Grounding and slowing
Along with my crazy thoughts of the fast or slow "Fall of the Western Empire" with the loss of cheap fossil fuels, and crazy because of ultimately future-oriented thought merely creates anxiety, I see a need in myself (regardless of the state of the empire) to resist some of the vast power and opportunity of our modern world, and invoke simpler pleasures that keep me more grounded and more able to accept whatever may come.
The above paragraph reminds me of the song:
"Que sera, sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see
Que sera, sera"
http://www.lyricsdepot.com/doris-day/whatever-will-be-will-be-que-sera-sera.html
Anyway, recently I had an inspiration to be "wild and crazy" and walk barefoot as much as possible. It being SUMMER, it is a marvelous plan.
I remember a few years ago I had a "walk every day" plan, and I went for a walk nearly every day for a month, and when the experiment was over, I almost immediately went back to forgetting about walks.
Over two years ago now I got a digital camera, and that was a good excuse to go out and see the world, and also helped bring me out into the world.
This summer, just about a month ago I decided on a month of walking barefoot. I think I planned for maybe 3 times per week, and I've done at least that, even if often late at night before going to bed.
It's not like I don't get regular exercise without walking, at least much of the year by commuting by bicycle. A bike is truly a miracle machine (along with nice roads) - converting strong legs into speed and distance undreamed by people before 150 years ago. On a bike I fantasize that I could take on any horse and rider, at least on a roadway. Sure a race horse can exceed 40mph, but how far can a horse and rider go in a day? With a little training (a few more daily calories - 5000!?), I could maintain a 100 mile/day biking, and I've done up to 154 miles in 10 hours with a friendly wind, with many hours of daylight to spare.
A bike is a wondrous tool, but walking really holds a greater attraction to my soul. SURE running is also another amazing dance, but I can't run 10 hours a day. I CAN walk 6-10 hours day, like biking, (even if "only" 25-35 miles), with just a little training. TRULY biking is a secured form of travel BECAUSE ultimately I know I can walk instead as needed - just takes 4 times longer.
Back to my barefooting, after a full month, last night was my first "incident" of skin damage - specifically slicing my foot skin on the corner of a slighly upturned granite tile. Fortunately I was only about 6 blocks away from my shoes, and slightly limped back. Basically I had about a 1cm^2 patch of skin ripped back on the bottom of my foot, just behind my left pinky toe. It bled slowly and I properly cleaned it of sand and dirty.
It was of course my fault. In learning about walking barefoot I found initially that the bottom of my feet needed a little "toughening" from the localized sheer forces on the skin. The skin itself wasn't damaged, and even stepping on sharper objects, I often could just rebalance my weight with little slowing my pace. But the underskin did toughen more over time I think. The same friction that causes blisters on your hands from using a rake happens on walking barefoot. But apparently this "inner friction" does have less effect with use, whatever sort of restructuring/reinforcing is done.
Anyway, the critical flaw yesterday was my own foot's motion, swinging forward is what threw my foot into the corner. Just stepping on a sharp corner could have been easily adjusted, but I didn't lift my foot enough to clear the obstacle. I wasn't walking overly fast, but fast enough - actually timed to about 50 paces (2 steps) in 53 seconds. Stepping a little higher takes a bit more energy, but clearly is necessary for safty unless I want to pay more attention.
Beyond this skin injury, I've confirmed and discovered that walking barefoot is indeed a pleasurable activity, whatever surface - from grass to sand to dirt to pavement. Okay maybe gravel is tough, but variations just require a little adjustment. AND in fact being barefoot connects me more to both the ground and my body. I can't go 100% in-my-head like I'm often tempted to go. I feel the thumps of my steps a little more strongly and my breathing and stepping go in synch, and possibly even my heart is synchopative rhythms if I could measure that. I've alwys found walking a sort of meditative activist, but bare foot adds to that effect.
I've also always had relatively sensitive (i.e. tickly feet). In fact the soles of my feet is the only bare of my body I am consistently ticklish even by myself! Usually you can't tickle yourself since ticklishness is related to unpredictable tactile stimuation.
One bonus on barefooting is overall I like clean feet, so I have to wash my feet as well afterwards, or at least before bed, and try to clean them without being too tickled. A rather silly affair, but pleasurable. It's hard to be depressed and gently tickled, you know?
Before last night's incident, I was lamenting the loss as the summer moves to fall and winter and barefooting won't be as nice an activity, but really barefooting indoors is just as good in many ways.
Lastly today I was thinking of making it a goal to return to some Yoga pratices. I took a community Hatha Yoga class two winters ago, and another last fall. I'm not sure about the spiritual or mental aspect of yoga, but I definitely was challenged by the physical aspects. I accepted the overall idea that our bodies get trapped into certain ways of moving and stretching and that yoga offers simple motions, using our own body as resistance, to counter these trappings and release tension and such in the process. Well, and overall the stretches themselves definitely challenged my strength and reminded me over and over to breath. I also appreciated the alternation between tension and relaxation between movements. Relaxing never meant as much to me as after difficult poses.
The question remains whether I could make Yoga a part of my daily or at least weekly routine. Even when I had a yoga class every sunday, I found excuses to not practice outside of the sessions, except a few inspired days here and there when I had nothing else much to do anyway.
Overall I liked the first instructors because they followed a fairly consistent routine, while the one from last fall seemed to change the sequences every week. SURE I could follow his lead, whatever he offered, but I see if I were to do Yoga on my own, I'd need a fixed sequence, like dance steps to do it on my own. SURE, after a year of a fixed sequence, I might start expanding and varying the sequences, just like an experienced Dancer would do, but in the beginning, it needs to be sequenced for body memory.
I remember one book I "read" on yoga said he wanted his students to do his sequence exactly for 3 full months every day. The every day part is more imposing than the exact sequence - although also the sequence took about 90 minutes total. I accept the premise that it would take this long to really "learn" the poses. The 90 minutes was overwhelming - mainly because "on my own" a 90 minute efficient program would take an extra 30 minutes when I include looking at my notes and such. And 2 hours/day is possible to surrender for a period, but not easy.
Anyway, I see value in Yoga and I'd like to see if I can find pleasure enough in the activity that I can maintain it. For the moment, it seems a yoga class is the answer.
Let me offer some "resolutions" for the rest of the year:
1. Find yoga program that I can maintain at least twice/week.
2. Find a way to move my sleeping schedule earlier - no not 6am wake up, but maybe consistently 9am, while still keeping 8 hours of real sleep.
3. Get a physical checkup and advice on my tight left shoulder - possible exercises to improve it.
Okay "measures" of success:
1. How many times do I do yoga/week? [2+]
a. 0 - poor
b. 1 - fair
c. 2 - good
d. 3 - very good
e. 4 - great
2. How many times do I get out of bed before 10am? [5+]
a. 0 - very bad
b. 1 - bad
c. 2 - poor
d. 3 - fair
e. 4 - good
f. 5 - very good
g. 6 - Excellent
3. Checkup
a. Make appointment - fair
b. Get checkup - good
c. Make plan to respond to advice - excellent
Sounds good - concrete and clear overall.
The third one is the main one with no weekly scheduling, so it can be neglected.
Even the first one requires some startup - and easy to procrastinate starting, so there's also "startup" steps - attending ONE yoga class and SECOND finding a class I like and can attend regularly, and third making time for an off-class practice each week.
Well, enough for now at least. A written plan.
As always, there's two levels. The first level is mechanical - taking action. The second level is motivational - making the actions a part of who I am.
The hardest thing for me is that I tend to resist schedules when I can. I can see the failure of that lifestyle is that action degenerates into low level addictions and self-destructive activities.
The "taskmaster" should demand all my time on a schedule, but I must continually struggle to consider what I do in relation to my values.
My hope is when I do this, I will be stronger to resist both the excesses of abundance and the gloom of scarcity.
The above paragraph reminds me of the song:
"Que sera, sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see
Que sera, sera"
http://www.lyricsdepot.com/doris-day/whatever-will-be-will-be-que-sera-sera.html
Anyway, recently I had an inspiration to be "wild and crazy" and walk barefoot as much as possible. It being SUMMER, it is a marvelous plan.
I remember a few years ago I had a "walk every day" plan, and I went for a walk nearly every day for a month, and when the experiment was over, I almost immediately went back to forgetting about walks.
Over two years ago now I got a digital camera, and that was a good excuse to go out and see the world, and also helped bring me out into the world.
This summer, just about a month ago I decided on a month of walking barefoot. I think I planned for maybe 3 times per week, and I've done at least that, even if often late at night before going to bed.
It's not like I don't get regular exercise without walking, at least much of the year by commuting by bicycle. A bike is truly a miracle machine (along with nice roads) - converting strong legs into speed and distance undreamed by people before 150 years ago. On a bike I fantasize that I could take on any horse and rider, at least on a roadway. Sure a race horse can exceed 40mph, but how far can a horse and rider go in a day? With a little training (a few more daily calories - 5000!?), I could maintain a 100 mile/day biking, and I've done up to 154 miles in 10 hours with a friendly wind, with many hours of daylight to spare.
A bike is a wondrous tool, but walking really holds a greater attraction to my soul. SURE running is also another amazing dance, but I can't run 10 hours a day. I CAN walk 6-10 hours day, like biking, (even if "only" 25-35 miles), with just a little training. TRULY biking is a secured form of travel BECAUSE ultimately I know I can walk instead as needed - just takes 4 times longer.
Back to my barefooting, after a full month, last night was my first "incident" of skin damage - specifically slicing my foot skin on the corner of a slighly upturned granite tile. Fortunately I was only about 6 blocks away from my shoes, and slightly limped back. Basically I had about a 1cm^2 patch of skin ripped back on the bottom of my foot, just behind my left pinky toe. It bled slowly and I properly cleaned it of sand and dirty.
It was of course my fault. In learning about walking barefoot I found initially that the bottom of my feet needed a little "toughening" from the localized sheer forces on the skin. The skin itself wasn't damaged, and even stepping on sharper objects, I often could just rebalance my weight with little slowing my pace. But the underskin did toughen more over time I think. The same friction that causes blisters on your hands from using a rake happens on walking barefoot. But apparently this "inner friction" does have less effect with use, whatever sort of restructuring/reinforcing is done.
Anyway, the critical flaw yesterday was my own foot's motion, swinging forward is what threw my foot into the corner. Just stepping on a sharp corner could have been easily adjusted, but I didn't lift my foot enough to clear the obstacle. I wasn't walking overly fast, but fast enough - actually timed to about 50 paces (2 steps) in 53 seconds. Stepping a little higher takes a bit more energy, but clearly is necessary for safty unless I want to pay more attention.
Beyond this skin injury, I've confirmed and discovered that walking barefoot is indeed a pleasurable activity, whatever surface - from grass to sand to dirt to pavement. Okay maybe gravel is tough, but variations just require a little adjustment. AND in fact being barefoot connects me more to both the ground and my body. I can't go 100% in-my-head like I'm often tempted to go. I feel the thumps of my steps a little more strongly and my breathing and stepping go in synch, and possibly even my heart is synchopative rhythms if I could measure that. I've alwys found walking a sort of meditative activist, but bare foot adds to that effect.
I've also always had relatively sensitive (i.e. tickly feet). In fact the soles of my feet is the only bare of my body I am consistently ticklish even by myself! Usually you can't tickle yourself since ticklishness is related to unpredictable tactile stimuation.
One bonus on barefooting is overall I like clean feet, so I have to wash my feet as well afterwards, or at least before bed, and try to clean them without being too tickled. A rather silly affair, but pleasurable. It's hard to be depressed and gently tickled, you know?
Before last night's incident, I was lamenting the loss as the summer moves to fall and winter and barefooting won't be as nice an activity, but really barefooting indoors is just as good in many ways.
Lastly today I was thinking of making it a goal to return to some Yoga pratices. I took a community Hatha Yoga class two winters ago, and another last fall. I'm not sure about the spiritual or mental aspect of yoga, but I definitely was challenged by the physical aspects. I accepted the overall idea that our bodies get trapped into certain ways of moving and stretching and that yoga offers simple motions, using our own body as resistance, to counter these trappings and release tension and such in the process. Well, and overall the stretches themselves definitely challenged my strength and reminded me over and over to breath. I also appreciated the alternation between tension and relaxation between movements. Relaxing never meant as much to me as after difficult poses.
The question remains whether I could make Yoga a part of my daily or at least weekly routine. Even when I had a yoga class every sunday, I found excuses to not practice outside of the sessions, except a few inspired days here and there when I had nothing else much to do anyway.
Overall I liked the first instructors because they followed a fairly consistent routine, while the one from last fall seemed to change the sequences every week. SURE I could follow his lead, whatever he offered, but I see if I were to do Yoga on my own, I'd need a fixed sequence, like dance steps to do it on my own. SURE, after a year of a fixed sequence, I might start expanding and varying the sequences, just like an experienced Dancer would do, but in the beginning, it needs to be sequenced for body memory.
I remember one book I "read" on yoga said he wanted his students to do his sequence exactly for 3 full months every day. The every day part is more imposing than the exact sequence - although also the sequence took about 90 minutes total. I accept the premise that it would take this long to really "learn" the poses. The 90 minutes was overwhelming - mainly because "on my own" a 90 minute efficient program would take an extra 30 minutes when I include looking at my notes and such. And 2 hours/day is possible to surrender for a period, but not easy.
Anyway, I see value in Yoga and I'd like to see if I can find pleasure enough in the activity that I can maintain it. For the moment, it seems a yoga class is the answer.
Let me offer some "resolutions" for the rest of the year:
1. Find yoga program that I can maintain at least twice/week.
2. Find a way to move my sleeping schedule earlier - no not 6am wake up, but maybe consistently 9am, while still keeping 8 hours of real sleep.
3. Get a physical checkup and advice on my tight left shoulder - possible exercises to improve it.
Okay "measures" of success:
1. How many times do I do yoga/week? [2+]
a. 0 - poor
b. 1 - fair
c. 2 - good
d. 3 - very good
e. 4 - great
2. How many times do I get out of bed before 10am? [5+]
a. 0 - very bad
b. 1 - bad
c. 2 - poor
d. 3 - fair
e. 4 - good
f. 5 - very good
g. 6 - Excellent
3. Checkup
a. Make appointment - fair
b. Get checkup - good
c. Make plan to respond to advice - excellent
Sounds good - concrete and clear overall.
The third one is the main one with no weekly scheduling, so it can be neglected.
Even the first one requires some startup - and easy to procrastinate starting, so there's also "startup" steps - attending ONE yoga class and SECOND finding a class I like and can attend regularly, and third making time for an off-class practice each week.
Well, enough for now at least. A written plan.
As always, there's two levels. The first level is mechanical - taking action. The second level is motivational - making the actions a part of who I am.
The hardest thing for me is that I tend to resist schedules when I can. I can see the failure of that lifestyle is that action degenerates into low level addictions and self-destructive activities.
The "taskmaster" should demand all my time on a schedule, but I must continually struggle to consider what I do in relation to my values.
My hope is when I do this, I will be stronger to resist both the excesses of abundance and the gloom of scarcity.
posted by Ares Olympus at 6:14 PM
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