Here at The Greatist, we believe in taking a day off. Instead of our regular programming Saturdays, our writers get a chance to write about living The Greatist lifestyle and, basically, whatever they want. This is one of those awesome articles. Enjoy!

I owe my fascination and appreciation for the human body to my mom. As a physical therapist she’s been describing the body’s biomechanical features to me (in exceptionally lengthy detail) since before I can remember, which makes me pretty lucky. Any time I have an ache or pain I go straight to Dr. Mom! So, in honor of Mother’s Day I want to share some of the fitness lessons she’s taught me:

1. Laser tag is not a competitive sport: Apparently Barney Stinson and I are the only people who think this… that is until I broke my ankle playing. Seriously.
2. It’s OK to rest: You’d think said broken ankle would keep me from working out right? Wrong. Although I learned a valuable lesson on how to take a step back when injured, I owe my sanity to my mother who taught me how to safely exercise despite my new ankle accessory.
3. The human body is amazing, but requires upkeep: If you’ve been to the Bodies Exhibition, you know how fascinating it is. But walking through with a personal tour guide that’s seen most of this stuff in real life— immediately 10 times more interesting.
4. We all have skeletons in our closet: Remember when your parents would come to your elementary school class and talk about their jobs. My mom had a skeleton appropriate attire (I so wish I had a digital camera back then) to help demonstrate how the body moved.
5. Balance and variety are key: Staying fit and healthy is a combination of flexibility, cardiovascular, and strength training— and they’re all equally important.