When Your Wellness Journey Becomes a Dance Instead of a Burden

Photo by RDNE Stock project

Have you ever noticed how sometimes the very practices meant to nourish us can start to feel... heavy? Like we’re carrying them instead of being carried by them?

I've been reflecting on this lately, especially after coming across writer Justin Brown's concept of "fluid integrity." It's got me thinking about how we relate to our wellness practices and wondering if there might be a gentler way.

The Weight of Being ‘Good’

There's something that sometimes happens when we get really committed to our wellness. We start to become "the person who eats clean" or "the one who never misses a workout" or "the meditation enthusiast." And while there's nothing wrong with consistency (in fact, consistency is key to building positive, sustainable habits), sometimes we cross an invisible line where our practices start defining us instead of serving us.

Have you felt this?

The Space Between You and Your Choices

We are not defined by our diet, exercise routines, or healing practices.

We are the consciousnesses that choose these tools based on what serves our highest good in each moment.

When we remember this, our wellness journey transforms from a burden into a dance.

Isn't that beautiful? You're not the rigid structure—you're the flowing awareness that gets to choose, moment by moment, what feels nourishing and true.

This doesn't mean abandoning your commitments or becoming wishy-washy. It means holding your practices lightly, like a bird in your palm, secure enough that it doesn't fly away, gentle enough that you don't crush its wings.

What Might This Look Like?

Maybe it's noticing when your morning routine feels forced instead of flowing, and being curious about what wants to emerge instead.

Maybe it's holding your food choices as experiments in nourishment rather than moral imperatives.

Maybe it's approaching your movement practice as a conversation with your body rather than a task to complete.

Maybe it's remembering that your healing journey gets to be messy, non-linear, and uniquely yours.

Getting Curious

What would it feel like to approach your wellness with this kind of fluid grace? To let your practices serve your growth rather than your identity?

I'm not suggesting you throw everything out the window. I'm wondering if you might give yourself permission to be curious. To notice what feels heavy and what feels light. To trust that you can be deeply committed to your wellbeing without being rigidly attached to any particular way of achieving it.

Your wellness journey is meant to be a living, breathing exploration, not a performance you have to perfect.

So here's my gentle invitation: What if you experimented with holding your practices a little more lightly this week? What if you approached your choices with curiosity instead of obligation? What if you remembered that you are the dancer, not the dance steps?

Take your time with these questions. Let them simmer. See what arises.

And if you'd like some support exploring what this fluid approach might look like in your own life, I'd love to walk alongside you. Sometimes having a companion on the journey makes all the difference.

If you’d like to explore a sustainable approach to your goals, schedule a free coaching call here.

— Coach Aleisha