Look for the FEEL--Body Image and Athleticism

Most of my friends are artists. In many ways, this creates stimulating, engaging conversation and interactions--where it facilitates issues, however, is in the realm of physical fitness.

An issue I see many people, including myself, struggling with, is body image in the face of exercise routines. It is typical to associate physical fitness and athleticism with the jocks in school that may have bullied you or the professional athletes who receive preferential treatment in the face of western culture and law. Frankly, exercise (to artists) can be looked at as an intellectually inferior activity. Because of this system of thought, it's difficult to convince my friends to help me practice on them, offering them free lessons that would normally cost a decent sum of money.

Such negative views toward exercise absorbed from culture and personal experience, as well as from the fear of not being physically fit or attractive enough to work out, can all but force someone like myself to close my eyes out of disgust as I walk past the gym.

I've always been athletic--I was a competitive cross country runner--but I felt left out of the "fit" club because I had a smaller build than most men. This was especially discouraging to me when I would exceed most of my team in speed and ability, yet didn't posses the right look to be considered cool enough to call myself an athlete openly. My point is--

SCREW anyone who makes you deem yourself not qualified, deserving, or good enough to work out. Pilates, as an example, is a complex and rewarding discipline that constantly engages the mind and body and helps people to arrive at a place where they feel physically fit, with the idea in mind that their practice will assist in the longevity and enjoyment of their lives.

Look for the feel.

Do the practice, be consistent, feel the rewards. I see it as detrimental to go into any workout regimen focused solely on achieving a look that our culture categorizes as conventionally attractive or correct at one moment in time. If you do your best to make your body feel better and work more effectively, the physical results will follow. Media representations of beauty change, feeling good is forever.

Different individuals have different bodies. Different bodies make different changes and in fact, change at different rates. Human bodies are constantly in flux as a result of puberty, pregnancy, working out, eating differently, etc. EMBRACE and LOVE those changes as they are ever present and natural.

Tease On (In The Face Of Adversity)

Om,

Ian


P.S. TEASER THURSDAY #teaserthursday (<------ can I even do that on this site?) will appear TOMORROW (Friday) as I was in the city all day and did not have a chance to tease!