Working out and staying in shape isn't something that you do for other people-- its something you do just for you!
You have to want it just for yourself, you have to feel you truly deserve it -- and you have to feel that you are important enough to make it (i.e. YOU) a priority.
Unfortunately, far too many of us don't feel like we deserve to look and feel in the best shape possible. We under-exercise and overeat for long periods of time -- only becoming concerned with the situation when a wedding, a reunion or bathing suit season looms in the distance. Then suddenly we become concerned about what other people might think about our appearance.
What if we wanted to be in the best shape possible all of the time -- just for ourselves -- because we felt that we truly deserved to feel good about the bodies we inhabit?
I think some of this is just a function of being female. Most of the women the I know are very giving by nature...to our kids, our partners, our friends, our co-workers, our pets, our community...the list goes on and on. But too many times we put taking care of our health and our bodies at the absolute bottom of the to-do list.
You are entitled to have some time (even a little time) to yourself each and every day. You can't keep giving and giving to others without replenishing the proverbial "well". Even 15 minutes can pay huge dividends in improving the way you look (and more importantly to my mind) feel. Many of us blow it off because we think we need to do a 2 hour marathon workout. The truth is it could be something as simple as:
- A brisk walk around the neighborhood
- 15-minutes of the sun salutation
- Strolling through a farmer's market to get some fabulous organic produce
- Meditating for 10 minutes
- Taking a candle-light bubble bath
- Taking advantage of an empty house -- to crank up your music dance around like a lunatic for bit (and not that I would know anything about this personally)
The point is to designate some time that is yours alone (ideally, each and every day) to show appreciation for your body. Regardless of your time constraints, resolve to do thing everyday to make you feel good about your body.
And just "do it" -- for yourself.
Geralyn has been featured many TV shows, including: The Dr. Oz Show, The Today Show, CBS Morning Show and Fox and Friends. She has been quoted in:The New York Times, Shape, Self, Fitness, People, Us, Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Oprah.com, Yahoo.com and more.
