Moving my body in 2024

Resources for indoor walking

I mentioned in a recent studio post that my physical wellbeing is a top priority this year, and several people asked for the fitness creators I walk with every morning. I thought I’d share them with you here.

No matter what our goals or intentions are, the magic we hope to make this year, the dreams we would like to see fulfilled. Even if our goal is simply survival, the body in one way or another is at the foundation.

Nothing is one size fits all. We are all in different bodies with different abilities. But I believe there are three natural medicines we all have at our fingertips, to varying degrees:

1. Plants (food & herbs)

2. Energy (Reiki, etc.)

3. Movement

I have a tendency to live up in my head or even above or next to my head, to hover to the side of myself. I need daily exercise to anchor myself into my body.

It is also my tendency to allow my heart - my feelings and my intuition - to lead me. So open-ended goals and intentions don’t work well for me. If I tell myself I’m going to exercise every day, I will end up not doing it because I didn’t feel like it or because the time didn’t open up.

When it comes to the physical, I need non-negotiables. The activity log on my Apple Watch set to 45 minutes a day and my rule is, I close that activity ring first thing in the morning, before I do anything else, whether I feel like it or not.

In order for me to achieve that goal, I can’t allow myself any wiggle room to think about it or make a decision. Here in midlife, I can’t afford to exercise only when I feel like it. But I am not a gym person. I do not like working out with equipment or doing high impact aerobics. Not only do I not enjoy it, it doesn’t really work with my body.

My body likes fast walking, gentle hiking (no climbing,) and simple toning. I prefer to walk outside on a flat surface or trail, but traveling to a secondary location for exercise just doesn’t work for me on a daily basis.

Luckily, there is Youtube.

I have a playlist of indoor walks and I cycle through them, so that I don’t get bored. I do these workouts barefoot on a yoga mat because I am trying to build up my foot and ankle strength. I turn the sound down on the videos, pop in my earbuds and listen to a music playlist, an audio book, or a podcast.

Another psychological hack I use on myself is not looking at my watch, which is counting the minutes. It’s going to tell me when I’ve hit 45-minutes, so I just follow along with the videos without looking at the time.

Phone calls and texts that come through during this time just have to wait. Even if I’ve slept late, I don’t negotiate with the 45 minutes of movements first thing in the day.

As I said, we’re all different. Your body might need something completely different than my body, but if you’re interested, here are the creators I walk with:

1. Fabulous50s Schellea Fowler is a midlife teacher and trainer. She’s just great - upbeat and fun to follow along with.

2. Lucy Wyndham-Read is another favorite. She has a lovely positive energy and she records walks in beautiful settings.

3. Grow With Jo has some longer, more intense workouts.

4. Yes2Next has some super gentle, low impact workouts if you need something less strenuous.

I’d love to hear from you about your physical routines or goals for 2024.

Do you follow any fitness creators on Youtube that I should know about?

xoxo