Now, I love to move, love to be active and explore my body's limits, but somehow, I had become quite complacent in my more sedentary lifestyle, preferring to knit and watch movies over getting out and getting moving.
As summer approached, I realized I wanted to do more, move more, to do something outside, but I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do. And then, at a Roller Derby game, it hit me - I wanted to roller-skate.
I used to roller-skate as a child and absolutely loved it. At the bold age of nine, I would scout out the longest, flattest, smoothest driveway in the neighbourhood, and then knock on the house adjacent to it. When the door opened, I introduced myself and asked if I could roller-skate in their perfectly groomed driveway. No one ever said no. I would skate for hours and hours on end, loop after loop, until I had to go home for supper.
And so, with fond childhood memories in mind, I bought some skates, really awesome black ones called "The Urban Roller", with bright green wheels and matching laces, and donning my bike helmet and all the protective gear I thought I would need, I ventured out to the Oval, and skated in circles on the pristinely smooth cement that laid before me.
Round and round, I went, my body surprisingly remembering how to skate after 25 years of not having four wheels precariously placed under my feet. Listening to Bob Marley, and sweating up a storm, I remembered why I loved to skate as a child. I was enjoying it so much didn't want to stop, but alas, I had to go home to get ready for work.
And now, a month later, I can't wait to go roller-skating! I curse the rain that interferes with my fun just as I had done as a child.
While roller-skating is great exercise, it is not the thought of burning calories that keeps me going round and round. It is the experience in my body, the burn in my legs, the smooth feeling of my feet rolling over space and time, the heat in my cheeks, and the light, joyful that sensation that fills my heart.
And that made me wonder, why do I sometimes struggle to be physically active as adult, when being active came so naturally to me when I was a child?
In reflecting on my experience with roller-skating, I came up with a few ideas about what makes for an addictive exercise experience:
- Engage in physical activities that you think are fun, the key words here being "you" and "fun". Don't do what your mother thinks is fun, or what your friends think is fun, or your even what your psychologist thinks is fun. If you think it's fun, then you'll look forward to doing it, you'll be excited to do it, and most importantly, you'll actually do it.
- Approach the activity as play, not as goal-oriented activity. As a kid, did you say to yourself, "Okay, I'm going to roller-skate for at least an hour so I can burn at least 600 calories?" No! We played for play's sake, because the experience in and of itself was satisfying. We did not have any sense of an attachment to a specific outcome, like flat abs or buns of steel. So let go of your ideas of calories, and muscle tone, and just enjoy the confidence, energy, and joy that naturally comes from being fit and active.
- Mix it up. As a kid, did you just do one thing, the same thing every day of the summer? No! We played hopscotch and jumped rope. We played lawn darts, racket-ball, and with hula hoops. We climbed monkey bars, and swung on swings, explored the woods, and scrambled up trees. So do a bunch of fun things and explore your body in different ways, rather than getting stuck in the same old routine at the gym.
- Remember what "fun" feels like. Be present in your body when you're moving. Notice how your body feels before, during, and after the activity. It is that positive body memory that keeps us going back for more.
©ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, Angela Dawn MacKay
thank you - this is brilliant!
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