January drifted into February, and here is what I learned: 

1. It turns out that regularly doing weightlifting, stretching and balance work does in fact work. (Shoulder mobility! Woot!)
2. In order for that to be the case, however, I actually have to do all that. Regularly. 
3. Form matters. Paying attention to form means more strength and less pain. 
4. Soreness is different than pain. 

Why I never understood despite many attempts to work on this? Anne Hilton’s mantras are now in my head anytime I move: (“Shoulders back and down!”; “Neutral lower back and hips” ;“Tighten core before you lift”; “Don’t lock your knees.” Words to live by.

The messiness of daily life gets in the way of good intentions, but starting again each day means it happens most days. Five to ten minute exercise snacks work. It turns out that running up and down the stairs once or twice, shutting my door to do a plank and some squats for 5-10 minutes between meetings really does change how I feel both mind and body. If I pack enough protein and fiber in my lunch, I stand a halfway decent chance of not hitting the candy bowl outside my office as the day wears on. That helps too.

There is very little going on at this point in our society over which I feel I have much (or any) control. However imperfectly, this changing a habit or two, is something tangible, a way of doing something personally to interrupt the rumination – both personal and societal.