Always Have Your Gym Bag Handy

"Are you going to the gym after work?"

She pointed to the bag in my hand as we headed to my car in the morning. It held my gym gear. I tossed it into the trunk.

"No," I replied, "I just need it there in case something goes wrong today and I have to go to the gym."

See, the gym isn't just a place to work out.

• The gym isn't just a place to sweat or get strong. (Or both.)

• The gym isn't just a place to use your physical body.

The gym is a place to use your mind and your body. The gym is a place to use your physical body to understand your mental headcase, the thoughts that swirl swirl swirl in your brain, the invisible toddlers running around between your ears banging the cans and eating the crayons until you finally yell, "STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT! NOBODY CAN HEAR IN HERE!"

The gym can so help with that surreal and yet very real scene that plays daily, hourly in your mind. And a simple barbell and bumpers lifted from the ground can lift your spirit in ways that you wish everyone knew.

Because the gym is a place you can go not just to improve your body, but to keep you from losing your mind.

Simply put: whatever is going on in your head can probably be made better by moving your body.

Gym, trail, canoe, bouncy house. I don't care how you move your body, just do it. Move it and let it surprise you how iron or dirt or pavement or two bicycle tires with a seat can turn into heart and head and soul therapy.

When you leave your house in the morning, make sure you have gear somewhere (your trunk, your locker, your desk, wherever) so that if the day goes bad, you don't have to go bad with it.

Remember this: having a working body is like having a prescription that you get to refill anytime. No doctors, no appointments, no waiting. Use it.