In the closing moments of my 7 a.m. yoga class, the instructor encouraged her yogis to “give gratitude for the machine you are allowed to inhabit.” As New Age as this may sound (and yes, this is Los Angeles), she is right. We are lucky to have the bodies that we do. And yet, as journalists we can be very hard on our machines.

I have always enjoyed sports and activity, but on the cusp of 50, my work had clearly started to take a toll on my machine. There were repeated trips to physical therapists and acupuncturists for shoulder and neck problems, sore hip flexors from sitting too long, frequent headaches, not to mention weight gain. The stress of the job was aging me before my time.

The epiphany came on the day of the annual Stair Climb, when thousands of Angelenos race up the 76 floors of the building where our Reuters newsroom is located. I saw all types of racers – young and old, fit and not so much – glowing and laughing as they finished their ascents.

I decided I would train for the next year’s Stair Climb and joined the YMCA next door. A few months in, I spotted a group of middle-aged members outside, laughing as they did a series of impossibly strenuous exercises. This was Bootcamp and I was determined to join this group of utterly fit 50 and 60-year-olds. I was in the caboose on the runs through downtown Los Angeles for a few months and then I moved up to the middle group in six months and to the front of the pack within a year.

I lost weight, my body changed shape and, unexpectedly, I was much calmer heading to work on days that I knew would be trying. Bootcamp helped give me confidence and grit to push through to the other side, whether it was running up hundreds of steps or trunkwriting the top story of the day.

I now work out just about every day because my body and mind cannot function properly without that kind of movement and stress reduction.

As Weekend Editor for the Americas, I tend to work very long Saturdays and Sundays and I always try to nip out for at least 30 minutes for a run or some other cardio workout, some weightlifting and some dreaded burpees and pushups.

With these breaks, I have found two things: I come back to my desk a happier and nicer person, which in turn makes me a better EIC, and I often find solutions to story problems that vexed me. And yet, I have to confess that I don’t usually share my workouts with my colleagues – for fear they might think that, with all this exercise, I must not be working hard enough. I need to stop thinking that way.

Not everyone wants to work out, and I get that. But I do believe that everyone at Reuters should have the time and the tools to remain healthy at work. We need to combat repetitive stress injuries with good ergonomic assessments, support and equipment.

We need to let people know we care about the job’s wear and tear on their bodies and encourage them to take the time off to work through health issues. Stretch rooms, yoga mats, exercise balls can all help reduce the knots of stress. Newsrooms can band together to get group prices at local gyms and participate in fitness challenges.

I used to be the only one in the LA newsroom who would do the Stair Climb. This year, we had a proper team. And although it’s still a grueling race up 76 flights, we had a good laugh at the top.

I was grateful for the company and for the machine I am allowed to inhabit.

Mary Milliken will be the new Foreign Policy Editor in Washington, D.C. from January 1. Mary joined Reuters in 1998 in Sao Paulo and has been bureau chief in Washington, D.C., the West Coast and Southern Latam. She has also had stints as editor for Top News, Entertainment and U.S. Media. Mary is currently Weekend Editor in Charge for the Americas. 

This blog first circulated internally on Nov 29, 2017.