FINDING BALANCE
Mind, body and asking the right questions…
To recover from a sports injury recently, my physiotherapist gave me a series of exercises that involve balancing on one leg: just balancing on one leg for as long as possible to start with, then balancing with my arms folded across my chest, then balancing while looking from left to right and up and down (very hard), and balancing with eyes closed (which is near impossible). Have a go!
The exercises require a great deal of cooperation between your mind and your body. You need to engage your glutes, thighs and calves as well as your core, you need to pick a spot on the wall and not take your eyes off it to help your brain to calculate your balance, and you need to calm your thoughts. You can’t achieve the physical balance if you are emotionally unbalanced.
Standing with all your weight on one leg, you feel all your muscles and tendons tighten and relax as your brain sends instructions on maintaining equilibrium. You become aware of the collaboration between your muscles and your hips, knees and ankles. And then you become aware that all these muscles and tendons and joints are working without your conscious mind’s instructions. You may have told your conscious brain to balance on one leg, but another part of your brain entirely is making it all happen.
We learn about involuntary actions in school: our brains performing millions of actions we consciously know nothing about that keep our bodies running. But how often do we think about how our body’s actions effect the brain – our sense of well-being, our mental health?
Many people, myself included, have notice the increased mental health stress during the pandemic. Career, income, home life… a Zoom chat with friends is no substitute for a real catch up, especially when those friends only live a few blocks away. With gyms, pools and sports centres closed down, many of us have not only missed our regular exercise, we’ve missed the social interaction with teammates and gym buddies that comes with it. I now realise that social element is as important to our mental health as the physical activity.
So, this month, we consider the idea of balance and what that means to different people and how they practice the pursuit of balance in their lives. To start with, we asked six regular gay men questions about how they feel about their bodies. Some of their answers really surprised me, in a good way, and their body positivity is inspiring. But it wasn’t until I was editing the story that it occurred to me that I should ask myself the same set of questions. I’ve done that, and I encourage you to as well. The story, Do You Have A Healthy Body?, starts on page 44. I’d love your feedback.
I also asked Simon Dunn (athlete, personal trainer, DNA cover model twice, and LGBTQIA+ activist) to contribute to this issue. I knew he’d have some interesting opinions to share, and he does. His story, How Dare He Have A Good Body (page 54) unpacks the idea of “fit shaming”. It’s a great read and will probably spark a few fiery conversations.
Coincidentally, two of the men featured in this issue are cocktail bartenders: our cover model Wilson Lai and featured model, Ivan Martin. They both have impressive bodies and, sadly, drinking cocktails has nothing to do with it. In fact, Ivan has been off alcohol for the last 10 years; it’s all sugar, he says. Both are dedicated to their gym training and both have interesting opinions on health and sex.
While exercise and physical activity undoubtedly have many beneficial effects on mood and mental health, I don’t want to suggest it’s the answer to everything. You cannot bench press your way out of depression. The power of positive thinking will only get you so far. If you are struggling with anxiety or depression please consider seeing a professional to discuss this. Perhaps calling a counselling service is a good start.
There are a lot of beautiful men in this issue – enjoy! Thank you for reading. Stay safe, be kind, and love yourselves.