Instead of giving yourself reasons I can’t. I give myself reasons why I CAN. -Unknown
A few months after Dorian was born, I was in a board meeting and chatting with the owner of a local gym about how much I missed my old body. She urged me to come try her gym out and assured me that my husband was capable of watching our son for 45 minutes while I worked out. This went well for a few weeks but then one day, I opened the door and my husband was holding a hysterical baby. He didn’t help to reassure me that he could handle it and combined with the guilt I had made me stop going.
My friend told me not to give up and to consider putting him in a home daycare for a few hours a week so I could take time for me. She even connected me with someone. That solution lasted maybe a month. He was exclusively breastfed and while I would feed right before I left, he sometimes didn’t fall asleep. His nonstop crying was affecting the other kids. My son was kicked out of daycare and that door slammed in my face. At that point, I gave up.
I tried to eat healthy and go for walks but that was the extent of the effort to get in shape.
Dorian, who is 4.5 now, has been playing sports for over a year and I recently had a epiphany that here I am spending all this money and making time in my schedule for HIM yet I am not taking care myself. I have denied myself the benefits of exercise. Every time someone would mentions working out, I would think to myself, “I don’t have that kind of time or money!”. But the reality is, yes I do! If I wanted it badly enough, I would reprioritize my budget and time to make it happen.
Takeaway: The benefits of exercise go far beyond pants fitting better. By focusing on your body and your breath, you gain clarity and an abundance of positive energy. I have found so much inspiration by working with Val Kitchen from Bangor Pilates (pictures above).