Out of my hands, off my shoulders

My biggest ah-ha moments tend to be after/during exercise. Maybe it is the lack of oxygen to my brain or something, but for whatever reason, when my body starts moving, so do the gear upstairs.

Point being – had an ah-ha moment today while working out. I started my evening with a little ashley-robics. I hope you don’t think I just made Ashley-robics up. They are in fact real, and I do them quite often.
Anyways, after jumping around my room for a little while I decided to cool down outside and headed outside for a walk. It rained a lot today, so everything looked glassy, with a blue and black tint. Kind of like in those film noir movies, when you see the lead character walking down the street alone at night.
In that moment, while walking around feeling my heartbeat slow down, I appreciated that while my exercise method of unconventional, it was effective. This made me think about another forms of exercise I love – running.
I love running, but there is something deeply competitive about it. Each time I set out for a run I am hoping it will be “good.” I guess good means fast, and pain free. A lot of runs aren’t good. My chest feels tight, my feet hurt, or something else in my body isn’t working right. In all of this I feel guilty.
I guess I never realized I felt guilty about my bad runs. This guilt comes from the fact I have a strong belief that I have control over my life. If I study hard, I will get a good grade. If I work hard, I will be able to find a job. If I treat my partner well, our relationship will work. This is all rather “pull yourself up from your boot straps-y” for someone as progressive as I am! I guess I allow other people to have flaws, but not myself.
Anyways, in that moment I realized, Ashley, you aren’t always in control, and therefore, you aren’t always to blame for mishaps.
For some people this revelations might feel like, well duh, but for me its huge. I have spent far too long worrying about what I did wrong. Somethings are out of my control, and all I can do is my best.
Maybe that pill I easier for other to swallow, but for me, it took an post-dancing sweaty haze to get it. A little Adele in the background helped too.

Ashley-robics

Hello fitness fans! I give you the new revolution in fitness. Ashley-robics! Just follow the easy steps below.

1. Clear the room! Move all of your stuff out of the way. You are going to need a lot of space. Dopey face optional.

2. Literally google “top 40 music.” As you can see by the purple links, I do this often.

3. Click the songs you love. Start with Britney – you should always start with Britney, duh.

4. Dance. No, don’t dance, just MOVE. Move your arms, move and legs and just pump it! You will find on occasion your rhythmic pumping actually looks cool. Most of the time it just looks crazy. This is why we do this at home, and alone. I could seriously look at that last picture all day, so funny!

5. Take a break! You have been going hard! Catch your breath. Please note sweat, the program is working.

6. Time to cool it down. Start by switching up the music source to Pandora. Make a “Rolling in the Deep” channel and play.

*Please note I have channels called “boy band bitch” and also “material girl.”

7. Turn down the lights, take slow breaths and stretch it out. This is the relaxation phase. Focus on where you are feeling tight and stretch. Mmmm… stretch. I am a fan of the slow moving dark room combination.

There you have it folks! A full workout with no gym, no equipment, no exercise instructors and no money. All it takes is a little sense of humor and good music. Oh, and internet… and Britney Spears. Again, always start with Britney Spears.

Chowey, sweat-ily signing off!