How much of the way we move through life is chosen, and how much is habit?

Not all habits are an issue. Some come from our hard-earned experience and truly serve our purpose. They support us, and there is value in recognising that.

They become an issue when, without us realising it, they move us away from our purpose and stop us from making full use of our capacity and capabilities.

Presence offers us space. A generous space to notice. To consciously inhabit the body, listen to our inner experience and discover possibilities beyond our familiar responses.

This research is at the heart of our Fitness & Embodiment Retreat in Crete, which I lead together with Alex.

We bring physical training and presence into a shared practice. As we develop strength, mobility and endurance, we explore how we breathe, meet resistance and respond when something becomes challenging.

Am I holding back out of habit?

Am I pushing to prove something?

Asking these questions changes our relationship with ourselves.

Instead of forcing the body to follow a plan, or ignoring it until it complains, we begin to work with it. We learn to tell the difference between discomfort that signals growth and strain that signals a limit, and between tiredness that asks for rest and resistance that’s simply unfamiliar. What we feel becomes useful information rather than an obstacle. Over time, that listening grows into a kind of trust: an inner guidance we can return to, in training and in life.

For me, personal freedom begins here: recognising the habits we carry and creating space to respond with greater awareness.

And when we consciously apply this awareness, it opens new possibilities for how we live, move, train and grow.

If this kind of work intrigues you, I’d like to warmly invite you to join Alex and me for our 2027 Fitness & Embodiment Retreat from 29 May–5 June in Crete. Alongside the work, there is beautiful, wild nature, shared meals, laughter and the pleasure of being alive together.