Lisa Call

Lines #7
©2008
4" x 4" – Mounted on stretched canvas
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Exercise and Art

Sitting in front of a sewing machine for 22 hours in 2 days (like I did 2 weekends ago) is pretty taxing on a body, or at least it is on a body that is in it’s 40s. Without exercise I couldn’t pull off marathon weekends like that.

Yoga and walking are my current favored ways of moving my body and keeping my blood flowing. Walking clears my head, adds images to my idea store for future art no matter where I walk – in town or in the mountains. There’s always something to see to be inspired.

Yoga is truly magical and by far my most favorite way to exercise. Stretching, strength, mind body connection and relaxation all in one. Perfect way to prepare for a day of making art.

Daily Habit

These days I haven’t had done much of either of these. My floor is really gritty from the construction and many days there isn’t enough floor space and when the kids are home I wake them up if I do yoga early, or the construction works arrive and the saws aren’t very conducive.

So basically I just make a bunch of excuses and have fallen out of the habit of doing yoga daily. A year ago I went 3 months without missing a single day of yoga, now I’m lucky if I get in a few minutes once a week.

I’m craving the type of life where yoga is again a part of my routine. A perfect morning to me would be to get up at 5:30 for a half hour of yoga then a shower, some journaling, time in the studio, breakfast with the kids and then work (and since we’re talking about perfect that work would not be the software job – it would be the art career). Soon – yes soon.

I know it will be easy to reestablish the yoga routine the minute the builders are out the door. The walking is a bit harder. Sometimes I walk during lunch at work (my favorite is to walk to the nearest playground and swing on the swings). Sometimes I hike on the weekends. Sometimes I walk around my neighborhood and feel a huge appreciation for being able to live exactly where I want to live.

But nothing is habit and I quickly forget and then I stop. There is nothing preventing me from establishing this routine now so starting tomorrow I’m going to make it a higher priority to get out and walk at least 20 minutes, 5 days a week.

By end of february I’ll check in and see if I’ve got a habit forming. Time to add walk to my joes goals profile.

Why Exercise?

In addition to the obvious reasons – the physical ones – I find exercising to be almost vital for my mental health. I’m significantly happier if I’ve been exercising. Yoga and walking aren’t as strenuous as what I used to do but given everything else I’m interested in, it’s enough for now.

After my divorce in 2002 one of the first things I did was lose about 15-20 pounds via the divorce diet, which is really quite miraculous although I don’t recommend it, and by working out at the gym.

Then I started running, and that I believe, is what got me through all the mental stuff of the divorce and the first relationship breakup 1 year later. The negative voices ran circles around my head as I hit the pavement every morning training.

In 2003 I ran a half marathon and around the same time I found a lot of internal peace having worked out all of the crap out there on the sidewalk.

I ran for a while after that but not long, my knees objected and I didn’t have as much time as the art career had really started taking off and the need to get the voices out of my head diminished.

I would love to find the time to start running again, on a much gentler pace, as I think it’s an incredible way to keep myself in balance and happy. It’s such an excellent way to expend any negative energy on something positive.

We’ll see if that happens after the construction is over. It’s not a super high priority but I’ve got it on my list of habits to form if I can find the time.

 
What are you exercise habits? How do you think they affect your art?

Lines #7

Today I finally rephotographed Lines #7 with my better lens. It’s just amazing to me how different the color quality is between the 2. I suppose this might be obvious to a photographer but I’ve got 0 training in that area.

A big thank you to those of you that bought art today as a great investment since my prices are going up on February 1st. I think I have the best blog readers in the world.

I think the question I receive most frequently is "where do you get all of your energy?" The last person to ask me this was Susan via twitter. I promised her I’d write a blog post on the topic and when I sat down to write it got really long so I’m breaking into multiple parts.

Food & Exercise

I think physical health is very important. When I feel tired or sick or physically not up to par it’s very hard to be motivated and have energy. So I take good care of myself. I have an extremely healthy diet, I exercise a bit and I have body work done on occasion (such as acupuncture or massage).

I don’t drink caffeine, I don’t eat much sugar, I don’t eat much white flour, I don’t eat meat except fish and I drink very little alcohol or soda. I eat super healthy for the most part, not just because I know I will feel better, but also because this is what comes naturally to me, I like simple nourishing food and have been doing it for 23 years.

I never feel like I’m depriving myself, so when I want to I’ll go on a cupcake eating binge. Or fritos. Or have a couple beers. Everything in moderation is fine but I find if I eat like this for an extended period of time I don’t feel great and naturally gravitate back to healthier simple food.

I don’t exercise as much as I might like but am managing yoga 3 or 4 times a week and some walking, my goal is 3-5 miles a week at a minimum. I’m not in the awesome shape I was in 5 years ago when I ran a half marathon and hike several 14ers but I still feel good.

My favorite form of exercise is to walk over to a playground at lunchtime and swing until my head clears. Usually it’s full of to-do lists and I don’t need that in my brain all the time. Probably the best way to spend 45 minutes while at work and it’s about 1.5 mile round trip.

OC#9 ©2007 David Castle 12"x12"

Self Care

Lately I have been practicing abundant self care. I believe this is an important element to holding intent. Self love and self care are super important pieces to living the life I want. When I set an intent or a goal I find it easier to hold that intent or complete that goal if I am at peace with myself.

Here are some things I’ve done in the last month as part of my self care:

• Start acupuncture. I’ve thought out this many times but I wasn’t on first name terms with needles so I was never willing to take the leap. Then Alyson Stanfield posted a referral for an acupuncturist and I took this as a sign it was time to become buddies with the needles. I had my second treatment today with Renae Einspahr and I’m hooked. Good thing my insurance pays for this cause I can see it a frequent element of my self care.
• Buy art I love. I’ve always wanted to purchase some of David Castle’s art and now the piece above is part of my collection. I love his work. You can read about how he makes these amazing water media pieces on his blog.
• Drinking plenty of water is something I have to work at, it doesn’t come naturally for me yet. I’m working on adding this to my daily ritual as I feel tons better when I’m well hydrated.
• I decided to celebrate my sense of well being today by buying myself a big box of my favorite chocolates. Yum. Why wait for someone else to pamper me when I can pamper myself. Expecting someone else to treat me better than I treat myself is a recipe for unhappiness.
• It doesn’t matter what I’m doing or what the weather is like, I always feel happier if I’ve been outside for a while. I would like to fit a walk into my life every day and I’m working up to that goal. Last friday the sun had the first hint of heat in it peaking through the bite of the cold wind and on saturday it was down right warm. It felt incredible.
• My cats are really missing my kids. [they are in Europe with their father for 3 months. Two down, 1 more to go. The cats aren't the only ones missing them.] I’m spending much more time each day sitting and petting my cats. They are so excited to have me SIT DOWN. They have an internal radar for this activity and come running. "ohmygawd – she’s sat down and it’s not in front of the computer or sewing machine – quick jump in her lap!". Not only do the cats love it but slowing down like this has brought a lot of inner peace for me.

 
How do you practice self care?

Related Posts

Transitioning and Intent
Holding Intent – Part I [Realistic Goals]
Holding Intent – Part II [Excuses]
Holding Intent – Part III [Focus]
Holding Intent – Part IV [Enough Time]

 
[I said I'd talk about fear this time but I didn't want to go there tonight as the acupuncture and chocolate have lulled me into peacefulness. Next time.]