal priority list. 

So I have a little assignment for you:  This week, you get to throw the rules away and "touch the paint." Or at least try to immerse yourself in something that feels good for you.  Think about that sense of well-being - aliveness.  Where does it show up for you? Then make a plan to engage with it at least once this week.  Let yourself rest, read, marvel, giggle, cuddle or whatever else comes to mind.  Put your phone down and let your well-being dance with you.  I dare you. 

Much Love, 
Jenna 

PS - If you are lost with how to start this assignment, consider booking a consult with me.  I'm opening 3 spaces for Integrative Health Coaching Sessions in mid-July & I'd love to help you put some ✨ into your well-being practices.