At age 60 my friend Linda took up belly dancing. Although she’s always made time for exercise in her life, Linda went to the gym grudgingly and with no real enthusiasm. She carved out time for walking and exercise classes and bike rides with her husband, but she never did any of these things with passion. Then one day Linda was watching a daytime talk show that featured a belly dancer. The segment featured women of all ages, each of whom had found a way to make this exotic art form her own.
Flat tummy…happy husband
It was Linda’s eureka moment. “I want to do that,” she said to no one in particular. And she did. Two years later as a result of her romance with the dance, my friend has an enviably flat tummy, a very happy husband, and a fitness routine that is more like play than like work. “It’s when I feel the most like me,” she said, when describing how dancing makes her feel.
Look at it in a new way
We all know the benefits of a regular fitness regimen, but how many associate it with a way to express who we are and how we view the world? Self-expression through exercise might seem like a tall order. Maybe we need to expand the way we think about fitness.
Sure, workouts like running, or spinning, or high-intensity aerobics may be the most obvious route to fitness, but there are lots of other ways to stay fit, ways that may help you discover new things about yourself. Dancing – whether it’s square or ballroom, ballet or tap, Zumba or hiphop – can be an amazing journey of self-discovery, self-expression, and self-confidence.
Trapeze anyone?
Combining skill, thrills, and unwavering concentration is another way to get fit. Twice a week, my friend Melody takes trapeze lessons. She flies through the air – sometimes not with the greatest of ease, but always with a lot of joy and a dash of fear. Trapeze work requires balance, strength, and a leap of faith, especially for a woman whose grandchildren often watch her practice sessions. “All the hard work I did in the past – aerobics, Pilates, and weight lifting – have paid off in my trapeze training,” she told me. “I feel like this is the culmination of all that work.” For Melody, trapeze is an expression of faith in herself and her abilities as well as a manifestation of her amazing physical grace.
Candace’s own workouts
A fitness routine that helps you express yourself needn’t be exotic or dangerous or even specific. For over 20 years I defined myself as a runner. I trained for marathons and most weeks happily ran over 50 miles. Running was what I did and who I was.
Lately, however, injuries have required that I find other ways of expressing myself physically. Now, instead of being a specialist I’m finding new ways to exercise, new ways to move. I’ve committed to doing something physical every day, but each day ends up being different from the last. I walk and hike, swim and play tennis. I’ve learned that I love rowing and don’t really much care for golf. I’m a fearful and overly cautious road biker, lagging behind the pack until they are dots on the distant horizon. But I’m a superior mountain biker, where the endurance and stamina I built as a runner translates nicely, especially on the uphill climbs.
As a woman over 50, I find a renewed sense of joy and self-confidence with each new physical skill I master. Whether I make it to the top of the rock wall or make it through an extended Yoga class, I am grateful for my body that does the work and my mind that challenges me to persevere, a combination that gives voice to the woman I have become.
