How exercise is an act of Self-Love.

I have a confession to make. I have been sleeping on the benefits of exercise. I have heard from many doctors how important it is to help the chronic conditions I have. If you are like me and take for granted how important exercise is please know you aren’t alone. I hope by the end of this blog post you feel inspired to show yourself some love through exercise. 

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EXERCISE = SELF-LOVE

I am in my 6th week of exercising and I love myself more now than I did 6 weeks ago. I learned in these past 6 weeks that Self-love is not always comfortable. I was really good at giving my body rest. I found though what was missing was ADDING things that gave me energy, strength, and resilience. I was overprotective and allowed myself to be too sedentary. Some of my challenges that proved uncomfortable were

• Weather -it being too hot, or raining, or it getting darker earlier.

• Heel pain. Although again I learned that movement helps just as much as rest. Today, for example, the first leg of my walk I was limping but by the end of the walk, my heel felt better than I started. 

• I had seizures that kept me indoors.

The commitment I am making to myself each day to move my body shows I care. I feel my body getting stronger with each workout. I am seeing my body do things that I did not think it could do. I learned that exercise and taking care of myself do not stop flareups but my body got back up faster.

TYPES OF EXERCISE

• I chose walking as my exercise because it’s a great beginner workout to get in shape. I walked around my neighborhood or at the park where there was paved asphalt.

• If you want a great indoor workout here are some of my favorites and they are great for beginners, low impact, and great for those with chronic conditions.

1. Leslie Sansone for indoor walking.

2. Rick Bhullar Fitness will help you reach your step goals.

3. CocoLime Fitness is great for fibro warriors.

• I have also found that putting on your favorite song and jamming to it burns a lot of calories. 

• I also will be starting to do some jump rope because it’s a great all-body workout. I will keep you posted on that. 

WHAT HELPED ME STAY CONSISTENT

• I have to say getting an Apple watch was a HUGE motivator for me. It was like my cheerleader. Giving me goals to reach and allowing me to celebrate each win. The apple watch or just documenting is so important with any journey. I did not realize how sedentary I was until I worked on being more active. It gave me a push and made me look at everyday activities differently. Folding clothes or taking stairs are not my favorite, but when I saw the calories they burned and how many steps I accumulated I was hooked. 

• The natural endorphins that you get from a good walk or dance session are addictive. I was surprised at how I craved exercise more as the weeks went on. This was something that 

• I applied the 80/20 rule and rested 80% and moved 20% on my bad days. I also allowed a day where I didn’t walk as long as it wasn’t two days consecutively. 

MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS

They say exercise is the most potent and underutilized antidepressant, and it’s free. I am seeing the truth of that statement. I feel lighter when I come back from my walk. It also helps that Fall is my favorite season of the year and I LOVE seeing the Fall foliage and the temperature is just right! Walking is a great stress reliever and allows me to release all the pent-up anxiety and cope with overwhelm.

HOW TO APPLY COMPASSION TO YOUR EXERCISE ROUTINE

Don't let what you can't do stop you from doing what you can. In this podcast I talk about how that quote and three compassionate reminders can help you get out of your own way. Lately I have been exercising and I explain how it has helped me grow in self-love.👇🏽 https://www.naturallygraysful.com/blog/2020/11/13/how-exercise-is-an-act-of-self-love Thank you as always for listening to this podcast.

Remember these three compassionate reminders when starting to be more active.

1. Something is BETTER than nothing. So if you have a bad day physically or mentally. Do just five minutes or one minute of activity. It helps and if you were like me and think what good is a minute of activity. Remember something my Doctor told me. What good are zero minutes doing for you?!!! She told me that 14 years ago and they keep ringing in my ear to this day.

   2.MORE OFTEN THAN NOT

   80/20 is a good ratio. If you worked out more than you didn’t that is a great way to keep momentum and if not that’s Fall 7 times get up 8. 

   3.SLOW PROGRESS IS STILL PROGRESS

Don’t look at how far you have to go, look at how far you’ve come. If you are like me I have a ways to go before I am at a weight that will support my health. But celebrating the small wins is just as important. I have lost 6lbs in 6 weeks. I feel my body getting stronger and building endurance for longer walks. 

I hope you feel inspired to show yourself some love. I can’t wait to share more benefits in upcoming posts. In a time where we feel restricted and much is out of our control let us try to be as active as we can to ward off anxiety, depression, and overwhelm.

With any change bring love and compassion. 🦋🤗 FOR MORE COMPASSIONATE TIPS SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER.