Playing Big: From Left Out to Leading the Way- Theresa Russell
When I was a girl, I couldn’t do a cartwheel. I still feel the sting of being the only sister who didn’t make the gymnastics team — awkward, unsure, and aching to belong. At fourteen, I started exercising daily, convinced that changing my body was the key to changing my life. That drive eventually turned into restriction, and for years I withheld food from myself, believing I had to shrink to be seen.
What I didn’t know then and what I want women to know now, is that playing big doesn’t require shrinking yourself to fit in. It doesn’t require pushing through pain or performing for approval. Playing big can be quiet. It can start with a breath, a small movement, or a moment of stillness. It begins with the radical idea that you are already worthy, right here, right now.
If you’re in the thick of peri-menopause or menopause, this may sound like a stretch. These years can feel isolating and invisible. Hormones shift, sleep disappears, and bodies change without consent. Many women are told to tough it out, stay silent, or hustle harder, until they don’t even recognize the version of themselves in the mirror.
What if boldness in this season looked different? What if it meant honoring your body instead of battling it? Reclaiming your breath instead of holding it? Choosing grace over grind?
That’s where Qigong comes in. This gentle, restorative practice blends slow, flowing movement with breath work, visualization, and meditation. You don’t need prior experience, a yoga mat, or a fitness background. You don’t even have to stand. Qigong meets you wherever you are, whether you’re seated at your kitchen table or lying down in a quiet room. With every intentional breath, every fluid gesture reminds you: You are still powerful, still present, and still allowed to take up space.
I now lead weekly online Qigong sessions created especially for women in midlife. Cameras can stay off. Pajamas are welcome. There’s no choreography to master and no competition to fuel. These are circles where women can soften, move gently, and reconnect with the rhythm of their own vitality.
You don’t have to “get it right.” You just have to show up. Showing up for yourself is playing BIG.
Boldness doesn’t always shout. Sometimes it’s a quiet refusal to disappear. It’s a hand on your own heart saying, “I’m still here and I matter.”
You deserve to feel strong in your body, even as it changes. You deserve to feel seen, even if the world doesn’t always look your way. You deserve to live boldly, even if it starts with something as simple and sacred as your next breath.
Playing big isn’t always loud. Sometimes it is a whisper that says,” Stay, you belong here.” That is the message I send with every breath, every gentle sweep of an arm, every invitation to start where you are and remember who you’ve always been: whole, vibrant, and beautifully worthy.
You don’t have to change who you are to play big. You just have to believe you’re already enough. The rest will rise to meet you.
