Healthy and Hale

PilatesAfter years of a serious fear of Pilates, which I believe has the scientific name of Pilatesagoria, I finally succuumbed to the temptation to try out the exercises. Before attempting my first Pilates workout, I read a little about the benefits of Pilates. According to this website hyping Pilates, Pilates was developed to increase flexibility at the core of the body which can in turn benefit the core of the body or the back or the spine.

Because I am a newbie to Pilates, I opted to try out the Beginning Pilates Mat Workout dvd instead of joining an organized class in order to save myself money and embarrassment.


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But I know it’s one of those things where if I knew what I was missing, I would be devastated. And I know enough to know that I’m missing out on so much in life. I’ve never tried throwing paintballs, for example. I haven’t played a sport since I was 16—and even then, it was only for a year. I’ve never tried a martial art, I enjoy dancing on occasion but have never really learned how to do it well, and I would much rather lie around with a book than take a walk. I’ve always been that way; even during family trips—camping, reunions, whatever—I would bring a book. The other kids would bring bikes, fishing poles, and other playtime equipment; I brought stacks of books, or notebooks and pens, or drawing materials. I’m not saying that there is nothing wrong with these activities; on the contrary, they are so very worthwhile and awesome that I’d like to share them with everyone in the world.

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Do you stress over antioxidants, striving as hard as you can to incorporate superfoods into your diet? Do you work out every day, refrain from smoking and drinking too much—maybe enjoy a glass of wine a day for its health benefits—and try to be as healthy as you can, hoping to live to be 100?

You still might not make it past 90, friend.

Of course, you still could—and more power to you for trying! By living a healthy lifestyle, you’re probably happier and healthier anyway, so even if you don’t live to be a decade, you’ll still enjoy the years you are here (not to say you won’t if you don’t do those things, of course).

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“Do petitions really work?” I get this question a lot when I forward, post, or ask people to sign petitions. The most honest answer is sometimes. I think personally-signed, written petitions do seem more powerful, and snopes.com will tell you that e-petitions do not work (though I think their research is largely based on the forward-type, email petitions that people circulate and never deliver to anyone, rather than the ones sponsored by legitimate websites that do deliver them). Petitions seem to work best at the local level, at least from my experience. However, when large amounts of people show support for—or displeasure against—something, change can and does sometimes occur.

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