I know I’m under the heavy influence of Joseph Pilates but I’ve gotta agree with his statement that “Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness”. My fitness level is so deeply tied to my emotional state because, without my health and mobility, I couldn’t do the things that I love with “zest and pleasure” (also Joe’s words). I’m a mover by nature. A dancer. An aerialist. A performer. A Pilates practitioner. And, anyone that knows me, knows that I’ve still got super-hero aspirations. Call it mid-life crisis. I call it optimism.

In 10 years I’ll be 62 and I want my body to feel like a goddamn superhero! But that’s been my goal since I was 10 years old. I never wanna give up that dream or aspirational mindset because it keeps me active. And it motivates me to prioritize movement, even on days when sloth feels like the preferred option.

My super-hero fantasies, although child-like, motivate me to push myself toward even greater pain-free mobility. This is why Pilates is my jam! It’s not designed for status quo mentality. It’s designed for people like me who want to keep getting stronger, more flexible, more agile and more powerful.

I nurture my body by being a self-care junkie. But here’s the real story: I’ve finally learned to listen to my body after years of ignoring all the warning signs that she’d had enough of this “wild child”. I believed I was invincible. She was on the verge of going kaput. My response? Adrenaline plus ice. But there ain’t enough feel-good hormones or analgesics to sustain the highly physical careers I’ve chosen. My body had to sit me down multiple times – in the form of injury – and hand me ultimatums.

Some of my body’s coolest abilities are…

1. its ability to do cool physical shit
2. its ability to keep getting stronger no matter how old I am
3. its ability to heal

I’ve been highly physical since I was a kid. I was of the “stay outside til the street lamps come on” generation. I’d return home “smellin’ like the outdoors” after riding bikes, climbing trees, playing kickball, and building forts with the neighborhood kids. But this musty wild child also fell in love with her Royal Academy of Dancing Classical ballet training.

Five things that make me happy? Easy-peasy.
1.) Learning/Teaching: When it comes to learning, I’m like a 2yr old who constantly asks “why?”. Not to be a brat but, if I’m intrigued by something, a superficial overview simply ain’t enough. I got questions. I wanna dig deeper. I wanna understand the nuances. And the more I understand something, the more excited I get about sharing it with others. And that’s why I love teaching so much. I love the challenge of finding effective ways to communicate concepts, ideas and skills to others; especially in ways that inspire curiosity and excitement in them too.

I started upgrading my self-care during the holidays with REST. Like, the stay in bed all day kinda rest. Like, the Netflix, nap and repeat kinda rest. Over the past two years I’ve been highly productive but also overworked, full of anxiety and totally depleted. My weekends? Gone. My 2hr bi-monthly manual MFR treatments? Gone. My sanity? Gone. What did stay consistent was my Pilates routine. Five days per week! That’s the glue that held me together; physically and mentally. That, plus journaling. But even that suffered. And when I’m not journaling, it’s usually because I’m avoiding the truth of my current emotional state.