As the days pass, I keep forgetting the challenge. When I remember, there’s waves of guilt, and serious amounts of should-ing. The pushback is, “I don’t want to!”
Oh-oh … I’m failing!
My buddy reminds me of the focus. I give space to the voice of resistance.
“I’m 65 and physically challenged. Can’t run/squat/kneel. Can’t get down to or up from the floor by myself. It’s all too hard and those new fun sports are not for me.”
Yep – that makes sense.
So, I consider tai chi because it’s strengthening, calming and builds bone density. Perfect for red zone osteoporosis. I’m so glad I like it. Tick!
I remember how I like the incidental walking I do when using public transport. Seeing a variety of gardens and trees with stunning autumn colour lifts my spirits.
Sometimes I use taxis. Today, the weather app indicates showers and I choose the bus anyway. I
disembark into the rain, put the umbrella up and head off. Despite the wet, I am fine. I remember that I did this every school day for 12 years. Rain, hail or 40-degree heat, I walked. Yep – it’s only water. I can do this.
Strengthened by my willingness to literally take this in my stride, I head up the long hill. My steps are short and fast. My legs ache. I stop to rest and feel my heart pounding.
I set off again, now lengthening my steps. It’s still an effort but I’m more relaxed. “Nice one,” I say to myself and what comes next is a line from a movie …
I’m movin’ – I’m groovin’
In Miss Congeniality, Sandra Bullock’s character delivers these words in a singsong way and they really stayed with me. I imitate her and it becomes a fun mantra that I repeat in time with my steps.
“Go me! I rock!” joins in (courtesy of my daughter when she was 12). I begin to improvise and play with words as I go.
Whoo hoo! This exercise challenge thang is workin’. Tick!
I make a weekly date for ‘Walk & Talk’ phone calls with a friend hours away in the country. We exchange photos of the beauty we see and walk much longer than we would alone. Tick!
I try some standing yoga moves on the beach with friends. There’s lots I can’t do but it takes me back to my teens and twenties – the era BD (before disability). It’s bittersweet but my body loves it.
I remember that I love Contact Improvisation. I share a bit and invite my friends to join me. Right
there on the soft sand we move, play and laugh.
At home I do it by myself on the spare bed and using the walls in the hall. Like my friends, the walls meet me where I am – with no expectation of great ability. I find a class I can go to. Contact Improvisation is back in my life. Tick!
Feel like I’m winning now. Tick!
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