Resourcing the Revolution

self care

You Are A Unicorn (So Start Moving Like One)

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If you’re like the majority of people alive on this planet today, you know that you should be incorporating some kind of physical activity into your day to get (and stay) healthy. But it’s hard.

And the sheer number of choices when you’re deciding what kind of exercise? That’s just plain overwhelming.

Crossfit. Yoga. Cycling. Swimming. Strength training. Running. Agility training. Etcetera(s), almost without end.

And if you narrow it down to a single one of those, you run into even more questions.

Should you run, or jog? Should your yoga be hot and sweaty (Bikram style), power vinyasa style, or something a little more laid back? How often should you exercise? And, should you alternate types — say, strength training on Tuesdays and Thursdays, alternating with cardio? But then do you take a rest day?

And no matter which way you turn, there’s someone shouting from the rooftops that their exercise program is the best. If you’re not doing Crossfit, you’re not one of the cool kids. Everyone should be doing lots of yoga. Swimming is the best because it’s low impact on your joints…

The list goes on and on.

There’s a reason that there’s a kinesiology major in college… you can make an entire career out of figuring out what kind of exercise is best for any given person.

So it’s understandable that sometimes just the act of trying to decide what to do can cause you to say “eff it. I don’t have time to figure this out.”

But really, it boils down to one thing.

Life should be fun — exercise should be the same

Mark Sisson believes that “the single best exercise there is, hands down, is the one you’ll do.”

If you don’t enjoy the type of exercise that you think you should be doing, it’s awfully hard to get motivated to do it.

You’ve probably figured out by now that this series is all about embracing your fierce, awesome, and totally unique inner unicorn.

Last week, it was nutrition. This week, we’re moving on to how you move your body, and the guidance is going to sound really similar.

Lots of choices is a good thing

Maybe you’ve never actually been to a yoga class. Try one out (or several, with different teachers and different styles) and see if you like it. If not, try the next thing.

  • Swim some laps.
  • Ride your bike around town instead of driving.
  • Take your dog for a walk.
  • Try a Crossfit class.
  • Work in your garden.
  • Go kayaking with some friends.

The list of possibilities is huge — so instead of getting overwhelmed by all of the choices, take a minute to write down a few types of exercise that sound fun, and then give them a try.

If something doesn’t feel like a good fit after a couple of sessions, drop it from the list.

And for anything that you really enjoy, make time in your schedule to keep doing it!

Listen to your body, and stay safe

As you’re exploring all of the amazing ways that your body can move, it’s important to listen to what it’s telling you.

Yes, any new exercise routine is going to potentially be a little bit uncomfortable as you’re getting started. But you should never experience severe pain from exercising.

You’re not an Olympic athlete, and your career isn’t riding on being in super-human shape, so don’t push yourself past your limits. Explore the edges, but don’t push too far — there’s always tomorrow, to see if you can go a little further.

Pain is not “weakness leaving the body”. It’s your body, telling you that you’re doing something it really doesn’t like.

Unlike the fight or flight response (which doesn’t really do us a whole lot of good in our modern world that’s free of saber-tooth tigers and high likelihood of sudden death), our pain response is one biological mechanism that we should be thankful for.

Ease into new types of exercise. Start with beginner classes. Take your time, and ask the instructor questions if you’re not sure about something (teachers and trainers really don’t mind when people come up after class with questions).

Similar to listening to how your body feels when you eat something, take a listen to how you feel while you’re working out, after you finish up, and into the next day or two.

Once you get past the initial discomfort or soreness of any new exercise, you should feel (mostly) great after a good session.

Consistency is key

Like most things in life, keeping some kind of movement in your daily life is what makes all the difference.

You don’t have to have a regimented fitness routine to stay healthy, with every single day planned out in advance, and an iron-clad agreement in place that you must stick to under penalty of noogies.

It’s as easy as “hey, maybe I’ll go to a yoga class today” or “it’s going to be really nice at lunch — I should take a walk during my lunch break” or even “instead of sitting on the couch and watching a movie, let’s have some wild sex.”

Mix it up. Have fun.

But most importantly? Get off your ass and get moving!

Because really, if you’re already a unicorn (hint: you are), you deserve to take full advantage of your awesomeness.

With a little bit of time and some self study, you can become the best unicorn you can be. Nutrition, exercise — it’s all part of living as a happy, healthy, totally magnificent… human being.

So, what kind of exercise sounds like fun for your inner unicorn? And how can you start to incorporate it into your daily life?

You Are A Unicorn (So Start Eating Like One)

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These days, it seems like you can’t browse the web without getting bombarded by messages about what you should be eating.

You have to be vegetarian (or vegan) — the average person gets too much protein; meat is destroying the planet; think of the animals!

You have to be paleo — it’s what our ancestors ate; it’s the best biological choice; vegans are dumb.

You have to eat raw… or slow carb… or Mediterranean… or Atkins… or McDougalls… or do juice cleanses…

Or, you should eat nothing but air, and compost your pocket lint.

Sigh.

A quick spin through the “comprehensive” list of diets on good ‘ole Wikipedia includes just under 100 different branded diets.

And while these diets might be a good place to start for those who are trying to figure out what they should (and shouldn’t) be eating, trying to bend yourself to someone else’s definition of diet is just plain unnecessary.

Seriously… You Are a Freakin’ Unicorn

Remember the post from a couple of weeks back, about how you are a complex, unique beast?

After reading that post, you might be wondering: what’s a unicorn supposed to eat?

One of the most important things to do when figuring out your own nutritional plan is to listen.

Listen to your body — pay attention to how your stomach feels after you eat something, how quickly you get hungry again, how you feel the next day. Are you sleeping well? Is your skin dry, or too oily? Are you really cranky some days, or feel like you can’t get through the afternoon without coffee on others?

You’ll probably also want to play around with how often you eat, and at what times. There are lots of variables to work with, and lots of potential areas for change and improvement.

But every experiment needs a control group, right?

Start With a Baseline

You don’t have to go so far as doing an elimination diet, but it’s good to start with some kind of healthy baseline.

I personally like Michael Pollan’s advice:

Eat food.
Not too much.
Mostly plants.”

In the article, he also cautions us that, “if you’re concerned about your health, you should probably avoid food products that make health claims. Why? Because a health claim on a food product is a good indication that it’s not really food, and food is what you want to eat.”

It may take some time to find the baseline that works for you, and your nutritional needs will shift and evolve with time, so be gentle on yourself while you’re figuring it out.

Know Where Your Food Comes From

As well as Pollan’s advice on the types of food to eat, there are a few other considerations that you can mix into the equation.

I personally like to know where my food comes from.

If I’m eating something that comes from an animal, I want to know that the animal had a good life. We humans share this planet with all of the other life forms, and as much as possible, I really do believe that we should take them into consideration as we make our decisions.

Eat local. This helps with the preference above. I know a lot of the farmers who raise the food we eat, because I see them every week at the farmers market. Having a human connection to the food and farms just feels better. Go hug a farmer. Seriously.

Eat organic, or low spray. If you can’t eat local, or there are things that you can do to minimize your exposure to the toxic chemicals that come along for the ride on conventional produce. Eat cleaner, and your body has less crap that it needs to process and get rid of.

Or, even better: grow your own! You don’t have to have a giant piece of property to have a garden. In fact, if you have a sunny balcony in your apartment, you can container garden and grow at least a little bit of the food you eat. I don’t know about you, but digging around in the dirt and then watching things sprout and grow is some of the best stress relief out there.

Your Skin Eats, Too

Did you know that your skin is your body’s largest (and fastest growing) organ?

And, much like our stomachs, our skin processes all the things that we put on it. When you put lotion on your hands, whatever ingredients are in that lotion get absorbed into the skin, and then into the body.

Have you read the ingredient label on your lotion, body wash, or any of your body care products?

My general rule of thumb is that I need to be able to pronounce the ingredients (or at least recognize and be comfortable with the source of the ingredient) — and I have a yoga teacher who recommends only using body care products that you would feel comfortable actually eating.

Start Somewhere

It can feel like a lot when you start to delve into what diet works for you. Trust me, I’ve been through many years and lots of mental anguish around food, and it’s something that I admittedly still struggle with.

Like most changes, the easiest way to get started… is to just start.

Pick one thing. Maybe it’s eating more vegetables (honestly, I’d start there if you’re lost as to where to start). Or maybe it’s cutting out refined sugar, or cutting down on your caffeine intake. Maybe it’s making sure that you’re staying hydrated.

There’s a reason most New Years Resolutions fail — it’s because people get these big audacious ideas in their head, and decide to make massive sweeping changes. And then 2 weeks later, it gets hard or they realize they can’t actually implement everything they wanted to. And then they fall right back into old patterns.

So instead, what one small thing can you do to start working on this week, for the proper feeding of your inner unicorn?

You Are A Unicorn (So Start Living Like One)

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Let’s turn the clock back a few months, and imagine back in time for a moment.

I was winding down for the evening, letting my mind wander.

I was thinking about how well I had been doing with adapting some diet advice I’d been hearing everywhere: “eat more flax seeds. They’re high in Omega 3s, fiber, and all sorts of vitamins!”

So I did. I started putting them into our smoothies every morning. In fact, I’d been doing it for months by that point, and I was so proud of myself.

Until in my daydreaming I remembered the list I made of foods I should avoid or eliminate from my diet.

And when I checked that list I realized…

Not everything is good for everyone

It turns out that flax seed is among a number of questionable foodstuffs that may or may not cause issues for me.

(Science note: there’s research showing both positive health benefits and negative impacts, as is the case with a lot of things these days. I made the decision to get my Omega 3s from something that doesn’t come with a big list of questions.)

And here I was, thinking that I was doing such a great thing by getting more of it into my diet!

The thing is, every body is very different.

We’re all made up of the same general stardust (as Joni Mitchell would say), but how we’re configured as individuals is varied and unique, and we might as well all be… well… unicorns.

So what’s a unicorn to do?

With all the differing opinions, fad diets, and exercise crazes, it’s enough to make a person a little bit crazy trying to keep up.

It seems like every day there’s a new claim.

But let’s give ourselves some context around health claims.

Remember when doctors used to recommend smoking cigarettes?!

So if you can’t really trust what anyone else is telling you, who can you trust?

The answer might surprise you.

You are your own best teacher

Listen to your gut. Your heart. Your body.

Science is starting to figure out more and more how interconnected all of our body systems are.

And let me tell you, if you can really tune in to what your whole body is telling you, you are going to get some good wisdom out of the conversation. Your body is smart!

Eat something your body doesn’t like— it will tell you.

Go too hard into a new exercise series or a whole new type of exercise— it will tell you.

Make some other type of questionable decision — the list goes on and on.

You are a unicorn…

So start living like one.

Figure out what feels good for you, what makes you feel healthy, what gives you energy and makes you happy.

I’ll be back later this month with 2 more posts in this series, digging into both nutrition and exercise.

But in the meantime, start listening to what your body has to say.

Take whatever popular fad is going around with a grain of salt, and tune in to your innate wisdom.

Your body will be glad you did!

 

(Read more in this series: Eat like a unicorn. Move like a unicorn. Sleep like a unicorn.)

A Welcome Back, and Where I’ve Been

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Two years ago, Rebel Yogi first saw the light of day — what started as a January 2014 “lightbulb” moment took shape as a first post on March 19th and my teacher training that spring, with all the pieces falling together at what felt like lightning speed.

Yoga has always been a guiding marker in my life, a stake in the ground while the rest of the world spins wildly around it.

In the time since I wrote here last, I taught in yoga in three different states during a transition back to the east coast to be closer to family, and did my “best” to keep up with my meditation practice.

And during this time of transition, life happened, as it usually does. Finances, the day to day… and a decision.

Putting an intention out into the world, I announced that there were big changes coming to Rebel Yogi that fall. Little did I know how literally those changes were going to take shape.

I like to think that the universe has a sense of humor; while I intended to take a break from writing on the site while I made some changes, I didn’t intend for what happened next.

With the financial belt tightening to a point where I couldn’t ignore it anymore, I took a job. I don’t regret this choice, because it taught me more than I could have ever imagined, but it pulled my focus almost entirely away from anything and everything else.

There’s a balance to life, and I had let mine get all kinds of out of whack. When you’re in debt with no new funds coming through the door, there’s no possibility of balance — there’s only the stranglehold that it puts on every aspect of your life.

So with this decision, I spent the next year bringing my finances back into balance… while pretty much ignoring every other facet of my life.

Long story short, and with a fast forward to the end of last year (because really, all I was doing was sitting in front of my computer working), I reached another decision.

This time the transition was to work that (so far) seems to fit really well into the rest of my life, as well as the opportunity to finally put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and start writing again.

I’ve missed you all dearly, and have so much that I want to share with you from my time of silence — including more mistakes that you can learn from (I seem to be pretty good at making those) and some pieces of wisdom that I’ve gleaned along the way.

So sit back and relax, and let’s take a trip down “lessons learned” lane.

Nourishment is a cycle

We all know that we need to eat, to fuel our bodies and replenish our energy — same thing goes for our cars, our electronics. But do you ever think about the fact that so many pieces of our lives require a cycle of nourishment?

Not only food, but also our sleep patterns, our exercise… and even our finances.

I’ve come to realize that my time away was an opportunity to replenish my financial nourishment, which had almost dried up. Every business has to bring money in the door, so that they can continue to provide their products or services to the people they serve.

It was the same with me. I had spent too long without focusing on the inward cycle of financial nourishment, and it took some time to bring myself back from that point.

Even the “right” thing can be wrong

And yet, even though I was replenishing my finances by taking that job, I was also swinging the pendulum to the extreme opposite end of the spectrum.

Yes, now I was bringing money in the door, but at what cost? When you spend so much time working, under a heavy load of both work and stress, you’re still out of balance.

The time I spent in that high-octane environment just reminded me that at this point in my life, I need to pay far more attention to my stress levels than I was able to in that situation.

It’s easy to come back too fast

I think we all have this tendency — we think that we can accomplish far more in a short period of time than we actually can.

And when we’re starting something new, it’s easy to get really excited and try to take on ALL THE THINGS at one time.

I had spent so much of the previous year since my diagnosis being careful about how much I took on, that when I finally decided to come back, I just jumped in the deep end. I survived, but I didn’t do myself any favors in the process.

Looking back, it would have been far more beneficial to ease in a little slower, rather than my dramatic cannonball reentry!

We only have 100% to give

I was at a writing workshop with Jon Morrow last April, and one of the things that he said really stuck with me.

He was talking about how becoming the best writer you can possibly be meant that there would be some kind of sacrifice — was it going to be your relationships, your health, your job, or your hobbies?

It might feel a little extreme, but he hit on something important: we only have so many hours in a day, so much focus, so much energy. Where are you putting yours?

So many of us (myself included) think that we can sacrifice our health, without actually realizing that’s what we’re doing.

  • We sleep too little, because we don’t have time for sleep, and it’s an easy thing to sacrifice in the short term.
  • We don’t eat well, because cooking takes time that we could better spend elsewhere.
  • We don’t exercise… because? Time!

Our bodies are smarter than we are

In doing all of this, we start to cause long-term damage to our bodies. We give up something that’s really important, without noticing.

But here’s the thing:

Your body knows better than you do. And it’s generally giving you lots of signals when you’re doing things it doesn’t like.

The problem that we run into is that our society moves so fast that we don’t actually take the time to listen to what our bodies are saying. It may have to scream at you before you even notice.

That’s where having a regular exercise program and doing something every day to be mindful comes in handy — it starts to tune us in to what our bodies are telling us.

You have to give yourself permission to take it slow

In this mad dash of a society that we live in, it’s easy to get swept away in the current of “go-go-go”.

Distractions are everywhere. It’s so easy to fall into a rut and let your health be your last priority.

And time passes by so quickly that the times where you think, “oh, it will be okay. I just have to deal with this for a little while” can turn into a significant amount of time before you realize it.

It’s not an easy thing to do, but there comes a time when we have to say “enough” and give ourselves a break. Despite what society says, we don’t have to do it all. We can step away from the mad dash.

Yes, we might miss out on some things, and we’ll figure out that the world will keep spinning without us (which can be quite damaging to the ego).

But when we take the time to slow down and be in the moment, choosing our actions with intention, we have the opportunity to really start to enjoy the things we choose to experience.

So I’m back. Now what?

I’ve been doing a lot more here in Charlottesville over the past few months – teaching yoga at a local studio, doing more festival yoga – and I have some more fun events and workshops up my sleeves.

And like I mentioned in the beginning of the post, I’ve picked up a whole bunch more “wisdom via mistakes” to share with you as we continue down this path together. That means I’ll be writing regularly again on the blog. (I promise!)

If you’ve been here with me since the beginning, thanks for sticking around. And if you’re new here, welcome!

I’m so grateful to be traveling the path (again) with you.

7 Self-Care Hacks: An Insider’s Guide to Political Action

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In honor of the People’s Climate March taking place this weekend in New York City and around the globe, I want to share some tips I’ve learned in my years of being involved with large-scale political action. (A note for those of you who don’t get involved with this type of thing, you can also use these same ideas when you’re traveling to large conferences.)

Let’s face it: being involved in days of large-scale action doesn’t exactly lend itself to an environment that is beneficial or conducive to self care. In fact, it’s often exactly the opposite. Long days, most often outdoors, with a stressful lead up… that often end up with us crashing afterward. We push ourselves so hard getting to the finish line that our bodies often collapse right after, leading to sickness and general exhaustion.

But what if there was a way to alleviate some of this stress, and make our participation in days of action a little bit easier on our bodies, and a little bit more fun in the process?

That’s where I’m headed with this post today, and I hope that you can make use of some (or all) of the ideas below as you head to New York or one of the solidarity events this weekend (or the next time you’re out getting your world-changing on).

Plan Ahead!

1. Do your research. Find out how you’re getting to the event, and give yourself plenty of time to get there. Maybe even build in some extra time. When large groups of people converge on an area, there’s often traffic congestion – and that includes not only traffic on the road, but public transit and pedestrian traffic as well.

Giving yourself extra time will help to alleviate our number one issue: stress. Less stress getting to the event = a good start to the day!

When you’re making your travel plans, also make sure to do at least a little bit of research about the area you’ll be in. Take a minute to see where things like restaurants, coffee shops and grocery stores are, just in case you need to make a pit stop at some point during the day.

Along these lines, it may help to have a plan that’s just slightly off the beaten path. Have you ever tried to stop at a coffee shop where thousands of other people are converged? Sometimes walking half a mile can make the difference between standing in line for an hour; plus as an added bonus, you’ll get your body moving!

2. Dress appropriately. Check the weather forecast. Several times. Plan your clothing for the most likely possibility, and then check the weather again the night before you leave. You want to have a raincoat if it’s raining, or sunscreen and a hat if it’s going to be hot and sunny. And, you don’t want to have a whole lot of unnecessary gear to lug around – taking the minimum amount that you need is a careful balancing act, but it’s totally worth the extra planning time.

Wear comfortable shoes. Plan for how much walking you will be doing, between getting from transit to the event area, during the event itself, etc. How many hours will you be standing on your feet? This single item may very well make or break your day.

3. Be Flexible. You know that saying about the best-laid plans? Well, yeah. Having a plan is good, but being okay with that plan changing is a must in situations like this. If you’re the uber-planning type, have a backup plan, or a plan A, B and C. But again, be prepared to improvise. Again, we’re aiming for keeping the event as low stress as we can.

And, sometimes the unexpected adventure that finds you is exactly what you needed. Be open to serendipity!

Sleep

4. Get enough sleep before the event. Hopefully you’ll be able to get in solid nights of sleep in the week leading up to the event. (Organizers, I know you’re laughing uncontrollably right now, but hear me out.) I know that there are only so many hours to get a million hours worth of things done in the lead-up, but also remember how much more efficient you are when you’re not running on empty.

Getting a good night’s sleep can mean that you’re more efficient in your execution of the things you have to do – rather than running around in a fog, you can keep a sharp mind, and the hours you have can be more effectively used.

5. Sleep on the way to the event. I know, I know – it’s hard to do, especially if you’re traveling with other people who are also super excited about the event that you’re headed to. That being said, taking a couple of hours to catch some zzz’s on the bus, the train, or in the back seat of the car you’re carpooling in can be really beneficial. Even a 20 minute nap can help.

I would recommend bringing along a travel pillow – one of those that you can roll up or squish into a tiny little bundle and strap to your backpack. They’re low weight, and take up hardly any room, but they make your travel napping so much more comfortable, and probably a lot more restful. No one likes the neck stiffness that comes from falling asleep with your head against a train window.

Or, take along the Yoga Nidra recording I made for you, and do a modified session. You probably can’t find a perfectly quiet place to lay down, but you can still do a good bit of the practice during your travel time. And think how awesome it will be to arrive at your destination all relaxed and recharged!

Nutrition (Fuel for the Body)

6. Take water. Either carry a couple of water bottles with you, or maybe a single water bottle that has a built-in filter. (I don’t travel without my filter bottle.) Staying hydrated is super important to our health, and especially when we’re outside, or traveling, or a combination of the two. Yes, it probably means having to stop by a port-a-potty during the day, but those couple of minutes aren’t worth getting dehydrated over. Seriously.

7. Take snacks. I don’t know about you, but I get seriously cranky if I don’t eat. I never, ever leave home without at least a few granola bars in my backpack when I’m headed to a direct action or large event. Even if I can’t find any other food to eat during the event, I know that I have enough in my backpack to keep me going during the day.

 

How many of these things do you usually incorporate into your routine when you’re traveling to events? Do you have any tips to add?

I’d love to hear them in the comments, and I look forward to seeing you out on the streets!

Calling Bullshit: Changing the Conversation Around Worldchanging

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Last night I was tagged on Facebook by a friend, inviting me to join an environmentally focused activist group that is looking for volunteers. While I believe 100% in what they are doing, there was a line in that call to action that pissed me off. (Enough, in fact, that I pushed the post I was supposed to publish this week to make room for this topic.)

Clear your calendars and keep ’em clear. I don’t care if it’s goddamn yoga night- if you flake out our wells get poisoned.”

I get where they are coming from; wanting to make sure that people are committed to the cause is perfectly acceptable. And sadly, there is a very real tendency for people to enthusiastically overcommit to many projects and then later drop a few balls. However, it’s the way this statement is worded that really gets to me.

So I’m calling it:

BULLSHIT.

This is the root cause of so many of the problems we face as worldchangers – the expectation that we have to martyr ourselves for the causes we believe in, sacrificing ourselves for the greater good. Look, I get it. I know that the work, the cause, the fight are all important – imperative, even.

That being said, I wish to counter: the work is important but, damn it, YOU are just as important.

It’s time to change the conversation. It’s time to start standing up for ourselves and our needs as adamantly as we do for the subject or objects of our work. It’s time to cut the bullshit.

And, it’s not going to be easy. This particular mindset has become an expectation, and has almost become a cultural norm. By stepping up and declaring that you’re opting out of this mentality, you challenge the system and the status quo. You become a rebel against the rebellion.

I don’t see that as a bad thing. The revolutionaries in our world have always seen a better future, and have been willing to step forward and say “enough”. It’s time that we honor ourselves – our health, our bodies and our minds.

It’s time.

We are worldchangers and our time has come.