It’s warming up a little! Ok we may get another heavy, wet, Spring snow, but on these warm days we can start to think about moving around a little bit more, getting outside, taking big breaths of fresh (hopefully) air! I’ve had a bit of a struggle getting my kids motivated because of the long stints of cabin fever.
I remember being a mom at the playground when my kids were little and I wanted to talk to another mom or maybe just sit and feel the heat in my bones. I would give my kids obstacle courses to run through and usually it worked like magic! So I thought maybe it could still work, and maybe I should be doing them too!
Maybe each participant ( including myself) would come up with an obstacle course for the others to do. They could be races, or (to avoid the competitive meltdowns) they could be timed and each person would try to beat their own time. Trying to get the heart rate up, the breathing going, the large muscle groups working and maybe even some weight bearing on the upper body, like cartwheels, crab walks, handstands, push ups etc. Each kid could choreograph their own course, give it a name and come up with a prize for completion of the course.
Then! The post race body treatment clinic! Each participant could help relieve the tired, worked muscles of the other members. A little leg massage, neck massage, arm massage, even feet! This would help ingrain the idea that after we work our bodies, we need to take care of them and help them recover. Oh how I wish I had learned that earlier than I did!