Enjoy this excellent guest post from our partners at RedOrbit.
You’re doing your own thing when a food craving suddenly hits. Was it from seeing an image of a cupcake or that can of sugary soda you just finished? University of Southern California (USC) researchers presented study findings this week at the Endocrine Society’s yearly meeting showing how the…
To school, I wore a shiny red sweat suit with white stripes running down the arms and legs. Back in the day, it was the raging style. In that boisterous outfit when the lunch bell rang, I darted off to the gym, where I would bust some “fresh” break dance moves.
I could robot well, I could crab crawl, and I could even do front flips. But there was one move that I could never master. It was called the windmill. The break dancers of today still twirl it out because it’s a lovely move. The legs scissor overhead, then they swing down, and when the movement is perfect, they are shifted towards heaven so that the downward motion is transformed into a surging magical levitation, the torso pops a rotation and the cycle repeats. The magical surging levitation was the crucial part of the Windmill that I could never get right. Instead of gracefully swinging overhead, rolling down, then floating up, my knees would just bang on the hardwood floor.
Maybe it was the memory of the thrill of learning to ride a unicycle at age 35 or maybe it was the retro bubble letters I saw on a Web page, but
I had this desperate urge to conquer the dang Windmill.
First stop: YouTube. Break-dance instruction video, check. Makeshift amazon cardboard dance floor on the living room carpet: check. Silly 80s break-dance music: Doug E. Fresh on Spotify: check. Determination to succeed: double-check.
Maybe my mind had never stopped working the mystical timing problem with the windmill break-dance move. But something had changed. The decades of accumulated wisdom all kicked into action, for as soon as I attempted the move, success embraced me with her loving arms and my legs whipped around at just the right time without banging the ground and I, Mister Middle Aged Barefoot Runner, was doing the windmill like a feral teenager full of joy and hope! It was like that day my parents picked us from the last day of school and took us to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and my dad made us yellow painted skim-boards in the shape of rockets and we slide on top of the thin sheet of cool ocean water at high speeds and flipped into the oncoming foamy waves and the sun was out and everyone was happy and it all smelled like sweet Mr. Zoggs coconut surf wax. That thrill filled me as I busted out some delicious break-dance in my living room. Suddenly I was remembering moves I thought time had eaten; I was doing the bronco, back-spins, snap-twists, and of course, the freaking windmill. Someone should have filmed it; it was so beautiful and I was sweaty and barefoot at the end, but there was a smile tattooed on my face the rest of night and I slept well and dreamed of apples.
The next day, my triumphant re-entry into the fabulous world of 80s break dance turned into a dull pain on my side an inch or so from my heart. It got worse as the day rolled on. The following day, I suspected a cracked or bruised a rib or maybe the popping of delicate internal organs; deep breathing hurt as did moving my torso in any direction, but I didn’t care. I conquered the dang Windmill and it was worth it.
HIT PLAY TO HEAR THE EPIC BREAK-DANCE SONG.
The term "natural" is applied to many foods, but does not have a consistent meaning. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Weird Bonus Food you Probably didn’t cosider:
I’m writing a post about electrolyte imbalance/post run nasties. I suffered from a mild case after a 9 mile run a few weeks ago. I was NOT dehydrated. I had plenty of water. I lost something else. Luckily, I discovered an easy fix.
Join a cult, save your sole, run bare
I was in a cult for over a year. It wasn’t that bad.
Save your Sole Run Barefoot
It’s been over a year since I tossed my Nike’s in the trash. Since then I have been running either in thin Tarhumara sandals or straight barefoot.
Last summer was a disaster. I didn’t run much because I battled lower leg injuries: Achilles tendinitis, a torn calf, and wicked bruises on the ball of my foot. All of the injuries resulted from over striding and doing too much too soon.
Now that I have overcome the difficulties I am having the summer I was hoping to have last summer. I’m back up to my previous mileage. And I’m loving my runs.
Here are three miraculous benefits I enjoy from running without shoes:
Lose weight watching television
Couch potatoes lose a prime time opportunity to burn fat and calories when they gawk at small screen shows such as True Blood, Game of Thrones, and Glee. But the boob tube doesn’t have to be a complete time waster. With some creativity, anyone can transform the electronic beast into a spectacular private personal trainer. It’s easy to lose weight watching your favorite shows.
Here are five ways to get fit and healthy watching television!
Hello, world. This site is now owned by Valen Arts, LLC. Same great content, same wierdo blogger, but a huge shift in legal status.
We hooked up with LinkShare, which means our site will feature contextual links. I don’t control these links, LinkShare does. Any link with an underscore is a contextual link. The rest are links I’ve personally placed in posts. I hate contextual links, but the owner of Valen Arts, LLC loves them; so, I gotta put up with them for now. If you don’t like them, do let me know. Perhaps, we can convince the owner to omit them.
May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you live with ease.
–Valen Longfeather
