Healthy mind, healthy body

It's my belief that both go hand in hand - healthy body, healthy mind. So often, with stress, lifestyle choices and lack thereof, and of other commitments, the mind/body can misalign itself: like a clock that's forgotten to tock.

It can be so easy to fall into the trap of not feeding ourselves a healthy balance of diet and exercise, either because as writers, we sit for the time we are writing, sit when we read, and sit while reading about how to write. The mind becomes stifled, the body begins to adopt the hallmarks of a sedentary lifestyle. There are ways to combat this. Exercise is touted as being a reliever of most ailments, from lifting the doomy clouds of depression to improving physical stamina, strength and endurance. It helps cognitive functioning, improves focus and concentration, which can only be beneficial to writers.

In the past, I've taken to the outdoors, packed a bag with my writing pens and notebooks and found a cafe but I've decided to swap that for a gym bag. Yes, I've actually joined the gym! No longer do I go on an ad hoc basis. I will be a regular.  How do I know this? Because I'm determined to get my money's worth from my membership fees, and with a plethora of fitness classes available, a large and airy gym complete with mezzanine gym area, mind and body classes in soundproof room, swimming, sauna and steam room, I'm sure there will be something I can find to get my body and mind working in harmony, and I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is.

I'll let you know how I get on fitting all this into my working/mothering/writing life.