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Saturday, July 17, 2010

Playtime!!

I was between water sessions at my the rec center pool last week and observed a couple of kids splashing and playing in the water. They were having a fabulous time, jumping, diving, chucking and dodging floating toys, laughing and shrieking with delight. They also had totally toned little tummies and bodies. I started to think that if all of us could start moving for the joy of it like some of us did when we were kids, we would all be much happier and healthier!

Young kids don't exercise to get fit, lose weight or "tone up". They don't do it because they're worried about their blood pressure or cancer risks. They do it because it's fun! If you ever watch little kids running around being silly and crazy, you know that there's not a serious thought in their heads. They are completely caught in the moment, loving the feeling they get from it.

Adults tend to view movement as a chore and something to be avoided if possible. This is not only detrimental to our health, but just plain sad!

There are million ways we can recapture the joy we used to take in movement, or to claim it if we were never active even as children. For one thing, try playing with some kids! They are great teachers. Try lots of different things until you find a few you really like doing. Play sports, dance around like crazy, fly a kite, go swimming at the lake and play volleyball in the sand. Go gallavanting through the woods, spend time in the backyard with some waterguns or a hose, or play in the snow. Ask some kids what they like doing. They like video games, but they also love to run around and soak up the world at 1000 miles per hour.

Stop taking yourself seriously for a little while and reclaim the love of moving that is yours by right as a human being. You'll be healthier for it, but you'll also have a ton of fun!

1 comment:

  1. I can't help but wonder if the warm water of a swimming pool makes kids (and adults) feel more like playing. I have participated in water exercise for 21 years and have been a teacher of water exercise classes for the last 6 years. The interesting thing about adult water exercise classes is that so many of them are designed to be so serious. I wonder if we would attract more participants if we loosened up a bit and put the focus on having fun.

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