Alignment isn’t about doing more. It’s about moving in the same direction as your values on purpose. After Arrival, there’s often a quiet moment that most people rush past. This is a pause where the external milestones have been met, but an internal question lingers: “Now that I’m here… does this still fit?”
In 2025, I arrived in many ways. I crossed a physical finish line that once felt impossible. I moved through fear, doubt, and the stories we tell ourselves about age, limits, and timing. Training for and completing HYROX Toronto wasn’t just a physical goal — it was a declaration. A reminder that strength is built through commitment, not convenience.
What surprised me most wasn’t the race itself. It was what came next. Reaching a milestone without alignment can feel disorienting. You arrive but instead of clarity, there’s a restlessness. Energy doesn’t settle. Momentum feels forced. When you feel this way, it’s often a signal that motivation alone isn’t enough anymore.
Alignment matters more than motivation because motivation burns quickly. Conversely, alignment sustains. Alignment isn’t something you think your way into. It’s something you feel your way into — in your body, your energy, and your choices. In my work as a physiotherapist, movement specialist, leader, and advocate, I have seen this pattern repeatedly. When the body becomes misaligned, compensation shows up as pain, fatigue, or injury. The same is true in our lives and in our careers. When we’re out of alignment, the signals are there: burnout, irritability, low-grade anxiety, or a quiet, persistent knowing that something needs to shift.
Over the final six months of 2025, I began listening more closely to those signals. I slowed down; not to stop, but to recalibrate. I stopped asking, “What’s next?” and started asking, “What’s true now?” and “What’s best for me at this stage?” .I gave myself permission to move forward with trust, without having all the answers or needing to justify every decision.
That’s alignment — coherence between body, energy, values, and direction. Interestingly, my HYROX training mirrored this process exactly. Progress didn’t come from pushing harder every day. It came from structure, pacing, recovery, and intentional effort. Training taught me when to push and when to pull back. This was a lesson that translated directly into my career evolution and leadership choices.
In this season, alignment has meant honouring my physical strength and my need for recovery. It’s meant letting go of roles, timelines, and expectations that once made sense, but no longer fit who I’m becoming. By creating space, I’m allowing a new chapter of leadership to emerge, one rooted in influence, advocacy, and meaningful impact rather than constant execution.
As we move into the Year of the Horse, the invitation is momentum, stamina, and forward movement. But the Horse doesn’t run wildly. Its power comes from alignment in the body, breath, and brain working together. This is when instinct is guided by intention.
What is one of the clearest signs alignment is present? Energy returns. Not the frantic, adrenaline-fueled kind, but the steady, grounded energy that sustains you. As I step into 2026, I feel aligned not because everything is decided, but because my values, actions, and direction are moving together.
Alignment doesn’t require certainty. It requires honesty that is practiced daily. So, as you move into this year, pause and reflect:
1. Where are you forcing momentum instead of creating alignment?
2. What strengthens you — and what quietly drains you?
3. What does aligned effort feel like in your body and your work?
Alignment is the bridge between who you’ve been and who you’re becoming. And when you cross it, movement stops feeling heavy and starts to feel powerful.
Coming Up Next: AUTHENTICITY
When alignment is in place, authenticity becomes unavoidable. Once your values and actions are aligned, you can no longer perform versions of yourself that no longer fit. In the next blog, we’ll explore what it really means to show up as yourself especially while evolving publicly, leading visibly, and choosing truth over approval. Because authenticity isn’t about being fearless; it’s about being real, even as you grow.
