Creating whole body movement and connection
Finding joy in movement
As I try to share evidence-based information about how our bodies move, I can get so hung up on the details. Do this many sets. Do this many reps. Do this every day, every other day, 3 x per week, or 2 x per week. Lift 60% of your 1 rep max. Lift 80% of your 1 rep max. Do 150 minutes per week of cardio. Practice mobility and flexibility, and all the other things. I know as someone trying to exercise and do the best for your body, these details can be overwhelming.
It’s kind of like when I read about nutrition. There’s so much advice. Take these supplements, but wait, are supplements effective? Eat Paleo, eat Keto, eat vegetarian, eat pescatarian, eat meat, don’t eat processed foods, eat fruit, don’t eat fruit, and on and on and on. I get so lost in what to do. I don’t know which way to go.
And, now, as I have gone through menopause, there are even more things- HRT, weighted vest training, lift heavy weights, prevent osteoporosis, manage cortisol, tighten your saggy skin, eliminate your menopause “belly.”
There are also endless recommendations that continue along the anti-aging, looking younger even when I am at an age where I am not concerned with attracting the male gaze. I want to be comfortable in my skin without trying to fit into what society says is attractive or accepted. I want to be a wild woman.
I feel like some of these ideas are rooted in societal expectations, some are rooted in the Patriarchy, and some are based on scientific research. How do we fit it all in while also being kind, compassionate humans? How do we create a balanced life that includes the best advice for our physical well-being and our mental well-being?
Since the most recent presidential inauguration here in the US, I feel that each day brings a new threat to Democracy and basic human rights. My nervous system is on edge with the thoughts of what might be coming next. It seems that numbers, reps, fine lines and grams of protein are less important in my day-to-day routine. I am finding it harder to carry on “business as usual.”
Trying to calm my nervous system, create community, and find joy and ease throughout my day is how I feel that I can create safety for myself and those closest to me. And, while I tout the benefits of exercise, I acknowledge that pushing harder or working harder is not what my body and mind and heart need at this moment in time.
Resilience to stress is something we can cultivate. Finding the ease in your daily rituals and routines are settling to your nervous system. Cultivating joy in the face of turmoil and stress is defiant.
Through the last few decades, joy and community have carried us through the turbulence. Since I have been alive, the Civil Rights movement, women’s rights, Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and same sex marriage becoming legal have been defining points of light, but I realize that we have a long way to go in creating a more just and equitable society. How am I creating this in my own life? I’ll offer you some things I am trying, and I’d love to know what you are doing. How can we create a joyful change together?
To help my nervous system, I am doing some type of daily movement by walking my dog, getting outside, dancing to a song or two, and practicing yoga. I am humming and singing to songs even though I’ve never considered myself a singer. I am breathing intentionally using pranayama techniques to keep me settled. I am connecting with the Earth planting my feet firmly and feeling the steadiness. I am spending time in the moonlight.
Libraries to me have always been a source of wisdom and windows into other worlds. To support my local library, I have started checking out audiobooks and ebooks online through my library and have tagged books that I’d like for them to carry that include books by BIPOC authors, LGBTQIA+ authors, and international authors that have a more varied lived experience other than mine. Reading and supporting my local library is a source of joy right now. Just as I get lost wandering the shelves of books, I get absorbed in finding books and magazines online.
To cultivate community, I am reaching out to friends more frequently just to check in with them. I am attending local art shows to support our artists and creators. I am guiding yoga at my daughter’s university Club Yoga to support grounded movement and centering the breath and to be in communion with young people.
To cultivate joy, I am gathering resources and reading especially from Black authors and sharing those here with you. If you have resources, I’d love to know-please share them with me!
Resources about joy as an act of resistance-
Wild, holy and free which is Austin Channing Brown’s Substack
Another blog post from the Aesthetics of Joy has great resources on using joy as activism!
Sharon's Bookshop.org list-Check out my Bookshop list I am putting together! Help me add to this with suggestions!
And, lastly, Audre Lorde’s essay, Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power
Let’s put a list together and create joy even in these tumultuous days.
In joy, take good care,
Sharon