Find what you love and do it

It is now two weeks into the new year, and we all have had plenty of time to make — and break — resolutions. I don't make resolutions. But I know that a lot of people take Jan. 1 as their opportunity to start fresh, eat better and get more exercise. They go out in droves to join gyms and yoga studios and Pilates studios. They promise that they will walk or run the bridge a certain number of times each week. They resolve to become healthier and more fit in the new year.

And then a week, maybe two, passes, and that resolve starts to slowly deteriorate. Sleeping in overtakes the desire to be on a Stairmaster, happy hour looks far more appealing than a five-mile run. And so it goes. I remember, when I used to go to the gym, that the first three or four weeks of the new year were packed. I could never get on the machines I wanted, and my workouts took longer. People who didn't yet know their gym etiquette would leave machines sweaty, and I would be counting the days until they went back to talk shows and cheese curls.

But there is a way to avoid the backslide into unhealthy behaviors, and it is ridiculously easy. You will not quit doing something if you love it. After I was pushed into trying yoga and I fell in love with it, I no longer dreaded my physical activity. I was happy that I "got to go to yoga." I was glad I didn't "have to go to the gym." The difference in language is subtle, but important. I don't mean to say that the gym is bad. It just isn't for me. I didn't love it, and I had to force myself to go. Other people love it. More power to them.

Then, after losing a bet and being forced to try karate, I fell in love with it. So I was happy to go to class.

I was eager to learn new things. I liked being at the dojo, so I eventually tried sparring classes and t'ai chi, both of which I also magically loved. So I have found it remarkably easy to maintain my physical activity because it isn't "working out" to me. It's doing something fun. It's a hobby. I think my mother was very pleased when I took up jewelrymaking, because it is my only hobby that isn't physically demanding.

There's no trick to it. Just find what you love and do it. If you like taking walks on the beach, it doesn't feel like exercise. It is just something relaxing to do. And if you have a dog, all the better. You have to walk him anyway. Might as well make it a bit of a hike. Your dog will thank you, and maybe he'll be tired and sleep later in the mornings so you don't have to take him out at 5 a.m.

I have a loved one who hates exercise. There is nothing about it that she finds appealing. But there is one thing that she loves to do: dance. When she is in Charleston, she tries to get to Nia classes. Nia is a mixture of dance, yoga and martial arts, and you can totally let your freak flag fly without judgment. When she is at home, I can only encourage her to put some showtunes on the stereo and dance her tush off. That's exercise, but it isn't something she hates. In fact, she always took great pleasure, when I was growing up, in dancing to music that only she heard in her head in public places. I think that added to her joy.

But the point is, that there is a physical activity out there for everyone. Everyone likes to do something, whether it is yoga, dance, walking, hiking, playing air guitar, playing "Dance Dance Revolution," or whatever. Then it isn't some resolution you feel obligated to keep: It is something fun that you get to do. Think about it. And, above all else, have fun.

Suzanne Gannon is a yoga instructor in the Charleston area. Reach her at suzygannonyoga@yahoo.com.