mirror ball 59: body in motion

think of your body in motion
dancing
exercising
walking
and/or any other way

possibilities to write about:
what kind of motion is good for you?
have you always known this?
is it hard to start? to keep going? to stop?

Dan:
I used to love to run on the boardwalk and feel the sun on my face - my muscles fueling me forward - all I had to do was start - stretch...slowly walk and then break into a steady pace -- aware of the people and places passing by as my focus was inward. It must be what a pilot feels as they're flying a jet - the controls are extensions of awareness and his eyes searching the space ahead - knowing there will be a stopping point.  

Running everyday stopped a few years ago - years of dancing and running have taken their toll. My new mode of motion - swimming - it's like running - my arms become part of my legs and my attention is my intention. Experiencing each movement moment, the slippery skin - the fine body hair - sensing the water rushing by - the exhaustion of the muscles as I try to maintain a pace that thrusts me forward.

Carolina:
Body in motion,
Mind in motion,
Need, wants, to-dos,
Are worlds apart and close together.
Breathing deeply, I sigh once again in hopes of stilling the mind,
Focus.

I don’t believe our bodies were meant to be stuck.
Stuck in front of the modern fire,
Clocking into work, clocking out of life.
Children are allowed to run and jump and play and slowly this right is revoked,
The yoke of adulthood slowly drags the supplicant into the mire of responsibilities.

Most days I walk around the office building and the campus surrounding it.
This is the best part of my work day.
Coworkers who constantly lament the lack of movement in their lives
see my walking as some grand idea which they are always going to join
in on next week.
An act of rebellion:
Going for a walk,
Dancing at home,
Saying no to sugar,
Singing in the car.

Swimming in the ocean because she is your best friend.
Body in motion
Mind in motion

This is for you.

Lori F:
I have always had issues with my body, it's never been "good enough" for me. As I've gotten older and wiser, this feeling has let up, a little bit, everyday I continue to work on not meeting myself up. Sometimes I find myself saying out loud "stop being so mean!" When I have thoughts that are negative about my body.

I have struggled to find a form of exercise that I enjoy, and found that I do love dance/Zumba/things where I can move and it's more fun than work. Right now I am taking a boot camp style class that is both torture and huge sense of accomplishment at the same time. I love it and I hate it.

My favorite way to move my body is to go for a long leisurely walk, or a hike, where I am by myself and can be quiet while enjoying some beautiful scenery. I don't get boot camp results but it does wonders for my mind.

Jason:
There are 2 interrelated ways this topic of my body in motion strikes me. The first is the literal motion, as a triathlete, I feel every time I go for a run, swim, or ride. (The latter two I do far less frequently). On my best days, in my best shape, the motion is effortless. My body responds the way I ask it to, whether increasing speed or distance, or just asking it to perform on a day I would rather lie on the couch. On those days, it feels as though I am in control of my motion, or more appropriately phrased, my body is not separate from its motion. On days where runs are harder, when perhaps I ask more of my body than it is trained to give, the motion feels very separate-like I am forcing a motion that is unnatural and not in line with my fitness level, and thus, not in line with me. It is this uniting of intention and readiness that leads me to my 2nd interrelated thoughts on motion.

I, like most of us, have made mistakes. My most recent, and my most grievous, effectively stopped what life motion I was creating. I had to completely restructure and restart before any flow/motion could be recreated. This topic provides an interesting lens through which to look at that time in my life. Certainly I didn’t stop living, breathing or moving in a literal sense. But the ramifications from my mistake had a halting, derailing effect, resulting in forced stagnancy as I dealt with the fallout of terrible decisions. A metaphorical set of parentheses was placed over my life as I faced darkness and depression, not out of futility, but rather a determined commitment to start my life’s motion again on a more authentic, clearer, focused path.

I am on that path now, and have many affirmations of my motion being restarted and flowing in the way I intend it to. Now, whether I am in my marriage, at an audition, or on the running trail, I strive to align with my authentic intention with full self awareness, so my life and its motion are not separate.

Stephanie:
Moving my body reminds me of who I am at the core and moving my body with others connects me to them! I need to move! I get lost when I don't.

Steve:
For me it feels great just to walk. I like moving forward at a steady pace and seeing what there is to see. I like walking on flat, hard sidewalks and on uneven, earthy hiking trails, where my feet and my mind have to figure out where to take the next secure step. I like walking on top of hills where the air feels fresher, looking down at my town from above. 

John S:
I'm writing this response in the few minutes I have before a hot yoga class. This particular class will be "Bikram"-style, not particularly my favorite because really it's a little TOO hot and the series of poses is unchanging from class to class and I like to mix it up a bit. But I've been going to Power Vinyasa-type classes for, geez, more than seven years at this point.

This is yoga in a warm room, with constant movement and many opportunities for improving strength, flexibility, and balance. The thing I love about the practice is the constant room for refinement and improvement. Many poses have different levels of difficulty, and there are many poses on my list of future goals. Some I may never reach, but in seven years I have surprised myself at what I've been able to achieve.

I'm especially proud to have become able to do a "forearm stand" -- an upside-down pose in which you balance on your forearms with your head off the floor and your feet directly above you. It's a wild feeling to have your entire body balanced above you, with your face hovering inches from the mat. Attaining this pose after turning 50 is really encouraging!

Usually I try to make my prose a little more "writerly" for mirroball posts, but my yoga practice is such a nonverbal experience I don't really feel the need here. When you're balanced on one leg in the shape of a capital T, there aren't many words going through your head. It's all breath and muscle control and instinct to not fall over, very "in the moment."

And now I get to go do it!