2025: The Year of Physicality

For most of the past five years, pain has held the pen, writing a story of limits and hesitation. But in 2025, I’m reclaiming the quill to script a new chapter.

Since 2020, I’ve allowed the chronic, mercurial physical pain I’ve wrestled with to boss me around. While I’ve chipped away in search of answers and healing, the process has largely been uninformative, frustrating, disheartening, and demoralizing.

As a result, I’ve grown too tolerant of my inhibited physical capacity. I miss being able to move dynamically, suddenly, without worry… I’m fed up with reflecting on how much I enjoyed boxing, while fearing how my body would respond if I were to put on my gloves… And I’d like to play ball hockey this spring with an old friend of mine.

That myriad longing, paired with simmering frustration, has bred action.

Meaning, my return to meatbending isn’t a flash in the pan.

Surprising even myself, for the past nearly-three weeks I’ve been hitting the mat twice, sometimes three times per day—’tis an all-out meatbending binge.

Each session not only lengthens and strengthens my body, but soothes my mind as well… A welcome tonic, easing the fogginess that often comes with chronic pain.

My staple morning session is a Vinyasa practice, featuring a motley of poses sequenced at the instructor's discretion, executed with emphasis on smoothness.

The optional afternoon session is Rocket—an Ashtanga-based practice. While Vinyasa and Ashtanga share many poses and are like brother and sister, Ashtanga practices follow set sequences, often utilizing longer holds and a quicker pace.

And before bed, I slip into the soft, soothing world of Yin, which relies on holding basic poses for 3 to 10 minutes, slowly, gently easing into deep myofascial releases.

Basically, the daily triad flows: Activate — Energize — Restore

Back in 2018-19 whilst practising in Vancouver, I had superb results with 2 Rocket and 2 Yin sessions per week. While more isn’t always better in life, in this case, I can already tell that my body is grateful for the wealth of daily, intentional movement—and I’m excited to see where things sit in a month or two.

As my practice quickly deepens, familiar old edges have already begun to resurface. My body clearly remembers its old capabilities and yearns to lean in… Yet new limitations to work through have appeared elsewhere—and so the journey rolls on.

While I’ve settled on Yoga as the primary means for reconditioning my meatsack for the time being, I’m also feeling called to movement in other shapes and forms.

Thus, I’m making a point of taking more walks in the woods, which is something I’ve sorely neglected for too long. And once I’ve got a handle on all the yoga, walking more, and maintaining my thrice-weekly gym sessions, I’d like to add in some sort of non-contact martial art, like Tai Chi or Qigong.

In other words, no more sitting still—time to bend my meat outta this pain.

With love from the forest,

~ Alexander

(AKA: Wiz, WOW, and The Wizard of Wordcraft)