“What’s important is you make the leap. Jump high and hard with intention and heart.”—Cheryl Strayed
I’ve been yammering on about the default setting in our little pea-brains, the blueprint that erroneously says, “life is hard, shit happens and the glass is half empty.”
So I’ve been encouraging us to cut off THAT negative feeding tube and force new beliefs into our psyches—chiefly the TRUTH. That the universe is limitless, abundant, and strangely accommodating.
But it has come to my attention that there’s still some slacking going on in our muscle memory. That’s the phenomenon where we create a physiological blueprint. Our brains send a memo to our body that triggers our central nervous system, our muscles, our tendons, joints, etc. to perform automatic movements. There’s a continuous feedback loop from your brain to your muscles and back.
So I’ve developed this series of calisthenics to train your body, your muscle memory, if you will, to “get excited, get, get excited.” That’s a line my cheerleading squad boisterously yelled in junior high. Yes, I was an Ark City Puppy cheerleader. Don’t laugh! The high school mascot was a bulldog.
So, I hope you’re hearing the James Brown song, “I feel good, so good” playing in your head about now.
Exercise # 1: Pump your fist in the air with complete glee. Repeat five times.
Exercise #2: Pretend you’re a Latin American soccer player who just made a goal. In the finals. When the score is tied.
Exercise #3: Fist bump at least six people daily.
Exercise #4: Do the Harlem Shuffle on your way to the bathroom in the morning. Before your brush your teeth.
Exercise #5: High-five everyone you see. I can’t tell you how much fun this one is. We do it in my hometown every time our college basketball team wins the NCAA tournament.
Exercise #6: Go outside and stretch your arms wide to salute the sun that comes up everyday without you having to pay for it or ask it to.
For more inspiration and exercises, go see the movie, Frances Ha. Greta Gerwig is a maestro at leaping across streets, dancing in public and keeping her muscle memory happy.
And it never hurts to re-watch this exuberant Flash Mob that surprised the Big O.
Pam Grout is the author of 16 books including E-Squared: 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality.
5 Responses
Good stuff!!
I am SO on the fist bumps! THANK you for this and for the flash mob video. The scope of it is so moving and mind-blowing!
I think Ellen Degeneres is also a great person to watch and “channel” to GE THIS PARTY STARTED. Just turn on some music wherever you are and boogie to it in your own special way.
In the spirit of your FEEL GOOD formula, I recently joined a LOGA (Laughing Yoga) group here in Seattle. They meet every week for about 90 minutes and just LAUGH LAUGH LAUGH.
Last week, and I participated, we (about a half dozen of us) did our own version of a ‘flash mob’ by taking the bus from the Capitol Hill neighborhood down to Pike Place Market, where we just laughed and laughed and laughed …..on the bus….on the streets….in the Market….walking through stores….you name it. IT WAS AMAZING. Most people couldn’t resist smiling as we passed by, or even joined us for a moment.
I have to tell you a read this after I had gotten a rejection in the mail the day before and once I read your post, I decided I was going to celebrate like it was an acceptance. The next e-mail I opened was letting me know that I had won 3rd place in a writing contest I had forgotten about. The outer manifestation was fun, but I was already celebrating! 🙂