A recent article at TwinCities.com, Physical activity should be a priority, explains the importance of choosing a form of exercise suited to your personality. For example, he suggests that an introvert may prefer solitary pursuits such as jogging or swimming over group activities.

Although I agree with what he says in principle, I find it difficult to engage in any kind of physical activity by myself. I have recently started walking three mornings per week, with one (and sometimes two) other women. It works well for me because I feel accountable to someone else. If I was walking alone, it would be too easy to say “not today” and to either stay in bed a little longer or start work a little earlier. I took yoga classes for about three years and enjoyed that very much. However, even though a class is a group activity, doing yoga is very much an individual one, and that may be why it appealed to me. But again, because the class was scheduled for a particular time, and because I’d paid for it in advance, I felt compelled to go, even if I sometimes would have preferred to stay at home. I have tried doing yoga at home by myself and I just couldn’t get into it the same way.

I would love to hear from other introverts about this topic - what works for you?