Body in motion

[days_unfolding]

I'm still alive if a little shopworn. The toughest delivery that we have this fall is on Monday, so I've been staying at work to ungodly hours. However, it looks like we'll make it.

I keep thinking of a quote that I saw in pageeater's journal which went something like "It's not what you say is important that counts; it's what your feet do that counts." (Unfortunately, I couldn't find the exact quote.) I'm finding it interesting what my "feet" are doing, especially given the time crunch. I almost never skip guitar practice, and I'm making really good progress. (The teacher is getting tougher about my technique and is throwing more and more stuff to learn at me, so I think that he's pleased with my progress too.) I usually do singing practice, but not always. I started out well with my meditation practice, but wound up dropping out. I really need to do something about the practice because I'm taking a correspondence course, which I signed up for before I got involved with everything else that I'm doing.

The best news of all is that I'm writing again. I was working on a writing practice exercise when another poem insisted that it be written. I have a solid first draft and am tightening it up.

I also have started the aerobic exercises with dumbbells again, so that I've been exercising six days a week.

I've been working on my long-term goals in general (although I haven't had time to write them down yet!) My long-term singing/guitar goals include learning to write my own songs and joining an a capella chorus. My writing goals include writing one poem per month, joining a critique group, and getting one poem published per year. (The writing goals probably aren't aggressive enough, but they seem doable.)

I'm adding more lessons to my list. Back when I took voice lessons in college, my voice teacher recommended the Alexander Technique, which is a process of relearning how to use your body. I contacted one Alexander Technique teacher and got no answer, but I found another teacher whom I really, really like. She's a music teacher (Irish fiddle and piano) who is in fact taking voice lessons herself right now! We've in the process of setting up lessons twice a week. It'll be a bit of a drive to get to her place (she's in Cupertino, very near where I worked at the startup!), but I think that she's the right teacher.

I also want to learn the Pilates Method, which is a form of exercise that involves involves controlled movement from the area that dancers call their "center"--the abdomen and back. It's a little like what you would get if you combined ballet with calisthenics. It should help me strengthen my back, which is rather messed up. I'm waiting for them to send me a physician's authorization form so that I can get approval from a doctor and start.

I did something that was kind of silly; I fell in love with a wooden recorder and bought it. I don't have time to do anything formal with it, but plan to mess around with it in my spare time. I love how it looks, but I'm not sure how I feel about the sound of it. I ordered a CD of recorder music, and I'll see if the sound grabs me when someone who knows what they're doing is playing it. (To contrast with the guitar: I love its sound, I love listening to guitar CDs, I love playing it, and I love even looking at guitars!)





All of this seems really right. I'm reading a terrific book right now, Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art, which is about improvisation and the creative process. (pageeater and skyeb, I'd think that you'd really enjoy it if you haven't already read it.) I feel that my life is a form of improv right now. Or a form of shaping in which I remove what doesn't work, try new things, and add what works.

Anyway, I have some stuff that I need to do for work, and I need to practice and exercise.

Addendum: Whoops, forgot to mention that I'm getting a professional massage for the first time on Wednesday. I generally am skittish about strangers touching me, so I'm a little nervous, but I'm sure that it'll be okay. Oddly enough, the nudity part doesn't bother me nearly as much.(The person who answered the phone is the type of person who calls everyone "hon" and gets away with it. She put me at ease.) I'm getting a one-hour deep tissue massage, so I should ooze out of there -;)

Comments

[lesliesailor.livejournal.com]

I think you will really like Pilates - I do both Pilates and Yoga, (in addition to running, sailing, etc.), and I really love both. I find that the yoga helps me at work ( after a yoga class I am cmpletely relaxed and things don't bother me like they used to), and after doing Pilates, I have the same feeling, but in addition, I feel like I am so flexible! I really love it!!!!

[days-unfolding.livejournal.com]

I'm amazed by how many different things you do! Physical activity is kind of a new arena for me (I'm a classic bookworm-;)), so I'm enjoying trying new things. I'm really looking forward to trying Pilates!

[lesliesailor.livejournal.com]

I have always been physically active, and always participated in competition type sports - I was a competetive ice skater until I dislocated my knee, messing up my chances to compete in the Nationals. In high school and college, I was on the intercollegate tennis team and volleyball team, and have raced sailboats ever since I can remember. When I worked at Letterman Army Medical Center (for the Army), they encouraged physical fitness and gave you time to go to the gym every day. I was in my glory! Luckily, Jim is extremely active, also, even more so than me, so we push each other to do various things. (He actually got me started running, because I never did that before>)