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| I'm not sure where I am but these are my people. This is my place. (There is actually a hand in that cookie jar!) |
I've talked about my extended family here before. My family has always had its toes in the water, lakes, rivers and the ocean. If it was wet my Florida cousins and I were in it. Several of us were from further afield but somehow managed to make it back when we could. I love this photo of some of us taken at a cousin's. I'm not in the photo but this exemplefies "us." My sister is the Renoir model on the far left, Grandma behind her, multiple cousins and Aunt Gail to the right glowing in the bright red shirt. Man she was fun. We all were. The Coke, sun tea and Jiff as "unhealthy" as they "are" kept us fueled for all of the physical fun we had and make me smile. After all, food made with love feeds both the body and the soul. I can imagine watching Grandma, Aunt Gail and Reggie piling a grocery cart high with treats. My brothers, sister and I managed to lose our shoes in June and would have to buy new ones in September. Running around barefoot seemed to make our feet grow.
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| Summer games and family... |
I'm sure at least some of you have noticed the same wonderful thing I have about summer. My mind turns towards tossing off those tennis shoes, grabbing sunscreen and a hat, swimsuit and shorts. (That swimsuit is waiting at the door as I write.) I revel in giving myself freedom to grow and relax, choosing to fill life with what I really want to do.
I am so grateful for summer! I haven't had a pool in a few years, and was walking and doing a little bit of surfing for my aerobic exercise last year. As my knee started to seize up this year I gradually stopped that, stopped my 2-3 times a week of dancing and even easing off of yoga with predictable effects on my body. I do great as a rule, but became rather depressed, lonely (I spend a lot of time with those people) mushy, just not generally happy in my body. Summer and the water have healed me....
I have worked my way back slowly from the malaise. It's taken the support of my community of fellow "movers," a major attitude shift that required a tremendous power of mind and willpower, a good holistic chiropractor, knowledge about food and mind-body connections but I'm back!
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| LAST year. Still haven't gotten out although that will change by the end of the month. Almost there! |
The key to moving again for me was swimming. I felt like a bug pinned to a display board, nervous and stuck until I found my way out, in part to my friend Maria Bucaro, a thought leader in positive approaches to women's body image and experiences. Maria invited me to go swimming with her a couple of months ago with her and another friend. For the record, we hadn't met much in person. We just had an immediate connection when we did meet in person and stayed in touch with the magic of Facebook. I make that point just to affirm the real life value of FB as a tool to connect and stay in touch with friends and to make new ones. I am a huge fan of social networking for just that reason.
When Maria saw a post on FB about my dilema re. exercise she invited me to go swimming in Ventura at an amazing aquatic center. When I first jumped into the water I went with a floatation device because I was worried about my stamina (OMG) but rediscovered my love of a good pool when I realized that the pool was filled with salt water!
It was inspiring to be with Maria because she is so good at enjoying the physical pleasure of being in her body. When she finished her laps she flipped to her back and floated in the sunshine soaking up the pleasure of being in her body. It helped me enjoy the experience more to be with her! I've even made a couple of other new friends who are helping me stay motivated to go. I like social exercise and have a hard time keeping up whatever it is without personal connections.
So I'm getting my mojo back! I'm back to ballroom dance (quick step for the last several weeks), swimming, some power yoga, soon I'll be walking, climbing and practicing NIA. All of this moving about is getting my mind back to a positive set point, helping me focus and keeping me more efficient due to higher energy levels. THANK GOD!
It has taken money for good health care, determination, support from my friends and community and a love of living in my healthy body to get this back. As a result I'm painting better and more than ever, have made new friends including a very nice one who continues to reach out at the pool. Thank you Angela Rocket, you've kept me coming when I want to skip! I especially appreciate the fact that all of this is a gift. Not everyone has my mobility, lack of pain, tools, skills or good health. I am so fortunate. I love my body and I love my life!
Here are a few of the resources I've used to support me over the years along with tags describing how they've helped. There are countless others, but these powerful resources are readily available and easy to find online. Many have free or inexpensive ways to get started with their work too. Let me know if you'd like help connecting:
Peak Potentials, business education, personal development, motivation, networking
Depak Chopra Center , holistic medicine education, detox, meditation and meditation instructor training
Robert Allen, mentor, coach, writing and marketing education
The Artist's Way, writing, self discovery, learning to play, artful life
Maria Bucaro, Author of Love Your Body Now, she's a life coach and facilitator of a free private FB group that I'm loving called Love Your Body Now. I can add you to that group any time.
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