“The reason to move is to reteach our bodies their loveliness.” ~ Geneen Roth, When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair.
Whenever I counsel about midlife divorce recovery, I always mention the importance of exercise. Research from all over the place re-confirms that exercise is very good for us.
In both normal situations (everyday life) and really stressful situations (midlife divorce), exercise has a way of not only helping us physically, but it evens out our emotions as well. Plus there are all those endorphins that start running around making us feel more energetic and optimistic and help us sleep better! Without question, exercise is therapeutic.
But as Geneen suggests we must stop feeling guilty and telling ourselves things like “we’re not enough as we are,” and that we need to be thinner or harder or stronger to be okay. Here’s how Geneen ends her chapter on exercise: “The new ads for The Body Shop say, ‘There are three billion women who don’t look like super-models and only eight who do.’ In the end moving your body is not about flat stomachs or thin thighs; it’s about being one of the three billion women on the planet who are lucky enough to have arms and legs that can surge with energy, to be warmed by the sun and slice through the wind and water. Moving is about the fundamental joy and gratitude of being alive. The rest is gravy.”
I agree wholeheartedly. Celebrate the glory of being alive! Get out and active in nature with your girlfriends today. You will be fed physically, socially and spiritually all at once! And don’t forget to embrace your body’s loveliness!
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” ~ Psalm 139:14 (NIV)
