Ready for ACTION!

I remember one of my first acting teachers telling me, "a relaxed actor can do anything."  I agree.  Well, I'm currently performing in a staged reading and I'm finding the many tools I practiced to remain "relaxed" are not as close to me as they once were.  In other words, taking time off from theatre acting while raising a child, now 3 years old, has had an impact.

The role I'm currently playing demands emotional commitment.  What that means is in my moments of expressing big emotions, I'm finding I have tension that doesn't leave after the performance.  What I used to do was practice yoga, stretching, and walking all the time.  Now I'm lucky to take a walk around my neighborhood.

Being well - and taking that a step further being fit - is not something easily practiced in my life as I know it.  Maintaining a healthy lifestyle requires time and attention, and  must become a priority.  As a point of truth, for me to be a successful and healthy person and actress, I have to prioritize attention to stretch and hone my physical state of being. 

Ways that I know work well for me are modern dance, improv dance, yoga, swimming, and walking.  What are your favorite ways to connect to your physical power and ease?

Copyright 2014 Heather Corwin

Perception is Crazy Making

There are days when I wake up and feel great, think I look great, and I walk tall (see image on right).  Then there are days when I look at my reflection and see a woman who is overweight, saggy, frizzy hair, and not attractive (see troll on left).  How can these perceptions coexist from day to day?  Maddening.

So how can I maintain my positive feelings and decrease my negative?  One very crucial way for me seems to be to maintain my active lifestyle.  Before having my child, I used to be extremely fit and practice yoga continually.  If I didn't do that, I found another avenue to remain happy.  I other words, I know that my physical activity profoundly affects my mental states.  Plus, being fit helps me feel attractive and look more attractive to myself and others.  Creating the change I wish to see in me takes time and learning.  I have to discover how to find the time to do all that I want to do in my life - including being fit.

Another point I feel I need to make is that I have the shortcoming of associating my outward appearance with sex appeal.  Though I don't often project my standards onto others, I have a deeply rooted belief that if I'm slightly overweight (not according to science which has me at my optimum weight), I am not attractive.  Thank God my husband does not adhere to my overzealous beliefs on this matter!

The bottom line here is to find balance in my life and in my mind.  I'm really hard on myself and have no patience or tolerance for areas in my life that may require time to make adjustments.  If this applies to you as well, I encourage you to practice compassion and self-care - as I am trying to do for myself.   "(We) are beautiful, no matter what they say..."

Copyright 2014 Heather Corwin