If you are breathing and conscious and thinking about
exercise, you are very fortunate. You have found time to exercise.
It is always time to "exercise." I have been just as guilty as
the next person in thinking I am too busy to exercise, and it is
time to admit I have been wrong. It is always time to exercise, and I can move
my body in a more positive way, to improve my physical fitness, no matter
whatever else it is I think I am doing with my body at the moment and whatever
else is occupying my conscious mind.
The problem is, I am not in the habit of moving my body. I
am in the habit of resting, unless the activity I am engaged in calls for physical
activity.
I am now going to work on changing that, until I am in the
habit of moving my body, unless the activity I am engaged in calls for remaining
at rest.
My brain is never too filled with compelling thoughts nor
too overflowing with the effort of mental work to have no room to allow for the thought, "How
do I stay alive?" Our brains are always working overtime with that
thought, though we are not conscious of what exactly it is that we are thinking
that results in our staying alive. Most of what we do toward that goal is done
out of habit.
We are in the habit of breathing. We are in the habit of
eating and drinking regularly. We are in the habit of avoiding dangerous people
and situations, of staying alert to our environment so that we can switch gears
at any moment, should there be a sudden need to stop whatever else it is we are
doing and immediately take action to protect our physical bodies from imminent
harm.
The trick now is, to make it a habit to recognize that there
is a new situation we must constantly be aware of and avoid. We must become
conscious that physical "INACTIVITY" is just as dangerous to our
health as the other things we consciously avoid, out of habit, in order to
avoid possible pain and injury.
Motion is the key. If you are moving, even if it is just a
little bit, you are avoiding inactivity. Define "exercise" as "remaining in
motion," and you will find that it is very easy to be exercising at every
moment.
Practice body awareness. Several times an hour, pause, and
consider the state of your body. If you find that your body is deeply entrenched in a state of
inactivity, simply move something. Any muscle will do, the more the merrier,
but move at least one muscle. Soon you will be thinking of exercise as the act
of increasing the amount of motion in which you are actively engaged.
Work on making "motion" your new habit for
physical fitness. Stop and think, discover what it is your body is doing, and
increase the number of muscles in action and the intensity of those actions. If
you are talking, wave your hands a little more. If you are sitting with your
legs crossed, bob one foot up and down. If you are driving, arch your back a little
bit, then reverse the arch and pull in your abdominal muscles a little bit. If
you are watching TV, do a "pelvic roll," moving your lower body in a
clockwise circular motion three times, then three times counterclockwise. If
you are laying in bed, make a fist and tighten your arm muscles all the way to
the shoulder, and then relax the muscles in reverse order. If you are in a meeting, hold your spine a little straighter, your head a little taller. Pull in your abdominal muscles, just for a few seconds.
It may seem harder to keep your body in motion when you are
in and around other people, unless you happen to be in an exercise class at a
gym. You may be concerned that others will notice your body motions and think
you are crazy if you are moving more actively than the people around you. This
is somewhat of a valid point, and is the reason why most people think of
"exercise" as something one must make time to do, and to do in a
place designated for "exercise."
However, look around you and find those who are most
physically fit. Even when they are sitting still, they seem to have more of a
body awareness. Their posture is straighter, they hold themselves more easily,
and, when it is time for them to get up and move, they transition to motion
more graciously.
Think of your body as "all of that stuff contained
within the sack called My Skin." It is a lot of work to hold up all that
stuff rather than let it sag and fall where it may, and the key to constant
motion is to work at holding it all up and actively hold it all together so
that it is the best body it could be.
Arrange the stuff in your sack in the most beautiful and
graceful way, and rearrange it during the course of the day, over and over again, until it becomes second nature to have your body be in motion. Hold your body in such a way that it is always at the ready for quick movement at a
moment's notice. Think of having the poise of a ballet dancer waiting for the
curtain to rise, the confidence of an Olympic marathon runner just before the
starter gun, the alert readiness of a soldier on patrol.
Use your imagination. Make your mind envision of your body the
various possibilities of what it could be. Make it your goal to recreate the stuff
of your body, inside your skin, until it is formed in a better way than what
you currently experience as "my body."
Recognize that "a little bit" more motion is all
it takes in order to avoid inactivity and maintain a healthier, more fit body.
Make it a habit to move, just "a little bit," at
every moment of the day. Avoid "INACTIVITY" consciously, until it becomes a habit
and you find that your body is almost always in motion.
What time is it? It is always time to exercise.