For three days in a row, I didn’t set my alarm for 6 a.m. I made the conscious choice not to get up super early for a hour of exercise to start the day. Frankly, I needed sleep more than I needed the workouts first thing in the morning.
This does not mean that I slacked off. I might not have made 10K steps every day, but I still moved my body enough in beneficial ways. For example, when I rolled out of bed closer to 8 a.m. yesterday, I went out for a 10 mile bike ride. Today I walked the dogs twice and went to a three hour Tai Chi intensive. Okay so “tai chi intensive” sounds like an oxymoron. It isn’t the same as power aerobics, but three hours of movement is still movement. We did two full sets to begin, each of which takes 15-20 minutes. These were followed by “foundation” exercises. Among these are something called danyus which are similar to squats. I’m sure we did 30 of them alone.
Honestly, as focused as I am on my physical fitness, it is not a bad thing for me to skip a couple of days. I don’t have to go full out seven days a week. It’s good for me to remember this and create balance. Sleeping a little later each morning for three days definitely created much needed balance. Whatever the case, doing so really helped. I feel much more rested tonight than I have in the last three weeks.
Overall, I feel terrific. My mind feels as rested as my body and I’m still riding that stress-release wave. Going off the clock turned out to be another useful form of self-care for the weekend.
Weighty Matters 
Great going! You’ve just proved you’re not an unhealthy obsessive about exercise, which, you know, is really about weight. Mary Stella, call this another breakthrough. That’s the way I see it.