How do you love to move?

I was recently interviewed about the role of fitness and how our devices are helping us perform better. That was not quite the question, but it is the conversation I want to pick up.

If you know me, then you also know that the question I always ask is WHY… Why do we do the things we do and what drives our choices?

I used to be a jock, if there is a female word for it, let me know. But I think you get the point. I was training pretty much daily from I was 6 years old till I was 26. I was on the gymnastics team since I was 6 years old, and I was competing for several of my years as a gymnast. I seem to remember that around 16-18 I was no longer a fit for the team, or maybe it was the opposite way around. I moved on to dance and body-building and even though that might seem excessive, it was just how I lived my life. At 26 I moved to the States and my “dailies” changed a lot.

One of the things that happened is that I lost my connection with who I was. In my search to find me again I realized it was an inner journey, even though all the miles I put on my Harley as I was touring the countryside, I was still looking for me.

Yes that is me…

Search inside instead of online.

So let’s go back to the question of WHY and what drives us?

For all those years, I would feel great IN my body as I used it to move, run, flip-flop and stretch. I also loved how movement made me feel the edges of my body, how far I could go and push myself, yet still know when enough was enough.  As I’m getting older that comes in handy, because I respect and care for my body. I listen to how much I can do and what I need to feel good. Sure I skip my yoga from time to time and when I do, I feel the loss. I don’t beat myself up over it though, but I am just very aware that I miss it, not missed it. It is more of a sadness that I did not get to use my body in a way that I enjoy and that cares for it. I want to treat my body in a way that honors the hard work it does for me everyday, carrying me around at the speed I travel. Or sitting for the long ours that I work.

“My body and I have a very special relationship. I depend on my body and my body depends on my care. We are interdependent and interconnected.”

We are interaction.

But something else kept me there for so many years. As a kid you tend to have all kinds of interests and I did too. What kept me there was the team. As much as there was pressure, there was also community.

We created a bond by overcoming challenges of learning new moves and getting stronger and better together. We were disappointed together and we cheered together. Sure sometimes we argued too, especially because the weakest performance would affect the whole team in a competition. But it was the job of the team to either make up for or help (or both) the weakest link. And sometimes that was me because I was one of the biggest girls on the team. And sometimes my fear of getting hurt would get to me as well.

But it was a trust in the team, my coach and myself that kept me trying again, instead of giving up.

Healing the disconnect.

In our modern society we find ourselves lost and confused, wondering what to do to get a better body and be more healthy. What if we let our bodies decide what works best for us?

We are built to move. Our natural instinct is NOT to sit on the couch. Our wellbeing and our hormones are interconnected with how we feel, how we use and feed our bodies.

A device might help you count your steps and remind you to walk instead of taking a cab or the subway. It may remind you it is time for a water break, but will it help you change your relationship with your body?

Listen more.

Ask inside, what do you and your body need to feel better and how are you inspired and motivated to move and use the muscles of this amazing vessel that you live in?

Maybe you like to walk, so do mindful walking. Make it a choice that matters to you, not for the steps, but for the experience.

Maybe you like to dance, so just get dancing. You don’t have to wear a tight outfit and show off your moves to have some fun.

Movement is not about working out, it is about enjoying what works.

It does not have to look the way it does in the magazines and neither do you. All that is required is that if feels good for you!