Fun, not mandatory.

[mrissa]

It's a good thing International Bonbons and Movie Magazines Month was not meant to be literal, that's what I have to say. I ate a bonbon today (fleur de sel caramels, how I love you!), but it was small, and there were rather more of them left in the package than I thought there ought to be, and I strongly doubt that anyone has been sneaking in and adding chocolates to my stash. (I strongly doubt this because markgritter is out of town and timprov can't drive, and other people don't much have keys to my house. Otherwise I would consider Occam's Razor to strongly support the adding-chocolate notion.)

This month I've read two issues of Subterranean, one of Phantom, and one article from a back issue of Lavender from elisem (because she wrote the article, and because it came up in conversation, albeit scribbled conversation). But what I have on my desk yet is Asimov's, F&SF, two New Scientists, Scientific American, and Martha Stewart Living. (Guess which subscription I didn't buy for myself?) I am so far behind on periodicals. I never get this far behind on periodicals.

What I need is to not add "read periodicals" to my mental to-do list, much less my physical to-do list. They're there for fun. Fun is not a checklist. Fun is not a narrow window on the schedule between washing the dishes and sewing the buttons back on. It ought to be permeable, interleaved with other things, with "and have fun doing it" automatically appended to all sorts of the other things we do.

Which is an interesting connection to a post I'm not ready to make. But soon.

I was looking at things to add to my Amazon list for Christmas. What I wanted was some new yoga and/or Pilates DVDs. I kept running my head into a wall, though: I do not want to sculpt anything. If I did want to sculpt anything, it would be clay or possibly marble, wood, glass, dough, something other than me. I do not want to lose weight. I exercise because my body feels better when I do and because I have enough problems with vertigo and etc. without adding inflexibility, lack of stamina, etc. to them. What I want in a yoga or Pilates DVD is some fun and interesting stuff that keeps me moving and keeps a certain awareness of major muscle groups, so that I don't step wrong all of a sudden and wrench the heck out of my knee or etc. because my back has been really messed up and I never noticed until it needed to respond and couldn't.

None of the DVDs seemed to indicate fun at all. Nor interesting combinations or sequences. Nor...anything at all relevant to me, really. If I really hated some particular body part and wanted it transformed, apparently up to and including my spleen, I could find the right DVD for me. But I don't. Doesn't mean I think I have a perfect body, it means that the concept of some one body being perfect is not one that seems applicable to my life. (If there was such a thing, it would presumably differ from mine substantially: it would produce melanin when that might be useful, and it would be able to see things without wee plastic discs to help, and also it would never, ever fall over. But I don't think they sell DVDs to fix any of those things, so: not relevant.) There are the DVDs extremely focused on gentleness, but I kind of like a good sweat now and then. I just don't want to have to fork over money to someone whose goal is to sell FAT-BLASTERS!!!! to do it, and I can't really tell which of the "inner left thigh morning workout" DVDs might also turn out to be fun. I think this is one of those cases where genre fails someone because what they want is on entirely orthogonal lines to where the genre lines are being drawn.

My dad said, "You just want to have some fun that is funny." Because my dad is cute and has never really de-imprinted from Dr. Seuss. But he's right. (Don't think Pilates exercises are funny? Then you've probably never done my specialty, Poodle-Assisted Pilates. Good thing they say laughter is good for you, because oof.)

Comments

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Belly dance? (http://www.amazon.com/Discover-Bellydance-Basic-Dance/dp/B00007G1VJ/)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I really do want yoga and/or Pilates.

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Sorry, didn't read your post as closely as I thought I had, was just focussing on the fun/aware/moving aspects.

yoga &c.

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

I like the Living Arts Yoga series (Earth (http://www.amazon.com/Total-Yoga-Earth-Ganga-White/dp/B00061Q9J4/sr=8-5/qid=1163808022/ref=sr_1_5/102-6051506-7168947?ie=UTF8&s=dvd), Water (http://www.amazon.com/Total-Yoga-Water-Ganga-White/dp/B00061QITA/ref=pd_bxgy_d_text_b/102-6051506-7168947), Fire (http://www.amazon.com/Total-Yoga-Flow-Ganga-White/dp/B00061QIV8/ref=pd_sim_d_1/102-6051506-7168947), and Total Yoga) (http://www.amazon.com/Total-Yoga-Original-Ganga-White/dp/B00062IDZG/ref=pd_sim_d_3/102-6051506-7168947), anything by Rodney Yee (though those are *killer*) (http://www.amazon.com/Power-Yoga-Total-Body-Workout/dp/B0000A2ZQE/sr=8-2/qid=1163807957/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/102-6051506-7168947?ie=UTF8&s=dvd), and I *love* The Method Afro-Brazilian Dance video. (http://www.amazon.com/Method-Afro-Brazilian-Cardio-Beth-Lane/dp/B00008XS1G/sr=1-1/qid=1163807843/ref=sr_1_1/102-6051506-7168947?ie=UTF8&s=dvd)

s'fabulous. and *fun*. and the instructor is a big brawny gorgeous womanly woman.

Re: yoga &c.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

One of my first yoga tapes was with Rodney Yee, and I liked it. Hmm. Links good. Thanks.

Re: yoga &c.

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

My pleasure. *g*

*loff*

An exercised writer is a happy healthy writer.

[redbird]

My sympathy on the exercise DVD problem. I was at the gym today and they've got posters claiming to offer "personally tailored" exercise programs just for the asking. What they're actually offering is several pre-designed programs for goals that may be common, but none of which are mine: either focused on specific parts of the body (e.g., a set of exercises for abdominal muscles) or weight loss. If I wanted a personally tailored exercise program, it would be strength and balance; none of the things in their set mentions balance. Fortunately, I have a reasonably designed/evolved program that serves the purpose, created in part by talking to trainers there, and in part by trial and error over several years: but while there are exercises for the things I want to achieve, and they aren't considered particularly bizarre goals, they're not on the list of what the gym thinks it can promote, or perhaps thinks it can put together in one easy brochure each.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Balance really seems like it should be a very basic thing they should be able to focus on, especially considering the aging population we have. Silly world.

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

I read a bit about weightlifting some months ago, hoping to inspire myself to it, and one thing I kept seeing was 'tone'-- in the context of, "Look, they tell you you're toning. No such thing," rather than sculpting or whatever the word is that means 'work without causing it to become unfemininely big'.

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

Ahh.

You need Stumptuous.com

http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/index.php

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

That's one of them!

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

I'm obviously misunderstanding you. What's the issue?

Essentially, if you lift weights, you get muscles. If you are a woman--or most men, actually--you won't tend to get giant muscles.

However, weight training will give you strength, stamina, and joint stability... and help prevent osteoporosis and muscle atrophy as you get older.

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

Oh, I agree. I was unclear in the first comment-- commiserating rather than offering any new information. I like that site quite a bit; I hopped over from Granny Gets a Vibrator after the latter went offline a few months ago.

My comment-communication skills have been atrophying or something. I make much more sense if I'm interrupting someone and flailing away at the air, trying to sketch the inside of a fish or something. Sorry for the misunderstanding!

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

Oh oh oh! Okay, I was reading your comment as "I was going to lift, but decided not to because I didn't want to get bulky."

My bad.

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

It's more "I was going to lift, but I am afraid of anyone ever seeing me exercise, because I have Issues about these things."

Okay, probably going to take karate soon. It's about time to put another layer of insecurity on, anyway.

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

Nobody looks.

Unless you are REALLY IMPRESSIVE. In which case people cheer.

There's one little bitty guy at my gym who can squat over 500 pounds. He draws applause. *g*

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Oh, come on, Bear. I'm not really impressive, and people stare at me when I walk the dog and stare at me even more when I run the dog. Monkeys look at other monkeys. It is monkey nature.

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

Dear heart, people stare because you are hot.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

But lots of people are hot in some direction or another. Therefore people may stare. It's something to get used to.

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

That's impressive indeed. I'm just anxious and full of weird little issues.

Five hundred pounds... that is a lot of pounds. I can't even envision the barbell.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Assumptions that don't apply #477! I don't think there's been anyone in my ancestry with skinny thighs, like, ever. I don't mean to moan that mine are fat, because they aren't, but rather that I know bunches of really femmey people who have proportionately largeish bunches of muscle for legs. And broad shoulders, those we got, too. Proportionately.

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

Legs without muscles look like bones.

Once I start actually exercising (at the moment, this means 'spring') I hope to learn more about my own musculature. Even being horribly sore is interesting; I find out all sorts of connections according to what hurts and why.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

The places the body connects are endlessly fascinating to me. Getting a weird sproinging sensation on my waist on the right side because one of my shoulders is out of alignment: weirdcool! I mean, ow, but weirdcool!

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

That was one of the reasons I got angry at my karate teacher guy years back. He'd have us do certain stretches or drills and I'd notice that one hip felt different, or one shoulder always clicked back and forth doing push-ups. Then I'd be distracted and try to figure out which side was wrong and how to make it right. I couldn't explain it to him, either-- he didn't have the patience for an anxious karate-wannabe who obviously wasn't putting in the kind of effort necessary. And the answer to, "Is my knee supposed to do that?" is always, always, "No."

Weirdcool is the word for it. Owweirdcool possible more so.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I hope your next karate instructor is better than the one from years ago, because "my body is making weird clicky noises, why does it do that?" may mean "let's talk about this after class" or "why don't you see your doctor about that?" but not "shut up."

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

It wasn't 'shut up' but more... it was a college gym class and most of the people who looked and acted like me were only going to take it one semester, then flake out. The really successful people were the ones who put a lot more effort into it than I did-- which, in retrospect, I realize meant paying for classes at the actual dojo in town, with Boss Sensei the Much Better.

Then again, my teacher was the one who, the first class of the semester after three months of no karate, stood over me in warmups and said, very quietly, "You should be able to do these by now."
I wish he'd done it later in the year, when I was angry enough to snap at him.

Drat, now I'm all angry and there's no one around to spar with. As I said below, or possible above, it's time for me to take karate again. Maybe I'll work through some of this.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Sounds like someone had Major Issues with what he was being paid to do. And I get that sometimes you want to do it your way for a reason, because it gives better performance in your field or more effectively weeds out people who aren't serious or whatever. But you need (and by "you need," I mean "he needed") to recognize that your ideal job is not always the job they are paying you to do, and sometimes the job they're paying you to do has its own value and purpose.

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

Yeah, issues all round.

[orbitalmechanic.livejournal.com]

Would it be insane to try an audio class? My local yoga studio (O2 Yoga) has audio-only classes online, and I very much love them; but it might be impossible if you hadn't worked with that teacher before. I did try a couple with other teachers and some were okay. Anyway, there are many options at www.aliveyoga.com. If you wanted, I could illegally email you a little 20-minute restorative yoga class and you could see whether it was possible before you bought anything. There's a lovely one for the lower back and hips.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I think the way our house is set up would make it a lot of trouble to get an e-mailed audio class to go where I would have enough space to use it, but thanks.

[mkille.livejournal.com]

How about Fun Yoga (http://www.funyoga.com.au/index.html)? I mean, it's right there in the name...

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

I do cat-assisted stretching myself, not entirely by choice. (At least, not MY choice.)