I Hate "Exercising" But I Love Dancing, Walking and Being Fit and Healthy

I hate "exercising". When I think of it in the western style of going to the gym, working out on equipment in a sweaty place or repetitively doing movements that bring me no joy and a lot of pain. I don't exercise like that. I love dancing so I take a dance class once or twice a week. I love to walk so I go for walks most days. Sometimes I can only walk for 20 minutes. Other days I can walk for three+ hours.

I don't have a car so 2 or 3 times a week I walk to the supermarket and purchase as much stuff as I can carry for the 1.5 mile walk back. I consider that my weight lifting.

As a dancer, I think about my posture a lot. I think about the way I bend down, the way I sit,  the way I stand. I take the stairs every single time. I never take the elevator unless I'm going more than 5 flights up. I try to incorporate mindful body movements I can as often as I can.

Don't have the money, time, lifestyle, nor desire to get a gym membership and go to the gym regularly. I incorporate exercise into every moment of my life that I can remember to think about it. I try not to lean on walls, on counters or on anything whenever I can. When I catch myself, I correct myself. With maitre, loving kindness.I sit with my back a little bit away from the back of the seat so that I can use my muscles my strength to sit up straight when I remember. I think about using my muscles when I’m showering, dressing, doing dishes, laundry, etc.

I focus on breathing a lot and I enjoy yoga but I do it at home here and there, from a YouTube video or a book.

Leaping Unicorns Kick Ass!!

It's just the way that I incorporate healthy activity into my life every day. If we don't exercise in some way, we will not enjoy the benefits of good health. But torturing myself is just not my way of doing things, like the ever popular "boot-camp" style workouts. Just sharing because maybe there are many little things that anyone can do to incorporate active healthy activity into your life in a way that you will enjoy. When we enjoy what we're doing we are motivated to continue. I believe it's extremely important for everyone to find at least one or two physical activities that they personally enjoy, that they can learn to love whether it be Dance, Yoga, walking, jumping rope or whatever weird funny thing you can think of. Swimming, pilates, (someone mentioned gardening that requires walking up and down a hill), running, biking, group sports, team sports, solo sports, so many activities to choose!

What did you enjoy as a child?

Not everyone has money to do things but if you do then there's a lot more opportunities for you. So maybe it's something you can do for free at home or something you can get a monthly or yearly membership for and/or take a class if that will motivate you. Whatever is your style but whatever it is, find it. ❤💪 You will really be glad that you did. And the healthier you get, the stronger you get, the more different types of activities you'll be able to pursue and will actually enjoy instead of feeling them tedious.

Yesterday, I saw a mother and her kid, about 10 or 11 years old, walking up the hill. She was red-faced and slightly overweight. The boy was shuffling, walking scraping his feet on the groudnd, super slow, saying he didn't want to, moaning like it was torture and I just felt really sad for him. Kids should be full of energy, running up hills and circles around their moms. But I was not raised to be physically active and I had to find it myself.

The one thing I always did do was walk, a side effect of my Dad’s (selfish, lazy) unwillingness to give me rides, but lucky for me it turned into my savior when, after many years of being unhealthy and inactive, I  rediscovered my love of walking. Even though I was forced to do it, I loved it and other than dancing, it was my only real active habit. Walking, that's what I started doing again at the start of my journey to find health and wellness about 10 years ago. The healthier and stronger I get, the more I work my way back into dancing and other physical activities that I truly enjoy. 

There's Hope for anyone out there who wants to.