My story

Physical strength has never been my forte. It’s something I have to work at. Many of my friends have done marathons and tri-athalons. I always admired their strength and stamina and longed to do one. In my twenties I decided to go after my dream, fast walking the Chicago Marathon with a friend. The first month of the training program was fine but once we hit the longer days where you ramp up the mileage, my chronic illnesses flared up. I started feeling like I had a the flu for several days after a longer walk. I dropped out, letting go of a long-held dream.

That’s when I figured out that every one needs something different. While my friend thrived training for the marathon and even completed it, this type of vigorous exercise depletes me. It was the first time I truly began to accept that chronic illness would always be something I’d need to navigate around. I grieved that loss for a while. I had to re-think my identity. Rather than letting it get me down, it was an opportunity to discover my own path.

My health conditions mean I don’t have the same stamina as others. While I struggled with this earlier in my life, these days I’ve accepted it. I’ve experimented to find the right exercises and frequency that build my well-being rather than deplete me. I’ve learned my body loves climbing but dislikes running, while it dislikes aerobic activities it loves anything that allows it to stretch. My body tends to rejuvenate through slower exercise, especially those which allow it to stretch like yoga. These days I am in deep acceptance of my body. My new objective is to stay healthy well into my older age. That’s what makes me return to mat over and over again.