Step by Step: Sneaking up on Fitness

J. W. Waterhouse: The Lady of Shalot Looking at Lancelot via Wikipedia

I'm sure that mine is a commonplace story.

As a child & teenager, running full-out towards Fitness was easy.  Looking back it seems that it was almost effortless, though I know that's really not the case.  Dancing, swimming, skiing, biking & walking everywhere I wanted to go.  Sure there were sore muscles and a guaranteed good night's sleep but injury and real fatique just didn't enter into the picture.  I never "watched what I ate" and was often described as "skinny".  Ahhh ... those were the days :))

As a young adult my pursuit of Fitness was still head-on;  Aerobic classes (feel the burn!), Step classes, Spin classes (I must have cycled to Amsterdam & back).  The effort was now conscious but my body still followed me as long as I wasn't too gung-ho.

Life happened, as it tends to do.

As a young mother I often imagined an invisible umbilical cord connecting my daughter to me.  Energy flowed in one direction, towards her.  I never begrudged a bit of it.  I did, however, start resenting those Aerobics Instructors yelling "eight more" at me when I did manage to make it to a class.

Stress from work and the physical changes that come with aging.  Now there's a vicious cycle!  My mind & body were working together again and it wasn't in a good way.  For more years than I care to remember, Fitness (and its partner Health) kept kicking me to the curb just when I needed them the most.  Thank goodness I managed to maintain a tenacious hold through Pilates as I hoped for better things to come.

An attitude adjustment was in order.

Though it's now pretty much impossible for me to chase full-tilt after Fitness, I do know I can still sneak up on it, step by step.  With Pilates, yoga and, more recently, a wonderful little gadget called Fitbit (you've just got to love technology sometimes!) I think I've finally solved my Fitness puzzle.  I couldn't be more delighted or relieved to be back on track!

P.S. Regarding the Lady of Shalot, It's not clear to me who cursed & imprisoned her but I do wish she could have broken free and kicked his/her butt.  Then having won her freedoom, gone on to live a happy and productive life.  The lady had courage,  too bad she couldn't have outsmarted her adversary and found balance in her life.