The Crone Zone
Exercising is nourishing and necessary for the body. It is the same, as reading a book to expand the mind, or having a good belly laugh with friends to satisfy emotional well being, or meditating to quieten and uplift the soul. This is no more apparent than in the time of the crone (except, perhaps for children in regards to their development).
Many people look to their life at this time of year and commit to making changes that will increase their health and longevity. They tend to take a whole organism approach, looking at diet and exercise. But as we all know these two things take a lot of willpower, dedication, and change to routine, and as such, the good intentions rarely last.
We believe a reason for this is that they are looked at in isolation. That is, the benefits are narrowly considered. Health and longevity. The question of what one is going to do with all this health and longevity is not often in the equation of diet and exercise. So, we suggest that we look at it now, but not as the end product, but as the journey. We would also like to suggest that you commit to one of these intentions only. It is much easier changing one aspect of your life, especially if it is a major change, than trying to change everything, and believe us when we tell you that changing your diet and your exercise regime will change everything.
You will be able to tell from the heading of this memorandum what ‘one aspect’ we are going to discuss. Yes, exercise. We believe that bringing exercise into your crone time will not only enhance your health, but will be a catalyst for a diet change because your body will need it. We also believe that the journey to better health is more important than achieving it, and exercise offers so many ‘on the journey’ benefits physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually.
The most significant benefit for the crone is the movement of energy through the body. Not just physical energy, but spiritual energy. Exercise is a purifier of the being in so many ways. For example, exercise helps to keep producing some of the hormones, ones that aid and support our organism to remain healthy, that were naturally produced before menopause, but are a bit sluggish after. It keeps the ligaments, tendons and joints flexible, oiled and moving. It creates and strengthens muscles so that they support and protect your back, organs, and bones. It produces hormones and brain chemicals that keep humans mentally and emotionally well. It provides a physical outlet for emotional and mental concerns or confusions. It offers the possibility of socialising outside of your normal circle, and thus a broadening of your mental and emotional lives. All of these benefits are physical, or material, but they help set the spirit free to do other important work. In short, exercising gives you a different life.
One of the most important aspects of exercise is enjoyment, if you don’t enjoy it, you won’t keep it up. Also, the enjoyment factor leads us to another point, if you are not enjoying, it may actually not be good for you! It may be good for someone else, but not you. If it is not good for you, the exercise may be detrimental to your health in so many ways. It could affect your self-esteem, self-perception, self-worth, feelings of capability, not to mention the physical damage. No! You must enjoy the exercise.
This means that you must find the right fit for you. Just because yoga is marvelous for the whole organism, and Zumba exercises all the muscles of the body, if you do not like them, then the exercise in exercise is pointless. We suggest that you look at yourself, what you like in life (fast/slow pace, short/long bursts of activity, etc.), what your fitness level is, physical ability, and so on, and regardless of what is ‘good’ for you, find what is right for you.
Below we have listed some different types of exercise that you may not have thought of before as exercise. Enjoy!
Singing
- join a choir in your area
- very good for cardio and core muscle strength
- provides a sense of belonging
- encourages socialising and meeting new people
- possible performance opportunities
Dragonboat racing
- find a club near you
- very good for upper body manipulation, strength, and core body development
- provides competition, something to work towards
- encourages socialising, and travel if competing
Fencing
- join a club near you
- very good for leg and core strength
- you get to fight! And let off steam if needed
- also good for posture
- use of strategy increases brain usage and power
Gardening
- need we say more?
- outdoors or indoors you are working with marvels of creation, exchanging energy
- very good for keeping the body moving, especially the legs
- contemplative, meditative
- rewarding bounty/harvest
Woodworking
- join a men’s shed, or local craft organisation
- very good for upper body strength and movement
- creative, contemplative, rewarding
It is important to find the form of exercise that is the right fit for you, but it is more important that you actually do it. That you move your body, participate in life, meet and socialise with your species (we mean both human and crone…), and by enjoying your life, you bring light, life, and enjoyment to those around you.
We see the crone time as a time of leadership, and mentorship. This is one way that you can lead and mentor your group. By encouraging others to exercise, with all of the benefits that we have elucidated, you will be helping to create a group of humans that is healthy physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. What more could any leader of humans want?
Brad, Caroline and the Mothers.
Find the Crone Zone Lectures >here<
