Summer is the season to engage life. I do not mean like a promise to marry or engage an enemy. It is more like engaging the clutch while driving a “stick.”
When I got my learner’s permit at age fifteen, my older brothers took on the responsibility of teaching me how to drive. No one had an automatic transmission so I had to learn to drive the stick. I was taught that when starting the car, disengage the clutch, press on the gas, the turn the key. Keep your foot on the clutch, allow the engine to warm up. When ready, shift into low, release the brake slowly while pressing down on the gas with the same foot. Then engage the clutch! It was all as easy to explain as it was to write. Unfortunately, you know what happened the first time I tried.
The hardest part is engaging the clutch. Too fast and you leap forward and kill the engine. Too slow and you sit there while your brother yells at you to quit “wearing out” the clutch. It took practice and a learned “touch” to engage the clutch and get the car rolling.
Rolling into Summer requires that we carefully engage our “clutch” to get our body rolling into Summer.
Summer Sun – Use sunscreen and start with low doses of sunshine. Avoid the sun between 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM. Even after building up your exposure, continue and replenish the sunscreen and wear a hat with a high SPF rating. You will avoid the inconvenience of a sunburn and hopefully a later case of skin cancer.
Summer Activities – It is important to pace our way into a full scale assault on the Summer. The Marathon Runner does not go from a life on the couch to the finish line in a few days. Summer activities may require that we use muscles and joints that have not been regularly used in quite some time. We may be tempted to pick up where we were 9 months ago and not account for the loss of muscle memory or the safety protocols. Start slow and press yourself forward all Summer.
Summer Explorations – For many, Summer is the one season where they can get out and do things that are not generally available the rest of the year. Travel, new outdoor hobbies/experiences, or time to lay back and read become options when school is out and the weather cooperates. Claim the opportunity and do something different. Try something new. Read something different. Go somewhere you have never been.
Summer Schedules – Avoid over programming your Summer. Let the Summer invigorate you not drain you of energy. Pace yourself and end the Sumer more relaxed and healthier than when you began.
Summer Eating and Drinking – Lastly watch the diet. It is very easy to stumble into eating more calories and drinking more alcohol than during the rest of the year. Even if your weight does not show your over-indulging during the Summer, you may pay the price in the Fall. As your activity decreases you may not slow down your eating and drinking. That may be when the weight will begin to show.
Engage your clutch for these and other Summer activities and enjoy them. Engage slowly, push yourself forward and when it is time to rest, disengage and let your foot off the gas. Roll into Summer and enjoy yourself. Celebrate the season with your body.
When I got my learner’s permit at age fifteen, my older brothers took on the responsibility of teaching me how to drive. No one had an automatic transmission so I had to learn to drive the stick. I was taught that when starting the car, disengage the clutch, press on the gas, the turn the key. Keep your foot on the clutch, allow the engine to warm up. When ready, shift into low, release the brake slowly while pressing down on the gas with the same foot. Then engage the clutch! It was all as easy to explain as it was to write. Unfortunately, you know what happened the first time I tried.
The hardest part is engaging the clutch. Too fast and you leap forward and kill the engine. Too slow and you sit there while your brother yells at you to quit “wearing out” the clutch. It took practice and a learned “touch” to engage the clutch and get the car rolling.
Rolling into Summer requires that we carefully engage our “clutch” to get our body rolling into Summer.
Summer Sun – Use sunscreen and start with low doses of sunshine. Avoid the sun between 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM. Even after building up your exposure, continue and replenish the sunscreen and wear a hat with a high SPF rating. You will avoid the inconvenience of a sunburn and hopefully a later case of skin cancer.
Summer Activities – It is important to pace our way into a full scale assault on the Summer. The Marathon Runner does not go from a life on the couch to the finish line in a few days. Summer activities may require that we use muscles and joints that have not been regularly used in quite some time. We may be tempted to pick up where we were 9 months ago and not account for the loss of muscle memory or the safety protocols. Start slow and press yourself forward all Summer.
Summer Explorations – For many, Summer is the one season where they can get out and do things that are not generally available the rest of the year. Travel, new outdoor hobbies/experiences, or time to lay back and read become options when school is out and the weather cooperates. Claim the opportunity and do something different. Try something new. Read something different. Go somewhere you have never been.
Summer Schedules – Avoid over programming your Summer. Let the Summer invigorate you not drain you of energy. Pace yourself and end the Sumer more relaxed and healthier than when you began.
Summer Eating and Drinking – Lastly watch the diet. It is very easy to stumble into eating more calories and drinking more alcohol than during the rest of the year. Even if your weight does not show your over-indulging during the Summer, you may pay the price in the Fall. As your activity decreases you may not slow down your eating and drinking. That may be when the weight will begin to show.
Engage your clutch for these and other Summer activities and enjoy them. Engage slowly, push yourself forward and when it is time to rest, disengage and let your foot off the gas. Roll into Summer and enjoy yourself. Celebrate the season with your body.
TIP
A Calendar Journal
One way to help yourself into and through the Summer is simply to keep a calendar of your activities. Write a one or two word description of you did on the date on a calendar by your bathroom mirror or at your bedside. These words will help you be mindful of your pace and frequency of your activities. This gentle reminder may prove invaluable as you look ahead and roll your way into a great Summer.
One way to help yourself into and through the Summer is simply to keep a calendar of your activities. Write a one or two word description of you did on the date on a calendar by your bathroom mirror or at your bedside. These words will help you be mindful of your pace and frequency of your activities. This gentle reminder may prove invaluable as you look ahead and roll your way into a great Summer.
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