's motd Mon June 16, 2008

[Guest guest]

PLEASURE OR DRUDGERY?

Monday, 16 June 2008

I meet so many thousands of people in my travels and I've gotta tell you something I've noticed. A lot of the people I meet just do not like exercise. And if I just happen to ask them, "Well, what do you do for exercise?" Oh, all of a sudden, their entire faces change. Their upper lips get lost in their nose as deep lines form between their eyes and they tell me:

"Oh, . I just hate to exercise!"

And, I hate to say, for many of those people who "hate" to exercise, well, they've got the bodies to prove it! If you're not exercising, your weight may very well be "up there." If you're not exercising, you probably don't have a lot of energy. Still, so many people think of exercise as a real drudgery, that is, as something they really dread doing.They'll tell me how many times they've begun an exercise program in their lives. And as they tell me, they still have that oh-so-pained look on their faces. They tell me how they dragged themselves to the gym, dragged themselves onto a treadmill and detested every moment from uh, "drag" to finish!

And they tell me how they gave up as quickly as they started because the very thought of going back to that gym just about made them sick! When I hear these comments from all of these people, I really feel bad for them. Because the way I see it, by not exercising, they're really missing out on one of life's pleasures. Oh, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that one of life's pleasures is eating. But another one of life's pleasures is moving, with good-old fashioned exercise! Yeah! How great it is to move! When I'm taking or teaching class, I move to the rhythm of the music and to that of the other people in class with me. And there's always a smile on my face because, frankly, I get a kick out of movement, out of exercise! Yes, I do find pleasure in it. And boy, is all of that movement really pleasurable for the inside of my body. And you can find the same kind of pleasure for your own body, too.

Your heart, your lungs, your circulation, your muscles and your bones...they all get pleasure when you decide to exercise. Now, lemme tell you, that pleasure is not going to come overnight. It takes time for your body to get that new rhythm inside it. And, believe me, it really does become a pleasure for your body on down the road.A few weeks ago, I took a quick vacation to Venice, Italy. While I was there, a group of American students who'd been studying in Florence were on a day trip to Venice. When the students spotted me in St. Mark's, they asked if they could take some video of me exercising with them right there in the Square. I was delighted!

So we all got together, and did a number together, singing It's My Party from Sweatin' To The Oldies 1! You should have seen us all moving and dancing together. I know I brought pleasure to all of those kids and they did to me, too! They'll have one great little production number to show everyone when they get home!So what is my advice to you? It's this: Don't look at exercise in a negative way. Just think of all the positive benefits that will come your body's way when you stop the drudgery and start pleasing yourself by moving that body of yours.Oh...what a pleasure!Love,