Lumi’s Luminations : Stop Working out and PLAY!

STOP WORKING OUT AND PLAY;)

by: A. illumi

Once Upon a time, this Auntie worked out for hours a day, then cramming the intensity of hours a day into an hour, and various schemes of self torture but Illumi has seen the light and with this article and a little imagination you can skip the years of suffering and go right to the fun!

The first thing you have to do is… figure out whether you have a fun physical activity routine that works for you both physically and emotionally

*I will wait here while you check on that* – if you do have a physical activity or two that are working for your body, your heart, and mind – then good for you – you write Illumi and tell her how you do it (the2aunties@gmail.com)!

If ,on the other hand, your workout is:

a) boringb) gruelingc) leaves you feeling worse about yourselfd) makes you have ninja like focus only only on physical body – especially it’s flawse) is just too expensive – then you may just want to read on.

Before I begin any article I google it to see if anyone has written the article before – get extra resources – and generally acquaint myself with the topic – when I googled “stop working out and play” – hundreds of hits came up with guilt ridden cries for help about ladies and lads who had fallen off the workout wagon. Many others were guilt trains waiting to happen with rigid workout routines that promised impossible results. One man wrote a short but lovely article about how his wife ditched the gym and took up dance – I would link it here but I lost the adyy an can’t seem to get it to come up again! It was sad that I couldn’t find much on having fun to get fit but here goes on shimmering drop in the bucket…

First of 10 ,of what I hope to be many, creative ways to get physical

without thinking of workouts and all the mental mush bag that can bring…

1*Just Dance:it’s not just a song by Ke$ha,who recently disappointed me greatly on SNL but that’s another story… Just dance is also a fantastic philosophy on life and getting your body moving for the fun of it. Here’s a boxey little chart that shows some of the many surprising benefits of dance! If you have an MP3 player already then load it with songs that give you the urge to move then find a place – even the bathroom to just move to it…don’t worry about muscle groups and calories burned just have fun. Last time I did this…I danced for a whole hour ! The cost of a basic Mp3 player and danceable tunes will be less than a month at most gyms and will help you integrate movement into your regular daily life! Besides dancing is part of who we are – there is evidence that it has been part of our lives for 9,000 years! And if your looking for a type of dance to try – I have one very strange word for you – BHANGRA!

2*Hula Hoop: that’s right indoors or outdoors hula hooping is relaxing fun and physical – it’s most fun if you pay a little extra and get a hula hoop that makes the shoop- shoop sound! And not until this very moment did I know that there is an entire movement out there of hula hoopers – it’s called hooping and they have special tricked out custom hoops!

3*Dance Dance Revolution:available for most game systems this game works your body and your mind at the same time – and most importantly it’s lots of fun – you can even play it together with a friend or with your family! order it from amazon!

4*Pilates Ball:now a pilates ball can be part of a formal workout and a great help at that but that’s not we are talking about here! Sitting rocking and bouncing on the ball while watching t.v. , listening to music, or is you are really talented chatting with friends is a great way to keep moving without WORKING OUT. For extra added silliness get some of these and try to pedal while on the ball – just trying to stay up right and keep pedaling will keep you laughing!

5*Bouncing/throwing-catching/kicking– all kinds of playballs are fun way to keep your arms moving – and be healthy and happy with out having to count reps! If you have a friend, family, kid, significant other, or even a dog it’s all the more fun! These Velcro catch things are one of my favorites!

6*Punch ball/balloons:keep these around they instigate all sorts of games and moving around!

7*A yoga mat laying around– yoga mats ask to be layed on – stretched on – and maybe you can casually do some yoga poses instead of putting on the workout hat – it can become a part of your relaxation and daily routine!

8*Creative seating options and open spaces. Making a room one you want to go around and have room to move your body around goes a long way toward encouraging a happy healthy routine!

9*This one may sound weird but try aKIDS workout video– they focus on fun and moving rather than calories and looks!

10*Buy, Rent, Download a movie or two that make you want to move! This could be a musical like Mama Mia or a show with songs like Glee or a kick-ass action film – and this time when you get the urge to dance too or punch too – do it!

And here they are – my tools of torture discarded for a new regime:

Here’s what other people had to say about their favorite fun Ways to get moving :my favorite idea was from a young man I used to work with – Brady – he loves to do Ultimate Frisbee which reminds him of being a little kid! One very strange little girl I know says LARPING is the way to go! Heidi and Leia both like to be outside – hiking, gardening, and I swear even doing yardwork – see fun can be anywhere! Two of the people I asked took the idea of moving and thought 4 wheelers and motorcycles! Many people said swimming and dancing -which are two of my favorites as well – if you dance while cleaning house that definitely gets you bonus points(go Auntie Wicked!) – way to make a not so fun chore better and have fun moving around at the same time! A very close friend of Auntie Wicked’s let us know his favorite way to get moving is drum like a mad man! My friend Dyan is all about doing pilates right now – which I have always found to be one of the more fun traditional workouts available. If you all modern and savvy you may be able to do like my cousin’s family and use the Wii fit! Also walking – walking around a neighborhood or a lake or like an old friend of mine walking in a new and interesting place – certainly adventure is a great way to stay moving!… Any walking that involves visual and social pleasure not just around and around a track – counting every calorie…has the illumi seal of approval!. If you must use a treadmill use music/movies or something to take your focus to a funner place! Oh, I almost forgot – several responders also touted sex as one of their favorite way to get moving! Thanks to everyone who answered back and so quick guys and gals – you feedback was very helpful and inspiring! 

Don’t stop reading yet though – HERE COMES MY HEARTFELT CONCLUSION:

Well, there it is ladies and gentleman – a simple yet bold statement – a call to a new point of view. And if we could do it? As a people – could we get over ourselves more – could we stop being so fearful of age or weight? Could we indeed find our own happily ever afters? I don’t know but it worth giving a go – and if not? Well to be sure I will come up with some mad scheme for keeping fit but until then hula hoops and dancing feet away!

Addendum:

Now that I have aid all this about getting up and moving around for the love of it – I hope you can and do…but like all things let us not go forth in extremus – one must also find a way to stop breathe and relax and even do nothing or next to nothing – but that is another story.

Upcoming: These are the Boys of Our Lives Part 1. The Writer, Guilt Free Relaxing! And for summer: Fearless explorations into the wild world of shorts!

That beautiful photo of hearts came from: aussiegall on flickr!