I tend to think a bit like Mireille Guiliano and steer clear of treadmills and sweat pants. I tried the gym thing and jogging and exercise videos, but keep returning to my two favorite forms of exercise, walking and gardening. Since spring has arrived in the mountains, I can put away the exercise tape and make my favorite form of exertion an integral part of my day. I walk and garden in the same skirts and dresses that I wear to write, clean house, play violin and piano, and read. To me the best exercise is digging garden beds and walking to the grocer. Because I enjoy it and am healthy enough for it this season, it is the surest way to overcome the mental hurdle of moving my tush. I reap the benefits of exercise without the bother of driving to the gym, avoiding the roving eyes and comments of middle-aged single men, performing repetitious and boring movements on machines, showering in a strange place, and driving back home again. Engaging in outdoor movement I love, my stress and fatigue are lowered, as well as my tan improved, vitamin D is absorbed, my body is strengthened, and my sleep improved. Plus, I don't have to shell out cash for a membership, I save gas and time, and I grow organic produce and flowers. Who could ask for more?
