Yes! I CAN take "no" for an answer

As I was swimming this afternoon in my fabulous Endless Pool, the self-same pool that started my whole Easy World awakening, I found myself in that ubiquitous workout struggle. You know the one: I MUST push myself, or I won't reap the benefits I need to lose weight / get aerobically fit / build muscle (you fill in the blank with your favorite exercise benefit). The problem was, about halfway through the most vigorous part of my workout, my body said  "no."

The harder I pushed, the more my joints, including my knee, which I'm intent on healing, protested, and with quite a bit of joint damage already, pushing through pain for me is Russian roulette. That has not always stopped me--I have reveled in pushing--and, hence, some of the aforementioned joint damage. But something different happened today. Today, I heard "no," and I respected it. I pulled back and said, "I CAN take "no" for an answer! I CAN trust that my body knows what it needs and doesn't need. And so I continued my workout, but at a natural, easy, comfortable, pleasurable pace.

But then "the voice" started up. Again, you know the one: The drill sergeant that is the compilation of every external authority you ever heard: "You're never going to get in great shape that way!" "How do you expect to do what needs to be done if you back off so easily?" "NO PAIN, NO GAIN." As if moving at a natural, easy pace in the water would be worth absolutely nothing. As if working out at lower intensity were a complete waste of time.

As this strident "voice" continued it's diatribe, the toxicity of it threatened to nauseate me to the point of having to stop moving altogether. I literally felt queasy from it. And then I knew that, if I were one to believe in evil--if I believed in the devil--that would be its essence.

I started to think about nature. There's no drill sergeant in nature! Have you ever seen a wild animal push itself due to some kind of nagging external authority? If so, it was an aberration! The only reason I know of that a wild animal pushes itself is to procure its dinner or to avoid becoming dinner. Animals move at whatever speed they do either for the usefulness of it or for the sheer pleasure--it's just what they do. If they're hurt, they back off and rest. And, yes, in such a case, they may well become dinner. But as far as I know, no one is out to eat me if I don't swim faster!

I haven't fully worked this all out, but what I do know is that the ego-based internal voice that we acquire from society telling us to push, push, push is toxic and unnatural, and I can definitely say "NO!" to it, even if it means not being at the peak of fitness. But I suspect one can become fit by following their body's cues as long as they are not split between what is natural and that nasty voice. Surely, like everything else, a lot of it--perhaps ALL of it--is in what you believe and what you tell yourself. I'm going to try telling myself a new, loving story about fitness.

Today I created a new Easy World tee shirt design, and the message on the back sums it up: It says, "I live in Easy World, where everything is easy. I breathe...relax...allow...enjoy,  act when inspired and watch the magic unfold." Does the toxic drill sergeant voice fit with that? I don't THINK so!

(To check out the new shirt design, visit the Easy World Boutique)