Day 2. (Day 2/122 of the experiment)
7:30 in the morning. I open my eyes and think about where my inspiration disappeared. Just yesterday, I was ready to move mountains (I note – I was ready to conquer hills with my walking), and today I dream about a cocktail, the beach, and the sea shore. But, overcoming my laziness, I got up and decided to look for morning exercises on YouTube.
This one is too fast-paced, and this one seems uninteresting; here a gymnast stretches like rubber, and the instructor here has an unpleasant voice. Oh! This workout seems just right. Five minutes, with pop music and a silent trainer. First point – completed!
For breakfast, I decided to make an omelet – it's healthy – although with sausages. But a big journey starts with one step. I decided not to add sugar to my coffee. It turned out utterly unpleasant, so I tossed in a spoonful of honey.
I didn’t dare to call Julia and didn’t want to head into town. Today would be an unofficial YouTube day – I would try the zumba workout. And I definitely plan to go for a long walk today.
After Olga, my neighbor, called me at eleven to ask where I disappeared to and why I haven’t come for tea and where I last ordered pizza, somehow, the clock mysteriously moved to three o’clock.
My body was procrastinating this wonderful moment of sports, so I decided to start my day with fresh air. I looked at Google Maps to find out where I could stroll around my village. And it turned out that within a 20-minute walk, I could reach the ponds. I got my headphones, turned on Lady Gaga, and meandered along searching for beautiful views.
It turns out that when you’re in no rush, walking is even enjoyable! You stroll leisurely, take in the sights around, listen to your favorite music, enjoy coffee from the nearest gas station (if we’re talking about outside the city), and focus on interesting things. For instance, I saw two Dobermans, a Chow Chow, a Yorkshire Terrier, and three shepherd dogs today. The glade, which was my intended destination, was in high demand among dog owners.
At 6:30 PM – I’m boiling buckwheat for dinner, tossing together a salad, listening to Masha Efrosinina's latest interview, and engaging in a complex dialogue about “do I need zumba today and why do people engage in sports at all?”
At 10 PM, I came to the realization that the score was again 2:0 in favor of my laziness. Sports were still as distant from me as the Volvo S90.
Day 3. (Day 3/122 of the experiment)
The third day began with a true heroic deed, specifically – waking up at 6:30. For this, I decided to reward myself with a three-hour procrastination. I scrolled through Facebook, Instagram, watched funny videos with cats and dogs, and even read a scientific article on the benefits of sports for the human body. I consider this a victory!
Today, I also posted my first photo on Instagram. Yesterday, I took such a nice picture of the pond surrounded by trees that I couldn’t help but share it. In the text, I wrote about my experiment and added some hashtags. I even tagged my “judge and fairy” – May. Three hours after the post, my photo gained over 100 likes, and ten people wrote that they were proud of me, wanted to follow my transformation processes, and asked me to post daily and share my experiences and changes. Here's the law of attraction for you – I started my morning with a heroic act and just a few hours later, strangers wrote that I'm their hero.
Inspired by the comments, I geared up for a real workout. Today, I chose yoga. After spending 20 minutes, I found as many as ten yoga instructors (for such a small city, this number seemed excessively large. Do these people all lead spiritual lives?). I decided on a fitness center located right in the heart of the city. That way, I wouldn’t get lost and could easily get there without issues. I decided to postpone my walking until the evening so I could make the yoga class and write about it in my Instagram tomorrow.
The instructor's name is Lilia. And she really does resemble her flowery namesake. She is a thin lady around 35 with a friendly smile and a voice that’s much too quiet for a yoga instructor.
I spread out the mat kindly offered by Lilia and began to observe my “colleagues.” They were different people – young and old, women and two men, but they all shared one thing – a look of complete serenity on their faces. It seemed as if they were in a parallel reality. They were silently sitting in lotus positions and meditating. Here, I felt like a true white crow – I wanted to talk, get to know someone, ask if it was difficult to practice yoga, where one could grab a decent cup of coffee, and where the best bar in the city is. But I was in total solitude among these people.
I don’t even want to write about the most boring hour and a half of my life. I had the feeling that someone pressed pause and the clock simply stopped moving. So we breathed for five minutes, then froze in weird poses for seven minutes – either a “cat” or a “tree.” My legs started to hurt terribly, I felt a strong longing for human interaction and active movements. Of course, I tried not to show it, but when the class was over, and the instructor approached me, I realized that all my emotions were plainly written on my face.
-Cinderella, how did you find the class? Didn’t it seem to you that you expected something a bit different, right? – Lilia asked without any sadness and with a sincere smile.
-No, everything was wonderful! I just thought I might like something more dynamic. Also, I felt quite lonely because I just moved to your city and don’t know anyone here.
-Cinderella, why are you silent? Want to grab a coffee and chat? I totally understand you as I’ve only been here for three years – I was born in Knoxville and met my husband while studying, and he has a good job here.
-Lily, I would be very grateful for your company!