Go Outside and Play

I love gyms.  They take out a lot of the uncertainty about working out.  The handy machines tell me how fast I’m going and how steep the incline is.  The pool is measured for me.  The weights are labeled, so there is no question about how much I’m lifting.  And it never rains inside.

Life, however, does not happen in the gym.   When I scramble down a rocky path to get to the beach, I’m not taking regular steps on a smooth surface at a given rate.  Trying to avoid getting wet in puddles or in waves requires different skills, as does balancing on rocks of varying size and stability.  Then there is the backpack on my back and the heavy camera that swings crazily around my neck.

When I work with clients on balance in the studio, we sometimes recreate unstable surfaces with the BOSU or the turntable or the sea urchin (that piece of equipment may have a real name, but I don’t know what it is…).  We stand on one foot.  We practice moving sideways and diagonally and backwards.  That helps some.

But nothing helps like going out into the real world with its wind and rocks and slippery seaweed.  Sometimes we need to go outside and play.