Friday, October 12, 2012

What Does It Mean to Be A Fit Person?


One happy hiker!


Today Portland has returned to it's natural fall self. We had an amazing summer and spectacular fall, and now the rains return. The gold and green is adding touches of red. The people are hoodied and smiling. All is well.

On top of it all, I snuck in one last backpacking trip. I finally made it up to Mt. Jefferson Park! It was a wonderful journey up 3800' in 6 miles... lots of up and stunning views. The days were hot and the nights were down right cold. It was perfect for contemplating and reflecting on a topic that has been bouncing around my brain for a while now.

Mt. Jefferson: seeing the mountain through the forest.


At some point this summer, I realized that my next birthday will be my 45th. I don't really think about age that much. Time ticks by regardless and I try to enjoy the moments as they come. The realization was more about, "Wow! My life is more that 1/2 over" I don't really plan on living to see my 9th decade, or my 8th for that matter. I am fairly good with all that. I don't actually care how long I live, but more along the lines of how well I live.

In addition to the tick of the years, my body is telling me it is changing. My hormones are adjusting. Menopause is on its way, if not already here in some ways. To venture into this next phase of my life, well to be honest, I don't want to miss it. It is another kind of rites of passage that we go through as humans, much like adolescence. But to be present for this next phase requires me to be a fit human being, but what the hohos does that mean?

For me, to be fit has meant that I was capable of doing whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. I could take off and hike, bike, run, play a ball game and not have to worry about if i could do it. However, it has come to mean so much more to me than that. Fitness is a subsection of health, of being a healthy individual. But can a healthy individual be without a healthy community? Can the 2 exist independently. I say "No".

So here is what is rattling around in my body about heath and fitness. First, health has to be more than this definition found on the web:
Noun:
  1. The state of being free from illness or injury: "he was restored to health"; "a health risk".
  2. A person's mental or physical condition.
From the World Health Organization:" Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." That is closer.

But there has to be more to it, right? If you are a farmer, and you look out over the crops you are caring for, are you looking merely for plants absent of disease, or are you looking for a plant that is growing and thriving? Plants healthy enough to ward off potentially damaging diseases or insects is what we hope to grow. Plants capable of feeding us, the soil, the air....

A good example of a healthy and fit garden came to me after Katrina hit New Orleans and the levees leveled communities. I was informed by some friends of mine doing bioremediation work to restore the health of the soil so that people could grow their own food again sooner than later, that some of the already established organic gardens prior to this disaster, were still absent of the toxins that other soils had absorbed. The only way they could explain this was that the healthy soil was able to fight it off. In other words, it's immune system was functioning well.

Mountain reflections while reflecting.


Humans work the same way, in my opinion. If we have a healthy, well nourished, un-stressed, active body and immune system, we are less susceptible to disease, discomfort, and invasive diseases. I would even go as far to say not just diseases, but also ideas, propaganda, dogmas, and outside communities. We know who we are, what we stand for, and what our basic values are. This is what I really want to explore more, eventually.

But let's bring this back just a little. So my initial exploration of developing some kind of fit lifestyle, was exercise. It is where a great many of us go at first. I started a running program. I've evolved a simple basic running "program". I run barefoot barefoot, not minimalist barefoot,for 30 minutes a few times a week. But it was hard to find some kind of running for fitness program to "follow". They were all about training for some big event; 5k, 10k, marathon. And at first, I was like yeah! I want to do a 1/2 marathon. Maybe the one around Timothy Lake. Still might, just not the organized one. I also would like to put together a Hood to Coast team. So I read a bunch of books about how to set up a program. When to do all these special drills and such. And I've tossed them all out the window. Well not actually. I took them back to the library. There is one book that has captured my attention. It is Fit By Nature by John Cover. Its a 12 week (one full season) program all based on exercises you do outside. I don't think I will start it now, but there is the daily dozen that I have already started.

I did join a gym. It is The Green Microgym on Belmont. I really like it. It is small with limited equipment, but space to do simple workouts. There is no pool, sauna, or even showers. In fact you share a bathroom with the other businesses in the space. Its about staying fit. No frills.

I use to always claim that being fit, for me, was not a body image thing. That was a bunch of bull.... mostly. I didn't and don't really care much about how I look, except for one thing. I want to look like I can handle whatever "you" toss at me. I want to look like I can take it, I am strong enough to handle your shit and mine and I won't fall over. I can also handle insults, slurs, bullies... "YOU CAN NOT HURT ME CAN'T YOU SEE THAT?" That, too... bull. But I could pretend. My present physical goal is to be lean, clean, and strong.

Other topics that involve having a fit body? Diet. A good solid clean diet. For me that is vegan, unprocessed as possible. Fresh fruits and veggies. Grains, beans, legumes. The best is knowing where it came from and who grew it, made it, cared for it.... and this leads into community... for me because it leads to a connection to all the things that exist outside of my body, the shell of my being.

The care of the food I eat, and for those that are involved in it getting to me and into my body is about developing relationships that are interrelated. We can not exist with out one another. When we are able to work together, we become fit citizens capable of a fit community. 

This is NOT about a capitalistic community where we are all able to participate in a capitalistic way. Being a good citizen is not about being able hold a "job". It is NOT about the amount of money you are able to exchange. It is about participating in anyway you can. You are actively involved in caring and feeding your community. Maybe you are an artist, story teller, builder, composter, food sharer of some sort... the list could go on and on. The point is we are connected and we make our community strong and healthy, so that when those that don't want us to be independent come around, we have the ability to continue to grow and thrive. We don't succumb to soul breaking ideas of what a "good citizen" is. We know what true democracy looks like to us. We don't fall into the capitalistic ideas of the Western World that we live in. 

So this is where I am starting my ideas for how I am going to be fit for my community. I would really like to hear your ideas, perspectives, opinions.... on the subject. In January, when according to my birth certificate I turn 45, I will begin another kind of challenge: 45 to 50 - 5 years of fitness. The goal is to enter my 50s as fit as I have ever been in my life. My practice will include a flexible and functioning exercise practice, yoga, meditation, political/environmental activism (Monsanto goes down fantasy to reality), spiritual practice, and community involvement. Hopefully by then I'll have a better Idea of this process.

For real, bring your ideas, challenges and all. I think this is going to be super fun!