Each year I set up an ambitious list of new year resolutions, many of which are completely unattainable for my life/schedule/personality (i.e. read War and Peace) and they fall away after about three weeks.
So this year I'm simply re-emphasizing the good habits I already have and eliminating the stuff that doesn't work for me. One of those things being the loud, obnoxious gym I've been going to for the past three years.
For a long, long time I only considered something a "work out" if it made me feel like I was going to collapse and die mid-way through. Oh, what fun. That changed when I started doing yoga.
Last year I tried Vinyasa yoga at Cranston, RI-based Studio Exhale and it changed my entire view on fitness. Yoga is a way to be physically, mentally and spiritually fit. I feel so healthy in every way after a yoga class that I can't see myself going back to those intense cardio classes at the gym where instructors scream at me for an hour as I torture myself under unflattering flourescent lighting. Plus, I'm already thin (thanks, genetics) so losing weight is not a goal. If I need to do cardio, I'll go for a walk or run at the park. Far more appealing that running on a treadmill at the gym.
Here are a few other 2012 resolutions:
Support local farmers and businesses. I already do this as often as possible, but watching Food Inc. supercharged my resolve to become a locavore. Organizations such as Farm Fresh Rhode Island make it easy to find local farmers markets and suppliers.
Be a great wife to my fabulous husband. He deserves it.
Don't become a hermit during the winter months. Bundle up and get out there.
Create more art. I love to paint, photograph, and draw but don't make the time to do that nearly enough. Hopefully, this year I will.
And if I don't fullfill these resolutions to the fullest, I vow not to mentally beat myself up. (That's the toughest resolution of all).
Happy new year!
