The Joy of Movement

When was the last time you went out and did some physical activity just for the joy that moving your body brings?

When was the last time you felt happiness while exercising just because of the flexing of your muscles, the stretching of ligaments, the burning of lungs?

When was the last time you climbed a steep hill and felt the burning of your legs, the speed of your breathing and realized just how lucky you are to be able to do that at all?

It's far too easy to get stuck in the trap of exercising just to "burn off" some food that you regret. It's far too easy to make fitness 100% about the way you look, or trying to speed up weight loss, or trying assuage your food guilt.

Here's my hack: next time you go to exercise, whether it's outside, in the gym, in a class, whatever, place your focus on how your body feels. Focus on the way your legs feel as you squat, or climb that hill. Focus on the way your arms feel as you pickup a heavy weight. Focus on the burning in your lungs as your run. Above all, focus on how incredible your mind is. Through all of that pain and discomfort, you're able to keep running, keep climbing, keep pushing. Feed your soul the belief that you can do ANYTHING. Even if you can't do it yet, your amazing machine of a body can learn and train to do it.

That my friend, is magic.