Hey ,
We've just gotten back from an eventful and NECESSARY spring break visiting my parents in Hilton Head Island. One simply doesn't know how important the sunlight is until they feel it's rays lift the seasonal depression right out of their cells! ☀️
When we go to HHI, we're lucky to have the privilege of visiting the island with more of a residential mindset than one focused on tourism. While we absolutely save some time for the beach and mini-golf, ⛳️ more often than not, we find ourselves down-regulating our nervous system with long walks through residential paths, witnessing the changes of the seasons and sometimes an up-close-and-personal engagement with the wildlife. This trip did not disappoint. Keep reading for an alligator 🐊 "surprise" story that still has me quaking, but before we get to that, here's whats happening this week:
- I'm super excited to start filming the first Next Steps Health Action Plans for you this week! Thank you to those who took the plunge on this simple way to kick start your next health support habit! Check out how you can get started with your plan by clicking the link ⬆️.
- The date of our Boundaries Workshop has been moved to April 9th. Here's the LINK.
- I'll be teaching a workshop called: Age Is Your Advantage: Thriving As An Over-40 Fitness Pro on April 12th. at the Fitness Business Association Succeed Virtual Conference. Check out the free options for registration.
- We had an awesome first Breakfast Club Reformer Class on March 22nd. For those who couldn't make it live. The replay is up on your class page and our next class will stream on 4/26/25 to account for the easter holiday. It was awesome to move with so many of you!
- I'm beyond excited to begin to parter with a few select studios this spring as their dedicated Health Coach. I have room for between 1 - 2 additional wellness partner studios depending on client interest. You can learn more about becoming a partner here: Wellness Partner Programs
- Finally, I'm so grateful when this community thinks of me for corporate wellness events - both virtual and in person. Right now, I'm preparing for my next corporate event with a brand-new offering called Your Paced Workday: Practical Actions for Control and Energy each Day that's all about simple, achievable daily health support. If you know someone who could use a boost to their employee wellness programming please consider passing my name along. I'm happy to provide them with a full pitch deck that will surely exceed their expectations. 🙏
🐊 Ok - back to the alligator: When we go to HHI, my son becomes the "boy who cried gator." So at the end of a 40 minute walk, when he said "Mom - gator!" for the 90th time, I was... un-phased. What did phase me, was the giant crane that landed on the bank of the lagoon between myself and the woman who who was walking on the path towards us.
Cranes are those HUGE white birds that look other worldly, like a cross between a swan and a pelican, but in a good way. Often we've seen cranes and gators coexisting quite happily together without event, so I thought nothing of this bird landing, except that it seemed mighty close.
It stayed on the bank of the lagoon for less than a full "one-missisip..." when it suddenly took off, extending it's hips (?) to lift it's spindly legs up away from the suddenly snapping jaws of a 15 foot alligator that was propelling itself vertically out of the water.
Have you ever seen the scene in Jurassic World where the sea monster jumps out of the water? This one:
Yeah. It was a lot like that, except the gator missed... phew!
I exchanged a glance with the other woman. "We'd better keep going" she said, and we crossed each other, making our way swiftly along the path.
As Jax and I continued our walk with adrenaline-fueled alertness, I felt a small sense of relief as well as a strange sense of gratitude. Both for having witnessed such a wild scene but also for having emerged unscathed. It dawned on me that maybe my son's repeated warnings hadn't just been for nothing.
Maybe, in a strange way, his overzealous cries throughout the walk had prepared us to meet the situation calmly and then pass on a warning to someone else, which we did, further down the path, to another walker. Knowing the tragedies that gators of HHI have caused in years past, we were happy to have given a head's up to anyone and everyone who might not know there was one lurking below the surface.
With each step that brought us further from the lagoon and closer to home, I started to recognize a parallel between My son's constant "gator!" sightings and what my own body had been trying to tell me in the weeks leading up to our trip.
Even though what he saw in the water wasn't always an alligator, he was trying to tell me "hey - watch out - just in case!" Similarly, our bodies often send us repeated, less alarming signals: a persistent feeling of tiredness, a recurring craving for certain foods, a general sense of being "off" when we need a break or extra care.
Just as I had become a bit desensitized to the repeated "gator!" calls, we can sometimes tune out these quieter signals from our bodies. We might dismiss the fatigue as just a busy week, ignore the cravings, or push through the general unease.
The stranger's more direct warning, "We'd better go," was like a clearer, more urgent message. It made me stop and pay attention. Similarly, sometimes our bodies need to send us a more pronounced signal before we truly acknowledge that something needs our attention – perhaps a stronger feeling of exhaustion that forces us to rest, an intense craving that highlights a nutritional need, or calendar-mandated week off, showing us how much we needed the spring break after all.
And just as I felt the urge to warn the other woman on the path, perhaps when we become more attuned to our own body's needs, we can also become more aware of when those around us might need rest, support, or nourishment.
So, perhaps the moral of this walk by the lagoon is this: While not every little nudge or repeated signal from our bodies signifies a crisis, it's important not to become so desensitized that we miss the clearer calls for what we truly need – whether it's rest, nourishing food, or a little extra support.
Paying attention to these signals can help us stay ready so we don't have to get ready for a bigger, more demanding problem. Just like being aware of the wildlife around us, being aware of our inner landscape can help us navigate our well-being more effectively.
If this story resonated with you, check out my two newest and affordable health support options below. No gators involved - promise!
Living Well With You, Not At You,
✌️ Coach JZ
Next Step Health Action Plan - $47
This one is a low-cost, asynchronous option where you let me take it all off of your plate for you:
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Receive a personalized video breakdown from me, outlining clear, simple next steps.
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