I Don't Exercise -- I Play

charlie

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Wow you must have a lot of copper when I jog in nature I sleep much more deeply I’ve actually tested in a sleep lab and I get into the deeper waves much faster when I jog vs lift in nature and much more rested when jog outside versus indoor treadmill
I don't jog.
 
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PeterLake

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Bunch of fat people coping in here
Lol. Way to miss the entire point of the post. My activity levels have gone up (and my body comp has returned to what it was when I was an elite collegiate high jumper) since shifting my perspective. Keep on keeping on lil fella
 

LadyRae

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Wow you must have a lot of copper when I jog in nature I sleep much more deeply I’ve actually tested in a sleep lab and I get into the deeper waves much faster when I jog vs lift in nature and much more rested when jog outside versus indoor treadmill
I'm feeling much better today. Slept great last night even though I was very active again yesterday...maybe my body just needs to get back in the swing of "more activity".
 

Nik665

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Sep 3, 2020
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I'm feeling much better today. Slept great last night even though I was very active again yesterday...maybe my body just needs to get back in the swing of "more activity".
Ah yes! Make sure to get your carbs :)
 

LadyRae

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Ah yes! Make sure to get your carbs :)
Thanks! Yes, Watermelon, pineapple, carrot salad,oysters, slow-cooked chicken hearts... Laying in the sun now with kids and baby ducks. Took a cold plunge in the kiddie pool (straight out of the trailer over here!😆 Heat wave in eastern Washington State). Feeling much better...
 

vrd2107

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I agree with this on so many levels

1. On a psychological level, all “life” or at least the parts of life we enjoy most happen in the space of play. Winnicott dedicated most of his life to exploring this in his work. He explores it in Playing and Reality essentially suggesting that when you are 100% engaged in the present moment you are in the “creative state” and you are in touch with the “self”. If you think about the times you were playing with some, a romantic partner for example, when you dance, play “fight”, or have sex— you are 100% engaged in the present moment. It’s almost impossible to ruminate, feel self conscious, or be neurotic when you are deeply engaged in the moment to moment present

2. As related to exercise… I had a similar epiphany. After hiring a personal trainer briefly last year to build functional strength, I just could not feel motivated to train for the sake of training. It got so boring. I stopped training with her … because I just kept waiting for every session to be over. I realized I needed to feel a sense of play with a partner or trainer. I began private training muay thai because I knew doing 1:1 combat would light up and engage my “play”ing self. Damn was that intuition right. I am ADDICTED to Muay Thai. I cannot stay away from a Muay Thai class. I’m upping my private sessions to 2x a week and I go to group classes too. Even the anxiety I sometimes feel about holding pads for new and different partners disappears in the moment because I experience a feeling 100% engagement in the present moment. It makes me feel so ALIVE. I also surf and this too feels so rooted in the present moment and makes me feel alive!

Muay thai also happens to be a terrific outlet for aggression and has been a way to integrate my primal instincts with my “higher mind” or consciousness. I’ve never been “addicted” to exercise and previously was always motivated to “exercise” (lift weights or work out at a gym) for purely aesthetic results. Muay Thai is a completely different experience. I am not thinking about how perfecting a body kick or elbow will make me look. I’m thinking about how effectively I am going to be able to defend myself if someone ever puts their hands on me. While it is hard it never feels like “work”. I think this is how all exercise should feel. I imagine hikers, rock climbers, surfers, and dancers also feel this way. I have a particular traumatic experience where my ex boyfriend climbed on top of me, held me down and spit on my face (this was NOT a sexual interaction it was during an argument and it terrified and humiliated me). During my childhood my dad used to be violent towards me and my sister. My reaction in both contexts was just to freeze. I can happily say if that ever happened to me again, I would not leave that type of interaction without defending myself very effectively. In this way, it has also been a psychologically healing experience.
 
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