Day 362: Energy from movement

02122013

silly dancing keeps you going!

I have been stuck for some weeks now after my first quarter semester at university is over and I have mainly had independent study work and very few lectures. The fact that I haven't “had to” get up and go someplace to study has had a stagnating effect on me, and my studying at home has been slow, painful and effortful. I have mostly been playing video games, focusing on my hobbies, cleaning up the apartment and socializing – all of them nice and enjoyable things, but done at the expense of my studies. Now I have a big exam and two major writing assignments due in only two weeks, and I still have plenty of work to do to complete them.

One major point pulling me down and making me feel tired and powerless has been the lack of exercise. Because I have had so much to do I have convinced myself that “I have no time to exercise”, when in fact all of my time goes to procrastination! If I'd take the time to go running for an hour and then attempt to do my work, I might actually be a lot more efficient.

I'm starting to see what a major point this is, because a couple of days ago I had a really physically active day at the theatre. We had a gig in the morning and another show in the evening, and so I was basically in motion all day, singing, speaking, dancing, expressing and connecting throughout the day. The effect of this was that I was really energetic the entire day, even when I got home – and the following day – and the day after that! Because when I had set myself in motion during that active day at the theatre it was a lot easier to keep myself moving even the following days, and keeping myself physically in motion (stretching, dancing, climbing, running, singing) has provided me with way more energy to actually do my study work as well as take care of my other pending responsibilities. When I am lying on the couch powerless and worn out it is easy to believe the excuse that “I'm too tired to move”, when in fact getting up from the couch would make me less tired.

Thus,

I commit myself to do yoga every morning, making the routine longer by adding a new move at least every week or two, with the goal of doing an hour of yoga every morning.

I commit myself to wake up early enough so that I will have time to do at least 15 minutes of yoga every morning.

I commit myself to make sure that I properly move each and every day to avoid falling back into stagnation, as I see, realize and understand that setting myself back into motion from the state of stagnation is an unnecessary “waste” of resources and can be avoided.

When and as I feel like moving myself is “too much” - I stop, I breathe and I realize that unless I am majorly injured this is not in fact true. I realize that I make the excuse “I am too tired” because moving myself out of my self-induced stagnation is uncomfortable and requires effort. I face the fact that I have in fact caused my own weariness and that the only way out of it is by my own actions. I look for the starting point of my stagnation and I forgive myself for how it was created. I then proceed to self-correction by moving myself breath by breath, motion by motion and assisting and supporting myself to set myself back into motion, no matter what kind.