I work out almost every day. Pretty much.  I take Sundays off and will allow my body rest days when I feel it is asking or when the weather is too bad to be outside.  It’s not to show off. It’s just the way it is.  I don’t have to think if I feel like it or not.  I just do it.

Almost everyday sometimes sais to me in the elevator ride to or from the showers, wow, takes a lot of dedication. I always smile and just say, it’s actually pretty easy. The thing is, most people haven’t experienced the joy of moving one’s body at will being taken from them, we take our bodies for granted.

I discovered the drug called fitness only in my early 20’s.  I should actually thank my first love for it was our heart wrenching breakup that broke me down so badly and pushed me so far over the edge that running & moving was the only way I found to move myself through the pain.  And it just became a way of life.  Using my body has become a irreplaceable addiction.  And right when I had mental decision to start training for my first race, my body broke down.  That being said, the addiction was so bad that through the last 4+ years there’s not a day that went by that I haven’t missed the regular daily movement.  The thrill of oxygen pulsing though my veins, the gratitude for my strong legs, the bliss of feeling completely alive and able to do anything. Over the years I picked up different sports, kept trying and trying, never giving up that I’d be able to practice my love for running daily again. Up until just maybe 6 months ago, my heart would wince every time I saw a runner go b.  Then I just decided to smile and take it as sign that I was getting closer and closer to being back in those runners again. The high of being fit IS just that strong.  It doesn’t take dedication, it takes a love for air, for life,  for your own life, for your own body.

Just 3 months ago that dream became a reality.  Here I am working out at will  like I used to be.   As we speak, in the middle of a 30 day yoga challenge and then working out on the mountain 4-5 days a week.  Hit my first 3k run 2 weeks ago.  Planning for a  10k in the spring at the Ottawa Marathon.

Oh I won’t lie to you, there’s a voice in my head as I write that sais, but what it goes away again. What if you get stuck again and can’t move freely, what will you do?   And there it is, the reason why today even less than it was back in when I was 20. It takes no dedication.  Just utter and complete appreciation for life, for a strong healthy body, for the ability to feel breath moving in your body.  That’s all it takes to get you out there.  Sadly, so many people will not know that unless they have this taken from them.  Spending days in the beautiful miracle that is your body and never feeling the bliss that it offers, just there, yours for the taking.  Now even when I’m not nowhere nearly as “fit” as I was when I had made that mental decision, everyday more and more I revel in my body, take joy in it, in every strong step it takes, in every deeper stretch I ease into.  In every muscle that grows a little more each day, gets a little more toned. I stand a little taller, walk a little prouder because I am making damn good use of this machine while I can. And loving every minute of it. Perfect or not.  It’s a miracle.

The next time you see someone that seems so completely dedicated to being fit, ask yourself, what would you do if you couldn’t make that choice? If you were limited not so much by your mental game but denser physical limitations?  Better yet, remind yourself, the choice to use your body is always there, a magical source of power just waiting to be set free.

That, requires dedication?

SuzyQ, Firecracker