There’s a familiar idea in yoga and personal growth that progress isn’t linear — that we move in a spiral. We circle back to familiar places, familiar doubts, familiar edges… but we’re not where we once were. We’re further on, even if it doesn’t always feel like it.
I’ve shared that idea many times, both on and off the mat. And I still believe it.
But this week, in conversation with a mentor, I realised there’s another layer to it — one that feels especially important right now.
Because we don’t just move in spirals.
We move through seasons.
And the season we’re in matters.
Earlier this week, while guiding a relaxation, I noticed the floor felt hard.
So I got myself a blanket to sit on.
That was it.
No breakthrough. No revelation.
Just a quiet moment of noticing discomfort… and responding kindly.
But it stayed with me.
Because in that small, practical act was a much bigger question:
How kindly are we treating ourselves as we grow?
Growth without override
I’m personally in a season of challenge and growth in my horsing life right now. It’s stretching me — emotionally, mentally, physically.
I’m learning a lot.
I’m taking in information.
My nervous system is working hard.
There’s tiredness. Injury. Overwhelm. Doubt.
Overthinking. Overstimulation. Self-blame.
I know — because of the practices I’ve lived with for years — that my thoughts are a direct reflection of where my nervous system is sitting.
I also know a leap is coming.
There might even be a neat, reflective post at some point down the line on this.
But right now, I’m in the middle of it.
In the dark.
In the winter.
In the not-knowing.
And I have to keep reminding myself that this is where the real practice is.
The moment before the leap
We talk a lot about courage, growth, and expansion.
We talk less about the moments before.
The moments where:
- everything feels personal
- doubt gets louder
- fault-finding creeps in
- and you start telling yourself this is about your failure, your inability, your lack
The moment where all the old conditioning fires up and the inner instruction becomes:
Try harder. Push through. Be better.
But neither bodies nor nervous systems respond well to force — especially when they’re already working hard.
What actually supports us in these moments?
I think what helps is much quieter. It’s asking:
- What’s making this harder than it needs to be?
- Where is the ground too cold?
- Where do I need a layer?
Sometimes that layer is literal — more warmth, more rest, fewer inputs.
Sometimes it’s internal — less attacking yourself, more permission to pause, fewer conclusions about what this means about me. Letting go of the old stories.
Support doesn’t mean stopping.
It means continuing without abandoning yourself for the goal.
Keeping the faith
Keeping the faith, for me, doesn’t look like blind positivity.
It looks like:
- staying in relationship with myself
- regulating before problem-solving
- letting the season be what it is
- trusting that the spiral still moves, even when it feels slow
It looks like choosing kindness in the middle, not as a reward at the end.
The spiral, revisited
Yes — we circle back. And sometimes lets face it, that can feel bloody awful.
But now I understand something more clearly.
We don’t just revisit old edges with more wisdom.
We revisit them in different conditions. A million things have changed since I was last there.
And wisdom is knowing when to soften instead of push.
Sometimes progress isn’t about stepping forward at all.
Sometimes it’s about putting the blanket down first.
And trusting that when the moment comes —
you’ll have the ability and the strength because you didn’t harden yourself on the way there.
With love, Claire x
Claire WB - Mindful Movement 
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