Get Up, Stand Up

Last Monday was a National Holiday, the Queen's Birthday. Yep, you got it. The Queen of England's birthday. Australia is part of the Commonwealth, so they celebrate some British holidays. The Queen's actual birthday is April 21st, but for some reason it is celebrated in June here, maybe to give people a day off during the winter. In the state of Western Australia, however, it is celebrated in November. New Zealand and the UK I think celebrate it on different days as well, and I don't know about the other commonwealth countries - there are quite a few.

Anyhoo, we went on that day to a festival called The Dreaming, which celebrates indigenous culture from around the world, but mainly Australia and the neighboring Pacific islands. It was really good. We saw traditional and contemporary music, some dance, and some paintings. Had we gone for all 3 days, we could have taken in some theatre, readings and other things as well. But the festival is a little pricey, and we (well, Darcy) had other things to do. But we walked around and saw what we could. There were lots of feral hippie types running around, which I thought I had lost my aversion to but I guess I haven't. Why they bug me I don't know. I guess because for all their dirty hair and mismatched ethnic clothing, they don't seem natural to me. They seem just as poser-like as any other group of people who adopt a visual style. Darcy tells me to not let it bother me. He's right. I need to relax.

We forgot to take pictures. I have to remember to take photos when I do things.

If you are someone that knows me ( and I can't imagine strangers read this blog), then you now that I am posturaly challenged - I don't stand up straight. I have had bad posture since I was little. It started from growing up feeling pretty bad about myself, and now it is just something I am used to doing. When I was a teenager, I came home from a basketball game, to have my mother yell at me about my posture. She had never been to any games I played, but my brother told her that all the boys on his basketball team laughed about the way I hunched my shoulders when I ran down the court. When I was older and lived in New York, I would try to hide myself from men on the street, thinking I could prevent them from saying things to me when I passed by. Now, in cold weather, I find myself hunching my shoulders to keep warm. And when I work, slouching is the way we all end up sitting as we toil away for hours on end in front of the computer. It is a terrible habit and I hate it. It reminds me of my youth and affects how I feel. Sometimes when I think I am standing up straight, I may catch my reflection and realize that I still have rounded shoulders, my head is still sloped forward like a turtle. Standing up straight is good for your health and I want to be healthy!

So, I have these shoes that help me stand up straight. They are called MBTs. They were expensive but they take stress off my knees, and actually make it uncomfortable to slouch when I walk. They look kind of funny, but they really help me stand up straight. I feel different when I wear them, almost like I can't not feel at least a little confident when I have them on. Having my shoulders back helps me breathe better. And having an open heart area improves my general outlook.

My big challenge these days is when I am sitting down. I slouch a lot when I am sitting. I look around, and people around me all seem to have square shoulders, even when sitting on a stool. So, I'll keep working on it.

Yoga is good for posture too, but I am not completely cured. It's going to happen though. I am going to stand up straight!