ROCKIN' HOT BOD ON THE BEACH

At the risk of sounding insufferable I'm about to write a motivational piece you will either love or hate.  At various times in my life I, too, would have read this either way.  Now, proceed, and see where you fall on the love/hate spectrum...and why.

Readers may recall I've been using the Noom app to guide me toward the goal of a healthier weight for my diminutive height (5'2").  I've long said that my weight is fine; it's my height that needs improvement.  No amount of standing tall in Mountain Pose has been successful in gaining vertical inches.  I've been reduced to reducing my girth.

I've been on Noom for a few days over a year.  I have LOVED it.  It's the first program with which I've found lasting success and the desire to keep up my new habits.  It's all based on introspection, psychology, nutrition, habit awareness and change, and constant positive reinforcement.  Right up my alley.  And with any program there is no substitute for determination and commitment, so there's that too.  

At the very beginning clients are encouraged to figure out Your Big Picture -- the big WHY one wants to change.  My Big Picture is to grow older with health and vitality so I can be an active part of my grandchildren's lives.  That has motivated me consistently, where lesser desires have not.  I've always rationalized my way around other goals and have not been able to sustain my plan.  There is no rationalizing my way around this one.  So many unforeseen things can happen to us -- illness, accident, a tragic diagnosis -- but if something is within my control, I want to use my powers of mindfulness, determination, and commitment to mitigate foreseen factors in ill health.  At least that's the plan.

So, yes, I've lost weight. I've spent decades hiding from the camera, or behind other people, or hitting the delete option until I was nearly erased from documentation of family life.  This trip to Kauai I seem to be hogging the camera.  I'm proud of not feeling embarrassed at how I look.  Hub is having fun taking photos of me without me scowling or protesting.

Does this mean I have reached Perfect Body Image Land?  Is there such a thing?  No.  I'm still chunky around the middle -- it's genetic!  Look at photos of my parents!!!  My legs are skinny and I have no booty to speak of.  I tried a series of yoga poses on the beach and the resulting photos are not super great.  My tummy hangs down in Plank Pose and projects out in all the Warrior Poses even though I was going for a strong core.  I'm almost straight up and down since I don't have a very pronounced waistline from boobs to hips (notice this in Tree Pose).  I rarely post photos of myself here on the blog, but I'm posting this one -- with trepidation -- so you can have a field day critiquing my less than perfect body.  It will help you feel better.  I'm no swimsuit or Yoga Journal model.  Hardly anyone is.  

BTW, the tan is fake -- thanks to Jergens Natural Glow tanning lotion.  I'm not letting the sun touch my lily white Northern European skin any more after indiscretions of my youth that have come back to haunt me and my dermatologist.  But I like a little sun-kissed look when in Hawaii, so I use the lotion which gradually darkens the surface layer of skin temporarily and will fade in a few days if I don't reapply.  I guess that's vanity.  You can judge.  But as vanities go...  And if "tan" isn't your thing, that's perfect too! You be you!

We can all self-criticize to death -- sometimes literally as those with eating disorders have done.  Body image is a thing Noom focused on in our lessons last week with the encouragement to stand in front of the mirror either clothed or unclothed and focus on all the things you like about your body.  Try it.  It's hard.  We are so programmed to find fault.  Our culture tells us how to look and if we don't (no one does) we feel shame.  

Here's what I'm noticing...I can paddle, walk up hills and over rough terrain, hike, climb over rocks, get up and down from the chair or the floor, or the ridiculously low-seated car we've rented,  twist and turn, stand on one leg (for a second or a minute depending on the day).  My poofy belly has nothing to do with my ability to be mobile and sorta agile, on a good day.   (Yoga has A LOT to do with it!)  Losing weight has helped with my stamina, yes, and for that I'm grateful.  

But judging myself by how I look and not how I move through the world is silly.  My granddaughters have healthier body image ideas than I do!  They love who they are and what they can do and neither of them is "perfect" except in the way we all are.  Self acceptance, doing our best, taking a risk, being mindful, and being gentle with ourselves in the process all serves us no matter what our goals in life.

No matter our limitations, from injury, illness, genetics, or self-imposed judgement (the worst limitation!), we can define Our Big Picture to motivate us toward a goal of self-discovery and self-acceptance and maybe even a small, but mighty change in the body's ability to support us as best it can going forward.

At least, that's the view from here...©

P.S. Just as I'm ending this post... I skipped our walk today and Hub just got back.  He took a fall on a slope on loose red rock and his Apple Watch asked if he fell and if he was OK.  He is...just a scraped knee like a 6 year old.  But see?  Technology has our backs even when we are fit, agile, and in great shape, like he is.  So, yes, anything can happen.  But our Big Picture goals can see us through and the nice people at Apple will call an aid car if you need one. Win-Win!

ANGRY YOUNG MEN

Last post I revealed that I am a football fan.  I realize not all my friends share this passion.  Some detest it.  Most on the basis of the waste of time, money, and energy spent on a sport that is so physical that there is almost never a game when one or more players doesn't sustain an injury.  There are, thankfully!, new and stricter rules for tackling and protocols in place about evaluating concussion-related injuries and ensuring adequate recovery time before returning to the field (not on the same day, for heaven's sake!)  Still, I know it is a rough game.   It is a game that I was so afraid of when Son-One wanted to play in 8th grade, that I refused to sign the permission slip.  So Hub did.  Hub, who played in high school and college until a knee injury sidelined him.

So, what am I to make of this game I am enjoying so much?  Why do I suspend my usual non-violent tendencies in general to embrace this pastime?  Well, I think it goes back to childhood memories, as I noted in my last post, of sports being a fixture on TV in our home.  I think it goes back to teen years of watching my boyfriend, Hub, on various fields of play.  I think it goes to raising boys who were rambunctious and sports-crazed and sitting, again, at various sports venues to cheer them on. I think it is a vicarious projection of my own inner competitive nature, deeply buried, yet able to come out as a fan.  I think it is the sense of community in joining in the rally around the home team.

Yet…After the game on Sunday in which we won, at the last second, on a defensive play by our star cornerback, Richard Sherman, Sherman was the "go-to" guy for the first sideline interview.  He immediately launched into a rant about his offensive counterpart on the other team and a boast about his own prowess.  I cringed.

He is known for "trash talking", but those across the country don't also know the side of him we in the hometown know of his personal story: a straight A student taking AP classes in the gang-infested neighborhood of Compton CA,  graduating from Stanford,  and developing into the best player of his position in the NFL.  No easy feat.  They don't know how articulate, funny, and friendly he is when he's not 30 seconds from having made the play of his life against his arch-rival.   So, since Sunday, his ill-timed and wrongheaded "interview" has been in an echo chamber of media attention.  Our Quarterback, Russell Wilson, who is relentlessly upbeat, positive and articulately soft spoken has nearly disappeared from view.  He's usually the upfront guy.

Football is a testosterone-fueled game.  It is a game in which "playing with a chip on your shoulder" is used as motivation to do well.  Many players on the Seahawks were passed over or picked late in the draft by many teams before landing in Seattle.  Richard Sherman was drafted in the 5th round -- 23 players at his position picked in front of  him.  Russell Wilson was a 3rd round pick.  Doug Baldwin, the Hawks wide receiver, was an undrafted free agent and is also having a standout year.  All have said they are out to prove their worth…prove to those who overlooked them that they missed out on something special.

Is this "anger", this desire to prove themselves, something to deride or to celebrate?  And when they show their worth on the national stage, having just reached the game that is the pinnacle of every football player's career, the Super Bowl, do we begrudge them a bit of a boast?

Well, I do wish Richard had toned it down just because I knew the firestorm of judgement and controversy it would create.  I appreciate Russell and Doug for the their more soft-spoken joy of accomplishment.  But that's just me and my Scandinavian heritage.  If the underdogs wanna do a bit of howling and growling, I guess that is their due.

The lesson I have learned is that making a snap judgement about a person's "class" or "character" in the heat of an intense moment, without benefit of the fuller story of a person's life, is also ill-advised.  Let's all pause,  no matter the situation, and let the emotion pass.  Then, let's get on with the sport of life --  hard-fought, well-played, and full of celebration.

At least, that's the view from here…. ©