Movement for Health, Mind, and Soul

By Patricia Zick @PCZick

Despite recent challenges with nerve damage in my legs and hands, I continue to move through the pain. I do a yoga routine for twenty minutes some mornings when I wake up early enough. Three times a week, I go to a gym for women with weight resistance machines. They put me on a less strenuous routine, but I’m determined to build my strength back to where I was in October. I go to dance classes two evenings a week – one night is rhythm dancing and the second night is zumba. When I go to the gym on Wednesdays, I stick around for a thirty-minute Tai Chi class with simple movements and powerful results.

This morning I woke up feeling tired. I worked for a bit on some projects and did some things with social media, but by ten o’clock, I was beat and fell asleep for nearly two hours. I felt even more wiped out from the morning nap. I forced myself out of bed. I dressed, and I went to the gym and did my thirty-minute round on the machines. I felt much better than before.

I am determined to move every day, even when I don’t feel like it. I’ve seen far too many people fall victim to their aches and pains, which become much worse without activity. My attitude is much more positive when I keep moving. And I feel more at peace with the world around me despite some of the challenges I continue to face.

Here’s some good reasons from the Mayo Clinic for putting some movement into your day:

Seven Benefits of Regular Physical Therapy

1. Exercise controls weight – My metabolism is slow so I don’t lose weight very quickly, but even though the scales don’t show I’ve lost much, I feel better and my clothes fit better. If you can’t get to the gym, try parking your car in the furthest spot at the grocery store rather than circling for the closest one and wasting gas. Use your own energy. Take the stairs in buildings rather than the elevator every once in awhile.
2. Exercise combats health conditions and diseases – According the Mayo Clinic exercise boosts the “good” cholesterol while booting out the bad. It’s also a benefit to the heart.
3. Exercise improves mood – They also say exercise stimulates brain chemicals that help us feel happier and more relaxed.
4. Exercise boosts energy – Today is a great example of my energy level boosting.
5. Exercise promotes better sleep – The experts say it deepens sleep. I sleep very well, but exercise shouldn’t be done too close to bedtime or it will have the opposite effect.
6. Exercise puts the spark back into your sex life – “I’m not going to argue with the Mayo Clinic,” she said with a smile on her face.
7. Exercise can be fun – When I go to dance class, I lose myself in the music. I smile and forget anybody is around. Other dancers come up to me and tell me how much fun I look like I’m having. They never say, “You’re a good dancer,” but I don’t care. A woman told me recently that I made it seem as if exercise was fun rather than drudgery. I can assure you I would not be doing it for very long if it were drudgery.

This routine works for me. My doctors have told me to do as much as my body allows. If you’re under a doctor’s care, always ask about how much and what you can do. I talked to a woman at dance class last night who said her doctors thought she was doing too much after back surgery so she was going to have to scale back, but not quit completely.  It’s all an individual endeavor.

What do you do to remain active? Please let me know your tricks for moving even when you just don’t want to go.