Being present during exercise

Well, I’m up in the Adirondacks for the weekend with my husband, Sandy, and the dogs. Our youngest daughter is moving to Burlington this weekend for school, and I am taking advantage of the lovely early fall weather up here for some hiking with Bolo.

I got up early as usual, and headed over to the John Brown trails- my favorite spot to run the dogs and meet other people and their dogs. There was a frost on the grass in some areas– what a surprise, considering it’s still officially summer. We set off at a leisurely pace, slower than our normal pace, but when you’re up here in the big woods, it seems like it’s more important to go a bit slower and take in all the beauty around you.

Being up here in Lake Placid always represents a lesson in mindfulness, an easy lesson about being present in the moment. A lesson than can be easily forgotten in the hustle and bustle of my daily life in New Jersey. When we make the time to exercise, often it is in the midst of a very busy day, and often exercise becomes a time to move our bodies while running over a million things in our minds that were done, need to be done, or need to be checked off some list. When we do this, when I do this, we are cutting ourselves short. We are robbing ourselves of a very special time that could be used to not only exercise our bodies, but also to free up our minds and become fully aware and present in the now.

Have you ever noticed that much of our day consists of worrying about the past or preparing for a future? We are constantly fixated on things that are further along in the day, or week, or year. “What will I cook for dinner tonight?” “Will I get to do such and such before the summer is over?” And the past has such a hold on us, that many of our decisions revolve around things or outcomes from our past. “It will never work, because I have done that already and I know it didn’t work out”. “It was scary for me once, so I’ll not try that again”. You know what I mean.

Let me encourage you to try to be in the present everyday, if only for a short time at first. Exercise is a great time for this. When you are exercising, particularly when you are outside, it is the perfect time to pay attention only to what is immediately around you. This morning, I was aware of nothing but the sounds around me- the birds, Bolo’s panting, my footsteps. It is almost meditative, this mindful awareness, and it is addicting. Try it for yourself. Let your thoughts come and go, but try to pay attention only to that which is immediately around you, visually, aurally, sensually. Your body will get a workout, and your mind will get a break! You will feel refreshed and exhilliarated.

I make it a practice everyday when we walk to be present and aware of the beauty around me. I hope that you give it a try and become a “present day” woman as well!

mindfully,

Diane