April 7, 2010  

Monthly Fitness Journal

This Monthly Fitness Journal serves several purposes (which also tie in to the overall purpose of the Integral-in-action Article Series):

• To share what I’ve learned during the month; changes in my practice and mindset, ups and downs experienced along the way, and skills I have adopted to help support sustainable change.  You might want to apply some of these to your own practice.
  
• As a way to honor my responsibility to improve myself in service to others (and so that I do not get so easily winded walking up the stairs).  Also as a form of self-motivation, since publicly committing to a fitness practice is one way to help keep us on track!
  
• To demonstrate an integrally-informed approach to fitness.  Integral-in-action!

Month 3: Finding my way: Listening to my body signals

The first two months at the Fitness Center were about settling in: becoming familiar with the environment and the rules (there is actually a "no grunting" rule where I work out, which I find amusingly fitting), getting to know how the equipment works and how to safely make use of it, and getting to know my body - its strengths and the many areas I could use more attention.

The third month was more of a transitional time for me.  I actually went to the fitness center to work out less than during the first two months, but since I am in this for the long run this temporary slowdown didn't bother me a bit: first because I exercised in different ways such as yard cleanups and tree-cutting days and also because I listened to my body signals more closely and it felt that I needed longer periods of rest during this particular time.  Now I realize that I stand the risk of falling out of a healthy habit here and that this approach might not work for everyone (we need routine and discipline in our lives to a certain extent).  Still, each time I go back to the fitness center, even after longer periods of rest, I am at least as strong and endurant, so no harm is resulting from the extra rest I have taken during this time; in fact, I think it is good to allow ourselves relax completely and fully incorporate all we have put it through during our workouts.  Of course if we wait too long between sessions, we risk having to "start over" in a way, since our muscles would become sore once again like during the very beginning days of working out.  But I don't mind that sore feeling so much since I now think of that discomfort as "weakness leaving our body".

This "transitional period" seems to mirror the change of seasons.  There is lots of energy in the air lately.  Rather than using it, however, I just want to gather it up and "fill my batteries" so to speak.  So I have gone with what my body requested of me.

The past day or two I feel a new burst of internal energy and motivation - I cannot wait to get back to the fitness center and start working out regularly!  It feels that my body has turned a corner.  Since I have learned to listen to my body signals, it sounds like time for me to get back to the Fitness Center in earnest!

In what ways to you honor the whisperings of your body?

Until then, stay fit, friends!