A moment of gratitude.
Movement.
I've worked out for years but this period of lockdown has really shown me the difference between being active and exercising.
Before lockdown I walked everywhere,
Then on weekends went on family walks.
Throughout the lockdown period I have been homeschooling my children which involves a lot of sitting down with them.
And although we've been going on lockdown walks it doesn't really replace the activity level of the life we had which involved school runs,
After school clubs and nipping to the shops most days.
I quickly noticed that exercise and our daily activity are two different things.
Even as things ease I'm still homeschooling and still not walking to the swimming pool or the other clubs my children used to go to.
So many things may have eased in parts of society but things are still very different and this means our activity levels may still be very different too.
We all have different abilities and limitations when it comes to movement.
I have long been a big fan of para sport and was lucky enough to watch the World Para Athletics at the Olympic Park in London in 2017.
Watching these athletes show how important movement is and the determination to overcome anything to do what they want to do was truly inspirational.
Although we may not be able to fully understand what life is like for those athletes not just at special events such as the World Championships but every day of the year we all have our own issues.
Whether it is something that flares up from time to time or something that affects us every day.
Many of us I'm sure will have woken up with a stiff neck in the morning and suddenly realise just how limiting it is.
So today's moment of gratitude is about movement and having gratitude for something that is easy and comfortable for us or for something that maybe bother us sometimes but not today or at least maybe not so much today.
Perhaps your moment of gratitude might be because you were able to push yourself today in perfecting a yoga pose and you appreciate how your body is progressing.
Or maybe today you might want to spend some time helping your body.
You could include some stretches to ease tension in your neck and shoulders or wherever your muscles are tight.
Lockdown has put a stop to lots of exercise and movement classes but there are a lot of options on the internet which are a great resource at this time.
Or today's moment of gratitude might be something slightly different for you.
Maybe you appreciate how your hands can create intricate crafts or beautiful pieces of art.
In whatever way movement is important to you,
Take a moment today to have gratitude for it because too often we only appreciate these things when we no longer have them.
Until next time,
Always have gratitude.
