🍝 And for your main course...

Community First

🔥 August 10th, swing by Nabala Cafe to see Paul Bonokollie perform original music and poetry from 7-9 pm! This event is free, and you might consider supporting the Bonokollie Foundation while you're there to provide clean water in Liberia.

🔥 On August 14th, 18th, and 25th, Read & Run Chicago is hosting free outdoor reading gatherings. Read and meet fellow book people! (See this post for locations.)

🔥 On August 24th, participate in the Queer Love Pop-Up Closet Clothing Swap at the Insect Asylum, part of a fundraiser for Queer Care, Inc. Trade clothes and grab a donation-based haircut, too!

🔥 From September 19-21, check out Uptown Live, a brand-new street festival in the Uptown Historic District hosted by the Chamber of Commerce.

🔥 On September 20, check out Own the Space, a confidence-building workshop for women, non-binary, and femme-identifying folx to get comfortable taking up space in the gym!

Happy Friday, Friends!

Welcome to the third and final part of my newsletter series on ZERO COST ways to reconnect with your body. 

Part one was all about low lift, quick things you can do in the moment, without moving or getting any equipment together. If you missed that, be sure to start there for the most accessible, effective ways to reconnect with yourself.

Part two was your five-minute reconnection menu, featuring quick activities you can build into your day. The small plates, if you know what I mean.  

Today, I’m sharing the most involved ways you can reconnect with your body for free. These will take anywhere between 30 minutes to your whole day, for meaningful breaks from our dissociative culture. A couple of these may include some easily findable equipment, but they can all be adapted so you can complete them with nothing at all.

My hope is that when you incorporate a couple of these, you’ll feel energized toward reconnecting with your body long-term. Despite the mainstream tendency towards critiquing and policing our bodies, the relationships we have with them are unique, intimate, and deeply personal. In the menu at the Body Reconnection Cafe, these are your world-class, Michelin-starred…

Movement Entrees That Bring You Back

1. Go for a whimsy walk! This is when you set out walking with no goal. No step count, no direction or errand to run, just whatever turn you feel like taking each moment and the intention to reconnect with your feet on the earth. Call a friend, listen to a podcast, playlist, or album, or simply enjoy the sounds around you. You might also consider trying a walking meditation. You can find those on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
2. Spend the whole day at the beach. Yes, you heard me. Load up on the sunscreen, snacks, and whatever you’re comfortable wearing, and spend some day soaking up the sun. In Uptown, we have Montrose beach with the park right next to it, so you can even set up a BBQ with friends and go for a dip when it gets too hot. 
3. Learn a new movement, whether it’s a new stretching/mobility routine you found online, learning how to serve a tennis ball, or perfecting your backwards walk. Don’t be afraid to get silly! If you were into a certain kind of movement as a child, this is your opportunity to try your hand at it again. Make sure you set the intention to reconnect with your childhood self, too. This can help you avoid falling into the trap of comparing your body to a previous version of itself.
4. Plan a day of outdoor activities with friends or family, like swimming or a gentle hike. Go into this with NO objective other than spending time with your body and your loved ones. If this is outside your comfort zone, that might be a sign that you need to try it! There’s something powerful about laughing with your friends while you breathe in fresh air and tell stories while walking together. When you’re with others, it can be more fun to be “bad” at what you’re doing, too!
5. Put on your favorite songs from childhood and dance! This is great to do alone, so if you’re nervous about your skills, don’t worry - you don’t even have to look at yourself. Try to focus on how dancing feels rather than how it moves. Dance has been proven to have immense positive effects on mental health, and besides, feeling music in a new way can be extremely gratifying. As always, don’t be afraid to get silly! Dance is for everyone.
6. Start taking pictures while you’re out and about. And I don’t mean just of yourself, though you can do that too! When you’re out in the world, think about what you want to remember about your day-to-day life. You might find yourself going out of your way to get into the perfect spot to snap a photo of an animal, plant, or building. Photography is creative, mobile, and you don’t have to share your pictures with anybody, but creating albums for yourself is a form of recording that transcends words. This can be especially helpful in getting back into your body if you struggle with traditional journaling.
7. Enjoy a night of intimacy with yourself. And I don’t mean something quick before falling asleep! Think about what you personally consider romantic, sensual, and meaningful, and create that experience for yourself. You might light candles, play certain music, or lay out certain linens. Consider experimenting with something new if you already have a strong self-pleasure practice. If you struggle with relationships, this can help you clarify and explore your sexual needs in a safe way, so it has the added benefit of nourishing your current or future connections.
8. Curate an outfit that makes you feel like YOU. Choosing colors, fabrics, makeup, a hairstyle, and maybe even a scent that makes you feel like yourself can have an immense impact on your experience of moving through the world. Spend some time on this! Try on different options, and try pairing items that you wouldn’t normally put together. You don’t have to get dressed up just because you’re going out somewhere. Think of it as a way to settle into yourself and adorn your body for your own viewing pleasure.

I hope these entrees help you feel like a lifetime of positive movements is on the horizon. It can be challenging to silence the voices that make us feel inadequate in movement spaces, so before ending this series on zero-cost movement options, let me remind you that wherever you are is perfect. Your body is yours to do what you want with, and movement is something that you have every right to enjoy. No matter what those gimmicky fad diet weirdos say. 

With you over a big, delicious meal,
Dana