Julie Helen: Crafting the balance in life is up to me - it’s OK to readjust

I THINK in time I will look back over the last year or so of life and realise that it is a pivotal moment in the grand scheme of things.

Coming out of Covid lockdowns, settling into motherhood, having to rebuild my physical fitness and needing to prioritise family, and
deliberately reassessing and rejigging the balance of life all add up to being an important, collective set of reflection points.

It is a challenge to change the way I go through life, but it is a privilege too, to have the space and time to do it. 

I know that crafting the balance in life is up to me and that when external factors encroach, I must readjust.

Strength and conditioning training is something that benefits me as somebody with cerebral palsy. Building up my strength and building condition on my weak muscles to balance out the muscles I overuse, makes a huge difference to how I can move and how well I feel. It is only when I start back training that I am reminded just how quickly I can see progress and how good putting in the investment is for my body and my mind.

I started with a new gym and trainer, just over a month ago, with only one session per week, and I can already feel more power in my legs, more strength in my back and less pain and inflammation in my body in general. Part of that good feeling is bound to be the mental benefit of knowing that I am ‘doing something’, making the effort, taking advantage of the time stepping back from the rat race of work has given me.

I really feel I must use this time, be grateful for it and take a few more steps along the way of juggling all the balls of life.

Speaking of juggling, it is a new element of my training regime which I had never come across before. Well, not juggling exactly, but throwing and catching small juggling balls that you might use to learn to juggle with. The first day I was asked if I could catch such a ball, I said no, and then to my utter surprise, I caught it when it came in my direction. We threw and caught two balls between us in sets of ten and my companion reminded me that working on my co ordination was just as important to me as any other exercise.

Ainle has run Aclaí gym in the city centre for 10 years and has worked with people with neurological difficulties as well as everyone else in his community in that time. I was so impressed by his big picture view and could see how progress was laid out before me.

Last week, in a fast decision, Ainle has decided for a number of reasons to close his gym and move back to be close to his family and friends in Belfast. I was gutted, but I understand. Family comes first.

I am back to square one now, I have to find a new gym again, start from scratch. At least I know it is worth doing. I went online and bought some juggling balls, they can be a reminder to think outside the box and my family can throw and catch them with me. Ricky is already getting good at retrieving the leather balls when he hears them fall to the ground with a thud. They are stored in a toy trailer on his farm as they double up nicely as three wrapped bales of silage to load and onload in his imaginary work! It’s very cute to watch.