I awoke this morning to a gentle whisper.  Not an audible one, but a quiet nudging of the spirit.  My body was asking me, in the nicest way possible, to get moving.

See, I haven’t been exercising lately.  As a health professional, that is a bit hard to admit, but there it is.

I have plenty of good reasons (read: excuses) for my recent inactivity.  My schedule is crazy.   I have two kids in two different schools at two different times.  My baseball coach husband has started Spring Training.  The weather is…oh, who am I kidding? I live in Phoenix – the weather is wonderful.

I think what really has me stuck is an order from my doctor to avoid any kind of intense exercise for a while because of some chronic injuries.  I am only allowed to do yoga, walking, and gentle stretching (not exactly my cup of tea).

So because I haven’t been allowed to exercise the way I want to, I quit.

Kind of the adult version of a temper tantrum, don’t you think?

I’m a person of extremes.  If I can’t go all out, I don’t want to do any of it.  Can anyone relate?

So this morning, my body said, “Come on, get outside, it’s a beautiful day, let’s go for a walk.”

Fine (grumble, grumble).

One foot in front of the other

It was a quick walk around the neighborhood, nothing fancy.  Towards the end my upper back started hurting a little, thanks to the weakness of bending over a computer/laundry/dishes all day.

So I came home and grabbed an exercise band, did 10 back squeezes, 10 tricep extensions, and 10 half-squats.  Then I took the time to stretch (I usually skip that part) and foam roll.

Whew!  I did it.  And it felt good.  Now to do it again tomorrow, and the next day…

I know myself well enough to know I can’t do this on my own.  So I called a friend who lives nearby and told her I need a walking buddy.

Turns out she needed one too.

And so the moral of the story is: don’t let the inability to do everything keep you from doing something.  And if you need help, ask for it.  Chances are, the person you ask will need help, too.