So for the last half of 2022 and then into this year 2023. I explored a looser schedule and really feeling into myself and what felt aligned for that day and I have to say this also, I am in I understand a very privileged place of having the knowledge of exercise like in terms of like how to program things and I understand that, and I and I recognize that, right? At the same time, I still do believe that you can do this, maybe not on your own, you may need somebody to help you, right? But still it, it changed my life. I have a feeling it might change yours too, if any of this resonates with you, probably around April of this year. So I started to get back into a bit more of a regular routine of lifting like two to three times a week doing yoga asana, maybe one or two times a week and walking most days I did cart I do cardio through Zumba. And it's been a weird, erratic and also really beautiful process because my workouts are no longer something I just crossed off the to do list. So that could feel accomplished. Right? Or, and if not something, you know, my workouts are not Now something I do so that I can eat certain things. Yes, my weight and my size have changed not drastically, which is what the industry would have you believe. And it's funny, because now with less rigidity, I feel more in control, happier connected to myself and stronger. There are still of course some things that I cannot do, but I get injured way less. And I just feel better about myself and I feel better out of my after my workouts. So please understand, though I am not by any means saying don't have goals, standards or structure. Yes, have those things, but on your terms informed by messaging that is not based on fear, scarcity, perfectionism, which, by the way, is a construct of white supremacy culture. And, you know, also not messaging that's based on something that's misaligned for you. Right, also not according to size, calorie intake, or professional status, that society dictates as right as or successful. And so friend, while you may feel the need to shift some things or grow in certain ways, it's not make sure it's not because you're not coming to exercise, because you feel you're too little of this or too much of that in terms of society standards. And absolutely make sure it's not because you are feeling like you're broken or not enough, because that's bullshit. So my advice to you is support yourself rather than should yourself when it comes to exercise, and love yourself through exercise not in that gross, it's got to hurt or be ridiculous to be effective kind of way, move your body daily simply for the purpose of moving your body, then that could be in many different ways. It could be something that pushes your limits or it could be something restorative, it could be something in between. You don't have to punish yourself all the time. Second, implore methods of exercise that you find to be fun, or at least not completely awful, because there are a ton of options out there. Like I don't like to run. I fucking hate cardio, but I love dance. So I get my cardio in Zumba. And there were a lot of people who would say that that's not enough, but I don't give a shit. I'll ride my bike, I'll swim, but I refuse to go and pound the pavement running because I don't like to do it. And by the way, runners out there. Tell me about that runner hot runners. Hi, let me see you smile when you run because I don't usually pass people who look like they're very happy running, so you're not going to convince me it's fun. Third, you do not have to use exercise as a vehicle for eating or drinking something sweet or quote unquote indulgent. You do not have to have to earn the right to consume calories and you are not lazy. If you miss a workout or didn't make time for it. You are not lazy if you decide to like also eating I'm going to get to this in another episode. So I'm not going to go down the rabbit hole here. But can we just stop with the mess that is eating healthy labeling? Oh, gosh. Okay, let me pause there. Some of the biggest guidance I have today has to do with Ayurveda and shifting the way you exercise based on the season, this is probably gonna be very new to you. Because it's really not a part of mainstream Western culture. As you know, if you've been listening to the show for a few weeks, our needs change with the season based on the characteristics of the season, nature season and how they affect us. And while in mainstream fitness, we tend to change the workout from a gains or goals focus, some fit something I've been exploring the last few years is adjusting the workout based on the season and home feeling. So from an Ayurvedic perspective, six to 10am and six to 10pm are the best times for exercise to kind of bring balance to that Kapha energy, that slower moving energy of the day. And in the summer, the morning is best since it's coolest. And of course, by the way, you this is not rigid. It's okay if you have to exercise outside of these windows. It's okay. Summer is a great time for exercise. But keep in mind that due to the heat, maybe you adjust your intensity to not push beyond 50 to 70% so that you don't overheat. Now I know especially in American standards, that statement may warrant some sort of side eye or scowl from you. I get it. American Fitness is all about pushing as hard as possible at all times. Which is why when we have a shit workout because we weren't into it in the first place. We feel bad about ourselves. Right? But the reality is in the summertime we need to keep cool from the inside out. And because Pitta energy loves to push that put the energy with that govern summer, right loves to push loves it. So we need to balance it with intensity, right by taking it down a little bit. You might feel resistance to this, I get it, I encourage you to explore that. Right. And if you're not quite down right now with adjusting the intensity, then do me a favor and be sure to take a bunch more time to cool down from your workout, you should be doing that anyway in the summer. But especially if you are taking that intensity way up, you've got to include more time, getting that heart rate down, getting the blood pressure down, allowing yourself to come back to your homeostasis. Friend beyond this, be sure you're dealing with all your shit otherwise, because we've got to keep cool Mel in the summer, we've got to reset and repair for repair, and reset and also prepare for the rest of the year. Because we've got fall, the end of summer, we've got the rest of fall the beginning of winter coming. So you cannot burn everything down and go into the fall without being resourced in the way you need. Now another key for summer in any season really is to pay attention to your energy and adjust the workout accordingly. This might be based on low energy medium or high. This also is and more so is in the type of energy you're feeling grounded versus unsettled, even tempered versus agitated, mellow versus lethargic. So if you are feeling if if say in the summertime, it's hot and sunny or you are feeling hot, critical, angry or like a steamroller, just kind of crushing everything in your path. What is going to be supportive as a light hearted yoga practice or exercise that does not push you to the limits because what that's going to do is if you do push your limits, it's just going to exacerbate that hot critical angry steamrolling feeling that you've got. So you want to balance it with your exercise. On the days where vata energy is dominant whether and that can be in the summertime, right that mobile expansive energy. Or if you are feeling worried anxious or unsettled, then a supportive practice is going to be a more grounded and slow asana practice or less intense exercise, that maybe you stay in one exercise for a longer period of time versus switch switch switch switch through exercises quickly. On days where Kapha energy is dominant, this may be when it's rainy, or humid. In the wintertime, it's you know, when we're having snow and accumulation, or on cloudy days, or when you might be feeling unmotivated, deeply sad or lethargic, you can kind of lean into the Pitta and vata energy for like doing an invigorating practice of yoga or, you know, invigorating exercise to promote clarity and uplift energy for that day, but you just have to tune in. And this is what I encourage my clients to do, right? Because we cannot just blindly go into our workouts and push through ignoring the messages we're getting from our system saying I need it to be different today. Right, because American culture wants to do the same thing every single day in the name of consistency and discipline. But the reality is we are thinking breathing, living feeling humans and shit changes, life changes. And we've got to adjust that. Yes, sometimes we can push through sometimes we need to say, Buck up, buddy. But we do that all the damn time. Do we really need to do that in our exercise to like getting through the day and dealing with shit is enough? Do we have to do that in our exercise? I'm just asking you. The difference between the process that American culture offers us and I are Veta is to not exercise the feelings exercise as an exorcism exercise the feelings you're having but rather on or that they're they're bringing some balancing energy, right. In America, we're encouraged to get rid of the heart by any means necessary and are not encouraged or properly resourced to deal with the heart especially since the heart comes from systemic problems. But an eye or Veta we are encouraged to see the hard be with the hard meet the heart and work through the hard that includes disrupting the way that the systems are showing up. Right.