🦋 The Friday Flutter 🦋

July 11, 2026

My name is PAVITA

and I. AM. from:

The sound of laughter.

The sight of pink, paint, paisley, and paper.

The smell of lavender oil massaging my body with love.

The taste of spicy curries over rice.

The touch of smooth pages of a book.

The value of self-care, being my own best friend.

The idea of exploration, connecting my inner and outer worlds.

I am made of sensory memories and a reverence for the stories my body carries. Lately, my body has been telling me a story I didn't know I needed to hear.

Re-Learning My Body

Two weeks ago, I kickstarted the next chapter of my health and wellness journey by joining a gym. I am working with a personal trainer three to four times a week, attending yoga, and sitting in meditation. On paper, it sounds like a wellness glow-up. In practice, it has been something far more humbling and far more illuminating.

I was reminded that I don't really know my body.

I mean this literally. My kinesthetic awareness—my ability to sense where my body is in space and feel what it is doing—is poor. I cannot feel my core, let alone engage it properly. I have an anterior pelvic tilt (a forward tilt of the pelvis) that has quietly been wreaking havoc on my back, causing pain when I perform exercises incorrectly because my body doesn't yet know the difference. To address these issues and to learn how to separate my pelvic movement from my lower back movement, I have started movement therapy. After just three sessions, I am already feeling empowered with more awareness.

This journey has also led me to a preventative medicine doctor who works at the intersection of genetics, biochemistry, and lifestyle. Through a series of tests, he will help me understand my unique risks for chronic disease, identify lifestyle changes to prevent them, and reverse anything that might unbeknownst to me already be unfolding. It was a reminder that health is not one-size-fits-all. The wellness content flooding our feeds is rarely tailored to our individual biology, circumstances, or needs. Even many medical professionals are working from frameworks that haven't been updated in decades.

So this week, I want to share one myth that my doctor helped me bust—one that might change how you think about exercise entirely.

You Don't Have to Run Yourself Into the Ground

If you have ever started an intense workout routine, felt completely destroyed and discouraged, and given up, this is for you.

There are two primary types of cardiovascular exercise: Zone 2 and HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training). Most of us, eager for results, skip straight to HIIT. We go hard, we get exhausted, and then we wonder why we can't sustain it. As it turns out, there is a physiological reason, and it is not a lack of willpower.

Zone 2 cardio means working at 65–75% of your maximum heart rate for 30–60 minutes. A common starting point for estimating your maximum heart rate is the formula 220 minus your age, plus or minus 10 to 20. For example, as a 35-year-old, my maximum heart rate is approximately 185. Therefore, my range for Zone 2 exercise should be between 120 and 150 for 30-60 minutes. Zone 2 is the aerobic sweet spot—sustainable, efficient, and nourishing to the cardiovascular system. Fall below it, and you won't get the full benefit. Push above it consistently, and you risk chronic oxidative stress—cellular wear that leads to fatigue and burnout over time.

As my doctor put it: when you're working out and your heart rate starts climbing past your zone, your body is telling you "how fit you're not." It's not an insult. It's data.

Building your aerobic base through consistent Zone 2 practice typically takes around six months. This is the foundation. Only once that foundation is established are you truly ready for HIIT: short bursts at around 90% of your maximum heart rate, followed by rest, repeated. This is what triggers mitochondrial biogenesis—the creation of new mitochondria, the energy powerhouses of your cells. Research suggests that jumping into HIIT without an aerobic base may actually impair this process, hampering your body's ability to adapt and leaving you more depleted than energized (Holloszy & Coyle, 1984; San Millán & Brooks, 2018).

The lesson? Start slow to go far. Your body is not a machine to be pushed to its limits. It is a home to be learned and loved.

This Week's Practice

Find out your Zone 2 heart rate range. Use the formula 220 minus your age, then calculate 65–75% of that number. If you don’t have a heart rate monitor, place your index and middle finger on the side of your throat to feel your pulse. Count how many beats you feel for 10 seconds and multiply that number by 6 to get your BPM. Then, the next time you go for a walk, a jog, a bike ride, or a hike, try staying within that range for at least 30 minutes. Notice how it feels to move without exhausting yourself. Pay attention what your body says when you actually listen.

Until next Friday, keep fluttering.

With Love and Light,

~Pavita 🦋