There is nothing as marvelous and as beautiful as the human body. Even if you ignore its needs of nurture and care, it still serves you and keeps going. The body just tags along with your demands and erratic routines. But it’s not invincible! Stretched beyond its capacity, this body does break down, but not without giving warning signs first. A serious illness can give you the reality check that one so direly needs in the age of frenzied pace and demands. This is what happened in my case.
A few months back, I fell seriously ill and realized that my body was failing to keep up with my hectic routine, carbs and processed junk-filled diet, and odd sleeping hours. My bones had started aching, I was getting pear-shaped and really slow to get going in the morning. My skin looked dull! My mind was foggy and irritable, all the time. Above all, I looked unhappy! I had lost my sparkle!
I wondered what it was that I exactly needed to look and feel better! After scrutinizing, I realized that my body’s metabolism had hit its peak, and it was slowing down. I wasn’t burning enough! I realized that a solid exercise routine was one of the many things that could help me get fit, stay in shape and feel “sparkly” again. Unfortunately, it wasn’t always possible for me to join a gym or step out for a brisk walk. Time, and not just money, is a luxury when you are a parent who works from home. Parenting and household demands can be gruesome.
The mommy routine is in itself tough! There is always a little one or a pressing household chore vying for your attention: A little bum to be washed, food to be cooked, laundry to be folded, someone to call or get back to. Some days, I would wake up too tired and unmotivated and would just want to have my morning coffee and watch Netflix on my sofa until it was time for the kid to come back home. Then I live in a neighborhood that isn’t very ‘walk’ friendly and it also isn’t that safe for me to hit the road early mornings or after sundown!
I was lost for solutions. Fortunately, it was the ‘sisterhood’, my virtual community on Facebook, that helped me find a solution to this pressing and yet common problem. I discovered many women on Facebook groups vouching for Leslie Walk and other Yoga videos. I searched them out on YouTube, found them and started doing the exercises at least 4 days a week.
Let me be clear! When starting a fitness routine, I was not looking for weight loss but the overall fitness of my body. I am happy to report that I got not only what I wanted but also more. I feel quite elated after each session. It is a sense of accomplishment, the headiness that one gets from the release of endorphins, the sweat and the afterglow (better than sex, I tell you, ladies)! The mental fog is much better, the energy level is quite improved. Above all, I feel that I have taken the time out doing something good, something soothing for myself, for my body and for my inner self.
Let’s be clear! These workout videos are no magic bullet! It’s a struggle, I admit! There are still days when I am too busy, too distracted. There are slack days. Then there are urgencies around the day that make me lose my focus. But I make an effort, nevertheless, to renew it every time. For instance, I got my workout paraphernalia: A lovely tracksuit and tee that I bought last month, an exercise mat, a dedicated workout space, new speakers for my notebook to play my exercise videos on, and a water bottle that tells me how much I need to drink. Then there are certain soul sisters on the social forums, sitting in and rocking on the same boat, who give me the much-needed nudge that I need when I find myself going off track.
As women, we have lots of shoes to fill, lots of hats to wear. Most of the time, we feel that we are responsible for everything and everyone, but we also secretly feel that our bodies and their needs are not worthy enough to be taken care of, at least not now! And slowly, we start to lose ourselves in the grind. It’s all a matter of having priorities. Our health is our most precious asset which we take for granted very often. Having a solid exercise routine, even in the busiest of times, will not only help us boost our health and immunity, but it would also make us feel good from inside out, sparkly, nurtured. We deserve it!