WOW – A Month into this New Lifestyle!
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It really is crazy how the time goes, and I was keenly aware that today marked the first month of my journey to rehaul my life. I really took the day to reflect, and center myself, to focus on eating well, breathing deeply, and taking inventory of what I've accomplished. I haven't lost any more weight since that initial 5 pounds but I am not at all concerned about that. I find that in itself a remarkable change for me. At any other time in my life I would be "dieting" and marking my progress with the scales. |
If I were to go 2 weeks without losing a pound I would be thrown in to the absolute depths of despair! I would go on a rampage, exercise myself sick, and starve myself and by golly i would conquer that weight!
I am at peace this time that changing weight is easybut changing the habits (i.e. lifestyle) that created the weight in the first place requires much more discipline. I believe I said in a different post that I am laying the foundation upon which the rest of my life will be built.
So today, given that I am a month old, I did a lot of reflecting. I realize that I've been trying to conquer the exercise demon and I've been not really sure why that is such an issue for me. Like everything though, I have come to see that it is my attitude towards exercise that has been holding me back.
Exercise is work. Exercise is not fun. If you ask most people they will tell you they do not like exercise. These are the impressions that we have in our mind. My mind, body and soul resists that which I do not like. I don't do anything I don't like any more, and that is the truth about my life now. Luckily I have the luxury of being able to choose in that regard.
So here is how I decided to see exercise… I am approaching as the new me, and I don't look at anything the way I used to. That was another life, a different woman. Now I am a person who honors myself, and the people, and beings that I come in contact with every day. A part of honoring myself is not just putting good nutritious nourishment in my body, but also keeping this vessel supple. What good is fuel if it is not expended. Fuel is meant to be used.
So to continue on this theme, and to follow what I have practiced all of my life, I am only going to do what feels good, and honor myself. What a wonderful decision. I felt like a huge pressure had been lifted. I've got it all figured out.
I had also sent away the other day for a book and DVD set on Yoga… which I have been wanting to explore for a long time. I purchased the set from Monica Matthews Yoga and it came on Wednesday. (The DVD and Manual combined was only $40).
So I hopped on the exercise bike and set it for 20 minutes and started reading. Now let me tell you that I was soon totally engrossed in what I was reading. I find it very interesting that I have been led to explore Yoga given that I am on this journey of connectivity, and exploration of self.
Yoga seems to be the right thing for me philosophically right now as well.
Before I knew it the timer was going off, and I was still reading. How about that! I pedaled for another 10 minutes so that I could end at a place that made sense in the book, and then I decided that I would like to do some lower body work.
I imagined how good it was going to feel to be in control of the muscles of my lower body while I stretched each muscle group. I truly took my time stretching, and being present for the movement, allowing myself to really feel the muscles extending and enjoying the feel of that. When I felt sufficiently stretched, I did some crunches, some lateral leg lifts, some lunges and some squats. Yes I really did enjoy it! When I was done I felt good, and as I stretched out again I took some time to marvel that a simple change in the way I saw something could make such a profound difference in the way I allowed myself to feel about it. For me it seems to be all about choice. "I am not doing this because I have to, I am choosing to do it because it feels good."
You know I even got on the bike later in the day and did another 20. hehe I wanted to read some more and didn't want to waste the time!
I feel like I have crossed another small marker on this journey. You may be wondering what the significance of the journal picture is. Obviously this online journal is very motivating to me, and hopefully inspiring to others, but I have not been really tracking exactly what I am eating nor am I writing down my exercises for the day. I think it might be helpful for me in the future if I have some kind of physical progress record, so I started writing down those things today. Won't it be fun to look back and see what a difference it made that day I decided to love moving my body!
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Tags: control, exercise, Fat Loss Journal, honor, Monica Matthews, yoga
You’ve got a very healthy outlook on life, and taking time to reflect is often forgotten in today’s fast moving world.
Congratulations on crossing another marker……………:)
Lisa thank you so much for your visit, and kind comments! You’ve crossed my path today and made the journey brighter!! :-)
[...] is amazing, I feel stronger, lighter, and happier. If you read my post from yesterday, then you know that I finally conquered the exercise demon. I simply changed the way I viewed [...]
Congrats on your milestone! It’s funny how we all view exercise differently. I love to exercise, it’s just finding the time to do it.
Once we get into the habit of exercising it’s a lot easier! Also, if we find something we enjoy doing it really helps! That’s great about reading the book – time flew by and you got some exercise! Ya gotta do what ya gotta do! ;)
“I am not doing this because I have to, I am choosing to do it because it feels good.”
Great quote! And you’ll probably find that as you do it, the exercise will feel better and better to you.
It does feel good to stretch!!