Moving and pushing my body is a requirement for my state of being well. I have always been a very physically active person and loved the way my body looked when I was at my best shape and form. Growing up I would go with my mom to the Northwest Athletic Club and while she would participate in her aerobics class, I would be in the back mimicking the moves. I eventually got tired of it and ended up downstairs playing racquetball for the remainder of the class, but I was moving. My dad would take me to the gym in the basement of the MCPD station and I would lift weights with him and his friends, until getting bored then moving on to go across the hall to play Pac-Man.
I always saw physical strength growing up and understood what was needed to acquire it. Back in my prime when I was running track and cross country; many years ago I was physically the strongest I had been in my life. My transition from running and lifting weights to practicing yoga has been a full circle, as I now have started back lifting with the goal of getting in the best shape ever and deepening my yoga practice.
Strength training is an intense and enduring practice that after the first session, you start to walk differently. It may be due to the soreness from the breaking down of muscles that have never been used before, or it may be a distinct burst of awareness of every cell in your body. You are keenly in tune with the pain that comes from building strength and although it could be a deterrent, you must push through. Strength is beautiful, sexy and necessary. Keep pushing!
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