In retrospect, I’ve definitely been a trendy exerciser.

I’ve done step, I’ve run, I love Pilates, hiking, weight lifting and various forms of cardio. I’m both a certified Spinning and yoga instructor.

One of the main reasons that I’ve tried these different forms of working out is that I sincerely love to exercise. I’m one of those people that just truly enjoys moving my body, sweating, and the glowing after-effects of endorphins.

But now I’m a mom. More, my kids are 5 and 1. In other words, exercise used to be something that I did nearly every day, and it was either planned around work, or securely fit into my schedule as that special time just for myself—something I loved doing, and something that relieved stress. As a mother, however, fitness is something I have to hold on to and work to make time for, rather than something that’s a relatively easy add-on to an already full day.

My husband and I—both avid exercise enthusiasts—can attest to the reality that parenting young kids means that workouts are basically always too short, and never quite as frequent as we would prefer. This said, it is a priority in my life, kids or no kids.

Following are my go-to tips that help ensure I exercise almost every day (even though I’m usually surrounded by two adorable tiny workout companions).

1. Let go of time limits.

It’s wonderful to have goals—such as working out for an hour—but some is always better than none.

My biggest piece of practical advice is to completely let go of idealistic time frames, and simply aim to move—in some way, every day, whether it’s dancing in the kitchen while making dinner, or to an online Pilates podcast found YouTube (hint, hint).

2. “Do it for 10 minutes” philosophy.

This extraordinarily basic philosophy works well. When I don’t want to work out, but I know that I’ll feel better if I do, I subscribe to this concept I made up years ago—I tell myself I’ll exercise for only 10 minutes, and then I can stop if I’m still not in the mood.

In probably 20 years of doing this, I think I’ve stopped twice. Because once I surpass that initial hurdle of just doing it, I’ve wanted to continue for at least another 10 or 20 minutes, or more.

3. Try new things.

This seems like common sense, but it’s easy to get into a routine. It’s ideal, really, to fall into a space in life where exercise is regular and predictable. But sometimes routine can mean rut.

Trying a new form of exercise can get us out of ruts, both mentally and physically. It’s good to change it up, at least every now and then.

4. Buy home equipment.

I have been a gym rat and a yoga studio regular, but my absolute preference is to exercise at home. There is no excuse for missing a workout that happens in my living room.

Purchase a yoga mat, or a set of dumbbells—anything!—and then leave them out in the middle of the living room. Make sure you have to trip over them to turn on the lamp.

This has worked doubly well for me, because I, for example, leave three yoga mats next to my couch—one for me and one for each of my kids. Often, it’s my girls that get out the mats—and how do I not move a little bit when that happens?

5. Never give up.

I’ve had two periods of my life when I’ve been unable to workout due to illness, and my husband, when I felt frustrated, would ask me the same question: “You’re in it for the long haul, aren’t you?”

Yes—yes, I am.

I move my body because it feels good. I take care of myself so that I can enjoy my life and health in other ways. I exercise for the sheer pleasure of it, and, equally, because I want to be well for as long as I’m able.

Life brings many variables—ones which we are not in charge of; ones that can leave us feeling helpless. (The best laid plans.) We are in charge of how we treat our bodies, though, and this reality has been empowering to me when I felt out of control in other areas of my life.

What’s one way that you stay motivated to exercise? Share below in comments!

The post 5 Mom-Backed Tips on How to Squeeze Exercise into Every Single Day first appeared on Jennifer S. White.

My body holds my tension from yesterday, unless I unravel it through movement.

I charge myself each morning by moving, whether for 5 minutes as the kids play, and we perform our morning getting-ready-for-the-day rituals, or for closer to 60, if the baby naps and I’m able.

My dad asked me yesterday about my sequence of exercise; for example, do I practice yoga after I lift weights? I told him that I don’t, currently, have the luxury of so much planning.

Instead, I might place my mat on the carpet, next to my daughters’ two tinier sticky mats; where we’ll “play” through some vinyasa yoga sequences or Pilates movements. Other moments, I hastily grab a few free weights, from where they’ve frequently been stashed in my bedroom—much to my husband’s annoyance as he tries to open the closet door quickly before work. I press out a few shoulder sets as the kids and I watch Signing Time on Netflix.

And then there are the mornings, like this one—grey and overcast, with snow barely covering the still-green grass. The baby is in her crib, not yet sure if she wants to fall asleep. (I watch her breathing become deeper on the video monitor, but then she moves, and sits up and starts talking.)

I have my cheap little TENS unit on my back as I write this, preparing my spine and cranky back muscles for, what I’m hoping, will be at least a 30-minute yoga practice.

My oldest daughter is at school, but only for a few short hours in the morning. (I’m grateful for this—I love having her home with me, but she loves school too.)

For me, moving my body isn’t something I have to force. I mean, from time to time it is, but generally it’s a highlight of my day. More, as a stay-at-home mother, it’s something I do just for me.

I love the sensations of tracing my breaths along with the movements of my body, as it flows and shifts through postures, or as I inhale and exhale intentionally while strength training.

I used to feel selfish for unrolling my yoga mat and doing 20 minutes of core work, with the children playing around me. Sometimes, I still do. Mostly, I know I’m a better mother for taking care of myself—my own needs, my own body, my own mind.

Exercise is a mood-buster, when the skies are grey and my temperament follows suit.

I feel the tightness from yesterday, that I carried into today, in my shoulders or jaw, from holding my mouth shut in an effort to not yell at my daughters when I’m intensely frustrated by their little-girl shenanigans.

I feel the emotion lodged behind my heart, where it catches in my shoulder blade, from stifled sobs at watching them grow up faster than I want.

I do cry sometimes—not often, but I do; I yell sometimes—more than I wish I did—and each day I leave behind the one before, as much as I humanly can, through moving myself, and making space within my body.

I make space for new opportunities in a new day.

I’m grateful for my love of exercise and I’m even more thankful that I finally understand balance. After years and years of over-exercising, I accept that I love it perhaps more than the average person, but that life isn’t meant to revolve around working out either.

I told my dad that I workout because I like it, but that I’m conscientious that what I’m doing is functional, for me and for my life.

I told him I do leg weights and hold Warrior poses and boat poses and planks, because I want to run after my kids and have kitchen dance parties. I do shoulder weights so that I can pick them up.

I stopped working out to look good in a bikini the day my daughter was born, and that’s the real secret.

We want to guilt our bodies, shame our hearts, or trouble our brains, and force ourselves to move. I decided I’m not willing to hate my body, or over-train it anymore, simply to look a certain way at 30-something.

The baby didn’t nap. I picked her up from her crib as she smiled into my eyes. We bundled her up and went to meet her sister at the bus, at the edge of our stone driveway.

Inside, I put off making lunch, and I unrolled my sticky mat. I didn’t change clothes. Rather, I tossed my jeans and socks to the side and moved and breathed through a backbending sequence. The baby giggled at me from her swing and my oldest decompressed to another episode of Signing Time.

I felt a tinge of guilt in my mommheart for taking this time for myself. The guilt unraveled and released, along with my back muscles.

I want to create a lifelong love affair with my body, and with myself. I want to show my daughters what it’s like to be in love with ourselves, and not unnecessarily battling for a fickle societal standard.

If we want to love exercising our bodies, then we have to find enjoyment in moving for our souls.

The post How to Love Exercise. first appeared on Jennifer S. White.

Working out first thing in the morning isn’t my preference, but it’s something I’ve done for years.

I’m not exactly a morning person. I’m not a night owl either. Instead, give me a good afternoon—like lunchtime—that’s when I’m gold.

Seriously, though, I have two young children who I stay home with. Before them I had jobs outside of my home, and exercising in the morning—even if it meant getting up really early—was always the best way to ensure success. For me, moving my body after breakfast or, at least, a cup of coffee sets my day off in the healthiest way possible.

Following are the scientifically-proven reasons I work out almost every day. (Perhaps surprising to some will be that none of these motivations have anything to do with how my body looks.)

1. Energy.

Exercise is scientifically proven to provide us with energy. So when I wake up lacking energy for my day—which is not a good thing since I’m in charge of two extremely busy little children—working out is my go-to pick-me-up. (I’m a coffee nut, too, but even coffee holds nothing compared to the energy-boost of exercise.)

2. Mood.

I, frankly, wake up grumpy more often than I’d like to own up to.

The thing is, as nearly all parents know, we wake up when are kids do, which is hardly ever when we would choose to get out of bed. Rather than mope around all day, I make my beloved coffee and move my body in some way for at least 20 minutes. I feel almost instantly better after a short yoga practice, or lifting weights or my favorite cardio workout, my circa-1990-something NordicTrack.

I’ll be honest, sometimes when I’m home with the kids, my workout consists simply of pressing out a few sets of free weights while we watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse together.

There are several science-backed reasons for why even these short amounts of exercise create a better mood, only one of which is connected to the release of feel-good brain chemicals like endorphins.

3. Fights off colds.

This is a complex discussion, but, in short, moderate levels of regular exercise can help prevent us from getting sick. Partly, this is because moderate exercise increases T cells.

Exercise doesn’t have to be intense either—conversely, over-exercising can have the opposite effect.

4. Confidence builder.

Working out makes me feel good about myself. For one, I feel like I’m doing something good for myself, and this sets off a chain reaction of better choices throughout the rest of my day (which is another reason I prefer morning sessions).

More, exercise helps me shake off how I felt yesterday; it allows each day to feel like a new opportunity for success and joy. What’s a better self-esteem boost than that?

5. Coping skills.

Especially as a mother to daughters, it’s important to me that I’m giving them the chance to learn healthy coping skills. Exercise can absolutely be a healthy, positive way to cope with life’s inevitable stress and periods of melancholy.

When my husband comes home from work, and my kids have been a challenge that day, and all mama really wants is a glass of wine, I almost never pour that wine until I’ve taken a “mommy timeout” and exercised. Give me 20 minutes of one of my favorite workouts, and that wine can then be enjoyed instead of needed.

And, yes, I have motivations that are related to my body.

Regular exercise is one of the largest reasons that my weight has maintained itself, aside from pregnancies, for years and years. Exercise is good for us, inside and out, but, for me, I’ve found time and time again that my most powerful motivators usually have nothing to do with my appearance.

I think the reality that I’ve learned to accept exercise as a part of my lifestyle—and not centered it around physical appearance—is the top reason that it’s been such a consistent part of my life. Only when we benefit from the true rewards of exercise are we fully able to understand why people want to do it.

In addition to my offerings listed above, there are several other science-based exercise rewards, like better sleep and even a better sex life. Still, I have people tell me all the time that they don’t know how I stay so motivated.

I’ve worked out on most days for years, through pregnancy and child-rearing and chronic illness and, you know what? I’ve decided that I want to share how I stay motivated in the hopes to inspire just one more person to come alive and better enjoy her life by beginning to move a little bit each day.

Why do you workout? If you have a motivation that you’d like to share, I’d love to hear from you in comments.

The post 5 Best Proven Motivations for Exercise (That Have Nothing to Do with Appearance). first appeared on Jennifer S. White.

One of my current pet peeves is reading a celebrity interview where a Hollywood mother of young children says her workout is “chasing the children.”

Come on. We all know it’s not.

You have help with the kids and a personal trainer and exercise at least three days a week, and you know it. Stop making other mamas feel like we should have six-pack abs and chiseled deltoids from cruising after toddlers.

That said, I workout almost every day and I can vouch for the reality that it’s not easy. It is, however, a priority. Here are eight realistic tips for any parent who wants to get into great shape, all while the little ones are around.

1. Don’t wait for help.

Sometimes it feels like my husband and I could spend an entire Saturday piggy-backing workouts. Actually, we have.

I don’t live by my family or have a babysitter to help out. These tips that are about to follow have been created out of pure necessity within my life.

My most important advice to all moms out there who want to exercise and feel good about themselves? Don’t wait for help. We can do it.

If you can clean up more poop in one day than you can count and you can grow a baby inside of your body, you can find thirty minutes a day to exercise.

(Here, I’ll help you. Keep reading.)

2. That said, don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Typically, my exercise has been completed by the time my husband comes home from work.

For one, if I waited for him, I usually either wouldn’t workout or wouldn’t workout to the same capacity because, news flash, it truly is exhausting chasing children. (Which is why we need to exercise—so that we can!)

Additionally, he wants to exercise too.

Regardless, there are definitely days where my head is spinning and my tongue is nearly being bitten off to not lose my temper—and it’s days like these that I give him the kids to figure it out while I work out.

Sometimes everyone needs help and it’s absolutely true that being a stay-at-home mom is the most demanding (and rewarding) job out there.

3. Be creative.

Realize that while “chasing children” isn’t enough, that we are at a stage where we likely will not get as much exercise as we want—and be okay with this.

I’m one of those people who could—and has—exercised for hours a day, given the opportunity. This, though, is not one of those places in my life. (Not if I want to be present with my children the way that I want to.)

So I’ve come to accept—on most days—that I’m not working out to win races or competitions. Know what else, moms? Someday much too soon we will have more time on our hands than we desire.

Don’t wish your life away, but do acknowledge that some things aren’t for forever—for good and for bad.

4. Stop using children as an excuse.

This said, our kids, in my humble opinion, should never be used as excuses for why we don’t take care of ourselves. It’s not true and it’s not fair, so don’t do it.

5. Exercise early in the morning.

It’s hard to come up with as many reasons for why we didn’t exercise that day if we get right to it. Try as hard as you can to carve out thirty minutes for yourself after breakfast.

6. Let kids feel like it was a team effort for mom to complete a session.

This morning my husband went mountain biking and I just didn’t want another weekend day that was over before it started because I was waiting to lift weights until he got home. So I put the baby down for her usual nap and took my daughter and her Cozy Coup car down into the basement.

Yes, there wasn’t a lot of driving room around my workout area, but she had her little red car, two of her favorite books and was ready to help Mama count out her reps.

And when I finish a set or my exercise all together? We high five and say something cheesy like, “Go team! We did it! Hooray!” Kids love this. At least, mine do.

Another tip? Don’t wait until the kids are entirely sick of watching you exercise to finish up.

For example, when my four year old and I were downstairs, she was being so good that I was really tempted to crank out a few more back exercises that I hadn’t gotten to yet, or to add it in some arms or more cardio. But the key here is to have this be a part of your regular routine.

Instead, I looked at her in her little red car and the baby still asleep on the video monitor and asked if she wanted to go upstairs and read together for a little bit. Because honestly, that extra set or ten minutes on my circa-1980-whatever Nordic Track are not that important.

7. Acknowledge that often watching mom exercise stinks—but there are rewards afterwards.

One of the main reasons I exercise in the morning is that it impacts my mood for the entire rest of the day with my kids. I’m also honest with my children that mommy works out because while it does take time away from the beginning of our day, it makes mommy much more patient and fun for the whole day after. Kids may have limited ability to understand a verbal explanation like this, but the proof is in the pudding.

In other words, they will see how you are before a workout and after, and they will get it.

8. Know that rewards might be delayed.

I’m still at the point with small children that this is my “one day” hope: my aim is that my kids might remember how I had to work at staying fit while they were little, and that this helped them to develop a healthy attitude about exercise—and the priority that we should be placing on it.

Remember that previously declared pet peeve? It’s a problem, to me, to have this attitude that we “don’t have time”—for both exercise and caring for ourselves—in front of our children.

I am raising two daughters. I want them to grow up with healthy body images and I want them to know that I value myself as a human being outside of being their mother. Staying active and keeping my body limber and strong are some of the easiest ways I can think of to work towards this otherwise challenging goal.

Because, at the end of the day, I workout largely so that I can chase my children—staying healthy and in shape for, ideally, a lifetime with them is one of my best motivators.

But my biggest motivator is simple: I want to feel good and treat myself with love, and exercise is just one thing that everyone should be trying to squeeze in every day.

Some people might think that stay-at-home moms have it easy; that there’s no reason for us not to exercise—but, moms, we know it’s not that convenient, right? So here’s one last tip: be patient with yourself.

Know that being in your best shape doesn’t mean looking like someone else.

Honor fitness goals like “nail that yoga pose” or “see more definition in my triceps,” but recognize that the best reward for working out is simply to feel good and be the best version of ourselves, not a crappy version of someone else.

After all, we are raising tiny human beings, and they do see and emulate our behavior. Make sure your workout time is adding to your self-esteem and your self-care rather than detracting from it.

Most importantly? Give yourself a huge hug for working so hard to take care of yourself in front of your kids.

Photo: Author’s own. (Heh heh heh…)

The post 8 Realistic Tips to Get a Stay-At-Home Mom in Her Best Shape Ever. first appeared on Jennifer S. White.

It took me many, many years to learn whether or not I need to take a day off from exercising—or push through.

At one point in my life I ran a 13-mile loop every day, as in seven days a week. I also weight trained and rode the stationary bike at the gym. I would work out for hours a day, and sometimes more than once; obviously, I had a problem.

And then my body gave out in various ways and I was forced to take down time, but I was also forced to recognize that I love exercise.

I love sweating and pushing through and endorphin release—and even yoga clothes.

I love Spinning and running, walking and hiking, yoga and Pilates—you name it. So the choice I had to make was, to me, quite simple: I had to learn how to be an exercise enthusiast without going overboard, and what I’d like to share with you here is what years and years of experience have taught me (as well as a few of my favorite “day off” suggestions).

If you’ve pushed through for a couple of days in a row, it’s time for a rest.

If you cannot remember your last day off, it’s time for one.

If you feel depressed and sluggish, it’s time to push through.

If you are sick from the neck down, it’s time to take it easy.

If you woke up feeling tight and sore from sleeping incorrectly, it’s time to push through, but gently.

If you’re tired from not sleeping long enough, but not so tired that you could injure yourself, it’s time to invigorate the day with a workout.

If you have a slight cold or feel a cold coming on, it’s time to have a slow-paced, short workout to boost immunity rather than deplete.

And my favorite: those times when I genuinely don’t know what to do; when I really am having a hard time listening to my body because my brain wants to workout or my heart needs to be silenced for a little bit, I begin to go through a yoga flow or a trek on my 1980-whatever Nordic Track—and if I’m still not into it after ten minutes, I stop.

Let me say, however, I’ve only stopped twice to my recollection.

Moreover, our muscles cannot become their strongest if we never take time to let them be at ease. Actually, this is why yoga is so ideal: it encourages both release and relaxation of the muscles and also tone and strength. Still, those days off can be tedious for our brains in our monkey-mind society, so, in order to make the most of my days off, I try to do one of the following.

I schedule a massage. 

A massage is the perfect way to treat an athletic body during rest days. Even a 30-minute session is remarkably wonderful for our bodies (and, also, for our wallets).

I do something else I love during my exercise time-slot.

I love making crafts with my daughter, indulging in crappy Netflix shows and reading, so a day off is a great way to celebrate with one of these other activities.

I schedule a phone date with a friend.

I’m a mom who never talks on the phone. For one, I don’t want to take time away from my children to talk and, for another, they are young enough that it really isn’t practical. That said, I miss my friends and my family that I love talking with—which is exactly why I occasionally skip my morning workout and call a friend instead.

I meditate.

Now, to be fair, I love going through a short, simple yoga flow that almost feels like a day off—it’s so gentle and low-key—but it focuses on opening my shoulders and hips so that I can sit without discomfort for a longer period of time. This suggestion of meditation, I feel, is crucial. If we are constantly running away from our lives and minds during our workouts then, in my experience at least, we’ll often find that the problems we are running from have grown in size instead of shrinking.

In other words, taking the time to sit in complete silence gives us the opportunity to find mental relaxation without requiring movement. 

And, really, shouldn’t a day off feel glorious and not forced?

Simultaneously, if we find exercise and movement enjoyable we’ll do more of it, naturally, without having to push through. In this vein of thinking, a day off is actually the perfect way to celebrate being an exercise enthusiast.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go get ready for my massage…

Photo: Nick Webb/Flickr.

The post How to Know Whether to Take a Day off from Exercise or Push through (and Rest Day Suggestions). first appeared on Jennifer S. White.

The sky is rumbling again.

Long, quaking echos of thunder emerge from the storm that’s beginning to water my garden.

My daughter and I are cozy inside, listening to Still Corners while she drives around her little Flintstones-esque car.

The earth is already saturated from last night’s downpour, but not so much that it prevented us from heading out onto one of the park’s gravel-lined trails for an early afternoon hike a few hours ago.

The crunch of the ground beneath my feet made my heart start to come alive the second that my shoes hit the stones.

The feel of sweat dripping inside of my tank top and catching on my upper lip instantly woke up my soul.

Exercise really does help me get rid of my monkey mind, of my perpetually moving brain.

I guess some people would call my mental style ADHD, and that’s fine with me. I don’t mind labels—I just don’t let myself be contained by them either.

I look up from where I sit typing now, with the rain and the music providing a steady, thumping backdrop, and I observe my little girl rolling around in her Cozy Coup, looking for the best way to get over the hurdle of gliding from the wood floor and onto the white-tiled hallway.

This morning I felt like garbage.

I woke up and my eyes were literally as red as my small lady’s plastic car. (That supermoon has taken a toll on our household sleep.)

My typical morning coffee didn’t do the trick, and neither did my bath.

Nothing, including getting out of the house for some crack-of-dawn errands, seemed to lighten my heavy spirits and awaken my downtrodden body—until I stole 30 minutes to work out.

My husband’s a cyclist; he rides a single-speed up seriously steep hills, like the bad-ass athlete that he’s always been, since well before I met him at age 14.

I slightly pathetically begged him to take our daughter for me while he finished up his own pre-work routine. (It wasn’t yet 8 am—I told you we’ve been lacking in the sleep department.)

I dashed downstairs to our workout area—free weights, an awesome Spinning bike that was my Valentine’s Day present years ago (diamonds are over-rated) and my beloved Nordic Track, circa 1980-whatever.

Still wearing my dress, I tore off my short-sleeve cardigan and threw on my tennis shoes. I cranked up Incubus on my iPod (I admit to getting stuck on tunes from my youth; listening to the same album repeatedly for a week or a month before moving onto something else)—and I took off (well, kind of, I was stationary, I’m aware).

The music pounded and so did my beating heart.

I unwisely hadn’t made as much time this past week to move my body as I normally do, having had several appointments and being hampered also by this recurrent soggy weather.

I watched the sky grow clearer through the large picture window in front of me as I rhythmically moved my feet along those stationary wooden skis—and I turned the music up louder.

I watched the clock, so as not to make my husband late. (He would almost assuredly rather slightly delay his departure than stop me from making myself feel better.)

The sky opened up and so did my mind—my own mental clutter and debris being swept away, my dress now sticky. (Don’t worry, I changed.)

A little while later, after switching clothes, spending time with friends and having lunch, my little girl and I decided to get out onto our gorgeous local trails before the rain made its now familiar appearance once again (that crunchy hike on the gravelly trail I mentioned before).

She sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at the top of her lungs as I happily pushed her in her stroller, up and down the hilly terrain, listening to her perfectly pitched song and watching her cute hands move in motions that matched her words—and I got deliciously sweaty all over again.

I felt the pebble-littered trail beneath my rubber soles and heard the birds singing along with my tender child, as my thankful eyes drank in the lush greens and emotionally stabilizing tans and greys of the trees and rocks that surrounded me.

Later still, when the rain began to beat my windshield, I saw the steady motion of my wiper blades and listened all over again to my daughter’s singing—this time a tricky medley of Twinkle Twinkle and the Itsy Bitsy Spider—and I can’t help but wonder why we make things so hard on ourselves sometimes.

We watch our brains whirl and go and they don’t seem to wait for us to catch up.

We get irritated with the other people that make up our world. (To be fair, some are more challenging than others.)

We don’t pay full attention to what we’re doing—and multi-tasking is a myth. (I’m guilty even now—handing my daughter a snack while finishing up my thoughts here with you.)

Yet often we don’t have a choice—we have human responsibilities that get in the way of our more primitive needs.

I did it just this week by allowing my hurried schedule, and my subsequently tired but needy body, meander myself away from my usually disciplined workout routine.

And here’s the thing—if we expend only a microscopic amount of additional time and energy paying attention to what our bodies are asking us to do (eat right, move around, and get some sleep for Godsakes), then everything else becomes easier, naturally.

So while I won’t pretend to know or even fully understand your own personal situation, I do have compassion. Because I, too, have a child who doesn’t prefer to sleep as much as I (or not really much at all, if I’m being completely honest).

I also have a life that requires my attention, money and resources—usually outside from where I’d prefer these things to be—and that’s life.

Life means having things to do that you wouldn’t necessarily place first, but life should also mean making sure that you’re fitting in some of that other good stuff along with it.

We don’t need to be weekend warriors—what a waste of an opportunity if we save everything that we desperately want to do for a rainy day inside of a bucket list of dreams.

Do something every day that you would maybe only consider appropriate for a Friday night. Try it. Just once.

You might discover a different world—a better one—that’s been waiting patiently for you all along, you’ve had only to notice it.

My daughter’s singing trails off, and the rain is really coming down now.

I’m so glad that we went for that walk outside.

Not because I’m glad that I took advantage of the sunshine—although I am—but because now I can sit back and enjoy the cleansing sounds of the driving cloudburst, since I’ve already purified myself from the inside out—and I hope I’m teaching her to do the same.

I hope I’m showing my daughter that life isn’t made of weekdays and weekends, rather it’s made of opportunities that we take or let slip by. I hope I’m showing her, too, that inside of her human form lies an eternal well of energy, one that she can tap into at anytime, if she chooses.

Possibly I’ll also help her understand that more often than not the solutions are right there in front of our faces, and that they aren’t as complicated as we think they should be.

For me, my mental chatter needed a break, so I took my body for a walk. That’s it. That’s all I needed.

Life is difficult enough,and then we have to go and make it even harder.

I look back out my big front picture window and notice a clearing sky and patches of beaming sun and I’m grateful knowing that I’ll sleep well tonight.

“If a man achieves victory over this body, who in the world can exercise power over him? He who rules himself rules over the whole world.”

~ Vinoba Bhave

 

 

Photo: David Salafia/Flickr.

This article was first published by elephant journal.

The post Exercise & Opportunity: Why You Should Throw Away Your Bucket List. first appeared on Jennifer S. White.