No More Exercise

One of the most common New Year's resolutions I hear is to exercise more. Most people have fallen prey to the diet industry's proclamation that there is something wrong with their body and therefore they must punish it into submission, typically by restricting ever-changing food categories, purchasing and consuming odd over-priced concoctions and signing up for a marathon. I hear rephrasing like, "I just feel better if I excercise," and "I just need to lose a few pounds," but the implication is the same... I've got to work harder to fit the standard. I must get myself into the prescribed box.

As a former scholarshipped athlete and collegiate coach, I can't argue with feeling better when you move. I am the same way. In fact ALL of my systems function better if I use my body the way it's designed to be used, which is very inconvenient in the culture I currently occupy. If I move, I digest smoother. I sleep better. My mind functions more clearly. I am happier and calmer. All this in a world where I do not have to catch or grow my own food, I have a car that can get me sixty miles away in an hour, and I don't even have to get out of said car to get a burger and fries in my hand.

The problem is not with the needed countercultural self-discipline. The problem is with the language we use to describe it and the methods we choose to employ.

Acting when I am the only one whose actions make a difference is important. But action need not be some unachievable, unrealistic, self-punishing behavior. I simply need to act. To take a breath, if you will. "Exercise" sounds like an annoying, unsustainable habit. "Work out" sounds like exactly that: work. If you need to move your body, what are some small ways you could do that more? And in a way that works for you?

Could you park farther from the front of the store? Could you make yourself go in, rather than buzzing through the drive-thru (or having the restaurant bring the food to you!)? Could you dance in the shower? Could you join a class at the gym you actually enjoy instead of the one you dread? Could you walk in your lovely neighborhood? If you're a morning person, move your body in the morning. If you're a night person, move your body at night!

The goal really need not be to punish yourself. The goal instead could be, "What works better for me?" Last year most of my body movement was walking outside. And I started doing handstands because they're fun. Join me this year in doing a little more of what works for you.