Day 3 How Exercise Makes Me Feel

I rarely have the energy to exercise, but I'm trying to do so anyway. All my life, the only way I have been able to motivate myself to do things I don't want to do is through name-calling and self-abuse. Now that I have determined to stop doing that, I've had an even harder time exercising because I haven't found an effective motivator other than abuse - the internal Drill Sargent.

Lately I have found one thing that helps a little. When I get home from work, all tired and stressed, and I think about exercising and hear that internal "I can't!" I try responding with a gentle "Well, what can you do?" Usually I am able to think of something that I can do, sometimes it is the very thing I just said I couldn't do. Just turning the 'can't' to a 'can' seems to help.

Anyway, my last real exercise was 2 days ago - I did 25 minutes of yoga. As usual, I felt very tired and in quite a lot of pain afterwards. But I felt good in spirit about having done it.

Just as a side note, my issue is not back pain, it is fibromyalgia. And Sarno is preaching to the choir; I have known it was all about repressed emotional pain for years. Knowing that has not stopped the pain.

I've only been thinking about this as TMS and learning about it for a week or so, and there is no reduction of symptoms, but I do seem to be getting up a little easier for the last week - haven't been late to work which is unusual for a solid week. So I am happy to credit this program with that success if only to get a little positive reinforcement working for me...

 

Hi, Sudonym. As you know from reading Dr. Sarno, fibromyalgia is a word that doctors are using to tell us they don't know what to call whatever our symptoms are. I agree with Dr. Sarno and others that the symptoms that do not cause structural pain are caused by our emotions.

Exercise is good, whether it hurts or not. I have always hated traditional exercise and preferred to get it by playing tennis and golf. Over the past forty years I have gotten most of my exercise by walking a dog.

Yoga exercise is wonderful, but just doing chores in or around the house or apartment can also be great. I need to spend more time trimming buckthorn and other weeds in my garden.

I also like watching free videos on Youtube that are easy 10 minute exercises for seniors. Just moving the arms and legs keeps us healthy.

Be patient in the SEProgram. You're early in doing the work in it. Journaling helped me a lot, to discover repressed emotions that caused my back pain.

G

 

I think even though you're seeing small improvements that it a positive thing. I love your idea about turning I can't into what can I do. That's brilliant. One day you will look back and say remember when doing 25 minutes of yoga was hard? Keep up the good work.