Lenormand Line of 5: My Exercise Regime (She's Just a Devil Woman)

I thought I'd do a Lenormand reading, since Chloe at Inner Whispers reminded me I have a small box full of neglected Lenormand decks languishing in the other room.

Line of 5: General reading on my exercise regime

Child + Garden + Rider + Sun + Path 

Reading:

'My exercise regime could be more of a source of joy if I included other people in it. In the past I enjoyed socialising with exercise friends, but at the moment I am at a loss as to which way I should go to get some of that joy of working out back again.' 

(I arrived at this reading thusly:

Rider is modified by both Garden and Sun. Rider = exercise (I selected it as the significator for its sporty associations). Rider+Garden=socialising about exercise -- or it could be exercising in a social setting, which I never did. Rider + Sun=an exerciser who gets joy from the activity. So the three together = enjoying exercise through socialising about it. Now, this could be taken as advice to be more social about exercising.

Child+Garden=youthful enthusiasm/new mind about social place. Because these two cards left of the significator indicate the past, I know that my only social place about exercise in the past was an online community I used to visit every day. I never went to a gym or worked out with anyone, other than hubby right here at home. (I do home workouts). 

Sun+Path=Joy that has reached a crossroad. In other words, a decision must be made about it.)

You'll notice there's no advice as to which way to go with this. Instead, as often happens, I got a summary of my present situation. Now, I believe I got this general snapshot of the present situation because I did not ask a specific question. This often happens when reading for clients. If they do not ask anything specific and just say, 'Tell me about my workout regime,' I believe the cards just go, 'Okay, here you go,' and take a Polaroid of the current situation. This can be frustrating for the client who actually wanted to know about the future of the situation, and for the reader, who knows the client is frustrated but was just doing as she was asked. So let's modify with a specific reading.

Line of 5 Specific reading. How can I get the most from my workouts? Or more specifically, how can I motivate myself to work out more frequently and what should I do to get the best results?

Postmark Lenormand, 2nd Ed. Melissa Hill

Anchor + Letter + Child + Coffin + Snake 

Interesting to see Child back again, this time as the centre card, or 'hinge' card as AndyBC calls it. So it would seem that Child is the centre of my issue with working out. 

Reading: 

'To get the most from your workouts, modify your expectations to be more in line with your current level of fitness and age. Avoid seeking advice from others, but do find someone who you can be accountable to. Renew your vision of yourself as a desireable woman.'

(Where did I get that? Child + Coffin = stop thinking you're a kid. Child + Letter = a newbie who is always asking questions, communicating from a place of naivety or lack of knowledge. Anchor + Letter = a stable source of communication. Coffin + Snake = transformation of a woman (the snake in this case making think 'desireable or femme fatale'). 

This reading makes sense to me. I've found myself skipping workouts and feeling demoralised because, to be honest, I just can't perform like I used to a few years ago. Not that I was any sort of athlete, but I was fitter and found I could push myself with more gusto than I can muster now. And that is an awkward thing to face up to. It's easier to skip workouts and then tell yourself you've lost fitness from lack of working out, than to face that you're actually older and it could be that you might never get back to where you were before. That is a possibility that must be accepted before any kind of progress can be made. So stopping comparing myself to the younger me, and stopping expecting to be able to perform like a younger person is really good advice. It's all good advice actually, particularly how the spread seems to encourage me to seek out online support, whilst also warning against falling into the trap of asking for advice and then worrying about what I'm told. Someone says they're 46 and can do 100 press-ups for example,and that I should be able to do it, too, if I train hard enough. And then I feel bad about myself for 1) not even wanting to do 100 press-ups and 2) never being able to do them. No, what this spread tells me I need is a correspondence with someone who will act as a rock or 'anchor'--a great source of support and stability. Now, who could that be?

Also, that last pairing seems really important, especially coming as it does in the same reading warning me not to expect to bounce around like a 20 year old cheerleader on springs. I couldn't do that when I was 20, I certainly won't be able to do it at 45. BUT, that doesn't mean I'm dead, and I should still view myself as a vital and sexy woman and continue working so that when I look in the mirror, I flirt with myself a bit. How long has it been since you made a kissy face at yourself when checking yourself out over your own shoulder in the mirror? Uh-huh. See, we all need a bit of the old snake charm!