Move v. Sit
Mea culpa. I am chagrined to admit that I have been neglecting this project. It has been over a month and I have no excuse other than admitting to not sitting myself down to write a little something. I kept waiting for the timely intersection of free time and inspiration (=coffee) to connect. Alas, this is not going to be the proper equation to get ‘er done. Don’t tell anyone, but I am writing this at work!!!
I am in probably one of the slowest places on the planet and still wishing it would slow down. I realize that “time’ has become a running theme, AND IT IS a thing! This 40 hour work week deal really cuts into one’s free time… :)
And when not working, I find myself engaged in all kinds of new activities (the latest are stand up paddling and pickle ball) as I return to a recurrent pattern in my life = times of gross outdoor motor movement. I am not sedentary by nature, but had been cultivating the ability to sit for a while in a gradual and hopefully graceful acceptance of aging. I had a couple of nagging injuries that limited some activities. As well, living in the middle of town and the ever spreading metropolitan area had begun to erode my tendency towards getting out whether to hike or to bike. I had traded those activities for a very solid yoga practice which was always indoors. Heat has also become a factor for me when thinking about moving. Even gearing myself up for yard work had become a thing. I wonder at how much I had closed myself in.
I think that it is a good skill to have, to be able to slow oneself down, to not overdo. As a lifestyle choice, however, I may have been cutting myself a little short. Not anymore!
On Lana’i, I’m finding new rhythms. Granted, it makes a pretty significant difference that the projected high temperature for the foreseeable future is 78’, but excuses can still be made to stay in bed or on the couch in any circumstance. And yet, I’m tuning into and taking advantages of more opportunities to venture into finding a balance between taxing and over-taxing myself. As I said, this is a recurrent theme as previously I had a tendency to blow myself straight into depletion. These days, I am really pleased to find myself getting fitter and healthier through more outside time doing a variety of physical activities and also being more consistent with my recharge activities of rest, sleep and diet. And will wonders never cease, I’ve even become better about taking a multivitamin and drinking 64oz. of water per day. I could have done a lot of this in San Antonio, but I really was kind of imploding towards complacency with regard to movement, and so it would seem with everything else.
Ironically as I was seemingly slowing down over the last few years, I was also learning more and more about the importance of movement to the body through yoga. Through teaching, I became more and more aware of how movement is critical to the health of all the body’s systems, physically and energetically. Movement, regardless of what you’re doing, is one of the pillars of health right up there with eating, sleeping and breathing. This is a bit of an exaggeration for a normal, healthy adult, but we all know about death by broken bone for the elderly or compromised. It is not the broken bone that causes the breakdown, but rather the lack of movement. It shows how critical movement is to all the systems of the body. The body does not function well without it, and neither do we. Mood and mental resilience are also positively affected.
And so, I am indeed pleased with myself. Not only has my brain responded well to all the new input and learning, but my body is still able to respond to new (and some old) stimulation as well. I encourage us all to continue to make conscious the necessity of movement for greater health and well being by remembering that sometimes your recharge is to not to sit, but to move.
