I know I've mostly focused my fitness posts on yoga in the past, but it's because yoga is a relatively new development in my life and the reblogs of tips for poses and the meditative benefits of its practice helped to motivate me in honing my own physical capacities and peace of mind.
I haven't been able to continue my fledgling recreational practice or usual morning workout routine for the past month because a friend of mine was between living spaces with the lease being up at her old place and her first move out of Ireland coming up next month (literally my life in reverse, as my move here was my first trip out of America) so I offered her our spare room which meant gaining the world's most considerate roommate (yay, never-ending chocolate stash & never having to do the dishes!) but losing our laundry room/my workout area (the laundry is now hung in our living room/the only place with enough space to work out in our teeny apt).
Coupled with my lack of exercise and diet of increased convenient crap food (grilled cheese and shitty white bread for days), the consequences of balancing work and school and having no time to myself has resulted in an even lazier, tired, and bloated-all-the-time grumpy version of me I don't like very much. I'm already stressed out about money, deadlines, and showing up on time, but I'm so burnt out that I only address half my responsibilities at a time and feel worse about everything that's continually piling up.
Buying new running gear was a splurge I also kept putting off and I'd keep telling myself- next time, when I have more money; but months later, it was the end of September and I wasn't any richer (or happier). So, I decided to reorganize my priorities and purchase a pair of running shoes (and a few extras), especially after hours of online comparisons led me to a website where I bought all my gear for 30% off retail price with free shipping and an additional 15% off! I might have to live off canned baked beans, frozen fruit, and boxed oats for the next month, but I'm up for the creative challenges for cooking healthy on the average broke college student budget, and the sense of liberation I feel at being able to run again makes it all worth it.
Yoga is new to me, but running has always been my choice of weapon; my escape, my redemption, my constant companion. I run through the rain, on all my bad days, when my head is feeling heavy, or when I'm feeling excited and happy. I haven't gone for a run since moving here, never having the right shoes or the money or space or attitude; but I've shelved my excuses, gotten myself the proper footwear, and am ready to start feeling like myself again. Practicing yoga and working out in the mornings all summer was enough to satisfy my needs for physical exercise and mental clarity, but now with those alternatives gone, I'm returning to the simplest form of physiological betterment I know- the freedom of the run.
It's going to be a bigger commitment than ever, with my mornings beginning at 7AM already, but an adjustment in how late I sleep and how early I begin is all it'll take for me to have the time to reincorporate a routine into my life that has always made me happier and I'm determined to shake off this lethargy and sleep earlier, work harder, eat better, and start running again.
