September and October have passed and the school routine is in full swing. A great part of this intricately timed schedule is what I amusingly call my “Morning Cardio.” I have always had one; but, I do marvel at its evolution with each stage of my life.
Aerobics involving a lot of lifted knees and bouncy, high impact, rhythmic moves was my high school and college form of exercise. Tae Bo, rollerblading, and the quest for “8 Minute Abs” signified my twenties. (FYI—abs acquired in 8 minutes, last about the same amount of time.)
In my thirties, I opted out of a masterclass intending to teach me the moves of Catherine Zeta Jones and Renee Zellweger in Chicago. Instead, I got my blood flowing while enriching my babies’ pre-birth experience through yoga classes.
As for the forties…with a tween and teen…my morning cardio involves a VERY early power walk immediately followed by packing lunches, signing school papers, quickly jamming them into folders and backpacks, disbursing money for various “required” reasons, confirming sport and dance arrangements, and then sprinting to the car to race down the highway to hurdle the late cones at the school drop-off line. Whew! Then, off to work (as if that hadn’t already started)!
It wasn’t long into parenthood before I realized this pace could kill a person! My awareness guided me to search for and add a higher level of serenity to my morning regiment. The answer was simple: stillness. Deliberate stillness.
While our fast-paced society may not recognize the importance of this discipline, I know its true value. Before allowing the world into my day, I sit quietly. I sit waiting. I sit listening. I sit hearing.
I think and prepare the armor needed in my fight to hold this peace as I join the maelstrom called daily life. Instead of fearing entanglement in the everyday web, I appreciate its dew-kissed beauty and strive to hold this perspective all day.
I must say, connecting with my personal source of direction by beginning each day with stillness may not be a cardio, or give me “Buns of Steel,” but it does set me on the right course to lead my day. And, it sure does get my heart going!