You cannot get back to or maintain curvature without physical exercise. You can’t. That much is a give. What ISN’T a “given” is whether or not I’ll make it to the gym or at least do some kind of workout at home.

As I watched the clock move closer to 8:30am on Saturday, I reminded myself of a few things:
1. You can either continue to SAY you want to do/live/bet better…or…you can actually put in the work.
2. Exercise is like any other investment. Start slow and build from there. Start where you are and work up to where you want to be.
3. I.AM.WORTH.IT.

Earlier this month, I was jazzed because I found a few classes at my gym that I wanted to try. I added them to my calendar and sent myself a reminder so I could be ready to attend.

Um. See. What had happened was….

*Sigh*

After letting myself be distracted one too many days by the ‘day-to-day’, I hit the gym Saturday morning for an 8:30AM “Beginners” Pilates class.

Guess what?

The gym hit me back cause that “Beginners” class was NO joke. LOL

I mean, the good news is (1) I made it to the gym, to class and & I stayed and (2) I was the only student so I got one-on-one instruction. The bad news is (1) I was the only student so I had no one to hide behind. and more importantly, (2) apparently I needed the “Pre-Beginners” class. LOL

Maaaaaaaaan, Pilates is all about working & strengthening your core muscles (and yes, that’s deeper than trying to get ‘six-pack abs’).

Baby, let me tell YOU – my core muscles were HUMMING after that workout and they were NOT happy that I’ve tried to awaken them out of what has been a deep sleep.

Being the wise & all-knowing person that I am, I packed some other stuff thinking I’d hit the treadmill or other cardio machines after my class.

Ha!

I dragged my barefooted self out of the yoga studio into the locker room where I leaned against the bench (couldn’t even drag myself into a seated positon) while I tried to regulate my breathing. I rubbed my tummy and profusely murmured apologies and made promises that what I was doing was for our combined good and would get easier over time. I don’t really think my core was feeling me in the moment though.

Hopefully my on-call rotation this week won’t put a crimp in my workout schedule. I generally workout early mornings because it’s rare for things to just “come up” at 5am. But with a cell phone AND a pager glued to my hips for the next seven days? You just never know.

Think I’m going to do ‘meatless’ three times this week. That combined with getting in more exercise/movement and being steady with my water intake should coax the needle further “to the left, to the left”.

Losing “It”,
*~* MsJayye *~*

As 2008 ended, I started this series of posts about improving my health. 2008 was all about getting my money straight and I did that – in a big way. So, standing on the threshold of 2009, I decided to take that same “money” mindset and apply it to my health.

“Financially speaking”, I took a long look at “what was” – the current state of my finances as of 1/1/2008…pulled credit reports/scores, determined who I owed, how much, pay off dates, interest rates, savings, investments, upcoming expenses (home repairs, auto repairs, vacation, etc), where I was spending too much, etc. A detailed “financial snapshot”.

I set SPECIFIC goals for 2008 – what I wanted to pay off & when, savings goal for 2008, etc. I broke all of that down by quarters and then by months. I experimented with different methods of tracking my progress until I found a combination that worked for me. And I stayed on top of it. The end results were well worth the effort – the planning, restructuring of plans, the tough decisions (saying “no” to those gold sandals was NOT easy…at all! LOL). There were times when I slipped but rather than beating myself up or giving up, I stepped back, reviewed the plan and made adjustments. I never changed the goal. I NEVER CHANGED THE GOAL. It wasn’t always easy but it definitely was worth it. ALWAYS.

That’s the mindset I decided to transfer to improving my health. Why not? I deserve it. After all, “HEALTH IS THE FIRST WEALTH”. And then…I crashed and burned. A little bit. Instead of breaking old habits and creating new ones, I let myself be lulled back into the “same old same old” by everyday distractions. Thankfully, I’m at a place in my life where I know that “SOSO” doesn’t work for me and so, I went back to planning mode.

I thought about one of the tenets of personal finance and realized that is so very applicable to my health:

PAY YOURSELF FIRST.

That has become one of the mantras for improving my health. What does that mean to me?

* I make myself a priority. I’m at the top of my own To-Do list EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. Without apology, explanation, or second thought. It simply is. (I would say “It is what it is” but if you know me personally, you know how & why that phrase makes my teeth itch. And…you know her name. LOL) No more “penciling myself in”. (Sidenote: if you go through life penciling YOURSELF in, others will follow suit. Remember – YOU teach people how to treat you.)

* I make healthier food choices. Less fried foods. Less sugar. No sodas. More veggies. The key for me is not only making healthier choices but pushing myself to eat 4-6 small “meals” daily.

* I put my workouts on my calendar. There is no such thing for me as “finding” time – I make the time, INTENTIONALLY. I’m a morning person so AM workouts win hands down. Plus, very few things just “come up” at 5am; can’t say the same is true for 5pm. And as I deal with bouts of “fibro fog”, I find those AM workouts help clear my mind for the workday. AND I start the day with more energy. On days when I don’t make it to the gym, I try to get in more movement during the day and/or workout at home.

* I get the right amount of rest for me. This was another area that I had to play around with before finding what works for me. Sleeping 8 hours is ok but I feel a little groggy afterwards and it takes me longer to get geared up so generally between 6-7 hours of sleep is my “sweet spot”.

* I use the power of “NO” - I don’t obligate myself to do things because others “expect” me to. I’ve become very protective of my time and energy and refuse to take on the world. I can’t be everything to everybody. Don’t need to be nor do I want to be. And I don’t apologize or explain that either. I’m still helpful but within reason. No more automatically giving up things I want to do or need to do for self for the sake of others. No my loves, when it comes to my schedule and my health, you will have to “get in where you fit in”.

* I clear space in my day to reconnect with Spirit, to just sit in peace, doing nothing…just “being”. We’re always rushing, running, doing. We don’t always give ourselves time to just relax and unwind until life tosses us a few curves that force our hand. I don’t jump up in the morning starting my day in a rush. No more “eyes-open-automatically-scrolling-through-the-mental-to-do list”. I ease into my day, giving myself a few minutes to just be still, to just breathe and then I turn my thoughts to the kind of day I want to have followed by what I need to do to make that day manifest. I work towards that day steadily, adjusting my focus & energy as needed. I pause throughout the work day to just stop and breathe, maybe take a quick walk or utter a quick prayer. When I get home, I take 5-10 minutes to decompress before I tackle whatever needs to happen. Before bed, I give myself 15-30 minutes to strip away the remnants of the day. That might mean journaling, meditating/praying, listening to some calming music, a bubble bath, etc.

* I prepare for the next day the night before. I pack my breakfast, lunch and gym bag. That removes the morning rush. To streamline the gym process, when I buy personal care items (lotion, body wash, moisturizer, etc), I buy two of each so I don’t have to transfer things from my bathroom counter to my workout bag. Less chance of getting to the gym and realizing you forgot something. When I get up on “gym day”, I grab a bottle of water & a breakfast bar, snatch up my gym bag/clothes and I’m on my way. Sans rushing.

There are lots of “little” things that we can do every day that will help move us towards better health on all levels. It doesn’t have to be an all or nothing deal, especially if you know that’s not who you really are. There’s no shame in starting small. There might be in not starting at all. *shrug*

Here’s to YOUR health!
*~* MsJayye *~*