Introductions

[rydra_wong]

Because I thought it might be interesting to see where everyone's coming from ...

Here's a thread to say hi, and say a bit about your interest in movement/embodiment/whatchamacallit.

What movement things do you do -- or not do? Or: what did you do in the past? Or: what might you be interested in learning more about, but haven't tried yet? Or: what do you love reading about even though you'd never want to do it personally?

I suggest that people feel free to jump all over each other and ask questions if you're curious about something someone else mentions (if you'd rather not answer questions, please just say so), or want to say "me too" or compare notes.

Comments

[rydra_wong]

So: climbing climbing climbing.

Which I discovered in my mid-thirties, after decades of avoiding all "exercise" and "sports" (except yoga and walking and the odd foray into lifting heavy things) with fear and loathing since school; having the large helping of dyspraxia that often comes with autistic spectrum conditions meant school PE was nightmarish for me and helped completely alienate me from all things physical..

Also yoga and strength training (generally at home with kettlebells and bodyweight stuff), generally as an adjunct to/support for the climbing. Less walking nowadays when it's on pavements, after I developed a foot pain issue (more walking when it's on trails and grass).

Also, I'm dipping into assorted movement disciplines to try to pick up bits to enhance my climbing and co-ordination for climbing -- so, trying to learn some basic Parkour falling skills, dabbling in bits of MovNat and Ido Portal's stuff.

I like outdoor swimming in the summer, but that's mainly because I love the Serpentine Lido and immersing myself in cold water.

And having discovered (much to my extreme surprise) that my brain can learn movement skills, and some things about how I learn movement skills, I occasionally experiment in the privacy of my home with things requiring co-ordination that I'm very very bad at. So, dance, and even -- my ultimate nemesis -- trying to learn to skip. I hit myself in the back of the head with the skipping rope a lot. I have sometimes managed to skip for several consecutive twirls of the rope. But it's interesting to do it with the understanding that it actually is really fucking difficult for me, and that it's an experiment to see if I can hack the learning process.

(And also if I can, then it'll be a good way to build up calf strength and shock-absorption capacity in my ankles.)

[lunabee34]

Do you get an adrenaline rush from climbing (like being so high up or the possibility of falling?) or does something else draw you to it?

[rydra_wong]

Nope, except on the rare occasions where I'm doing something that has a genuine element of risk (in the last couple of years, I've got into trad climbing, where you place your own gear for protection and which can have significant risk if you cock up in a way that bouldering or sport climbing generally doesn't). And not always then -- I do get an adrenaline effect sometimes, but generally it's an inconvenience (the shakes are not helpful when climbing) and not enjoyable.

The draw is definitely something else -- for me, really it's the whole mind-body puzzle-solving thing that I'm hooked on.

I wrote a long post about it way back when: http://rydra-wong.dreamwidth.org/234949.html

[lunabee34]

Oh, that makes a lot of sense. I definitely do not enjoy the effects of adrenaline, and being shaky while climbing would not be a safe thing.

*follows link*