If you’re middle aged and feel pain when you wake up, this is for you and it’s about how to give your SELF some body LOVE!!! Even if you’re not middle aged, I can’t help but think this will be a good practice for everyone.
I was waking up in pain almost daily about 18 months ago (at the age of 43) and I thought, “So this is middle age? F— that! If I’m going to wake up in pain, its going to be from working out!”
I started a daily movement practice focused on my body (not teaching clients or supporting others — that time doesn’t count) on 11/12/12 and did 30 minutes of daily embodiment exercises of various forms (yoga, poi, dance, pilates, aerobics, walking, whatever) every day since then, even on days when I’ve been “sick” — of which there have been few days since I started this. I believe, fewer than previously and I believe this is related.
Some of the movement is more strenuous, some of it more aerobic, some of it more rehabilitative (30 minutes on a roller, for example), some of it is about flexibility and all of it is about being in more flow with my physical form.
It’s the single best health decision I made for myself since the day when I was 315 pounds and decided I’d be dead at 30 if I didn’t make a change. Unlike that day when I was 22, half my life ago, this change has been a ‘move toward’ (pain free living and greater physical capabilities) strategy rather than the ‘move away from’ (death) strategy. Very effective.
And I know there’s the, “I don’t have time for a daily practice” thing going on in someone’s head reading this.
I realized: I don’t have time not to have a practice! I spent more time being in pain and dealing with the consequences of waking up in a foul mood or not feeling good in my body than I do actually doing my practice. Even at my current daily ritual (60 minutes a day).
My body was “getting old” and I don’t have time for that. I feel younger than ever and even though its a drag doing it sometimes, I was so inspired I changed the practice to 60 minutes a day just before the new year and while I feel more worked, I’m in the best shape of my life. Of course, I was never young and in shape so it’s not the same for me as those of you who have always had hot bodies that are breaking down.
Yet, I have to think: if you’ve always been inclined to being in shape, it should be easier to fall into a pattern to support staying in shape than to develop a pattern that gets you in more shape than you’ve ever been in previously, so if this once-upon-a-time-fat-girl can do it, so can you!!!
Beyond the obvious physical benefits is the stress relief!!! I am more even tempered, I’m generally in a better mood and I can handle my stress with greater ease and higher levels. For me, the ritual, the time for myself, and honoring my body daily has been a HUGE transformational experience.
On this day all about love, I say this: if you’re looking for pain relief and a way to support yourself, this is my suggestion for some serious SELF LOVE! ❤
PS: Pass it on!
Posted on February 15, 2014 by PoiPriestess
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