The mind-body dis/connection

I have the summer “off” from teaching, but, of course, I have projects hanging over my head and I have to prepare for classes in the fall, which takes an endless amount of time. A few weeks in, I haven’t made much progress on these projects, but what I have done is get myself back to the gym. And, it feels good.
Despite my vows not to, I turned doughy during the school year and put on several pounds that pushed me over the edge from acceptable to borderline overweight. My cholesterol and C reactive protein are borderline high; my Vitamin D is borderline low. I’m clearly at some sort of “border” with my health and I’m determined to do something more proactive.
I’ve lost 10 pounds and I’m starting to uncover muscle and bone I haven’t seen in awhile, thanks in large part to a five-foot tall, totally shredded Romanian woman named Lydia who teaches a killer “kwando” and weight-lifting class but with a zen vibe.
At the same time, I’m taking yoga at the local ashram, no kidding. Thanks, Liz Gilbert. Yogi Victor talks a lot about treating the earth well, biodynamic food, and the awful things we do to our bodies in the West.
My biggest life goals are to eat well naturally all the time (thus ridding myself of a lifelong sugar addiction), and write well naturally all the time (thus ridding myself of a lifelong fear of failure and success).
But I’m having trouble concentrating on both my body and my mind at once.
As I write this, it sounds really simple. And, from reading Prochaska and DiClemente’s extensive research on how people change, I just have to keep trying.
Would I rather have a book or a healthy, slim body? Truthfully, the body would make me happier. That’s quite a revelation.
More later…