Thoughts on the body-mind connection.

[irenejericho]

So most of you know I'm on a health and exercise kick that started a couple years ago.  I'm currently a whopping one pound away from my boot camp weight, which is kind of insane on its own.  I mean, I'm over 10 years older than I was then.  I suspect I'm actually in ~better~ shape, too.  Although boot camp was good for fast muscle building, that

Comments

[irenejericho]

Thank you, Jax :) Cherif and Rebecca called earlier to address this in person and they agree with you. I'm really grateful to everyone for chiming in. I probably worry more than I should about becoming dispassionate.

[ckackley]

"I explained it away at the time, talked about how much I've been working to be a good person, but it has me worried. I do believe in the mind-body connection. We could look at this one way--my body is healthier, more flexible, stronger. Maybe my emotional self is the same--better able to bend, move and dance, both with myself and others."

I'd stick with that thought. The mind and body ARE one in the same but don't let the paranoia creep in and do the derailing. If you stress over it enough you'll have the typical self full filling prophesy going on.
Remember when you bumped into the wall at practice last week and laughed to the point of tears ? I'm not sure if you'd have let go that much when I first met you. It was nice to see.

[irenejericho]

Ha! Yes, how could I forget? lol I'm so smooth.

And you're right--that hysterical laughter thing doesn't normally happen in front of anyone other than Jay.

[bedlamborn]

I don't see you so much but once a year. But I think your heart is not getting harder, leaner or smaller but the opposite.

[gwenergy]

this is a really interesting idea.
a friend of mine had this idea about your body and your uh soul or mind being like a checking and a savings account, and they don't work on exactly the same tables but who's to say that doing a lot to one won't affect the other?

I wonder about it too, and it ties into the whole idea of altering yourself, I mean not necessarily things like dyeing hair, but like antidepressants, taking the pill, rebooting your habits, anything. is it contrary to the idea that we are all perfect individual manifestations of creation? (or something?)

I think you are doing fine. mainly because your heart is HUGE. I do worry about (in general) a lot of emphasis on muscle building because it is a solitary, hitting-the-goals kind of exercise, and in extreme cases it leads to losing flexibility and freedom, and bulking up which i don't like much. but you do lots of other things, group classes and joyful movement and so on. Also it's good for your bones and you know all the benefits.

[irenejericho]

I like the checking/savings analogy :)

And thank you. Just to allay your concerns, I'm not actively trying to build muscle. It's just kind of happening because of the yoga. For some reason, anytime I start to exercise, my body takes it as some sort of direction to attempt to turn into Xena ;)

[droops]

I would agree with what Jax said. I know you better now than I ever have, and find your heart to be . . . . stronger, softer, more assured, more visible. It's hard to describe because it's not weak. Far from it. Instead, it's more accepting, more outgoing, more encompassing.

But does Ingrid feel the same? Kind of an odd statement from her. And does Jay have anything to say about the subject, that you can say here?

[irenejericho]

I think it's hard for Ingrid to tell because she doesn't see me interact with other people much. My behavior with her is the same as it's always been, but I've always had compassion for her. So I think she was worried more about how I do with people who aren't she or Jay ;)

Jay has mixed feelings about my quest to develop more compassion. He thinks I'm making progress, and he's glad that being more compassionate means that I'm taking it at least a little easier on me. Thing is, back in ye olde dark ages, I was a lot more accessible to people and tended to get screwed over/hurt as a result. Part of why those big ol' walls went up in the first place. He's worried that by fostering more compassion and trying to let people in, I'm going to end up getting hurt again. I'm still learning the ropes of compassion vs emotional investment vs being a doormat. They're actually separate things, of course, but negotiating between them is hard.

[droops]

Yea, if you figure out the magic formula to negotiate them, let me know. I have my own issues with those as well. It's not easy I know. I think one of the biggest keys is to be compassionate, but not try to save the world. Not easy to do at all.

But, you have felt the need to move towards change,so it's obviously something that needs to be done. There might be setbacks along the way, but I suspect that this is a bigger time for growth and learning.