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I returned to teach Pilates at Pilates BodyTree yesterday after a restful week and a half away from work. Over the 10 days, I spent time reading, swimming, at the Bukit Timah trails and cooking simple recipes at home.

I also took the opportunity to catch up with friends which is such a treat given my busy schedule teaching. As we arranged to meet up, it dawned on me again that gatherings are often centered around food and drinks. That making merry and having a good time are almost always associated with eating and drinking:

Of course this happens throughout the year and I am grateful my lovely friends think of me often. But it can’t be denied that the frequency of catching up over food shoots through the roof over major holidays like Christmas and Chinese New Year. Birthdays too!

With these special days, many of us “let go”, “reward” ourselves and overindulge – with food. A lot of food. No wonder most new year resolutions are about losing weight, exercising more and getting fitter – year after year!

I love what a dear Colombian friend and fellow Pilates teacher, Cristina, had to say about the madness some of us put ourselves through. Read till the end for the wise nugget.

“Sometimes I wonder why is it that when vacation time comes, some people ‘lose the year’?

Meaning that when December starts they eat twice or three times what they are used to, they find thousand excuses not to exercise anymore, and actually their lives become very complicated.

They run, they are crazy doing shopping, and worst of all they are complaining about it, which means that by January overweight and over guilt is going to ‘kill’ them. So neither December nor January are actually fun. This is a little exaggerated, but not to far from reality.

I was questioning this, and one of them wisely said: THAT IS BECAUSE MOST OF THE YEAR THEY DO WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO, NOT WHAT THEY LIKE TO DO.

WHICH TRANSLATES THAT DIETING AND EXERCISING ARE NOT A PASSION, OR A LIFESTYLE, BUT RATHER AN OBLIGATION.

Until we find ways to understand and introduce a healthy lifestyle as a need to feel good, it is very difficult to enjoy the time and effort that we expend in doing so.

The fact is that WHEN WE TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES, OUR BODIES RESPOND WITH BEAUTY, HEALTH, JOY.”

How true!

Thank you Cristina.