Hobbies Keep us Healthy!

So I recently decided to get back into a sport I had participated in as a kid. For 12 years, starting at a wee age, I rode horses. It developed into a passion, something that certainly kept me sane through my teenage years.


Every Saturday morning, instead of watching the early morning cartoons, my sister and i would trek to Stouffville, Ontario for our weekly group horse riding lesson. Over the years it developed into a whole day affair. We would pack a lunch and, after our lesson, we would clean our tack and then get to work: muck out stalls, pack shavings into huge burlap sacs (we wore masks to prevent dust clogging our little lungs), transported super heavy bales of hay, bathed the horses, basically anything that needed to get done. One might think this is dreadful, but I LOVED it!! I felt like I was helping out, I got good exercise, and I suppose it was an outlet for a lot of my frustrations as a kid...and it fed my heart.

One wouldn't necessarily think that horse back riding is good exercise, but indeed it is, and to me, way more fun than traditional exercise. By this I mean going to a concrete building, ie. the gym, or more preferred term, health club, for exercise. Horse back riding is feeding my soul.

So having not ridden in 15 years I was a little, shall we say, fearful to get back in the saddle. Though I have got to say, as soon as I legged up onto the horse, it was as if I had never gotten off! Pure and simple, I was in my glory. Ok, I will admit I was a little rusty, and I have yet to go over some jumps. Though, that will be happening soon, and when it does, I will surely feel the rush I felt as a kid; it will be pure bliss!

So I encourage you to think about something you used to do that you loved, and give it a second or third go. It may not be a form of strenuous physical exercise. Perhaps it is quilting or painting. And you may only be able to create a smidgen of time for it at present. Whatever it is, and however little or much time you choose to spend, I am suggesting you do something that lifts your spirits, and makes you feel that child-like glee that you may have not felt in a long time. There are no two ways about it; hobbies equates to healthy!