Peace in a Pod

(I am crawling out of the void to come at you with a piece that dawned on me today while I was working out - cue me pausing mid-glute-bridge to type furiously in my Notes app. The main idea I want to put across here is how empowering exercising feels, and why meaningful movement of any and every kind needs to be a priority for all of us.) ‘Meaningful movement’ is how I’ve recently begun rebranding ‘exercise’. While all of us come to fitness with different experiences, feelings, and self-perceptions, as long as you schedule different types of meaningful movement throughout the week, job’s a good’un. Think of it like making an appointment for future you. Movement for me varies between traditional weight-bearing gym workouts, 20-minute HIIT sessions in the comfort of my apartment, yoga, a stroll outdoors, an incline walk or run on a treadmill, or a cycle. Living in the desert means that outdoor exercise, for me anyway, occurs between October and May, as anything outside of that is just u...

To be quite honest, I wasn’t sure if I felt up to writing a piece this week. In recent times I have allowed myself to post fortnightly rather than the usual weekly, as is the case when life gets a bit busy, but almost a whole 2 weeks had passed and I found myself inwardly groaning at the fact I needed to come up with something, anything, for a blog post this week. And funnily enough, that prickly reluctance I felt gnawing away at me to produce something provoked, in itself, a whole load of questions. Questions like, “Who am I doing this for?” “Why can’t I just say no to things?” “Am I burning the candle at both ends?” Now, no-one is holding a gun to my head when it comes to this blog; I want to do it. It fulfils me, as I'm sure your profession and hobbies do you, despite the time and effort they require. Striking this balance can be so hard. I’m sure at least one of those questions mentioned above resonates with you, reader, and your own personal and professional struggles of late...