To get fit, do what you love to do!

Like many teenage girls in the ‘70s and ‘80s, I had absolutely no interest in sports in my junior and senior high school years. I even opted out of phys ed class, once I’d completed my mandatory credits in grade 10. Despite my lack of physical activity, I was very thin. Everyone told me how lucky I was to be so slim and commented on what great shape I was in. I was foolish enough to believe them.

It wasn’t until I was in my thirties that I came to understand just how far from physically fit I was. One day in the spring of 1996 my husband, Neil (who had been very physically active in school with basketball and volleyball) told me he’d registered us in a continuing education course, “How to Mountain Bike”.

“What!? Are you nuts!?” I squealed. “I Iearned to ride a bike when I was seven years old! Why do I need a course on how to ride a bike?”

I didn’t have to wait long to find out! Our first day out on the trails was an eye-opener. There is a surprising amount of skill involved in riding a bicycle off-pavement. And, I got my first glimpse at what bad shape I was in. I thought my heart would burst in my chest after the first ten minutes of pedaling! It was sobering to realize I likely couldn’t run a block, even if my life depended on it.

I could barely walk the next day and did a lot of grumbling, but my hubby pointed out it would get easier the more I rode. He was right. After a few weeks of heading out on the trails, it not only got easier, but I really began to enjoy the challenge of mountain biking. It was a joy to throw our bikes in the truck and head out to the local parks every weekend. We even started a family tradition of the Annual Thrussell Mountain Bike Jamboree, when we invited friends and family to bring their bicycles and come camping for a week in the mountains.

I was taken by surprise at how much fun being physically active could be; my enthusiasm for mountain biking encouraged Neil. He invited me to join his co-ed soccer team. Another eye-opener. It takes different muscles, and a lot more stamina to play soccer!

After a couple of years of enduring injuries from playing what is supposed to be a non-contact sport with guys two and a half times my size, I gave up on soccer.

As our nieces and nephews got older and didn’t want to come camping with us anymore, our bikes stayed in the garage more often than not. I fell back into my old habit of enjoying sedentary hobbies.

Then, one day I received an email that changed my life. A colleague sent me a note that said, “I teach a class that’s danced-based, a barefoot movement to music that connects mind, body, and spirit. I think you’d like it. Why not come out and try it?”

I was intrigued. I showed up at Nia class, kicked off my shoes and got lost in the music and movement. I was weeping with joy by the time the class was over. When Robin told me there was a week-long White Belt Intensive Training in this Nia technique, I just knew I had to enroll.

Ha! There is a reason the training is called an intensive! My body had never before hurt as much as it did by the end of that week… but my spirit had never soared as high, either! I was hooked. I registered for a teaching license and was teaching a Nia class just three months after I completed my training.

I never dreamed that more than ten years later I would hold a Nia Brown Belt and still be teaching classes every week! At nearly 55 years of age, I am healthier and stronger than I was as a kid.

It just goes to show that when you do something that you love, it’s easy to stick with it… and become healthier in the process.

Tina Thrussell is not only a Brown Belt Nia Teacher, she is a Mindfulness Trainer, Workshop and Retreat Facilitator and co-founder of the Shin Dao – They Way of the Heart. You can find out more about Tina and her passionate work at www.shindao.com and www.tinathrussell.com