Stressed out? No way!!

Who isn't at this time of the year? With everything coming to an end, it is hard not to loose ourselves in the infinite amount of things to do. And it seems almost impossible to stay still and try to relax for a moment, instead of giving up to anguish and worrying. It is achievable though, at least for me. I'll try to give you some tips that might help you dealing with stress.

I believe that it is essential to give us time for everything. Mainly because stress acts like a vicious circle, meaning that the more you worry the more stressed out you get. So the secret not to be overwhelmed with everything that we have to do is just not thinking about it and start caring for ourselves. It is hard but really necessary to find the time to do all the things that we like to do. For me it is ballet. The first term of this year I dropped it, because I thought that it would take too much time which I would need for studying.  But as the months went by I realized that even though it does take 4 hours a week from my time, it is the one thing that makes me forget about everything else for a while and just focus on dancing and doing it at my best. There isn't actually anything that helps me relax like a good and exhausting ballet class, I don't know what I would do without it. 

Well, there is this one thing that I find helpful too when it comes to avoid stress, it is partying and I would highly recommend it for those people that need a brake in their incredibly busy lives. You should definitely try it...

The Ballerina Project

"But I read somewhere that we only use 10% of our brain anyway"

Who hasen't heard that? Even I used to think that this statement was true some time ago. Let's face it, if someone like Einstein said it then it must be true. That is exactly what happens with myths in science nowadays. Generalization and extrapolation can lead us to mistaken conclusions, starting though from an actual scientific fact. And this one is no exception.

Wheter was Einstein or someone else who said that, today we know as a fact that every part in our brain has a certain purpose that is complex and specific. The way the brain works can be understood if we divide it into funcional areas. The whole cortex is specifically associated with the infinite amount of cognition functions that we know. And each area, even though linked with one function, can as well be involved in many others. This is what we have to keep in mind when we face this kind of statement. Truth is that neuroscience has prooved by many procedures (surgery, imaging techniques) that our brains are 100% active. Further, some researches have shown that, even asleep, we can not dissociate the brain of some of it's most essential activities. This is one of the most powerful reasons to believe that Einstein was wrong, at least if he ment what we say about his words nowadays.

These scientific facts speak for themselves, and it is hard to dispute them. However, I choose another argument to refute this affirmation that is so clearly wrong. If we look at the matter from the perspective of evolution there is no need of running tests nor neurosurgery. The fact is that the brain is really the organ of our species, it is the one who differentiate us from our primate cousins. The development of the brain has taken long time to bring us where we stand today as men kind, and so it would be very unwise from Natural Selection to waste all this years in an organ that is mostly useless, wouldn't it?

Jumping Brains

A healthy lifestyle, is it possible? How?

People always say that being healthy is all about eating well, spleeping eight hours a night, practicing sports and avoiding drugs like alcohol or tobacco. What do we have to do to achieve that kind of lifestyle that is so promising? If you go to the gym for instance, you will necesary see a lot of healthy people -or trying to be healthy at least- but how healthy are they really? Is it enough to be in perfect armony with your body in terms of fat, metabolism and stuff like that to be considered a healthy person? I am not fond of gyms in general, because I think that those are the places where the concept of being healthy gets distorted. What is healthy about a woman who eats nothing but letuce and spends most of her day training there? I believe that the line between being coscious and obsessed with a healthy lifestyle is really thin, not to mention that crossing it can be very dangerous.

I'm only saying this because, for me, the most important thing about being healthy is the idea of balance, in everything. On the basis that mind and body equilibrium is the crucial aspect of this conception. Looking at the matter this way we can understand that a healthy person is not the brawny man that thinks only about building himself, nor the classic american couch potato. To be healthy, or to live healthy better said, the middle ground between those two extremes is the key.

This angle allows us to determine some habits or ways that can lead to a healthy lifestyle. On the one hand, exercise is essential, but not only because of the physical effects that it has. In fact, I believe that practicing some kind of exercise brings more benefits to our minds than it does to our bodies, because of the recreation that it implies. Moreover I would dare saying that practicing exercise is essential to a healthy mind. On the other hand, I think that being careful about what we eat and what we drink is good enought. The most healthy people that I know are those who do not deprive themselves of anything. For instance they do eat some fast food eventually, because mainly they eat balanced meals so they can allow themselves some indulgences now and then.

So, a healthy lifestyle, is it possible? I believe so, as long as by healthy we mean balanced and mentally sain. We just have to be informed about what is good for ourselves, what is not, and then just play with those two in the right proportions...

Sesame Street

My first competition

When I was in first grade of elementary school I started practicing Rythmic Gymnastics. I do not know why but I always wanted to do it, since I can remeber. Maybe because everybody used to tell me that I would be good at it, maybe because the teacher was so nice to me. The thing is that I was really excited when I was finally old enough to start training.

And one thing that I will never forget is the first competition that I attended. I remember that I was not supposed to go, because of my age, but one of the older girls got sick, and of course I did my best to replace her.

Once I was there, I could not believe my eyes. Everything the girls had told me was true, there were real judges (pretty scary actually), and lots of people in the audience. In fact as I look back it all comes back, the anxiety, the nausea but most of all the joy of being finally there. It all happened so fast, suddenly it was my turn. I had to perform and individual routine that lasted one minute and a half. Fortunately I didn't forget my moves (like most of the girls that where my age), but I was so excited that instead of doing it during the time that lasted the music, I took my time to do everything really carefully. The music stopped and I was in the middle of the routine, so I decided that I could just leave, I had to finish it. And I did, people started to applaude, they did not understand that I was not quite done yet.

I did not get any medals that time, but I learned an important lesson, always go with the music! And so I did...

The best show ever

I had the privilege of being to two presentations of Le Cirque du Soleil, and I believe that it is really one of the best experiences I have ever had. Never in my life I had been so mooved by this kind of spectacle. 

Especially in Quidam, I loved the way they mixed the most trivial and quotidian things, and put them into this magical and mystical world, with characters that are beyond any imagination. The story turns around a little girl, Zoé, who is borred of her life and her parents, suddenly she meets "Quidam" who is a man, any man, but he has the power of bringing her a hole world of magic and mystery. Then you can see the most amazing acts, going from trapeze to contorcionist artists. 

Besides, another key element that makes this show unique is it's music. It is live and the singers and players are as gifted as the rest of the cast. 

In the end, I can say that Quidam (and also Saltimbanco) is a show that is worthed seing. Not only for all that I just said, but because the most dazzling thing about it is the way it can make you go from tears to laugh in just one second. It is really a story that traps you and makes our world seem so small and dull, compared to this fantasy that seems so close that you can almost touch it with the tip of your fingers.