If you listen carefully, you can hear the admonition to get up and move everywhere. No more couch lizards … the pandemic is sort of over and you can now move past the softness of your sofa and the cold of your fridge to the wide world of movement. Isn’t it well known that exercise will enhance for the better, all parts of your life span including pandemic paunch?

Knowing what little I know, the ever present and overarching “they” are right. You just have to move to feel at your best.

Walking, belonging to and attending a gym, playing sports, dancing, gardening, etc. all make the parts that make up the physical and mental you work better. Believe it or not, movement makes you more energetic, aware and focused, a dramatic change from lethargic, oblivious and “what?”

What exercise will meet your requirements varies with your situation. Standing in front of the refrigerator, contemplating your next snack is not exercise and refusing to go to the gym because your spandex broke is not an excuse. What you do to get moving is a dynamic that is truly yours. You just have to figure it out.

Figuring it out can have its challenges. Take, for instance, who the instructors are for movement of any kind. Most are around 22, weigh 110 pounds and are more ripped than a washboard. They are attired in painted-on spandex that would, maybe, fit your right wrist. If that isn’t intimidating enough, they have a language that has terminology that reminds you of that day in physics class when the English language failed you. They describe movements that fall into one of many categories from “odd” to “that’s hysterical,” “bizarre” and “are you kidding?” which is very similar to “that ship has sailed.”

One of the terms that is confusing is “core.” Now I’ve known all of the body parts for some time. I aced anatomy and physiology, reassembled whole skeletons and never became acquainted with a part called core. If it is like the core of apples then it is something that extends through the middle of your body from head to toe. Or… is it more specific (I looked this up) extending from the last rib to the part of your body where the effluents “exit?” Basically, it is your abdomen, which is not to be confused with your stomach, although your stomach and parts higher up are often the reason why you have to work on your core and other places.

So what does a good core do for you? According to lots of articles, the muscles in this area are responsible for balance (along with your ears,) body stability when moving, good posture, help with back pain, increased ability to do ordinary chores, protection of internal organs and making getting older not so awful.

This seems like a movement bargain, so I looked up what goes for core exercises and found out that like all exercise, it depends on your situation. Any exercise for me that starts with “get down on the floor” is an “are you kidding?” Others that require balancing on one leg fall into the same category. Believe it or not, there are perfectly good core exercises that can be done while sitting. For me that is as venturesome as it is going to get.

Watching those young, strong bodies go through their routines is mesmerizing and often discouraging. A strong core makes their movement easy, without effort, almost balletic. Compare that with the wobbly, clumsy, shambling and often shuffling gait that I present, and fixing my core seems to be a good idea. The movements that bulk up my deltoids, biceps and leg muscles, etc. are really far too little unless my core is strong. Of course I am assuming that I will work on these things while seated too.

So, it’s the chair and 10 minutes a day for me. I am wondering how long it will take for the metamorphosis to take place? I look forward to the time when I drop something on the kitchen floor and do not have to call for help or kick it under the dishwasher. How long for the spandex-free butterfly to emerge from this ancient cocoon? Let’s see.