March in March
“Take off your bedroom slippers. Put on your marching shoes…’Shake it off.
Stop complainin’. Stop grumblin’. Stop cryin’. We are going to press on”
– Barack Obama
March in March were a series of political protests which were held in cities around Australia in March 2014. The marches were peaceful protests against the government at the time.
This was something different.
When I saw a friend’s invitation to join a ‘March in March’ walking challenge, I thought, “why not?”
We’re in Italy. Travel restrictions were extended this month. Movement between regions is not allowed, enforced by the police and Carabinieri. But we can get moving where we are (within a 30 kilometre radius).
And after more sedentary weeks indoors, during the winter, this felt like an opportunity to boost our energy levels. Time to get moving.
The daylight hours are getting longer here in Central Italy. More blue skies. More sunshine. We’ve taken daily Qi Gong practice outdoors again, about 20 minutes of stretching before lunch.
We walk most days. Italy has not had a national lockdown since March last year, or had rules which restricted exercise. So we’ve been free to walk in the Italian countryside, and take in views of the Appenines.
I don’t count steps or calories. But I did pay more attention than usual to how long we were walking for during the challenge. And we extended our forest walks, including a steep climb at the beginning and the end of the walk, walking around the local hamlet or adding a meander along the mountain road.
Sometimes group members would post about their progress. Like so much at the moment, the group taking part was connected virtually. Everyone was moving forward together, but apart.
And it was nice to see so much of my former boss Natasha on camera. She is now a fitness instructor in Wimbledon.
There were some noticeable changes, throughout the month. Sleep improved. Deeper. Longer. We felt brighter. The coming of Spring helped too. But without doubt moving more makes you feel better. I weighed myself each week and now at the end of March, I’m a couple of kilos lighter.
And we began to create again; projects with wattling and batik. We felt positive. And we looked ahead, hoping for better times for everyone.
Thanks to Natasha for the opportunity to get involved. You can find out more about her classes and programmes on social media.
A friend recently shared the piece by Donna Ashworth. It speaks of the fatigue that so many are experiencing at the moment; “We are tired of saying ‘I miss you’ and ‘I can’t wait for this to end”.
On Mother’s Day it had been a full year since I last saw my mum. But when you look at posts on social media, you are reminded that there are many people everywhere who have been separated from their family, sometimes in the same country, for many months, because of restrictions. Times have been tough, for different people, in different ways.
© Maggie M / Mother City Time
https://www.fitnesswithnatasha.co.uk