I have consulted tarot card readers on the right form of exercise for me.

I have asked intuitive guides and healers of all kinds to direct me toward that diamond-in-the-sky form of exercise that is going to make me blissfully happy.

The kind of exercise that will feel like heaping doses of easy breezy F-U-N. The kind that will make me feel like this:

Yippeee! I’m sweating!

I have attended classes of every sort, bought DVD’s, signed up for gym memberships, online workout programs, hired personal trainers, asked countless people about their preferred form of exercise and like all good researchers, I’ve also spent dozens of hours on YouTube.

And every time I tried something new and found myself in a decidedly UN-yippee state, I concluded I had simply not found the right thing yet, so it was time to go back to the drawing board.

And so the search went on. And on.

Until one day, sprawled out on the couch, I shouted to the trees outside my window, “When is it going to feel easy to exercise?”

And it was almost as if those gentle giant pine trees tilted toward me and said:

“Who promised you it would be easy?”

*insert that noise Scooby Doo makes when he’s confused by something*

And then 3 seconds later, I got it:

Even if dancing lights you up, you’re going to be out of breath eventually.

Even if you love yoga, you’re going to notice your heart rate rising and sweat beads forming.

Even if you can’t get enough of that runner’s high, you are still going to feel the burn.

We didn’t choose the career path we chose because it was easy. We didn’t choose to date (or get married to) this particular person because it was easy. We didn’t choose to wash our makeup off before going to sleep (when all we really wanted to do was stumble into bed) because it was easy.

We made these choices because in the moment, we asked ourselves, “Is this the best thing for me?” And the answer was yes.

Will this be a competitive industry? Sure. But does it feel like the best kind of work for me? YES.

Will he / she annoy the heck out of me sometimes? Sure. But do I feel like the best version of myself (generally) when I’m with them? YES.

Will my skin melt off if I sleep with my makeup on just this one time? Probably not. But will I go to bed and wake up feeling fresh, knowing my pores have been de-gunkified? YES.

Making the best (aka: the healthiest, most nourishing, most fulfilling) choice does not necessarily equal picking the easiest option.

So I’m never going to find a form of exercise that feels easy.

I’m going to choose forms of movement that are the most enjoyable, healthiest and most nourishing for me.

AND, I accept the fact that there will be sweat and there will be some panting and on squat #75, there will definitely be some burning happening.

And that’s just what ‘the best’ looks like.

xo
Annika

Photo by Mark Sebastian