One of my summer "resolutions" this year was to take better care of myself. After the accidents and the injuries, the roller coaster of depression and anxiety, I thought about flying safety basics 101 which says that if there is ever an emergency, I'm supposed to put an oxygen mask over my own face before helping others, even my family and kids. This is because if I fall over, there will BE no one to help my family and kids, let alone slap the mask on my face and smack me upside the head. Therefore, when I'm not writing, I'm training.
I have been going to workout classes nearly every day (six days a week, including karate classes) and then staying for an extra 45 minutes to an hour to do weights or core conditioning. I've lost 17 lbs so far but the numbers don't matter as much as I *feel* better and clothes fit better and I have more energy than I did lying broken on a couch. (Go fig!)
Still, the "workout culture" isn't one that I enjoy, especially how it's geared to women. As a body image and self-esteem educator, I'm highly aware of the crazy images and expectations as well as biases and tiny killjoys that happen in the gym. It's something I balance as one of the costs to getting where I need to be right now, but underscores just how awesome it is to be part of a dojo rather than a gym. But I digress. The point of this is that some of the women's classes reminded me of this video by a French animation team directed by Bertrand Avril, Pierre Chomarat, David Dangin & Thea Matland. It's silly and brightly-colored with delicate "ahhs" and giggles that give it the feminine "ooh la la" vibe while simultaneously poking fun at the entire weight loss industry because, let's face it, the guy still loves his girl no matter what. Go positive body image!
Enjoy your weekend!
