Life is Fun.

"When you discard arrogance, complexity, and a few other things that get in the way, sooner or later you will discover that simple, childlike, and mysterious secret known to those of the Uncarved Block: Life is Fun." --Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

I'm in another one of those busy stretches of time.  So many things to do, and simply not enough time for it all.  All this activity translated to another good week of weight loss (3.5 lbs!), and continued gains in flexibility, balance, and an overall sense of well-being.  Woot.  Yay me.

Saturday was the Superhero 5k walk for charity.  We had a group of Geek Physiquers out there, all in costume, all walking to raise money to fight child abuse. It was a great day, and a wonderful excuse to spend time with some truly amazing people.  The weather was interesting, to say the least.  When we first arrived, there were clouds approaching, but it was still sunny and a bit muggy and warm.  Shortly after arrival, while some of us were registering for the walk, the clouds gathered, the wind picked up, and torrential rain began to pour down in sheets.  It was crazy.  We all remained under cover for a while, and the start of the walk was delayed by about half an hour, while we waited for the worst of the storm to blow over.  It rained while we walked, and it was a bit breezy, but not quite so... monsoon-like.  It was really kind of nice, and much more pleasant than if it had remained sunny and muggy.  We managed a decent walking pace, despite the inclement weather, and it felt great to be completing another charity walk.

I missed going to the dojo on Saturday, since I was in the walk.  I'll be back on my regular training schedule this week, preparing for the demo at the upcoming Japanese Lantern Lighting Festival.  At some point in here, I'm going to want to get a gi to wear for Aikido.  I hadn't thought about it as a big deal until last week, when it was ridiculously hot in the dojo, and the pin I was trying to do required trapping an arm in the crook of my elbow.  I was roasting, and sweating like mad, so my opponent's arm kept slipping along mine.  Another factor was that I should be grabbing the lapel of my jacket to anchor and hold that arm in place while executing the pin.  I was forced to grab a chunk of my shirt, which helped a little, but not as much as the gi would have.  (But hey, if I were doing this on the street, how often would I be wearing my gi jacket, right?)

Last week's YogaQuest was sort of Bruce Campbell-inspired, which means it was AWESOME.  It was a great example of a yoga class that involves a lot of laughing and silliness, along with a great workout that doesn't feel like a workout.  It's such a fun part of my life.  And I'm genuinely delighted with the people I've met through it!  There have been some cool core moves I've learned lately that I'm implementing in my home practice, because I feel like it's helpful for me, overall.  I love noticing the little gains here and there -- a little easier to pull up into this pose or that, less wobble on the balancing poses, tentative steps toward actually accomplishing a respectable low plank (not there yet, but definitely improving!).  Eventually, boat won't seem like an exercise in futility (no pun intended).

I read an article this morning about the connection between self-image and weight loss -- not that losing weight will improve your self image, but that cultivating a healthier, less critical self-image improves your health and ability to lose weight.  There are a lot of factors at play here, obviously, but it makes a lot of sense.  Interesting how that works, isn't it?  The negative messages we receive from the people around us, the harsh, hateful words we internalize, the moments of embarrassment and humiliation that result from being hopelessly challenged to live up to impossible standards of beauty, the endless focus on our "lumpiness" and stretch marks and sagging skin... all of that garbage, if allowed to take hold, will drive us to self-loathing, which leads to terrible choices, depression, emotional eating, lethargy and sedentary lifestyles, which all combine to lead to weight gain.  It's a vicious cycle, and one we all need to examine and find ways to break.

If you've found yourself in that place of staring at yourself in the mirror with nothing but a critical eye, it's time to look for the beauty the rest of us see.  We are our own worst critics.  It's highly unlikely you are the hideous troll you believe yourself to be.  It may sound trite, but you are worthy of love, and you absolutely must start with yourself.  On the other hand, if you are one of those critics who shames and derides others, not having walked in their shoes (athletic or otherwise), it's time you stopped contributing to the problem.  Your negativity and hurtful words can (and do) cause nothing but harm.  Stop looking at "fat people" as something less than human, less than deserving of respect, worthy of nothing but sneering and dismissive words.  Stop cutting down people whose personal struggles are unknown to you, and whose very real efforts frequently go unnoticed, simply because they aren't perfect. We all have our flaws -- some of us just wear them a bit more openly than others.