“Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands.”
Elle Woods, Legally Blonde
I really love dancing. I’m not a professional dancer or anything. I just love jamming out to dance tunes while flailing my arms or doing whatever I consider dance. I also love to take nature walks. I took one today and it was really nice to be around in nature. I thought about buying something from the store, like candy or something, but I am trying to save money and I eat enough sugar as it is, so I just kept walking. It was so nice to see the fall colors outside, even though it was kind of lonely walking past people’s homes and not seeing many people outside. A lot of people were at work so it was understandable. I watched as squirrels climbed up trees and felt the orange maple leaves crunch under my feet. The mud squished under my shoes after the morning thunderstorm. I went to the park and swung on the swing set. It was really relaxing.
I also love to dance because it provides me another creative outlet through which I can express myself. I honestly need to make a daily schedule to fit exercise in because I noticed I feel a lot better when I move my body. Exercising helps me manage my mental health, and I’m realizing as I get older how connected my mental health is to my physical health. It also helps me handle stress when I work out. I don’t go to the gym much anymore, but I used to work out on the elliptical a lot and listen to music on my headphones or watch stand-up comedy. Today a friend shared with me a workout video from YouTube. I thought, I don’t need to work out, but honestly I needed that video because I felt a lot better after I exercised. A lot of times I think I don’t need to move my body, but then I end up enjoying it. A couple of weeks ago I watched an amazing choreography to Beyonce’s “ENERGY” from her recent album Renaissance, and I danced to it several times and just felt so much joy while moving my body. It releases a lot of pent-up tension in my body. I also love doing squats, and in 2020 while staying at home for long periods of time and working from home throughout the day, I took breaks to do squats. Normally I sit and read my book a lot, which I still do because I love reading for fun, but doing these squats was a great way to get some exercise in since I wasn’t going to the gym during this time.
If I ever need a reminder, I just need to remember the wise words of Elle Woods:
The Arts Are Life 