Category Archives: Health

Flow Onward, My Friends.

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Miffy, London, January 2026

2026, Day 4.

Howzit so far, friends? What do you see, hear, feel, think? Any anticipations and/or dreads?

It’s all a big jumble for me at the moment. Ambivalence, paradox, transition, uncertainty, determination, commitment, divergence, deep gratitude, high potential, and so much connection I can barely comprehend. A bit mindbending.

So I practice being with it. It just is, and I get to make my own meaning from it. Daughter and I agreed today, walking around Mayfair, that grounding in gratitude makes life better. I think I improve each year in this practice. I feel anger less often and less intensely now than ever despite the state of the world, remarkably–that’s a win. It’s not because I care less; rather I’m learning to spend my time, energy, and resources more mindfully and intentionally. Anxiety, frustration, and profanity still overtake my consciousness sometimes–how can they not? I still have much work to accept it all for myself and others–to witness and hold space for us all in our undulating distress.

Looking back at the 2025 book list, I wonder how I can structure my consumption to better balance the unfinished titles with new ones? I’m what they call a mood reader(listener), I think… Maybe in 2026 I’ll include start and finish dates and see what patterns emerge; that could be a fun and enlightening experiment!

What could I consider a resolution this year? Book work wobbled in 2025; 2026 could see a transition to solid output in that and other writing, while I maintain this blog well into year eleven. I have a plan for Lunar New Year greetings that makes me smile–yet another project that could distract from Book, uh-oh. Maybe the Opal app will help? Son recommended it; I have successfully mitigated social media on my phone for 8 hours per work day and a few hours on the weekend. Here’s hoping I can rewire my reward centers a bit in 2026! Meanwhile, the need to further moderate calories continues to persist and progress–menopause allostasis, friends, I’ got this–I can adapt ad hoc, ad infinitum. Because that is the way of nature, and I am part of nature.

Wrote some jar smiles for a friend last night that felt good:

2026: Hope. Love. Peace. Connection. Meaning. Wisdom. Empathy. Forebearance. Perseverance. Just as always! Because we are us. We. Are. Love.

How have you grown and changed this past year? How might we become even better versions of ourselves in the year to come? Onward in openness, love!

OH the things we thought so innocently in youth! May our wisdom not kill our innocence, though–rather just make it smarter–more effective!

We must accept things as they are before we can effectively change them. Seems paradoxical and counter-intuitive, no? Takes me a bit to wrap my brain around, still, and when I do, my world opens!

Every day is just another day and also a brand new amazing gift of a day! We can be in it fully at peace and also attack it with force–both and all aspects of our nature, of nature itself. I wrote recently to a friend: “One more thing about change: It’s nature, and I love that.  It teaches me to be humble about what I think I know, to always expect that there is both more simplicity and more complexity than I currently understand.  Nature is the quintessentially elegant and efficient system of systems—no wasted energy or resources.  We humans are part of nature, and when we deny or defy it, we get positively smote!  *laugh-sigh* So awesome.”

Maybe in 2026 I can flow. Flow more–more smoothly, more easily, more widely, openly, lovingly, and authentically. Shall I create a playlist, incidental and intentional, to uphold and reinforce such an ethos for this, the Year of the Fire Horse? What posture and movement corresponds to this mindset? What does health in the five domains (Sleep, Exercise, Nutrition, Stress management, Relationships) look, sound, and feel like in Flow? Ooo, let’s try it and see!

How does 2026 feel for you? What will you lean into?
My best wishes for all of it and all of you, my friends.

Love Notes for Fitness

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I am *almost* there with the pistol squats, baby! I can now get down to and up from an upright yoga brick on my right leg, with the left foot off the floor for 3.5 reps. The left knee is still bent at 90 degrees. So in the coming year, I bet I can get to full hip and knee flexion on the standing leg, and full knee extension on the ‘pistol’ leg. It’s a goal, woohoooo! I feel no pressure, only aspiration and fun.

Setting joyful, pressure-free, functional, and achievable yet challenging goals gives us self-efficacy. Achievement despite struggle in one domain gives us confidence in other aspects of life. We stand a little taller, speak a little firmer, and walk with a little more runway vibe. We own our agency. We get strong and confident, which makes us harder to threaten. We know we have power to, so we feel less need to exert power over. It’s a win all around.

Let’s get fit, yes?

  1. May you move your body in joy and strength, in peace and community. We are built to move and do together!

2. Moving the body trains the mind which helps sleep which rest(s) both body and mind. Fitness in one domain positively impacts fitness in others. Any action counts.

3. Michael Jordan I am not. But I can follow his example of dedication, discipline, and excellence. Fitness transcends athletics.

4. Fitness applies to more than the physical. Where could we be more fit in life? What do we need to get better? Wishing us the support that helps!

5. Move with others at least sometimes. We are meant to go together, encouraging each other all along the way in life!

6. May your fitness routine bring not only cardio, core, and muscle strength, but a sense of unassailable accomplishment and confidence!

7. “All or something,” The Betty Rocker says. I wholeheartedly agree. Even one breath can make a world of difference. It all counts. Now go get it!

8. Hey in case you need encouragement: Dancing counts! So shake that booty. Joyful movement is awesome exercise.

9. Attack this workout! You’ got this! We can do haaard things! Then we go to the bakery and get treats.

10. That soreness after a great workout – evidence of work completed, tissue growth and strengthening. Bravo/a! Keep going!

11. The five attributes of physical, psychological, relational, and organizational fitness: Stable, Strong, Flexible, Agile, and Resilient.

12. When we feel fit, we treat ourselves and each other better. Invest in and protect your self-care — for all our sakes!

Oh and if anyone is interested, here is my workout playlist! Until tomorrow, friends.

No Longer Stupid, Not Yet Infirm: Make Every Pull Count

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Reflections on turning 52, yay!

I’ gotta say, I kinda killed it at the gym yesterday. It’s because Jacob was coaching, and because it was the third week of the block and I had avoided death the prior two Saturdays–that does wonders for confidence! Band rotations, bike, rope waves (I hate ropes), butterfly sit ups, mountain climbers, rower and SkiErg–woohooooo!

Remember when I wrote about how much I love driving curvy roads in the mountains? It’s the challenge of hugging that perfect tangent, timing the brake and acceleration just right–such a thrill! I feel the same way about rowing and skiing at the gym. Every pull on the machine is a chance to train that movement just a little better. What proportion of rowing power comes from hip and knee extension versus lat pull? When during the stroke is best to extend the back, if at all? How much hinge and knee flexion is optimal on that ski? If I practice this well and I ever get on The Price Is Right, will I have an advantage spinning that big wheel? We train functional movements, after all!

It’s a practice in presence. When I focus on each pull of the rower or SkiErg, I’m almost one with the machine, flowing in real time, in fluid motion. It borders on meditative, honestly. Each pull, each session feels a little more fluid, a little more powerful, efficient, and rewarding. Where else can I apply this mindset? On the slackboard. For two months now I have set the goal of spending five minutes each work day balancing on a two inch wide nylon strap that spans the length of a skateboard-shaped wooden plank. I’m already good on both long and round boards and a Bosu, but this is a whole new challenge. The asymmetry between left and right, which I sense only somewhat doing single leg movements in the gym, amplifies exponentially on the slack line. But in fifteen minutes or less per week, in eight weeks, I have made noticeable improvements in both physical balance and mental focus.

What fantastic opportunities, these training modalities, to continue growing body, mind, and spirit at this age! My nest is about to empty. I have things yet to do and plenty of runway still to do them, if I attend to what matters:

5 Domains: Sleep, Exercise, Nutrition, Stress Management, and Relationships.
3 Fundamental Skills: Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation, and Effective Communication.
5 Attributes of physical, mental, emotional, and relational fitness: Stable, Strong, Flexible, Agile, and Resilient.

Life is crazy fun when we keep learning and growing, making new friends, finding love and connection around every corner.

Love multiplies when offered, received, reflected, and amplified. I experience it every day and never take it for granted. There are also areas where I could love better; every day is another chance to practice that, too.

Who knows how long we each have on this earth, really? Regardless, I still think of every life as having infinite possibilities–HA! I wrote that post on my birthday three years ago! We just never know what encounters will change our lives for the better, set us on a path of even deeper, brighter, tighter, and more inclusive love. Even through pain and struggle, there can always be light on the other side.

No longer stupid, yes… Maybe for a decade or so now?
Not yet infirm, RAH! Not for many more years, if I can help it!

Make every pull, every encounter, every relationship, every expression, every breath count, my friends!

Bring What Ya Got. Wow, I wrote that one over ten years ago. I got the advice in 1987, and it’s just as relevant for me at 52 as it was at 14, maybe even more so, as what I’ ‘got’ right now is definitely not what I had then! OH that makes me laugh in so many different ways, it’s just too good.

Daughter and I hit the road tomorrow, friends. I’ gotta pack! I have an idea what I may write here next week, and it could all change multiple times between now and then–life! Onward in love, light, peace, and snacks!