Exercise with lots of care

 

#MisterTaquito in my last training session…for now

On my 50’th bday last week, I attempted to do a kettlebell snatch without the proper progression and bam…sayonara shoulder.  For a few days I couldn’t move my arm at all and the pain was so bad I created this mantra: “I went through labor twice so I can take this pain” (but still, I cried a few times while hiding in my closet). My doctor said that I had to stop all weight training and my beloved Wing Chun for a few weeks .  It has only been  a week but I can already feel the difference in my posture and my energy… and not for the better.  Not that I was training like The Rock or Gal Gadot, but even my simple weight training routine kept me strong and honestly very happy.  There is something to lifting weights that makes me feel like Wonder Woman…ready to save the world or maybe just finish a very complicated design project.

 

No kettlebells or wing chun? So let’s walk more.  This morning I took my dogs for a long walk (almost two hours so they hate me now) and I started thinking about how vital it is to be able to move freely.  This past week my Grandma has been in the hospital with several complications and most of them are due to the fact that because of lack of exercise her heart and lungs are very weak.  When I was 25, I wouldn’t think about exercise and movement, I would just do it.  At 50, it has become a big issue because I want to keep moving freely and healthy for years to come.

Last week after getting hurt I couldn’t work… jeez, I couldn’t even turn on my phone with my right hand. A whole routine was altered by one injured arm.  I couldn’t drive so my Mom was taking me everywhere and my husband and kids were very supportive and took great care of me.  As thankful as I am, I couldn’t help but wonder: this is just one arm and it’s a temporary injury…imagine if it was worst or a chronic condition with no cure. SCARY!

If I want to accomplish my dream of working in graphic design, practicing wing chun and weight training well into my 90’s …I have to integrate exercise and movement responsibly every day into my life.  No more cutting cornes, steps or saying I got this when I don’t (really I didn’t, the kettle bell almost flew out my terrace and would have probably kill one of the cats down the street). Even if I feel like the eternal 10 year old who get’s excited about the new Star Wars movie…my body is not, is a mature body that deserves respect and lots of care.  First lesson in my fifties: move responsibly because just one thing can affect everything else.

 

 

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Happiness is dancing salsa by yourself at the beach

I don’t know who this lady is. She walks along the Isla Verde Beach early in the morning and then she starts dancing Salsa in front of the waves for a while.  Nobody pays attention to this happy lady dancing all by herself at the beach.  There is no music, just her, the waves and her happiness.  I don’t know her name, where she works or what her situation is…but I do know what an inspiration she has been for me.

The first time I saw her was three months ago, just after Hurricane Maria and I was very depressed.  No running water or electricity at home, food was rationed, no school, diseases that haven’t been seen on the Island since last century…it was all these bad, bad things that were crashing on me.  I went to the beach to calm down and there she was.  Dancing away with all her heart without a care in the world of who was watching or what people may think of her.  I started crying as I am crying now remembering on how a complete stranger behaving so free and happy could make me feel better.  I felt better because I realised that in spite of all the bad things that may happen, you could still find joy in something so simple as dancing salsa to the rythm of the waves.

I saw her today again and almost went to her and thank her for what she is done for me…but as I watched her, so completely into her dancing, such joy, I decided not to interrupt her.  Keep dancing happy lady and may you help other with your joy as you helped me.