mermaidcamp
Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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Schedule Success
March 30, 2015
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sunrise on the Rillito
Today I am preparing for the verbal marathon of #NaPoWriMo, during which I will produce 30 poems in 30 days. April in Arizona is a very rapidly changing display of flower to fruit to summer heat. We have hit 90 already and are staying just below that 90 degree mark for our high temperatures this week. Wild flowers and cactus blossoms are liberally painting the desert with saturated colors. Nights are cool, with a drastic differences between the low and high temperatures. Our climate is one of extremes, and we seem to be drifting into ever more unpredictable weather and endless drought. By May the heat will keep many folks inside for most of the day. April, however, is the perfect time to enjoy the outdoors and appreciate nature. My preparation to become a poet has fostered a schedule change in my routine. I started going to the gym as soon as I awake in order to log my exercise and clear the slate for the middle of the day. Much to my delight my gym is not yet very crowded at 6:30 in the morning. I hit the weight room, take a walk along the river, then linger in the steam room as long as I can. The accomplishment feels good, but the steamed clean body is also a wonderful benefit. I leave feeling uplifted and energetic. I had such a great time today I am sure it will be easy to implement this new routine for April, and maybe for the entire summer.
I have been gathering my strength as well as my supplies for this challenge. I have a few notes, some art I have been preparing, and a notebook for freehand writing. I normally do all my composing on a laptop or iPad, but all the poets say longhand unlocks a certain part of the brain not accessed on a keyboard. I am interested in illustrating my own poems, so I will jump back and forth from paper to digital formats in creating the visuals. Anything goes. I am not educated in all the themes and forms that poetry takes. I always end up in iambic pentameter if I make up a rhyming ditty out loud (limerick style). On paper it is fun to write in different colors, applying doodles, notes, mind mapping, or any device that fills and shapes the page. My goal is to stretch creatively in both my written and visual material. I am looking forward to reading the other participants poems because I know from past years that is where the real inspiration occurs.
I am also setting up my sewing machine on my office desk for daily use. I believe that creativity runs in streaks, and to capture it all, one must work in different mediums. I have a stash of beautiful fabric; and who doesn’t like to have new wardrobe options that nobody else has? The tactile, somewhat mathematical activity of sewing a garment is a good balance to word craft. I plan to make clothing suitable for wear at poetry readings and gallery openings, in other words, unusual. I am seeing this challenge as I might perceive a duck that looks and quacks like a duck. If I look and act like a poet, I am on my way:
- I will be in nature for the sunrise because that is what I think poets should do.
- I will conclude my active work out early in the day to make plenty of uninterrupted time for art and poetry.
- I commit to sewing some new garments designed to tell the world that I am a poet (or at least an eccentric).
- I will mingle daily with my fellow poets who are sharing this month with me
- I hope to turn on some of my gentle readers to my fellow poets and their work
Following the hashtag #NaPoWriMo will take you to the source. I wish you pleasure, perception, and connection during this special month. Enjoy!!!
NaPoWriMo 2015
spring green
Floatli for All Seasons
September 1, 2014
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I like to work out in both the warm and cool water in the morning. If I go early the pool is in the shade, which my skin requires for happy water dancing. The warm jacuzzi is perfect with the steps and handle for my long stretches and yoga postures. The ladder in the deep end of the big pool provides similar advantages. Not featured in the video here is the full set of steps with a handrail in the sallow end. There are endless stretches and sun salutation variations that can be done when you have steps. Each pool has its advantages. Some pools and bodies of water have dangerous safety issues to consider. A water movement routine can take advantage of all depths of water and all architectural features that are safely installed. In nature you can use the tide or the current to your advantage if you are careful and have a clear understanding.
I am very lucky to have such a warm climate and pools that suit my purposes right at home. In the winter our community pool is not heated, but the large jacuzzi is, so I can still enjoy a stretchy warm water work out at all times of the year. My body is used to this kind of large movement in water and starts to miss it if I am away for very long. The only places I like better than my own pools at home are hot springs pools. My idea of pure bliss is to Floatli for hours in a mineral hot spring with a nice view. Glenwood Springs, Colorado comes to mind. I also love Desert Hot Springs, California. Euro hot springs resorts are the bomb. Where do you like to go in the water, Gentle Reader? Do you have a pool, beach or lake near your home? How do you like to enjoy the water?
Recovery in the Deep End
August 9, 2014
— 10 Comments
When I go to the pool to play I follow no set of exercises. I generally go to the deep end and do a lot of twisting and large movements. To Floatli is to find balance and then play your way to fitness and sporty fun. Right now I have injured my foot by walking too much on holiday. It only hurts when I put weight on it, so the deep end is the place for me. I can still enjoy full range of motion (and beyond what gravity will allow) while keeping that tired tendon in my foot from overworking while it heals. I was getting kind of cranky on the last few days of my vacation when my aching feet slowed down my pace and I was away from my pool that I love so much. Water is both healing and soothing. The deep end of the pool is a lot like the deep end of life. It is best to know when you can handle depth, and when it is a good idea to stay in the shallow end of things. I am happy and lucky to have my own private deep end to use as I see fit. It keeps my mood up while I recover full use of my footsies. Gravity is fine, but has limits, especially if we are injured. What do you like to do when your body needs to heal?
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