Reframing Exercise (Principle 9)

[Guest guest]

I'm curious about other experiences. Please share!

I have a hard time wanting to exercise. I was reading this chapter again. First

time I read it I was not ready to apply the suggestions, I was still resisting

exercise. I needed a break from it to reframe its meaning for me.

Today though, I had an epiphany! It's amazing how when you're ready to move one

to another principle, you notice things in the chapter that you may not have

noticed before. My light bulb moment: I was a " crash exerciser " . It's similar to

a crash dieter. I exercised only to lose weight or punish myself. I abused

exercise. It was not to take care of myself, etc. So for a long time, I was not

ready to embrace this principle as I " shoulded " on myself about exercise all the

time. I always felt guilty whether I missed a session, didn't give it my all,

etc. I've had lots of guilt about exercise and how I should do it even though I

did not want to.

Now, I realize every bit counts! You don't need to sweat for it to count either.

" No-sweat activities make a physical difference. " I want to listen to my body's

cues that it needs some physical activity and honor it. Just like I do with

being hungry and satiated. It's all apart of respecting and taking care of

myself.

Please share your thoughts and experiences with this principle.

Freja

[Guest guest]

Hey Freja,

Sounds like, that with your epiphany, you're on the path to transform and heal

your relationship with movement...Yay!

I've shared alot of my experience with Principle 9: Exercise--Feel the

Difference on this group. I don't call it " exercise " anymore for me. I say

" exercise " , sometimes if I need to translate what I do for other people. Instead

I call what I do " movement " because that's what it is to me. My body likes to

and needs to move regularly to feel good and to maintain a full range of

mobility and flexible, among a host of other reasons I discovered for myself.

I've also found that daily movement actually helps balance out my emotional

states that affect my eating.

When I started IE in Jan '08, I focused on two principles, Honor Your Hunger and

Move[Exercise]--Feel the Difference. Due to all of the hoopla of so-called

experts emphasizing getting at least 30 minutes of exercise every day, I wanted

to test that " rule/recommendation " for myself. So, I decided to answer the

question of " In what ways and how would MY body respond to daily movement? " So,

I started a daily movement practice of walking every day in one direction for 27

minutes. 27 minutes appealed to me more than 30. I ended up walking more than

30 minutes because I would walk in one direction for 27. I came up with walking

in one direction in the morning because I remembered how as a child, I would

walk to school everyday rain or shine...my body did it then and so it could do

it now.

Although, I started thinking more about movement in January, I didn't start this

practice until the end of March. I created monthly calendars in Word and printed

them out because I wanted to track my progress and I bought a journal to track

my experiences. In the beginning, every day that I went out I would indicate the

time I moved and the number of steps (I started with a pedometer), so that I

could see my progress over time. I also sang this song to myself that included

the words " just put one foot in front of the other " from a Christmas cartoon. I

discovered that I enjoyed creating new walking " courses " for myself everyday. I

wouldn't walk in the same direction every day (unlike the times in the past that

I would go to the gym and do repetitive movements or the same routine on the

same machines).

I also discovered that it was amazing to be outside in nature every morning

before the world really woke up. My body would communicate with me more clearly

during those times to let me know where there were aches that I needed to pay

attention to and respond to by massaging the area, stretching, or moving the

area or to let me know that I was feeling good. I compiled a list of favorite

songs to put on my mp3 player to listen to anytime I needed a little extra

momentum. I sang out loud, punched the air as I walked, I did anything that felt

right. For the first time in my life, I gave myself dedicated body

care/connection time. As a result, I walked almost every day for 6 months of

last year. I have my specific statistics somewhere.

When the winter hit, it was bitterly cold last season, I was living in a

residential area without sidewalks and that had alot of dogs. So, my walking

every day decreased substantially. However, I had already learned the importance

of movement for my life. The walking every day also help me progressively add

other movement options that I love to my life. I learned about dance dance

revolution on this group. So, I got some video games for my brother's

playstation 2 and love it! I started adding more movement to my every day life.

Most times now when I go shopping (groceries or other), I put on comfortable

clothes and walking shoes and take my mp3 player. When I arrive at the store, I

park and then I walk around the area surrounding the store first for 27 minutes

or more and then I go shopping. I had to do this to get around the no sidewalk

issue where I was living in the winter. Typically there are always sidewalks

around and through plazas and commercial areas. If it is early enough and not

too many cars in the parking lot, I walk up and down the rows. I always walked

against traffic as a safety precaution.

Incidentally, all of that daily movement resulted in not 1 pound of weight loss.

Ha! I wrote down my measurements and weight when I started the practice. After 6

weeks, I took my measurements again and weighed myself...no movement down in

inches or pounds. I was a bit saddened by this situation at first. Then, I

realized that I hadn't experienced any movement up in size either...I was

actually maintaining! No movement up or down in weight indicated that I had

finally found a state a balance to me...which was what I was envisioning for

myself when I started IE. Three months...still the same pounds and inches...six

months still the same pounds and inches. So, another gift I received is that now

my motivation to move regularly is not attached to weight loss at all...instead

it's attached to a sense of well-being and felt balance in my life.

" Exercise " ...phewy!

Latoya

> Please share your thoughts and experiences with this principle.

>

> Freja

>

[Guest guest]

I have recently myself begun to do a little regular running/walking in the

mornings. I find for myself that the biggest thing for me at this time is the

mental benefits. I struggle with generalized anxiety at times and find this is

one of the best ways to help it. This is the first time I really feel like the

focus is on how I feel rather than trying to get a certain " look " from it.

Good luck to you!

>

> I'm curious about other experiences. Please share!

>

> I have a hard time wanting to exercise. I was reading this chapter again.

First time I read it I was not ready to apply the suggestions, I was still

resisting exercise. I needed a break from it to reframe its meaning for me.

>

> Today though, I had an epiphany! It's amazing how when you're ready to move

one to another principle, you notice things in the chapter that you may not have

noticed before. My light bulb moment: I was a " crash exerciser " . It's similar to

a crash dieter. I exercised only to lose weight or punish myself. I abused

exercise. It was not to take care of myself, etc. So for a long time, I was not

ready to embrace this principle as I " shoulded " on myself about exercise all the

time. I always felt guilty whether I missed a session, didn't give it my all,

etc. I've had lots of guilt about exercise and how I should do it even though I

did not want to.

>

> Now, I realize every bit counts! You don't need to sweat for it to count

either. " No-sweat activities make a physical difference. " I want to listen to my

body's cues that it needs some physical activity and honor it. Just like I do

with being hungry and satiated. It's all apart of respecting and taking care of

myself.

>

> Please share your thoughts and experiences with this principle.

>

> Freja

>