Campaigning

No, not that kind. Not the Republicans and the Democrats kind. Frankly, I'm not politically inclined at all, and could not care less. It just seems so beyond my reach, if you know what I mean. That, and it feels so fixed and phony. Somebody, somewhere has money, power and influence. I believe that will trump any passion I may have almost every time. Oh sure, I may win the small battle here or there. I may get a bone tossed my way on a rare occasion, but eventually, the coin will land face up where the power brokers are concerned.

Or, maybe that's just all a big fat excuse. Anyway, it's not what I'm referring to in the title.

I am referring to this!

I am referring to health and fitness, and the fact that I attended my very first pilates class today, private, of course. I'm referring to arthritis and my desire to conquer it fight it postpone it live in greater comfort despite the fact that I have it. I will not give in gracefully to this process called aging. I will go down fighting, kicking and squeezing my glutes. At least that's what I did today.

I am campaigning against the aging process, and all the aching pains that go along with it. I feel like I'm starting to curl up like a fallen leaf, and I'm none too happy about it. It hurts! And people keep asking me why I'm limping. Am I limping? Maybe I should make some changes. Maybe I should shake up and streamline my routines. Maybe I should commit to creating good habits.

Drum roll please...the Reformer!

Brandy, my pilates instructor, has blue hair, and I'm talking Marge Simpson here. Does that matter in regards to her ability to show me the ropes as it were? Not even a little bit. She was great. She made me lie down on a styrofoam roll resembling the cotton roll your dentist uses to stop bleeding...only bigger. Apparently my spine is twisted like a corkscrew, however, because she kept telling me to lower this, tilt that, expand, compress and engage. I felt like pelletized feed going through the extruder.

I cannot do this

Just laying on the giant Tootsie Roll was difficult. It was not soft. I did manage to stay on long enough to get through the stretching, but looking back, I'm wondering why we couldn't have done that on the mat? I guess it has something to do with balance, which did take a bit of muscle. Tone the core you say? OK...onto the Reformer.

I did not feel the way this woman looks

The Reformer is a bench that slides using weights and pulleys to create resistance. There seems to be an infinite variety of ways to work muscle on this thing, and I only scratched the surface. What I experienced beyond that was some incredible stretching. Just what I was after, and it felt really good. In fact, once I got past being seen in workout wear by another human, the entire experience was wonderful. It's been a while for the workout wear, and I always worry that I'm wearing something stupid for the situation. I don't why I do that, but I always have. Brandy didn't care. Why should I?

So, step 2 in my plan to anti-age is underway. Step 1 being my bicycle, which I'm  riding 3 or 4 days a week. Hmmm...what next? Yoga? Definitely! How about a good, healthy cleanse? That information might be better suited for Twitter, but I think yes, and on a regular basis. I considered a colonic irrigation, but my friend, Jan the chemist, said that was voo doo, so I'm tabling it for now.

My women's blogging group, BlogHer, has a great post about looking your best. I encourage you to give it a read! May as well leave a comment while you're there. We love that stuff!

Please visit the Life Well Lived Sweepstakes starting on January 26^th  and enter for a chance to win a Kindle Fire and a $50 Amazon Gift Card. What could be better on a cold winter's day than an instant book on a free Kindle? Hmmm? Well, maybe a nice romp with a guy who looks a lot like Bradley Cooper, but that's not likely in the cards now is it?  CLICK HERE to enter the sweepstakes...but NOT until January 26th!

See you on the campaign trail!