Fitness for artists

I’m going to note my thoughts on keeping my body and mind fit to create and how I do it, I’m going to come back to this and build on it, when I have time, watch this space…

 

Staying healthy in body and mind

I’ve prepared a few times for competition exhibitions or solo shows and fairs now, and one thing I have learned over the last few years is that I have to keep healthy in body and mind in order to sustain the energy required to create and all that goes with it… I have described my fitness process to a few folks, as an essential part of my practice, in terms of training, like an athlete, with tiny brushstrokes, graphite, or penmanship. I don’t know if people really take me seriously, but I take it seriously!

I should add, that I fall off the wagon (with my fitness) all the time, but I am reminded again and again when I’m aching again, or injured, when I get back on, just how good it is to keep everything in good nick…

 

Physiology

While I am painting, I am sitting still, making micro movements with my hand, wrist, arm, shoulder and back, the other side of me from my quads up, is holding my body stable, so there is a bit of contraction going on. If I don’t work at it, my shoulder, delts, forearm, wrist, and hand will seize up, and I get contraction build up in major and minor pecs and in the opposite supporting side, in my glutes, QL and lower back, my hip flexors and quads also tighten. My eyes are moving from subject to paper, but that’s usually only a space of a few feet so my focus becomes fixed.

That’s a lot! Maybe you also get the same if you are also painting for hours and not moving much?

So, it’s essential to move!

 

Take breaks, get moving

Set up a timer with an alarm, set it for 30 minutes, and then get up and walk around for three minutes, it won’t break your focus, instead you might come back more refreshed.

 

Walking

I like to go out for a 20 minute walk every work day, I’ve done it since I started working on my fern pieces, so for about 10 years now, at the time I was working in a windowless room in the middle of our flat, and I needed to get some daylight!!!  It’s great to get up and move, and warm up, if it’s raining I go anyway, I’m fairly waterproof! Get some fresh air, you can use it as one of your breaks, and I usually have creative thoughts when I’m going around the block!

 

Stretching

I do yoga, a minimum of twice a week, I have two classes that I join, so that keeps me regularly stretching. One is a Hatha class, very much focused on balance across the body, and one is more strength-associated, combining many techniques, including some of The Feldenkrais Method, which is new to me. The thing that I love about yoga is the way I can come back into my body and work out what’s straining and how to ease it off, and that practice also brings relaxation and peace, even in the midst of active flows and strong postures.

I also do yoga with a buddy one night a week, and we see what hurts, and then avoid or work on stretching out those areas, my yoga buddy is also creative, so we usually have a chat and a laugh, and bust some work issues too, oh and we both share a deep love for Alice Cooper!

I have discovered amazing yoga stretches and practices to ease out the arms, pectorals and thoracic, but also always need to include the lower back and legs, because let’s be honest, with a bit of analysis it is obvious that you don’t paint with your hand, you paint with your whole body. Anyone who has sat and painted for hours on end will tell you that it is not just their hand that hurts at the end of the day! I have some favorites that I go back to and back to, but it’s always great to try out a new practice and to challenge yourself, sometimes I just can’t do it, and sometimes I can!

If you are looking for a place to start, I’d recommend going to a class so that you have the guidance of a teacher who can make sure that you don’t hurt yourself, however, I have worked with Heini Loppenen for years now, she used to practice in Edinburgh and now has a fantastic YouTube channel, Yoga with Heini, check out her playlist for shoulders

 

Strength work

Another essential, I recently found out that my right side wholly dominates my left, which was doing very little work except for providing a counterbalance for my lifted arm across my back… So I’ve been doing weights on each side to build back the strength in my left side and keep my over-strained right side in good nick. I’ve also discovered that perimenopausal and menopausal women can get much better effects* with much heavier weights at lower reps, combine that with some plyometric work (jumping), cardio (walking) and stretching (yoga) and hopefully I’ve got a good recipe going forwards.
* https://www.drstacysims.com/blog/how-to-power-your-way-through-menopause

 

Head space

Mediation – I need it, every day, just 15 mins to rest my brain and float for a bit.

Walking, did  I mention walking… get some vitamin D, smile at someone, in my case I talk to the cows, or sheep or ponies… sometimes people!

Talk to friends… get it all out, or maybe not all of it… I’ve recently joined the Art & Nature Collective, for the collective, I’m so looking forward to getting to know some of the artists in the collective, talking shop and making new friends.

Fairs and shows serve the same purpose, they are not ‘just’ about showign folks my work, they are also so important for social stimulus, talking to visitors and my fellow creatives, it’s so good to connect and share experiences.

 

Support

I have been getting help over the years from a few amazing people:

I am blessed to have Alex in my life, builder of stands, helper to hang, chef, scone and cake maker and most of all best life partner.

Vanessa Morris Yoga, V provides my balance, we assess the symmetry of my body and then work to alleviate tilts and get everything levelled up, with a bit of a laugh thrown in. V is so funny and helps me through even when she makes me do my least favorite pose, Hindi Squat, which took me seven years to achieve!

Helen How, with really fabulous technology – Magnetolith EMTT (Extracorporeal Magnetotransduction Therapy) is an amazing tool and really speeds up deep healing in overworked or strained tissues. I swear by it. Helen uses magnetolith and deep tissue massage to get oxygen flow at a cellular level, it gets to the tightness that I build up with so many micro-movements. Helen works with athletes, musicians and artists amongst others, and can really make a difference with repetitive movement injuries. She is a pioneer with her technique.

Ray Head with Sports Massage, which I don’t always love ( I do love chatting with Ray while he punishes my body…) but it really does the job!!! As an adjunct to the therapy that Helen provides, Ray can loosen up tight tight muscles to get things moving again, and always shows me how to stretch and exercise to build strength to offset the strain that I build up over time. Such useful information!

Simon M Jarvis, Simon provides a functional movement service, and he is is helping me to adjust my body through strength training, a fairly new development for me and one that (when I get into it) I am loving. I am currently working on each side independently to build strength in my left side, and to keep my dominant right side in check!

Friends, friends, friends!!! I need to remind myself to connect, even when I have a deadline, or when I’m in the anti-climax I fall into on the other side of finishing a deadline. Friends are so essential, and I love them (I don’t need to remind myself of that).

I’d love to know what you do to keep yourself fit to create 🙂