Rearranging Life

I feel like I'm constantly rearranging my life. Does anyone else experience this? I've heard that life is essentially a constant series of transitions. And the more I consider that, the more it rings true. The moment my world begins to feel settled, something changes, and I'm in the middle of some sort of transition.

This past month my 18-month old daughter Alex went from napping twice a day to once a day. In her two nap phase, I got into a pleasant groove. Her morning nap time would be my time to quietly engage with the day ahead, exercise, pray, and zip through some emails. Now that those morning naps have disappeared, I find myself having to rearrange life. Again.

I think the hardest adjustments for me are those important but not urgent things. Like exercise. There aren't any deadlines or exterior motivators for me exercising. But it's something important to me. Exercise is vital not only to my physical health, but also for my emotional, mental, spiritual, and even social health. When physical activity is a part of my daily or weekly rhythms, I'm more joyful, connected to myself and God, and way more able to give my best to my work and family. Conversely, without regular exercise, I'm generally more cranky and sluggish, and less disciplined.

So here I am, readjusting my exercise rhythms to fit the current realities of life.

What used to work: having a gym pass and doing 2-3 workouts every week. Nope, that doesn't work nowadays. I need physical activity that I can either do at home or with my toddler.

For now, there are a few options that fit.

One is jogging in the morning. In the warmth of the morning, I tuck Alex into the jogging stroller (maybe the best $400 baby purchase we made), and do a 2-mile run around the neighborhood. It gives both of us some time outside, and is a nice way to start the day.

Two is workout videos. There are so many options online, and I don't even bother purchasing anything. YouTube and Amazon Prime are filled with everything you could want. I'm currently trying more yoga to build flexibility and core strength. Two good videos are Jillian Michael's Yoga Meltdown (and really anything by Jillian), and Beginner Yoga with Tara Stiles (which has the basics).

My current weekly exercise is generally a 2-mile run one day, then either yoga or higher intensity cardio & strength training on the following day. I'm trying to exercise Monday-Friday, with two weekend rest days.

That's the arrangement that works in the present reality. Here's to rearranging life in the midst of transition, and being flexible with change.