Lesson of the Week: Meet your body where it is

I found this article and felt compelled to share. I do this to myself all the time. Hope this helps some of you who are working through some of these same issues.

How much time do you spend trying to workout the way you used to? That question occurred to me as I was working with a client a few weeks ago. He mentioned how fit he was back when he was in high school and college and ran every day. "I'm going to start running again," he promised, only to limp back the next day with a bewildered question: "How did I ever run 8 miles a day? What happened to me?" What happened was, he didn't start with a beginner program. He treated his 40-year-old body like it was 20 and running even one mile after 20 years of not running would feel like a challenge to anyone.

Ah, getting older. It happens, of course, and we know it's going to happen, but even knowing that doesn't always prepare us for how different our bodies are at, say, 50 years old than at 20 years old. That can be frustrating and I hear that in my client's voices all the time...that frustration of thinking, "I used to be able to do more than this!"

The problem with that kind of thinking is that it keeps us stuck in a past that's long gone and, even worse, it makes us feel bad about where we are now. Logically, we know a 50-year-old body is not going to be the same as a 20-year-old body...yet, that's often what we expect of ourselves.

So, what happens if you meet your body exactly where it is right now? I know...it can be a difficult thing. The bodies we have now may have issues - Knee pain or old injuries, arthritis or other problems. It's easy to get fixated on what we used to do back then, what we can't do now.

However, when you accept your body and focus on what you can do right now, you let go of that frustration and, maybe, you even forgive yourself for things that just aren't your fault. Aging is inevitable and most of was probably won't make it all the way through the process without some problems, some wear and tear. But meeting your body where it is may be the first step in accepting where you are and making your life better right now.

What do you think? Do you fight your body? Your perceived limitations? How do you overcome the frustration of getting older and keep going?

By Paige Waehner, About.com GuideMarch 20, 2013