My Christmas wish for you

This time last year I wrote a sweet, well-intentioned little blog about how you should try to slow down and enjoy these last couple of days before Christmas. “A Christmas gift to yourself” was good advice, but it’s just not terribly practical when most of use are still in overdrive right about now.

This year I’ll spare you that advice and instead ask you to consider doing just one thing between now and New Year’s. Consider it my Christmas wish for you: keep exercising. Even if you’re hitting the stores hard, burning the midnight oil wrapping gifts till the wee hours, or pounding down the fruitcake and eggnog … get your workouts in.

There’s a concept I talk about in this video that I call “The Physicality Principle.” It works like this: the more in touch you are with your physical body, the less likely you are to do bad stuff to it.

I speak with experience on this issue. As someone who was morbidly obese for more than 20 years, I was completely detached from my physical body. It was a source of embarrassment and shame, of discomfort and pain. No surprise I was detached from it. If I allowed myself to feel all of that embarrassment, shame, discomfort and pain it would have overwhelmed me. But shutting it out comes at a high price, and it’s a price I’m no longer willing to pay.

So this holiday season I’ll still be hitting the gym … and yoga … and the pool. Because I know that even if I overdo with sugar (my personal nemesis) occasionally, I’ll be able to get right back on track if I keep moving.

My Christmas wish for you is that you enjoy the blessings of your family and friends, and the rituals and traditions of the season, but keep up your workouts as best you can. You’ll feel so much better when you wake up on January 1st, ready to take on 2015!

Merry Christmas!