The History of Exercise in My Life

Exercise is such an unfamiliar thing in my life.

In Elementary school, PE was exercise. I didn't like it. It was usually playing ball and was competitive and I could never keep track of the ball, and I could never run fast enough to win. Exercise represented frustration.
I did ride my bike on the street in front of my house. Sometimes, to add interest to the endless circles in front of the 3 adjacent houses where the road was flat, I would put small rocks on the road and try to weave the front and back tire on either side of the rock. It was an interesting skill much more than it challenged my cardiovascular system.

In Junior high, exercise was also represented by PE and I didn't like it. It was the dumb matching jumpsuits that the girls had to wear and the silly socks and the shoes that could only be used for PE. It was the idea that you had to shower off after class was done, when there was not enough time to. in public showers, when you hadn't even broken a sweat. It was standing in line at the beginning of class and shouting out "your number" (because that was all you were), to prove that you were there. And annoincing to your class mates when you had washed your dumb PE clothes.

In High school, I didn't have to take PE. I figured out how to get Marching in the Flag Corps with the Marching Band to count as PE credit. Thank goodness for no PE and no exercise I thought. I do remember my friend, Debbie, talking about stretching and sitting up on your "sit bones" (I had never heard or thought about those before).

In college, I bought my first pair of athletic shoes. For the first time, I found something that felt comfortable and I thought looked OK. But then I wanted to keep them nice. If I wore them outside, the soles would get rocks in them and get all dirty and then I couldn't wear them in the gym. So although they were comfortable, they were mostly useless. Once, I came home from college and Rick invited me to go play racquetball with him. I had never played racquetball. I didn't know what it would be like. I already knew that I couldn't keep track of balls flying through the air. I already knew that I didn't like to go places I had never been before (fear of the unknown). I also had never owned any exercise clothing. Never a pair of athletic shorts and if I had already bought the athletic shoes, they were up at college so I had nothing to wear. I couldn't go naked and I couldn't wear school clothes so I just couln't go. As he tried to encourage me to come, I resisted more and more until I was hiding behind a chair on the patio saying, "NO! I won't go!"
I fulfilled my dollege PE credit requirement by taking Israeli folk dancing when I was on study abroad, and maybe there was some credit given for all the hiking field trips that we took to all the ruins of old cities. I was glad I had successfully got out of exercising.

I once thought of walking for exercise in the early mornings in Arizona. I may have done it a half a dozen times. It was particularly hard because I decided to do it at an ungodly early hour before anyone else was up.

The only exercise I helped my kids get in Arizona was taking them to swimming lessons in the summer. That was more about learning to swim than about exercise. They may have gone to play at the park sometimes, but usually with a friend instead of with me.

When we moved to Utah, exercise became more a part of our lives. But I think I was thinking about developing the kids skills more than exercise. We (the kids) tried soccer. Marie tried one season, but she just couldn't run. She had never tried running for the first 10 years of her life. I think that you enjoy doing things that you started doing when you are young. Your body is just good at learning how to do new things when you are young. The other kids liked soccer, t-ball, gymnastics, and biking and I would go and watch.

When Marie was in high school, she courageously tried to run cross country. It was painful for me to watch her run and come in last. But I was so impressed by the whole team cheering her on as she finished her last lap. That was my first experience with the good that can come from being part of a team.

When Emily was in high school, she told me about her yoga class. She and Marie seemed to like it. She talked about "mindfulness". Now that sounded like something for me. Marie and Emily and Rick had all done quite a bit of yoga before I ever tried it.

I like yoga. There is no special clothing that is "right". I don't have to put on shorts and show my legs etc. I get to do it bare foot. Shoes have never suited me.
There are no balls to keep track of. Not only that, I am encouraged to do it with my eyes closed if I want to. I am encouraged to listen to my body and do what seems right for me. I think it is the ideal exercise because it gets my body moving strengthens my muscles and helps my flexibility. But the best thing about yoga for me is that there is No Competition.

Now, I am beginning to understand that exercise is any of the physical things that we do to help us feel good. When I try to run or do things that are too hard for me, I am punishing my body and I don't feel good. I hurt. And it is all in the name of keeping up.

I am supportive of anyone doing any physical activities that help them feel good. I realize that the reason people like to play sports is because it is fun for them and it helps them to feel good besides.