Newton’s First Law of Motion states:

An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.I have been thinking about this law recently, in terms of what is the driving force behind people’s levels of activity. What causes one person to sit on the couch for hours each day, while another person will not miss a single workout, no matter what? 

I believe a body in motion cannot help but stay in motion. 

I am reminded of that popular 90s song “Start the Commotion” by the Wiseguys. They chant “Put your body in motion!” repeatedly, until you can’t help but get up and obey. 

Twice a week, I teach three yoga classes in a single day. People can’t believe that I could possibly have enough energy to complete this not only daunting physical task, but also emotional and spiritual. However, i find these days to be the most invigorating days of the week. I usually attend a yoga class/run/kickbox, in addition to teaching. Once I start moving, I cannot stop! I get energy from each physical exertion, and fly high on these days!

I truly believe that physical activity leads to happiness. I am overflowing with endorphins on these days. I completely understand the rut that people get in after being inactive for many years. I often hear friends and family bemoan exercise. The hardest part of physical activity is the initial impetus needed to get up off the couch and get to the gym/studio. I once had an instructor say at the beginning of a yoga class that the hardest part of class is done…we got here. Nothing is harder than overcoming that initial hill of inactivity.

So many people have jobs that are inherently inactive. It is hard to squeeze in a workout, and sitting begets more sitting. Hence, the conundrum that many face after the workday is over. The dreaded gym….After sitting all day, it is so hard to muster the energy to get the body in motion. 

My best suggestion for overcoming this issue of inactivity is starting small. On days that I know I will have very little time for activity and most likely less energy after a full day’s work, I wake up early and take a walk. No matter how long the walk is, I get my body in motion and can’t help but feel happier, more agile, and heralding the Wiseguys and Newton, can’t help but keep my body in motion the rest of the day!

The other day I was teaching a yoga class, and this mantra spontaneously came to mind:

There is enough, I have enough, I am enough.”

It is very easy to get caught up in the materialist world that we live in. We are constantly inundated with images of shiny new things that we “have to have” in order to be happy. But once these “necessities” are acquired, there is always something bigger, better, newer that we “must have.”

This cycle of acquisition never ends, and permeates into all aspects of our lives. Not only do we feel we do not have enough, but this feeling of inadequacy extends into our feelings of our own self-worth. Am I enough?

I am in no way advocating a monastic life of plain spartan things and complete unattachment to material goods. Of course, it feels nice to buy something new once in a while, to don that new dress that you have been eyeing, etc. However, this feeling of abundance must come from within, instead of from external goods/services. The happiest people I know have an abundance within themselves that is not shaken by external details such as the size of their house, type of car, social status at work, etc.

Nice things that they acquire or happen to them are treated like frosting on the already sweet cake that is their life.

Deepak Chopra sums it up nicely:

The world is as you are. When your perception opens up inside so does everything out there.

We can live our lives from a place of scarcity or choose abundance. The world will reflect our decision. Abundance in our hearts will naturally attract more abundance to our lives.