Click on NOTE CATEGORIES to browse by topic, read through the entire archives, or type a topic in the search box.2022 is nearly over and we will soon be moving on to 2023! This means it is time for Katy to do her "annual" end-of-the-year health recap with special guest co-host Dani Hemmat. The two of them reflect together on what they did to MOVE toward a better version of themselves in 2022. And then, they look forward at their goals and plans for 2023. And don't be fooled, they go way deeper than which trail they want to hike.
OVERVIEW
(times are approximate)
00:03:00 - Biggest Triumph in 2022 – Jump to section
00:05:30 - Smartest health or movement decision – Jump to section
00:07:20 - What one word sums up 2022 – Jump to section
00:09:00 - Greatest Lesson You Learned in 2022 - Jump to section
00:10:30 - Most Loving Service in 2022 - <Jump to section
000:14:00 - Unfinished Business in 2022 - Jump to section
00:14:30 - Happiest Goal You Reached in 2022 - Jump to section
00:18:40 - People that had Greatest Impact on you in 2022– Jump to section
00:21:00 - Health Risk in 2022 – Jump to section
00:22:40 - Biggest Health Surprise of 2022 - Jump to section
00:24:00 - Relationships that Improved - Jump to section
00:26:00 - Compliments received and given - Jump to Section
00:29:00 - Complete? – Jump to section
00:29:40 - Looking forward to 2023 - Jump to section
LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:
Robin Blanc Mascari's original questions
Article on Rituals
Note from Katy: I don't use a crystal, just my hand, and if someone did want a special object, any one would do in my opinion. My favorite part of this is the QUESTIONS at the end: "Think and feel into your purpose for using social media today. Is it for work, pleasure, or to contact a specific person about something? Whatever it is, say that purpose out loud."
PODCAST TRANSCRIPT
(Theme Music)
This is the Move Your DNA podcast, a show where movement science meets your EVERY YEAR life. I’m Katy Bowman - biomechanist, author, and year-round-mover. All bodies are welcome here. Let’s get moving.
(music fade)
Ok, Friends. Welcome! 2022 is nearly over. We will soon be moving on to 2023! This means it is time to do my "annual" - annual in air quotes - end-of-the-year health recap. Now, I've been doing air quotes right now because I missed the last three years of doing this. This was something that Dani and I used to do back when the podcast was young. Back when Dani and I were young. And I got a lot of emails and social media hits of going, "Please bring back the end of the year recap because you didn't do it in 2019, 2020, and 2021. So I, as a gift to all of you who are asking, I have asked Dani to come on with me today so we could do our traditional End of the Year Recap. Welcome Dani, to the MoveYourDNA podcast.
DANI: Thank you! It's so fun to do this again. Because remember, people used to do it with us. Right?
KATY: Yes.
DANI: They'd write in and go, "Oh yeah, I did it along with you." So it's just an awesome check-in. And I definitely can feel that we haven't done it in a few years.
KATY: Right, I have so many answers. Yeah.
DANI: Going through it.
KATY: Yeah. Yes. And it's a very valuable exercise. They are not my questions. They came from an interview that I did. Over 10 years ago someone did them on their show. I will link to the actual list of questions in the show notes so that you can, after listening to it, immediately go download and do your own. The original show that I was on wasn't necessarily about health, it was just asking these questions to recap a year in general. We focus it - it's always been: What was your biggest triumphs as they relate to movement or health in general? This year I changed that wording a little bit for myself to say, "My body relationship." Body care. I really am focusing on this idea of: I am in a relationship with my body. It has certain needs. And we are constantly negotiating those needs. What does my relationship with my body look like? So that's how I chose to reflect. Sometimes I'll use the word health. Sometimes it'll be movement. But it's really about the relationship I'm in with my physical being. There are a lot of questions here. We have a limited time. So we're gonna go through. And if you feel like skipping - just say skip. I'm gonna say skip if I just feel like we just want to take time to talk about other ones. So we've got a lot of wiggle room here.
DANI: Perfect. Excellent.
KATY: Ok good.
DANI: I'm excited.
KATY: Yes! All right, so:
KATY: Or I'm gonna say since 2019. Because it's been a while.
DANI: Well, that would change everything! So I'm just gonna think of the most recent year, I think. For me knowing that you can't pour from an empty cup. And then actually living my life to support that knowledge. I've known that for years, I've said it for years. But then I feel like I've got no place in my life where I live proactively for that healthy relationship so that I support that. I think. What was yours? Your biggest?
KATY: Well, interestingly enough it also relates to a cup. I would say it is that I now don't have any stimulants or depressants in my life - in terms of coffee. Coffee is the big one. I'm not an alcohol drinker. But the one thing I have really felt that I was needing was coffee. Caffeine. And so over the last three years - first I started by switching, getting off of regular morning coffee to tea. And then it took another year and then I was off tea. And then I could use just any sort of herbal morning beverage. And now I'm off needing a morning beverage at all. That whole "I wake up in the morning and feel like I needed that." And that was big because I felt like - this is for me, personally I felt like my ... something else needed addressing in my life that I couldn't get to because I could always solve it with the morning thing. Whether it was not getting - my sleep hygiene was it?
DANI: Yeah.
KATY: You know what I mean?
DANI: It can mess up the read on that for sure.
KATY: It was messing up my read. I wanted to be able to get a read. Where am I without these external pieces?
DANI: Right.
KATY: Where is my actual body right now?
DANI: Oh this is cool.
KATY: Yeah. So that was in addition to the last few years of keeping my mental health in tact which was definitely a health triumph, it was this other thing of going: Oh I got a read on where I was without any input. So I could make changes. And again, we all need the inputs that we need but it turns out that I didn't need this one once I was able to toggle other things. Once I could see it.
DANI: Right. That's pretty cool. Good job.
KATY: Thank you!
DANI: Ok.
KATY: Moving closer to town. At the beginning of the pandemic, we moved up into the woods. On the first day of lockdown. So it was sort of isolating.
DANI: (singing) ... my true love gave to me...
KATY: Yeah, is that...what did your true love give to you?
DANI: No on the first day of lockdowns but...
KATY: Oh, we should... no... no too soon. Too soon. So moving closer to town because it really established better community. It established old walking habits that fit more into regular life. So that was big for me. What about you?
DANI: For me, this sounds strange but, deciding to go into the pediatric field of Occupational Therapy.
KATY: I love it!
DANI: Because I didn't originally intend that. But as far as movement, there's no better job because you are up you are down, you are on the floor, you are on your belly. You're modeling this stuff for kids. And so I just feel like I hit the gold mine with that. I am in constant motion and in so many different ways that it's - I love it.
KATY: I love that because I bet you ... we tend to not think ... there are people who are like," I know I won't want to work in an office. I don't want to sit down that much." But there are other people who go into fields and be like "oh where's the most movement-rich version?" Pediatrics is so right. You can sit on the floor. There's a lot of variety in how you do the work.
DANI: There's not a whole lot of repetition and that really feels good to have all those different movement vitamins going on all the time.
KATY: You probably just shifted the career of some people. Or set a future path. All right.
DANI: Proactive.
KATY: Hmmm.
DANI: Just like looking forward to - I want to feel this way. What do I need to do to get there? Kind of ties into that empty cup thing. It's what do I need to feel my best and not waiting. I've never been a reactive person. I don't wait til things are bad, actually since I met you. You kind of helped me change that. So thank you. But I think just proactive. Working, Thinking ahead. How do I want to feel? What do I need to do to get there? What was your single word that best sums up 2022?
KATY: Also a p-word. Packed. It was just packed. I feel like a... I felt like there's been a deficit from the last few years and so the response was sort of packing. Once I had more control over things, I definitely tried to pack the health o the movement into the available space. I don't know if it was a good word, but packed it was.
DANI: Oh interesting.
KATY: Mm-hmm. Sort of like we packed our time afterward. We packed summer with seeing more people and doing more things after not seeing people and not doing things. Right? The response was sort of make the average equal to if you had been doing things throughout the year So I definitely have noticed a quickening of pace and trying to do more in the same allotted time as a way of making up for it. Although I don't think you can actually make up for things.
DANI: True. Ok...
KATY: This one is weird. This one is again about the relationship with my body and I would say it has more of a mental healthy slant than it has a physical body. Although I don't really see the two as being that different. But the greatest lesson that I learned is that knowing, the type of knowing that comes from learning is part of what makes me feel safe.
DANI: Hmmm.
KATY: And I didn't really have that connection before. That for me, learning what's going on is part of my set of safety. It might be the primary thing that makes me feel safe. What about you?
DANI: That aging bodies need more proactive work and it's just a reality.
KATY: Laughs.
DANI: Like it's just a reality.
KATY: Yes.
DANI: And it's really been cool. I like aging. And I don't resent it and I don't fear it. I think it's really a crazy awesome adventure. But the reality is you can't just sit back and let it roll over you and expect to be able to keep doing the things you want to do. So that's been - it hasn't been a shocker. It's been just like, "Oh, ok" you know? It's kind of like a car that needs more maintenance or whatever.
KATY: Yeah, yeah.
DANI: It's just how we are.
KATY: I love that. And that definitely ties into some later questions for me as well because I think I'm there with you.
DANI: Ok. I got trained as a Reiki practitioner which is like energy work. And I was called to it in the strangest way. And I actually have been using what I have learned and what I've been practicing in my Occupational Therapy practice. And it's been huge. In fact, some of my co-workers have called me the Voodoo woman or the witch because I've been able to make such a huge change in some of these kids' lives. And I also have been giving away - people want to pay me for it but I've been giving them these free sessions. And that's been huge. To have that exchange with people. But it turns out that the biggest service that it gave, the loving service, was back to me. So it was like I do this and give it to people but it just comes back. I didn't see that coming.
KATY: Isn't that how it works though?
DANI: Isn't that how it works? It is. It's crazy. Hey, I wanna - you tell me yours - what was the most loving service you performed?
KATY: Um, for me it was - I became a casa, a children's advocate.
DANI: Oh yeah!
KATY: Which is a guardian ad litem which is a role that we have in the United States. Children under 12 don't have really advocacy when the state intervenes into the parent-child relationship. The issue is really between the parents, who've lost their parenting rights, and the state. Children don't have advocates, really. And so there is this role, where it's a volunteer role that you take training and you are sworn in by a court and that's what I did. That's what I did with my time during the pandemic. That's what I chose to do. I saw a billboard and so yeah, as I was writing Grow Wild I was thinking there's a lot of different experiences that children have and many families have the luxury of making more nature time and more movement the priority and some families are struggling to the point where they're not even meeting basic needs like safety, food... and so I wanted to balance my work in the world a little bit. So that is - it's not a full-time job but it takes up a significant amount of time. It's like having a part-time job. Like having a second part-time job.
DANI: Yeah. I can attest to that. One of my friends did that and you did do a lot of training. And it's huge. I think that's so cool. I feel like we're both, and I see the same thing with Occupational Therapy and kids that you're saying - oh these basic things that some families are not just getting it. So we can work together! Yay! All right, Brock, you're probably going to have to cut this off but I gotta raise my desk. I can only sit still so long and then I just get squirmy.
KATY: Whatever. That's staying in. That is staying in. That's behind the scenes - we gotta stand up too!
DANI: Here we go. Gotta raise it up. Ok...
KATY: I'm gonna skip this one because it's not over and I feel like we can do what we can do. We didn't miss anything. What about you?
DANI: I'm gonna - for me, it's walking. I used to walk about 60 minutes a day. And with my new job, I haven't been able to do that unless I would get up earlier than 5. I keep telling myself I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. But I also respect my sleep commitment.
KATY: Sure.
DANI: But I am switching to a new schedule in January and that's one of my goals. Fold that back in because it's one of my happy places.
KATY: So you didn't get your walking - so my question is:
DANI: Finally, truly keeping myself hydrated.
KATY: Ooooh.
DANI: For the first time ever, it is a part of who I am now. And I feel the difference. It makes a lot of difference. So I think that's one of those things that I've worked and worked and worked over many years to get there and I feel like I finally made that commitment and we're there and I'm keeping it.
KATY: I gotta take a sip out of this sink. Hold on one second. You have made me thirsty.
(water noises)
DANI: Woah. Are you recording in a bathroom?
KATY: It's like you tuned me into the realization - I am dehydrated right now. Because for me too that's a really good one - for me. And just because you said that right now, not only did I take a sip, that's going to go onto my 2023 things to really be paying attention to. Look at you changing the world. You stayed hydrated. What I did that was one of my goals was I really wanted to ... there's this hike local to me that is challenging. It's multiple days. It's not super technical but the fitness level needs to be there or the ability to negotiate your parts or to deal with being uncomfortable is a skill set that was required. And I wanted to do it with a group of women. And I wanted to do it with a group of women that I didn't necessarily know that well but wanted to do more and so I made that happen. We had 12 women go up and do this high-divide hike that took us way into the Olympic Mountains to the top of them over three days. And all I can say is ... it was magic. It was just magical. The best thing about it was one of the ideas in my mind when I was imagining it - the end of last year - was having everyone bring one token to the group over the three days. They could reveal it when they wanted to reveal it. And so it was like being on a retreat. Right? Where people - if it's 12 and there's only 3 days - 4 times in a day some sort of magical thing is being dropped. Whether it's - someone was a bodyworker and gave everyone a massage at some point. She was just dropping down and gave 12 massages over the 3 days. There were stretches being given. There was someone who knew all the wildflowers who would identify anything with you and work you through it. There was someone to volunteer to take all the photos. There was someone who just brought readings to share. Poetry at different points. Someone made backcountry brownies on the end of the second day and baked them hot in the pan. You know what I mean?
DANI: Wow.
KATY: It was magical Dani, it was magical.
DANI: But it sounds so rich, like wow.
KATY: Gosh.
DANI: And unbelievably rich experience.
KATY: Yes. It was so far beyond the physicality of it. It was a significant removal from your every day in this self-powered way. And there were people who struggled. And then you have to sort of - you have to shift your expectation and figure out who is gonna lift this person up. And when it's your time to need something extra, other people are gonna meet you there. There were tears. There was laughter. There was nudity. You know what I mean? There were all sorts of things happening.
DANI: Oh my gosh.
KATY: It was going down in the highlights of my life. Let's just say that.
DANI: That's awesome. That is really awesome. Good for you. I hope you do it again.
KATY: I will. I will invite you.
DANI: Invite me! Invite me! Ok.
KATY: I put my dog. That's a dumb answer, I mean it's the same. It's my kids. It's my dog. It's the people whose needs I'm trying to finagle alongside with mine. They impact me the most. And then if I have to do an external person I'm gonna say Atul Gawande who wrote Being Mortal. That book is really shaping how I'm thinking about my work and things. So thanks Atul.
DANI: I'll check it out.
KATY: Oh it's definitely a must-read.
DANI: I can't read enough.
KATY: What about you? Sorry, Atul. I just want to apologize for having my dog and Atul Gawande on the same - it should be the opposite direction but still, these are all people.
DANI: Exactly.
KATY: What about you?
DANI: I only have two. So my sweetheart, who has been really proactive in his health and learning. I teach him all the stuff that I know and he doesn't and it's cool watching that progression so it inspires me to keep taking care of myself. And then this is weird - my physical therapist. Because I had never been to physical therapy I finally went for an issue and being there reminded me of how you can't bank health. And that you have to always work for it. And we've always talked about that. It just kind of - I'd lost sight of it. And this was, it was good. Oh no, wait. And you too! Ok. Your stickers. The stickers.
KATY: Awww.
DANI: The phone. I know we're just recording this but I'm holding up my phone and showing her...
KATY: The head ramping stickers.
DANI: I put those little buggers everywhere. My daughter's like, "You're such a nerd. Why are those everywhere?" But after all these years of trying to remember to do it when I get a pain or whatever, I feel like it's become me because of those stickers. So I think everyone should buy the stickers. And give them to people and they're awesome.
KATY: I'm going to have to make a pelvic...
DANI: Because of you. I'm putting you in there. Wow.
KATY: What an honor. Ok.
DANI: I didn't. Is that weird?
KATY: No.
DANI: I just didn't.
KATY: No no.
DANI: What about you?
KATY: I'm at two words. Tiny house. And two more words:
DANI: You were in a tiny house.
KATY: Four people. I'm talking 500 square foot. I live in a 500-square-foot house with four people and five if you include my dog. So that was a risk. And we're in it. Yeah, it's been pretty great. It's pretty challenging. It's risky.
DANI: It is risky. Yeah. You can sacrifice things. You can get in the habit.
KATY: Well that was the point. The point is ... what is ... and like I just have to say that this is a very comfortable, very warm, full of food, all my needs are being met. All it is is small and then it's sort of, again, like the coffee. It's just - what is the infrastructure it is requiring for my body to feel ok? For my mind to feel ok. For me to feel ok in relationships. And it had gotten too big for my comfort. Right? Maybe, as we were talking about how much we consume and just to be aware of how big my exoskeleton is to protect myself. So I'm just working on sloughing it off little bits at a time and just seeing what comes up on the inside. Sorting out my inside. Getting rid of the junk drawers of my inside and then ... it's like that.
DANI: Awesome.
KATY: And really enjoying when I go to other people's big houses. Like OH! This feels so good. All right.
DANI: So
KATY: Premenopause.
DANI: Oh yeah. Surprise!
KATY: Wow! Wow! Wow! ...Wow is all I can say about that.
(laughter)
DANI: It's a journey.
KATY: It is. And it has to start at some point and it started maybe even partly because of stressful times. It's hard to separate what's extra stress and what's premenopause. But then maybe it's always hard to separate the two. But definitely, I feel like I'm in the beginning of it. And just, I have a lot to learn that wasn't on my radar before. But it is now. What about you?
DANI: So I got a super mild case of Covid. But I'm still paying for it lung-wise.
KATY: Oh.
DANI: Three months later. It sort of baffles me because I've always been very sturdy. So that was a surprise to me. That something could knock - could change my structure that way and my constitution. And I didn't really like it. Because I've always been like "oh the mind makes the body". But this is weird. So that was a surprise. It kind of just - now it's to read Being Mortal. I don't know.
KATY: Well, it's a big deal. We're living... it's real. So I'm sorry to hear that but also ...
DANI: I'm sure it will be... we'll be able to reverse it. So.
KATY: ...
DANI: Oh, this one is good. I do'nt know if it is getting older or what but my relationship to progress versus perfection.
KATY: Mmm. Mm-hmm.
DANI: Because I finally began to appreciate the progress and so no longer beat myself up about not hitting that perfection. But just really enjoy progression.
KATY: Yeah.
DANI: So that was it. What important relationship improved most for you?
KATY: I'm just piggybacking on your answer. I'm gonna say ditto. I didn't really have anything but it was sort of around that ballpark of just ... it's this idea of too much stuff. Doing too much. I'm not really a perfectionist in that way. I don't really hold myself or feel like "oh that wasn't perfect" but I do feel like I have a production volume that I feel comfortable doing and I think it's too high. And so adjusting that relationship. That's when I'm... I'm still trying to improve it but it definitely - the awareness that it needs to be improved is there now, even if the steps to improving it practically are for 2023. If I could just finish this thing and then I'll do it after.
DANI: Yeah. Ok.
KATY: You seem so calm for working so hard. What about you?
(laughter)
DANI: I always have disliked this question.
KATY: Oh!
DANI: So I'm not gonna answer it. I do'nt know why. It just - it never has suited me.
KATY: Well how about a compliment that I will give you which is: It's just so nice to chat with you. I think you just bring a lot to the room when we do podcasts or just hang out.
DANI: Oh. Thank you!
What Compliment Would You Have Liked to Have Given
KATY: I have an answer here. Oh. Ok. I say that
(laughter)
KATY: This is, again, sort of not exactly but I, instead of a compliment, I would say I have an apology to a friend when I was 12 years old that I need to give her. And that's been on my mind for the last year. And so it's not a compliment. Well, the compliment is this: Your friendship made my younger years, like 9-13, bearable. It was because of you that I had a completely positive experience during those years. It took just that one friendship. But then that one friendship shifted and I'm not really sure why. Do you listen to the Heavyweight podcast?
DANI: mm-mm
KATY: I love it. Heavyweight is this idea you've been carrying this heavy weight on your back for a long time that seems to be unsolvable because it involves people that are in your past. And this person helps find the person, clarify the thing that has been a heavy weight on your mind, and a lot of them are about things that happened to you when you were kids. And when I listen to it, kids really don't think about what was going on in the way that grown-ups think about what's going on. They're growing up. They're struggling with all these different dynamics. They're not ... friendships...
DANI: Their worldview is just different.
KATY: That's all that it is. It's really close. It's small. So they're managing their existence.
DANI: Exactly.
KATY: So now as my kids are now the same age as I was going through this friendship all my stories are about "well, you know, these are the things that we did, and this is what we did." And then I was like ... the kids asked "Whatever happened to her?" And I'm like, "man we just stopped being friends". And I can't pull up why. And so I'm... did I do something? Whether I just sort of shifted and went in a different direction, did I abandon her? Did she feel abandoned? Maybe it's all in my mind. I need to have this conversation with her and that's what I'm doing to close out this year.
DANI: That's really beautiful. Awesome.
KATY: How about you?
DANI: So I give compliments daily. That's my jam. Especially to strangers.
KATY: Mm-hmm.
DANI: And I never let an opportunity pass me by if I think about saying something and I don't, I'll actually go back to a place to tell somebody...
KATY: Wow.
DANI: ... because I like people to feel sane. I like when people feel sane and I think those little compliments that you can give a person, especially a stranger or someone you live with, the little things make them feel sane. And I think that's essential to world happiness.
KATY: Ok.
What else do you need to do or say to be complete for 2022
DANI: Ah. Congratulations Dani, you worked really hard to keep balance and it paid off.
KATY: All right! Nice.
DANI: What about you?
KATY: For me, it's push the print button. I'm finishing up a book and we just gotta hit that print button before the end of the year and then this year will do that.
DANI: Awesome.
KATY: All right...
DANI: Awesome. Moving On...
KATY: 2023. That was looking back. Now we're looking forward.
DANI: I think for me just losing that menopause... so I went through my premenopause, happy surprise, a few years ago. And said, "I'm leaning into this." I'm gonna go through this whole process. So I think just to lose 20 pounds for the sake of movement. I really notice it down on the floor with kids and I feel that. That extra thing. So for me, that would be really cool to do that - it would be a gift to my body for movement's sake. What about you? Biggest health Triumph. What would you like it to be?
KATY: Yeah, I think it's still back into that mental health place for me which is ... I would like to focus on doing fewer things and those things be higher quality things. That seems to be what I've identified which would make my mind and my body feel better overall. All those things are always going to involve making a choice - the quality things mean to move my body or takes care of my physical self as I'm doing it but yeah, fewer high-quality things. Not so much frenetic stuffed activity. That's definitely been what the last few years have been like for me.
DANI: That's a good realization.
KATY: Yeah.
DANI: Um...
What Health Advice Would You Want to Give Yourself for 2023?
KATY: It has to do with setting intention. I have a friend who - she makes rituals. That's her business is helping people make rituals. And she has a social media ritual which is what you do before you ever go to Social Media. You never stumble into it - fall into the room, like, "What's goin' on here. Let me look around". She's like, before you even knock on that door, you have to ask yourself a very short set of questions. That's the ritual. You could light a candle I guess if you wanted to. But it's mostly this idea of: what am I going for? What am I looking for? What am I hoping to get from it? When will I know that I'll be done?
DANI: Oh I like that.
KATY: Right? You know what I mean. We're just sort of going in and randomly stuffing ... I think it's very similar to the idea of mindful eating. This idea of you are setting an intention before you do it or else you don't know why you're there which means you'll do anything. You have very little boundaries around that practice. So that idea of setting an intention really before most things that I do is gonna be my health advice to myself.
DANI: That is super helpful. Thank you. Because I have not been doing social media for about 3 years. And I just recently just started to peek back in every once in a while. And I haven't liked how I felt. So I think I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna think about what do I want from this. I love that. That is excellent advice. Tell your friend thank you.
KATY: I will. And I'll see ... If I can find the actual article that she writes about it, I'll link to it in the show notes. Because it's got her - she does everything beautifully and she only does slow, high-quality projects.
What Health Advice Do You Want To Give Yourself for 2023?
DANI: Keep sleeping. Keep hydrating. Keep pumping iron because I have decided and figured out that ... I used to make fun of lifting weights. "You don't need to do that." And then I realized that I love the proprioceptive input. Because I'm like ADD. And it feels good. So it's for my mental health that I'm pumping iron. And eat less sugar.
KATY: It's like a big weighted blanket.
DANI: Exactly.
KATY: You want something to push on. You need something to push on.
DANI: I need something to push on. I need the heavy work to regulate. And it's so great to finally, at 51, realize that.
KATY: (sings) ..... ok
How Are You Going To Change Your Movement Results in 2023
DANI: So I'm definitely going to up my walking once I shift to my new job. That's the main goal. How are you going to change your movement results in 2023?
KATY: Doing less of the non-movement parts of my life. I don't know if that's very clear.
DANI: Yeah.
KATY: It makes a lot of sense to me. It just saying no to the extra stuff that I don't need to do that encroaching into the parts of the day where I would like to be moving more.
DANI: That's Good.
What Are You Trying to Complete in 2023 or What Would You Be Happy to Complete?
KATY: Well, I'm gonna do a dry January. Do you know what a dry January is? Have you heard of dry January?
DANI: I do but I thought you were like no depressants no...
KATY: Exactly. So I do'nt even drink alcohol but I like the idea of what it is. It's kind of like abstaining from something. So I'm gonna do the social media extra internet version of dry January. That really relates back to the problem that I identified in 2023 which is, some people dune scroll. Have you heard this term dune scrolling?
DANI: Is that just looking at bad news all time?
KATY: I think so. I feel like I'm an older person right now. "Have you heard of this thing called dune scrolling?" For me, it's all about ...
DANI: (inaudible ... laughs)
KATY: What do you mean the cables go under the ocean... I feel like my grandmother when trying to explain how phones work or whatever. So for me what I realized is when I feel uncomfortable or threatened because knowing helps me stay safe and calm, when I feel uncomfortable going and now everything to know is on the internet, right? I will find myself trying to deep dive just trying to find the answer. If I read enough. If I look deeply enough I will have certainty about this thing. So it's really just a reframing my relationship with certainty. Which is you're not going to get it. You're probably not even gonna come close. There is just sort of enough to keep your life going. So my dry January - MY dry January is a version of knowing the thing that I go to in my discomfort and not using that tool. So I ...
DANI: Oh oh oh I love this.
KATY: You know what I mean. It's "dry" in air quotes. And then that way anyone listening if they were interested in doing - they could figure out whatever it is for them. And they're just gonna... it just gonna...
DANI: Wow.
KATY: So it's my version of a dry January. People are like, "It's a dry January. We're not drinking." I'm doing my own version. I'm off social media this month.
DANI: We so need to do a show in February about this because I want to hear and I wanna find out how to swim.
KATY: And it's like stopping. Stopping when you realize. Anytime you want to know anything, it's like, let's go look it up. Let's go look it up. My kids now: look it up, look it up. And we're ok. It doesn't need to be known. It's a music lyric. It's where someone was born. It's who is in this movie. It's not essential. It's a tick in the way. And for me, it's become more of an obsession. It's beyond a tick. I recognize it in myself. And I can spend lots of time researching something because I need to. And that is separate than me doing it because I have to do it to feel calmer. Right? It's not the thing that I'm doing. It's why I'm doing it. And so by going dry, it just lets me sort of sort it out. So that's what I'm doing. What about you?
DANI: Wow. Mine's not nearly as deep. But now I'm thinking about that.
KATY: Try moisturizing every day.
DANI: I gotta pull back my focus here. I would really, this sounds weird, but I would like to just do 30 push-ups a day.
KATY: I like it. I'm into it. Drinking water and doing 30 push-ups a day.
DANI: Yeah.
KATY: I think that's excellent.
DANI: I lift weights but that's a whole different thing. It's a whole... and I like that because it would be like regulation and... I like it.
KATY: Right. I don't think it's any less deep. We're just trying to get rid of these ruts in our brains and make other ones. So whatever you pick is great. Ok.
What Would You Most Like To Change About Your Health in 2023
DANI: I think increase my cardiopulmonary capacity and get back to where I was pre-Covid and even better. Even further.
KATY: That's great.
DANI: …
What Would You Like to Most Change About Your Health in 2023?
KATY: See this is all about mental health for me. I think my physical self - I feel ok where I am. I think there's definitely things I would want to play with but for me, it's really going the brain care and the mind care. I'm just, again, it's just my relationship with not knowing. I'm just really focused on that this year. It was really sort of in the last few years of just hoping I would find the right answer somewhere and realizing that's not gonna happen. I'm just working on that relationship. And I think that that would bring me a lot of peace. It would open up more time. And having more peace and more time is better for my body and also just allows me to do other things with my body that I would like to be doing.
DANI: Totally. Yeah.
KATY: And TikTok videos. I'd like to do more TikTok videos. That's a joke. I do not.
DANI: Tick Tack darling. It's tick-tack. Ok.
What Are You Gonna Learn... I love this... What are you going to Learn in 2023?
DANI: What are you going to learn?
KATY: Spanish. We're learning Spanish. We are going to - our family is going to central America here shortly for the first school semester for Spanish immersion for the four of us. So that's ...
DANI: Awesome.
KATY: Yeah, so I'm looking to - I have some projects in my work that I want to be doing that relate to movement and labor and Spanish is the language that is going to make that easiest for me. I've studied Spanish for a lot of years but I've never been in a place where it's the primary language so we're going to do that and then my kids are at the age where - I've always wanted them to be able to have some pathways in their mind opened for the dual language. And then also just to see that humanity and the way humans are doesn't only look like the country that we live in. And travel can do that but I think also being in, living in a community in a similar way to the people who live in that community would also change the mind a little bit.
DANI: Right. Or having someone live in your house that grew up in a different.
KATY: That's another way. Right?
DANI: It's a constant check-in for me.
KATY: Are you saying that you have someone in your house that's from another culture?
DANI: My boyfriend is from El Salvador.
KATY: Ok right. So...
DANI: And he grew up in a revolution as a guerilla and making coffee when he was five years old for 10-12 hours a day so it's a real - it's a check-in all the time.
KATY: A mind opener. A brain-opener.
DANI: So you can always interview him for your book. Because he does your work for his body. His laboring.
KATY: Great. So what are you gonna learn in 2023?
DANI: As you know, dude, I am chronically curious so I learn all the things.
KATY: Right.
DANI: That's why I like this question. It's funny. But I can't stop myself. But to narrow it down, I think, so I've been teaching myself Spanish for the last 3 years and now I use it in my job.
KATY: That's great.
DANI: A lot. About 3/4 of my clientele are Spanish speaking. So it's been great for me. So I'm really gonna pump that up so I can discuss many more things and ask many more questions. And then I've been teaching myself ASL too. Because I used to teach baby sign language, but now that's also something I'd like to be more conversant and helpful. So those are my two biggies.
KATY: Yay. One of my sisters is deaf.
DANI: I know.
KATY: And so my children got their name signs this year. Because we had a big family reunion so a name sign is something that's given to you from a deaf person and they're just very excited about it. So that's another cultural immersion too. I love it. I love that you're doing that.
What is Your Risk for 2023?
KATY: What's your risk?
DANI: So it's kind of like the one you took this last year. I want to keep this health balance that I've worked so hard on, to achieve. Because part of it is not doing too much, like you. I just have been able to - like I don't walk with headphones and listen to stuff anymore. I just listen to the nature around me.
KATY: Right.
DANI: I don't have any input while I'm walking. That kind of stuff. So keeping that health balance that I've worked so hard to achieve while I try and move to a smaller place while getting my daughter ready to go off to college. All at the same time. So...
KATY: (sighs)
DANI: I just want to keep it together health-wise during this time. What's your risk for 2023?
KATY: Probably moving abroad. I don't know how risky it is. It'll be a challenge. It's just stepping far out of a box. Is that what a risk is? I'm not going to try rowing across the Atlantic ocean. I don't have anything that risky in that sense. But it is just something that challenges me. Challenges my comfort. I guess that's what we're using risk for. More like grit. How are you gonna show your grit?
DANI: Oh I like that. Let's just rework these.
KATY: Ok yeah, this is the last year we're doing these questions.
DANI: Everybody pay real close attention. It's all gonna change.
What are You Most Committed to Changing and/or Improving in 2023?
KATY: I left this one blank. Myself. I'm just gonna put myself. But also accepting myself where I am as I work to change and improve. You know what I mean? I don't know. Is that too floofy of an answer?
DANI: No.
KATY: Is that just me trying to wing it because I don't have an answer? I don't ... nothing resonates with me when I read this question.
DANI: All right. Out it goes then. For me, I just want to camp more. I wasn't when I was in school that wasn't an option.
KATY: Ah!
DANI: Because I was working and studying and caring for 2 kids - single mom-ing it and then I just - I want to camp more because I really miss that. Yeah.
What underdeveloped Talent Are You Willing or Planning to Explore this Upcoming Year?
KATY: Spanish. It's the same answer. To me - but most specifically teaching - communicating my work through Spanish. When you're going how do I study a language ... like you can sit inside language...this kind of relates to movement, as I'm making a choice. Do I, my kids are going to be in a dual immersion school where they're gonna be English speakers and then Spanish speakers swapping language? I didn't necessarily want to go and sit and learn Spanish in a classroom like I have done for 8 years previous. I wanted to be learning the phraseology of movement and learning/teaching movement through Spanish where it's most likely to stick and where I'm most likely to use it in the future. I'm also already fluent in movement, so the Spanish part can just be the add-on to me. It makes it easier to learn the Spanish in the context that you already understand.
DANI: Exactly.
KATY: That's really the most. That is the single quality project that I'm interested in working on in my - on my time there. To be able to dial that skill in fairly well. What about you?
DANI: This is kind of in the mental health again. I think picking up the guitar again. Because I used to play guitar a lot when I lived in Washington State. Weekly. A couple of times a week. And I just haven't. So that's something I think that would bring me some joy.
KATY: Well, and also to say, I'm not really an artist kind of person. Like it seems music is a type of art. Did I say that with a question? It seems like music is art. Is that right? I heard...
DANI: I wouldn't say you're not an artist of a person, it's just that you work in a different medium.
KATY: And it's not ... I am creative and the things I do are creating but not in a way that would be immediately obvious. But I started doing theater, right? Because I have always liked theater. And I am in a play right now in community theater with my kids at the same time. And I feel like, yes, that is a big mental health thing. Because I am up and moving in rehearsals for 3 hours a night. I'm physically doing something with my body. We're not doing anything that's online. We're doing something together. We're doing something in a group of people learning different people that we would have met in other places. And it totally relaxes my mind because it's different. It's like cross-training. It's cross-training in the broader physical sense. It's me developing a different part of myself that has atrophied because of the work that I do and the fact that the work fills up my life.
DANI: I love this so hard. What's the play?
KATY: It's styled as the Worst Christmas Pageant Every but its best is written after the worst.
DANI: Uh-huh.
KATY: It's just been really fun. I wear a wig. I should send you a picture. It is sort of...
DANI: Talk about too much sensory input. Aaaaaah!
KATY: It is big. It's all set in the 60-70s. It's great.
DANI: This is awesome. Oh, I love theater. I used to do it. Good for you. I'm proud of you.
KATY: Yeah, thank you. That's just... I am interested in approving other aspects of myself and I think that language and language and theater and the arts outside of this other thing that I love doing is a good way of looking at cross-training of self.
DANI: Theater, I think, it shifts your auditory processing a different way. So I like that.
KATY: Ok well we're getting close to time. Tell me some of the answers that you have here on the last few that you want to share.
DANI: Ok. So the one, what brings you joy in health? For me, it's just mobility. I am grateful every day for mobility and I just don't take it for granted. So. What about you?
KATY: It's outside walking with others straight up. If ... that's my food. That's my basic food. If I can get that I can really do anything. If I can get a dose of that, yeah. Early morning, even better. The timing of it really makes the difference for me.
DANI: Yeah, it's true.
KATY: And maybe early morning isn't for you but I have found my time and it is early morning. Dark walking with friends. What else?
DANI: So what about other than yourself, who are you most committed to loving and serving?
KATY: Ok.
DANI: Is that the last one?
KATY: No there's one after that.
DANI: Ok that's what I thought. So other than yourself, who are you most committed to loving and serving?
KATY: Everyone. That's an awkward question for me.
DANI: That's my answer too. For every living thing.
KATY: Yeah. Yeah. I just am really - I am just trying to cultivate practices and worldviews that consider as many pieces and parts as possible.
DANI: Yes.
KATY: Look at this. We have a lot in common! All right. Let's see if we have the same last word ...what one word would you like to have as your health/movement theme for 2023?
DANI: Ok mine is in Spanish.
KATY: Gasps!
DANI: And it's dale which is just like "bring it" "let's go" "come on"
KATY: Is that part of andele?
DANI: No. It's just like give it - it's what originally was give it to me. But it's become a slang as bring it, give it. C'mon, let's do it.
KATY: Dale.
DANI: What is your one word?
KATY: Mono-tasking.
DANI: Mono-tasking.
KATY: They couldn't see your face. You're just like mine is Dale - eat the world, vital. And I'm like mono-tasking.
DANI: (Cracks up.)
KATY: Mono-tone, mono-tasking. Your face was great. You're just like.
DANI: It's something we need antibodies for or something. I do'nt know.
KATY: I was in high school and I got mono-tasking.
DANI: You have to be careful. It's really contagious.
KATY: That's right.
DANI: Mono-tasking. I love you. You're so funny.
KATY: It's one thing at a time. It's like you need to listen to the podcast. So like it's interesting to see the evolution, right? This idea of I still believe in stacking vs multitasking, right? Because you're looking for that single task that meets multiple needs. But I have found how easy it is on the other side to cram, you know if you're .. again because of the input. I've just felt like the onslaught of input. There is too much to listen to, to read, opinions to consider, news to stay up on. And we're like, "oh I have to have on all the time" and so mono-tasking... is I'm gonna move for me specifically the layering in of other inputs while I'm trying to do the things that I want to give my attention. I don't think I can give the thing that I want to do in intention when I'm also trying to take in other inputs. So mono-tasking.
DANI: Right. I get it.
KATY: Say it in a sexy voice and then it seems more exciting. Dale. Mono-tasking.
DANI: Mono-tasking. I love it. It's really good.
KATY: Well thanks for coming on. It was so lovely to be with you.
DANI: I had so much fun. Yes. Let's do it again next year.
KATY: Everyone will be so happy.
DANI: Yes. I hope you have a wonderful winter season.
KATY: Have a great New Year.
DANI: Thank you! You too. It was fun.
KATY: Ok. Yay!
(Theme music)
Hello there. My name is Brock from Vancouver Island and this has been Move Your DNA with Katy Bowman and her guest Dani Hemmet, a podcast about movement. Hopefully, you find the general information in this podcast informative and helpful but it is not intended to replace medical advice and shouldn't be used as such. Our theme music was performed by Dan MacCormack. Thanks, Dan. This podcast is produced by me, Brock Armstrong, and the transcripts are done by Annette Yen. Thanks, Annette. Find out more about Katy, her books, and her movement programs at NutritiousMovement.com. And have a great New Years! We'll be back in your ears in 2023.
(Music fade)
- What was your biggest health triumph in 2022 (or, the last two years)?
- What was the smartest health or movement decision you made in 2022?
- What single word best sums up your 2022 health or movement experience?
- Greatest lesson you learned about health in 2022?
- What was the most loving service you performed in 2022?
- What was your biggest piece of unfinished health or movement business in 2022?
- What health or movement goal are you most happy about completing in 2022?
- Who are the three people that had the greatest impact on your health or movement in 2022?
- What is the greatest health risk you took in 2022?
- What was your biggest health surprise in 2022?
- What important relationship improved most this last year?
- Compliment that you would have liked to receive but didn’t?
- What compliment would you have like to have given?
- What else do you need to do or say to be complete with 2022?
2023
- What would you like your biggest health triumph in 2023 to be?
- What health advise you want to give yourself for 2023?
- How are you gonna change your movement results in 2023?
- What are you trying to complete in 2023 or what would you be happy to complete?
- What indulgence are you going to experience? What are you willing to do?
- What would you like to most change about your health in 2023?
- What are you gonna learn in 20223?
- What’s your risk for 2023?
- What are you most committed to changing and/or improving in 2023?
- What underdeveloped talent are you willing, planning to explore this upcoming year?
- What brings you joy in health? How are you gonna have more of that in 2023?
- Other than yourself, who are you most committing to loving and serving?
- One word that you would like to have as your health movement theme in 2023.
