Tag Archives: workout

Feb24

making the turn

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headed out to the gym yesterday to workout and watch the big game. the university of michigan wolverines were playing basketball against our instate rivals, the michigan state spartans. i figured i’d serve myself up a little pleasure with my pain. 

 

as i got closer to the gym, i noticed that it was surrounded by an astounding number of opposing choices: taco bell, burger king, cottage inn pizza, noodles, mcdonalds, gourmet garden chinese, castle liquor store, subway, zingerman’s roadhouse. i could almost imagine my chalupa and mexican pizza and a cold beer.

or, there was –

 the gym. 

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it would have been so easy to accidentally turn into one of those other driveways, and then the next hour would be spent indulging in food and drink heaven instead of in gym hell. 

i made the turn. 

and when i found myself in the gym, i was not disappointed, and knew i had made the right choice. there were father/sons, couples, singletons, and people of every shape and size and color imaginable. what we all had in common, was the turn we made to get there.

the familiar maize and blue home team shirts were everywhere, and people cheered while on the elliptical, treadmill, with weights, and bars, and balls, and machines. it was a great first half. and while i can’t say where everyone went for the second half, the wolverines played a magnificent game, and  we won in the end. go blue! sometimes, it’s just a matter of choosing the right driveway. and if i happen to turn into the taco bell driveway next time, so be it. 

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One might as well try to ride two horses moving in different directions,

as to try to maintain in equal force two opposing or contradictory sets of desires.

 Robert Collier

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image credits: michigan daily, oldtowneast.com, sweethorseranch.com

Apr14

get up off your nia-s!

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What is Nia?

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Nia is a sensory-based movement practice that draws from martial arts, dance arts and healing arts. It empowers people of all shapes and sizes by connecting the body, mind, emotions and spirit. Classes are taken barefoot to soul-stirring music in more than 45 countries.  

talked my daughter into taking this class with me. assured her it would be great, low-key, fun, we would just blend in, (i have a history of having stamina, enthusiasm and strength, though not a lick of coordination, and she detests being the center of attention), and i stressed that it would be a relaxing, bonding experience for us, all while getting in great shape. 

the class started out slow, with a challenging set of movements and stretches and new-agey music, then i heard someone talking about the ‘good auras’ they were seeing and chakras all around, and it was on!  there were all sorts of interpretive dance moves and exercises happening – people twirling, gliding, karate-chopping, leaping. my daughter glanced over at me, we both were smiling, though she had the look of ‘really, what next, are you kidding?’ on her face. i believe i may have seen an eye-roll as well. 

at this point, i’m going to go out on a limb and guess that it all took a final bad turn for her when our trainer announced that we would ‘each act out our day with a dance,’ and she had chosen my daughter to go first and to solo. i felt the glare, a bit more intense than kryptonite, coming towards me, and i did my best to avoid any eye-contact. soon after, she blurted out, ‘how am i supposed to do this?! i have had a hell on earth day, i’m in the construction business – dealing with historical commissions, zoning boards, sub-contractors, neighborhood councils, city council, requests for bribes, and an incompetent supplier!?’ 

she did a little twirl, the trainer and the rest of the class clapped for her, and that was the last move of our nia experience together. i believe some people’s chakras may have been thrown off a bit.