Morning Movement Meditation instead of Exercise

When it comes to exercise routines, I embrace simple movement and avoid sameness.  I decided that if I gave myself strict guidelines about what I was going to do for exercise in any given day, I would be less likely to do it.

As a dedicated member of many gyms, it was easy to get into a routine. I would do similar exercises for a period of time and then change those exercises every two weeks or every month.

But now I work at home and I don’t have a gym anywhere in sight, I realized I have something better.

• jogging with the view of the ocean
• yoga class in the natural humid air with birds sounds and crashing ocean waves in the distance.
• 20 min HIIT routine in an air conditioned room with unlimited music choices
• walking in a friendly neighborhood with my favorite podcast and a chat with Auntie down the street.

Where I live in Kauai, we have hot days, rainy days, or too humid to move days.  If I am strict about how I decide to move that day, I will be a lot less likely to follow through.  I made a promise to myself to Move in the Morning for 1 hour 5x/week.

An important step for me in this processes was making a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound) goal.

Movement in the Morning for 1 hour 5x/week. 

(On Sat & Sun I give myself permission to rest, hike, hang at the beach or binge watch Netflix)

By declaring your goals in this SMART way, you are 2x-3x more likely to do it.

Stick to this one goal and make it a habit.  There is something to be said for focusing on One Thing at a time.  There are several ideas on how long it takes to make a habit.  We can all agree that it is likely more than 2 weeks.  The key is to work at something consistently.  Then it will become an automatic part of our day.  Most people don’t succeed because they give up too soon.

Imagine if we thought brushing our teeth everyday was TOO HARD and we just DIDN’T HAVE TIME (which are common reasons for not exercising)… Yuck!  We make the time and do it because we understand that if we don’t there will be consequences.  Such as alienate others, waste money on unnecessary dental procedures, pain, and sacrificing our beautiful smile.

So identify your WHY?  How will you benefit from daily exercise and movement?  How will you feel afterwards?  Imagine the feeling to go hiking with your friends and family and be out in nature.  In what way will it enhance and change your day?

Then you can start your morning movement routine with; I am doing this exercise because I am a beautiful, energetic, strong, ______ BEing that is ready to create _____ in the world.  You fill in the blanks.  A statement like this will remind you of your WHY and WHO you really are.

Studies show that it takes about 60 – 90 days to feel a habit become a natural part of your routine.  But if you are not ready to make that kind of commitment, just start with 1 day or 1 week and keep asking the deeper questions that get you to your WHY.

Sending you joy, love and light for your success.  I would love to hear about WHY you make a commitment to exercise or WHY you don’t?