Our Kids, Our Mirrors
/It is amazing to watch how much our kids absorb from us (the parents) and from their surrounding. They then reflect it back just like a giant mirror. Sometimes I am excited to look at that mirror, as if I’m watching myself in a new dress. And other times, it is hard to look at it, as if I’m looking at my unwanted body parts. I am a firm believer of being who I am in front of my kids - my happiness, my anger, my sadness… all represent ME. Even if I try I can’t change so why cover it for them. By being my pure self in front of them, I am learning a lot about my “reflection” - some parts I like and some I don’t, just like my relationship with an ordinary mirror.
Couple days ago, my daughter found my old blackberry phone (I actually never knew how to use it and luckily few weeks into my job, my company decided to move to iPhones). And as always, she immediately started to play her pretend games in her own world of imagination. Few minutes later, she turned to me and said, in Turkish, that she has a “meeting”. I acted as if I was not surprised and I asked her how long it would take. She said that it would be a short call. Once the “call” was over, I asked her how it went. And she said that she would need to have that “meeting” again. I was cracking up through out the conversation because that’s usually how I tell them that I have a “meeting”. My work is all about “calls” and with the pandemic, that became a norm in our house. Both of the kids understand that I have my meetings, whether they respect it or not. At least, this one was one of those reflections in the mirror that wasn’t hard to look at. It was the reflection of a working mom.
The reflection gets harder to look at when the kids get frustrated like I do. When things don’t go the way I expect or I want, I do get frustrated and I show it. Not the best example for the kids, especially since they spend a lot of time with me… As I look into that reflection, I am coming up with ways, first, to calm them when they get frustrated and then using those tricks on myself. One thing that I have realized that they also reflect on those calming moments. The other day, I was frustrated on something very unimportant. Kaya came up and asked me why I was frustrated and then explained to me why I didn’t need to get frustrated with such a small thing. My mirror… worked well…
Mirrors reflect what is really there, regardless of our perception of how we look at it. For example, I can look at the mirror and see all the whites (gray) in my hair. The reality is that my whites are there. However, how I perceive them might not be the same as someone else would perceive them. Therefore, it is key for me to separate the fact from the perception so that I can use what I see correctly. With that, let’s bring the “fact” into our workout.
Most of you know that I am very picky when it comes to the correct form. Therefore, for this month’s workout, I will talk about only two moves and leave it to you to see the “fact”. You will need a MIRROR!
Move 1: Slow Squat Pulses
Turn your side to the mirror and come down to your best squat position
Where is butt relative to your body? It needs to be way out, away from your feet
Where are your knees? They need to be right over your ankles, meaning way behind your toes
How is your chest? It needs to be upright, looking ahead
Once you get your butt, your knees and you chest in position, turn towards the mirror keeping your squat
Now, where are your knees? Again, they need to be inline with your ankles, which means they shouldn’t be leaning in.
How far apart your legs? They should be wider than hips width apart, narrower than shoulder width apart
Where are your toes? They should be facing straight ahead - not to the sides like a ballerina
Now that you are in the perfect form:
Come straight up
Hold for 1 second
Come back down to that perfect squat, watching yourself in the mirror
Hold for 5 counts
Repeat for 10 times
Move 2: Forward Lunge Step
Turn your side to the mirror
Keep your feet under your hips
Step your right leg all the way forward into a lunge
Where is your right knee? It needs to be on top of your right ankle, way behind your toes
Where is your body? It needs to be right in between both legs, NOT leaning forward or back
Where is your core (abs + chest)? Upright and facing forward
Where is your left knee? Behind you, bent almost 90% angle, knee NOT touching the floor
Once you get the correct form, step the right leg back to the starting position WITHOUT any stutter steps
Repeat on the right side 10 times and then switch to the left side to repeat 10 times
Repeat Move 1 and then Move 2, 3 times.
These two moves will help you to get moving as the first thing in the morning, as long as you do them correctly, by watching the “facts” on the mirror!
A big high five to you from me if you can look at your reflection without fear…
My perfect reflection - taking pictures with my phone
she is one the phone (comb) and busy…
Best reflection of all - the fact is the smile!!!
