Let me say this: I despise going to the gym. I have never been one of those people who gets excited to spend an hour on an elliptical or rotate through the seemingly endless weight machines. Give me yoga or a dance class though am I am there.
One of the things I have learned this month is that you don’t need to exercise every day but you need to move your body. That sound way more fun to me because when you move you get to see and explore new things, and that is 100% part of my DNA.
This past month I have been actively movement 6 days a week at the EpicSelf Fellowship. It is for the most part 90 minutes of yoga/pilates training combined with at least an hour or more of movement like hikes or swimming. And yes that is every single day, usually in the heat, which helps increase the sweat factor.
I came into the fellowship worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up. If you have seen Amber’s videos you can see what a powerhouse she is.
But I am here to say: It has been just fine. And here’s why.
My body is my body …
… and its time for me to stop comparing myself to anyone else. This brings me absolute no value! Being inspired by someone else is great, but there is nothing that serves me by saying that someone else is better than me. In fact it mentally blocks me from pushing through the work and becoming physically stronger.
My body is stronger than I ever gave it credit for
This is a mantra Amber repeats every day – our bodies are stronger than we give them credit for. She always says it just when that self-doubt sneaks in. There is truth in that statement. By getting outside my head and turning off the voice that says, “nope, too hard” I am able to give my body the focus it needs to push forward in whatever it is I am doing.
My body is looser
I used to wake up every morning with some tightness or soreness. Not anymore. Sure, at time my muscles are sore from doing work but not because they have not been properly stretched. Yes, people, proper stretching is the key to all of this. This may be the most important part of your movement sequence. We all tend to over look this, but stay consistent!
My mind is clearer
By starting and ending my yoga/pilates sessions with a quick meditation my mind is clearer throughout the practice. After stepping away from my mat my brain is fired up and ready to take on the mental work. This month has been grueling in terms of work that needs to be done. Yet I never find that I have the mental fatigue that I one struggled with. I get quality work done faster.
You don’t have to be in a location like Costa Rica to find what works for your movement routine. If you can move, you can do movement every single day. This is one of the biggest take always that I will be taking home with me next month.
Let the entire world be your playground to move about in.
Until next time, pura vida!
