4Motion Boost Programme: Felicity
Hi, my name is Felicity and I live in beautiful coastal Cornwall. I am currently working for Cornwall Film Festival as Senior Productions Assistant, as well as writing my blog, Ethical Films, in my spare time. You can check it out here!
I’m the kind of person that has always loved the idea of fitness, and being in good shape, but could never hold myself accountable when it came to actually putting workouts into practice. Whilst at university, I would tag along to Zumba classes with my friends, but I didn’t feel a strong attachment to going repeatedly; more often than not exercise was something to do rather than something I wanted for myself and my mental health.
Living in Cornwall, my greatest joy comes from being outside, and more often than not, being in water. I’ll take any opportunity to go swimming, or even just take a walk at the beach! Because of this, I am incredibly passionate about environmental and marine efforts to protect our natural world and our wildlife. I believe that being in nature and connecting with the elements, the landscape and non-human beings around us, has a really positive impact on our mental health.
Since joining 4Motion, I’ve been encouraged to spend more time outside, moving my body and to take advantage of more hours of daylight instead of sleeping in (thank you Wake Up Workout!). I hadn’t realised, back in early November when I first signed up to join the 4Motion community, that I would learn a lot more than just some exercises and basic physical activity.
Having recently graduated from Cambridge, I was stuck at home, in a lockdown, getting fatter from homemade cookies. When my job coach advertised the BOOST Programme, I had the singular mindset of ‘this is a sign from above that it’s time to stop with the cake and start with the fitness’! I hoped that I’d be able to commit and get myself back in shape, but I didn’t look for any more than that.
Cue my first session with wonderful Becky and Elaine, and I realised after our first fitness, yoga and wellbeing workshop was over, that I hadn't stopped smiling. I was already looking forward to the next Tuesday session, already anticipating the agony of the lunges and the wobbliness of my half-moon yoga pose. Besides discovering just how much I could sweat in one hour, that my bedroom really wasn’t big enough for me to do star jumps in, and the fact that I DEFINITELY needed a better sports bra, I was also aware of how much my confidence and happiness had grown.
My hour of human interaction really did boost (pun intended) my mindset and I felt a new lightness for the following few days. I was perhaps a little naive in my excitement for the next class; I might have felt an internal lightness but my body was screaming every time I tried the stairs the next day! But I really, really loved it, and I loved how the class had helped to push me more than if I had tried to do it on my own.
A particular Tuesday highlight for me was a class that was focused around confidence and posture. The idea is that if you can recenter your body, lift your head with an imaginary piece of string whilst relaxing and pushing back your shoulders, you will automatically exude confidence and calm. Elaine explained that this way of sitting and holding yourself says something about you to other people, and can help to indicate that you are relaxed but sure of yourself.
Aside from really helping with some shoulder aches, this technique actually helped me to be successful in a job interview. I was interviewed via Zoom, after a long day and I was feeling a little disenchanted about the whole thing after a string of rejections. I decided to try and lift myself up using Elaine’s posture exercise, and to at least pretend that I had the energy and frame of mind I wanted for the interview.
By the end of the Zoom meeting, I had been offered the job with an immediate start, and my new employer was full of praise for how professionally I had handled and presented myself. It wasn’t until the call ended that I realised I carried that posture with me for the rest of the day; there was no thought or effort behind it anymore, it was just my new frame of ‘being’. Even writing this, I caught myself and lifted myself up! For me, this advice has been invaluable and will stay with me for life - if I had known at university I could have saved myself some really painful essay writing sessions!
4Motion has continued to impact my life, because I have embraced the community and welcomed it into my life. I now also take part in two Wake Up Workout sessions a week on Mondays and Wednesday at 6.45am. I love seeing everyone in the morning when we’re all bleary eyed and then by the end of the 30 minute session seeing how bright and awake we all are. It’s a real rush of endorphins, and I have really noticed how these days tend to be where I am happiest and busiest the longest. We recently started a HIIT class with the hokey pokey and it felt like true freedom to be able to mess around at 24 years old, at 7 in the morning, dancing around and being childish with a bunch of other grown women (no names revealed I promise!)
So, 4Motion helped me realise that I had to become dedicated to a community I love, in order to make time to love my body and my mind. I would HIGHLY recommend joining any of 4Motion’s classes that you feel drawn to, and even trying the ones you’re not so sure about (my friends still don’t believe I really workout, let alone before 8am!). There are so many benefits to joining in. The project leaders are fantastic and make sure that you are listening to your body and its capability. They are truly invested in helping you; they show up everytime with the biggest smile and bags of energy, that is too infectious to stay away and not join in. Signing up and sticking with the 4Motion community has helped me more than I can say, and it was easily the best thing I did all year.