Yoga pants.
Every mom has at least one pair. I’m fairly certain they’re issued for free at the hospital when you receive your baby. Or maybe my memory of the day is a little hazy, it’s hard to tell at this point.
What I do know, is that I have 4 pairs of yoga pants (and an ungodly amount of leggings) in my dresser. I also know that these are the only pants I really wear. Unless I’m going somewhere that requires me to look like a real person, I change from my “pajama” yoga pants, to my “nice” yoga pants and that’s as good as it gets.
I also know that my yoga pants have been used for yoga exactly once: for a morning yoga session at Beatlefest last year.
Sure, they were purchased for the sheer comfort of the elastic waistband and the fact that they are the only “acceptable” form of not getting dressed in the morning, but I can’t help but feel a little guilty when I take my morning walk to the store up the road. To passers-by, I probably look like I’m walking for fitness. The truth is, I just need a soda to start my day because caffeine.
Somewhere along the line, I told myself that since I’m already wearing work-out attire when I wake up in the morning, I’d get up and work out before changing into real clothes. Every night I tell myself that this will happen. Then I put it off. After I load the dishwasher, I’ll work out. After I get Almost-Husband’s coffee ready, I’ll work out. After I make lunch for The Princess, I’ll work out. After she goes to sleep, I’ll work out.
Day after day, I promise myself that I’ll take time for fitness “later”. I can come up with a million excuses to keep myself from spending a half-hour working up a sweat and building a healthier body. It’s a hard cycle to break.
There’s quite a few changes I would like to make in my life, and because I am who I am, I feel the need to make them all at once. It’s extremely difficult to silence that little voice in my head that believes it has to be all or nothing, but that is what I’m attempting to do right now. A complete overhaul of my existence isn’t going to happen in one day. In fact, taking on too much at once is often what causes things to backfire and keeps me exactly where I started.
So, I’m picking some smaller, more achievable goals with the hopes of building on those accomplishments and making new changes as I adapt to these new habits. Among these goals, is putting my yoga pants to use.
In order to accomplish this, I’m setting my alarm a half-hour earlier than normal. I’ve even entered into an arrangement with my mother to stay on track. Using my extra time in the morning, I am building a new routine. After taking some time to welcome the day, I will be launching into one of my many work-out DVDs that have been gathering dust for the last who-knows-how-long. I’ve decided to do a different one every day to help alleviate boredom, and I am keeping my daily walk to the store in place.
I know I’ve mentioned my fitness hopes before, but I never really had a concrete plan. This time, I feel pretty confident this time around. Time will tell, but look forward to the day when I finally have a worthy fitness update!
Wish me luck! If you have any tips for starting a new regimen or a plan that has worked well for you, please feel free to let me know in the comments!