Move That body

Think about how we are made.

We are made to move.

Every part of our body moves in some way,

And it is all connected together.

If we were made to stand all day,

If we were made to sit or lay down all day,

What would it do to us?

When I was a kid, I was called a monkey because I would climb a tree or climb a door frame. I would even climb and get up on the roof of our house. I was so flexible I could place my foot back behind my head. I was kind of a tomboy, but I grew out of it pretty quick as I was sick quite a bit and matured early. I remember practicing doing cartwheels every day one summer just so I could do that and land into the splits. My sister and I would play music in our playroom when we were kids and dance until we were laying on the floor. I think falling off of a trampoline a couple of times as well as when a horse kicked me off (when I was a teenager) hurt me in ways where it made me leery of doing certain activities. I remember in elementary school being one of the last kids to be picked on any sports team. I just wasn’t coordinated and didn’t care to be active., I felt like the oddball because P.E. was practically everybody’s favorite time when it wasn’t mine. If it meant being the center of attention, I did not want it. I never cared for the teachers calling on me because it meant all eyes were on me even if I knew the correct answer.

As I became a teenager (and into my adult years), I was never consistent with exercise. I was more interested in makeup, skincare, writing, reading, singing, and listening to music. I was more of an indoor person than an outdoor and have always been that way.

I had friends in high school that did track, cheerleading, or some other sports and they have stayed active throughout their lifetime. I have other friends who started running in their college years or a little after who have stayed active as well. I just wasn’t that way. I didn’t like running, but then I didn’t like sweating. When I lived in California, I found a love of hiking. But I did not do it with any regularity.

So what happened? Life happened. Due to not being consistent with exercise, I became depressed more than twice in my life. Eating the wrong way did not help. There were some people in my life who were not a good influence on me; obviously, that didn’t help matters. I became my own worst enemy.

During my marriage, we had our ups and downs (with way too many things). I had a miscarriage a year after we married and I turned to food for comfort and packed on way too much weight, at my heaviest I weighed close to 280 pounds. During that time, exercise was not on my mind. I would get out some and walk, but not with any consistency or regularity. I turned inward where I was not helping myself. In reality, I was doing more harm than good. I did not like what I saw in the mirror and I knew I needed to make changes.

Before I left out of my marriage, I started making slow changes. When I left out of the marriage, I started walking more than ever. I started out by walking once a day and walking as far as I could comfortably walk adding more steps when I could tolerate it. Then I added walking 2 to 4 times a day even if it was just for 15 minutes. On my breaks at work, I would go walk. During my lunch hour, I would take some of that time and go walk. Sometimes, I would walk before or after work. It really just depended on what my schedule allowed every day. At one point, I could walk 1 mile in a little over 15 minutes. I lost 92 pounds in a few years. I made no excuse to walk. If the weather didn’t make it possible to get out, I would just make sure to get out on the days when it was nice outside and do my best to exercise longer.

Walking became my therapy, and it is still my therapy. I don’t walk as much as I use to and I have put on some weight. Making no excuse to walk helped me to make exercise a priority. Now when I miss a day or two of walking, I pay for it in some way. I hurt more; my aches, pains, and arthritis make me get out to go walking. Why? It helps to move even when you are hurt even if it is just a stroll in the neighborhood. I have pulled tendons and muscles over the years, and have been in excruciating pain and I still find ways to walk and exercise in some way. Just recently, I started going to a gym two to three times a week.

Once I made exercise a priority & a habit, I want to do it. I miss walking when I don’t do it. I crave it; my body craves it. Anybody can do it; it’s just the choice of what you want to do. Doing something you enjoy and helping you move your body is what matters. It doesn’t matter if you walk, jog, run, swim, or dance, but do something that involves moving all parts of your body.

I share all this because I have been active, inactive, and in pain. I can say from experience it is vital for my health to move. It is vital for your health to move. It is vital that we all move our bodies for our health. All it takes is a willingness to do it; it takes one step to spring you to action to move that body.