Tatiana Grafova - There is always the sun behind the clouds. Living happily

Movement is life , or, in other words, to move means to live .

Everybody knows this phrase.

But very few of us fully realize that these are not mere words, or stories invented by coaches and doctors.

This is the harsh reality of life.

A modern woman, for the most part, leads a sedantary way of life.

I would even say, too sedantary.

We sit at school and at the University, in the office and in front of our home PC or laptop.

We sit at the wheel of our cars and in the passenger seat on the plane.

We sit at the airport waiting for our flight to be announced, then on board the plane waiting first for take-off and then for landing, to say nothing of the flight time itself.

To make the long story short, we sit too much and we don’t move enough.

To use a more sophisticated and scientific turn of phrase, we all suffer from hypodynamia, which, in simple terms, means lack or deficit of movement.

It’s no use arguing this point.

This is the sad reality of the twenty-first century.

If you want to be fit both physically and psychologically and to look and feel accordingly, start doing something about it immediately.

I don’t mean anything extraordinary or out of this world.

Simply start to move more, to lead a generally more active way of life.

However, try to understand me correctly.

There is no need for extremes or heroic deeds.

I’m not calling on you to start exhausting yourself with hard training sessions and exercises beyond your power of endurance.

Or to imagine yourself “a walrus” 1 1 In Russia we call the brave and cold-resistant people who swim in the ice-holes in winter “walruses ”. and dive into the icy water in winter without necessary preparation.

If at the moment you can’t join a fitness-club, swim in the pool three times a week or take up lawn tennis, don’t worry!

Start with small things.

Just take the first step, it’s this first step that costs.

And then, as you know, step by step one goes far.

If you have the will-power to get up a quarter of an hour earlier than usual, you can begin with a very short and tiny little set of simplest possible morning exercises.

And then take, if not a cold, at least a cool envigorating shower to wake you up.

I know from my own experience how difficult it is to resume keep-fit activities after a long break. And it’ s even more difficult to start from scratch, if you have never done it before.

Old habits die hard and new ones take time and effort to get established.

But believe me, you simply HAVE TO!

It’s an absolute MUST, which is necessary for your survival.

It’s for your own benefit – your own health and well-being!

From my own experience

When I resumed my visits to the fitness-club after an almost two-year break, at first, for a few weeks each time I had to force myself to go there, to literally drag myself by the ears.

I invented all kinds of excuses not to go there today, but better go tomorrow, next time, on Monday, in a week, after my period is over and so on and so forth.

Any time really, except today, except now.

However, every time I forced myself to go, already five to ten minutes into training I was extremely happy that I was there and started enjoying myself.

Leaving the club after the training session, I felt a little tired, but in a pleasant sort of way, and extremely pleased with myself.

My spirits rose. My mood drastically improved.

My eyes regained their brightness and my pale cheeks – their colour.

I felt an altogether different person, as if I was born again.

Now I know what was behind it all – “endorphin” – the so-called hormone of joy and happiness.

Luckily, as it turns out, our body produces it not only if we gulp down tons of bananas, ice-cream and chocolate, but also as a result of physical exercises.

And this is absolutely great!

Aren’t we fabulousy lucky?

I once got into conversation with an old friend of mine.

In terms of keep-fit activities, she has always been for me a good example to follow.

As long as I have known her, she has always led a very active sport life.

She regularly goes to the swimming pool and to a fitness-club.

She has tried virtually everything – step and pilates, yoga and belly dance…

To cut the long story short – you name it – she has done it or has at least tried it!

Sport and fitness have always been an indispensible part of her way of life.

But to my great surprise, even iron ladies like her, sometimes have their moments of weakness. After a long and tiring day in the bank she, too, sometimes fights the temptation, thinking to herself: What if I skip my yoga class today, go home and have an early night, just for once, just for a change?

But whenever she wins this inner battle with herself and overcomes her laziness, she never regrets it, as the same thing that I have experienced myself, inevitaby happens to her – she comes back to life, regains her cheerfulness, starts to enjoy life and have fun.

It’s extremely difficult to change your usual life routine.

Old habits always die hard.

Because, first of all, you have to defeat your own inertia and laziness, and the latter is known to be the mother of all other human sins.

In the early hours of the morning it is so nice, cosy and warm in you bed that you feel like staying there for a few more minutes instead of getting up and doing your morning exercises.

However, if you have made up your mind to turn over a new leaf, don’t postpone it.

Don’t put it off till some other time!

Pluck up what’s left of your will-power and start acting!

But hold on a minute!

Before you plunge into it, I’d like to warn you against possible mistakes you are likely to make.

These mistakes can spoil all your good intentions and put you off fitness for a long time, if not for good – in the worst-case scenario.

Some useful hints based on my own experience

• Never jump out of bed at the first sound of the alarm clock!

I must admit I used to do it myself, all the time.

It looked like something out of a cartoon film:

The alarm clock rings and I jump up and then out of bed, as if bitten by a wasp or swept up by a hurricane or tornado…

I‘m still only half-awake and can hardly see straight through my half-closed lids.

Despite that, I rush to switch off the alarm, bumping into things and knocking them over.

Isn’t that the right way to start the day wrong?

Besides, to crown it all, as I discover later, my legs are all bruised.

Never do that!

Cause if you do, what happens is you get up without waking up and you end up feeling half-asleep for the rest of the day. Like some insects or animals in early spring, after the long winter hibernation, you move as if in slow-motion.

You are half-asleep rather than half-awake, balancing between dreams and reality.

Just imagine spending your whole day like that!

If you can’t rely on your internal biological rhythm and can’t wake up without the alarm-clock, place it in such a way that you can easily switch it off, simply by reaching out for it, without leaving the sanctuary of your bed.

Well, the alarm-clock is silenced.

But before you get out of bed, stretch yourself – at leisure and with pleasure.

Try to think about something positive, something pleasant and nice.

It’s very important, as the thoughts you are thinking during the first few minutes after you wake up have a strong impact on the rest of your day.

If you let bad and pessimistic thoughts into your head, you may end up getting out of bed on the wrong side.