Don't let the dreaded Writers' Butt happen to you! Ours is a sedentary profession, so it is impossible for us to get as much physical activity as, say, a park ranger or an aerobics instructor. But ironically, the most effective way to keep mentally sharp and creatively juicy is to maintain cardiovascular fitness and overall good health. Your brain is an organ, and it needs blood flow and proper nutrition to function optimally.
Frustrating but true: We authors need to make time to care for our bodies to keep our minds sharp and to keep pesky health troubles from interrupting our creative process. My favorite exercise regimen is taking belly dance classes. I'm not a gym person. I like my exercise to be either so fun that it feels like playing or so practical that it counts as multitasking, like taking my baby on a walk to the park. Getting from Point A to Point B is a fabulous opportunity to stay fit. I'm always down for super-decadent or super-lazy ways to eat healthy food and avoid toxins and environmental hazards.
To prove that Writers' Butt can be avoided, below is a YouTube video with a picture of my rump that someone nabbed off of Facebook. I uploaded it to a fan page in one of those moments some of us have in which we upload things to the internet that we might later regret. I discovered it by accident on YouTube and was at first embarrassed and panicked, but then I saw the view count, and whether this makes sense or not, its popularity made me feel proud of the photo instead of ashamed. Ha! My butt is famous! Sort of. My next goal is to make my writing sort-of-famous...
