Don’t Let the Sound of Your Own Wheels Make You Crazy

This week has seemed a bit long, yet here it is Friday, and I realize I haven’t posted a single thing on here since last weekend!  Sometimes we just need a little time to pause or rest.  In fact, in many things in life, it is during the pause or rest that all the positive things happen!

When we meditate, we often talk about all the positive benefits that occur in the pause.  The pause between breaths.  The pause between thoughts.  In those seconds that we find ourselves in the pause, miraculous things are happening in our bodies, minds and souls.  NO ONE is bad at meditation.  Sure, some of us have a more challenging time sitting still or stopping the monkey chatter that loves to be constantly going on in our heads.  It is in the stillness of those very seconds, when we just ARE, that our brains are igniting, our bodies are recharging and our souls are quietly finding answers to questions we may not even know we have.  I beg you to NOT avoid meditation because you think it’s not for you.  YOU are the very person that will benefit the most!  Meditation is for EVERYONE!

As for the fitness side of all of this, same thing.  All the magic happens in the rest.  Sure, there are all those feel good endorphins that happen while we are doing cardio, but NOTHING pales to that feeling we get when we throw down that last weight, win the match or cross the finish line…

 

It is, though, in the REST period (while we are basking in our accomplishments) that our muscles repair and grow.  There are lots of ways to make sure you are resting, the most obvious being training every other day.  That would never work for someone like me who needs the daily movement to feel sane in the brain.  I am a huge advocate of cross-training.  Mix it up from day to day so some muscles get to rest and repair, while others do the work!  Even in our cardio, which we know we need to do most days to have a healthy cardio-respiratory system, we can find many ways to mix it up.  Our hearts do NOT need that same rest our muscles need.  Walking at a moderate pace is a great way to actively rest the muscles while still working the heart and lungs.  I feel extremely lucky to be able to have swimming in my cross training mix, and if you have access to a pool, I hope you take advantage,  Nothing is more forgiving on our muscles and joints than water!

I hope that you give YOUR body, mind and soul what it needs today, whatever that might be.  As we celebrate our spring holidays, I wish you all health, happiness and of course lots of peace and fitness.

And…since it is Easter weekend, I beg beg beg you to be the voice of reason to anyone that might be wanting to surprise a child with a pet bunny.  Of course they are adorable and we would all love to see that smile on the little one’s faces when they are gifted such a soft and furry friend.  Sadly, this very, very rarely ends up good for the bunny.  Encourage a soft, furry, stuffed animal and educate the little ones about how it feels to be compassionate.