Have you ever felt like exercise was a punishment? I don’t mean that precise moment when you’re doing some activity you love, and you get to the really hard part, and you ask yourself, “Why am I doing this!?!?” I mean punishment as in, you know you should exercise regularly to be healthy and lose weight, but you don’t love it, and you ate that giant piece of lasagna… and the chocolate cake… and now you feel guilty. And then you tell yourself, “I should go to the gym!” Or something like that.
I lived this way for not only years but decades. “Trying” to lose weight over and over again, in every way possible, but repeatedly succumbing to that place of feeling defeated… and I might as well eat the whole damn cake, now that I’ve blown it. I’ll work off the calories tomorrow. And occasionally that tomorrow comes, but not always, and it can be a depressing game of calories eaten vs. burned. And I lost the game every time… until I shifted the most important thing. Lo and behold, it wasn’t that new diet, supplement, weight loss program, food plan, or the guaranteed-or-your-money-back exercise machine. It was my perspective.
I lost over fifty pounds three times. The last time I intentionally “lost weight,” I lost over one hundred pounds, and that was twenty-something years ago. It finally dawned on me that my obsession with losing weight was why I couldn’t lose any, no matter how much I tried… or punished myself. And punish myself I would! Hours of training, nearly every day of the week, eating so little at times I felt dizzy when I stood up, and all the other self-flagellating behaviors that kept me in a fat, mental rut.
And then I began walking. At first, it was just “exercise.” But soon after I added this morning activity to my life, it became an essential part of my day. Not only because the weight began dropping off, but because I felt so much better, physically, mentally, AND emotionally. I was genuinely happy! I had made my morning walk “my thing,” and I looked forward to it every single day. I believe the weight came off so effortlessly after trying for so many years because my focus shifted. I was finally learning what it meant to love myself unconditionally, no matter what size pants I was wearing.
My thoughts went from being consumed with losing weight to the beauty of nature I now witnessed every morning. I noticed when flowers bloomed and how the trees looked so different from season to season. I observed different types of birds flying around my neighborhood and how the clouds foretold approaching weather. My senses sharpened, my fitness grew, and most importantly, my perspective shifted. Walking as a Sacred Path saved my life in so many ways. Could you use some help adding movement as self-care to your life? Then, download my FREE GUIDE TO SELF-EMPOWERMENT THROUGH WALKING AS A SACRED PRACTICE:
A beginner’s guide to transforming your life by simply taking a walk. And see for yourself just how magical life can be by adding this simple ritual to your day!
xoxCollin
