I'm reading "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain", by John J. Ratey, MD. The author was interviewed on Science Friday the other week, and it sounded intriguing. I've had a tendency to anxiety and depression all my life, and since I started skating regularly, nearly four years ago, I haven't had any trouble. I perform better at work and keep up with the kids and the household chores and life in general much more easily. This book explains why that works. I'm still reading, but here's the quote for us:

"While aerobic exercise elevates neurotransmitters, creates new blood vessels that pipe in growth factors, and spawns new cells, complex activities put all that material to use by strengthening and expanding networks. The more complex the movements, the more complex the synaptic connections. And even though these circuits are created through movement, they can be recruited by other areas and used for thinking. ...

"Learning the asansas of yoga, the positions of ballet, the skills of gymnastics, the elements of figure skating, the contortions of Pilates, the forms of karate - all these practices engage nerve cells throughout the brain."

I've been having some trouble justifying the risks of figure skating while I've got small kids, a mortgage, a job, etc. It helps to understand just why it does me so much good, and really believe that this kind of exercise is a necessity to me and not entirely a luxury. Although, if push came to shove, that is a pretty good list of slightly less dangerous alternate activities to have around.

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It's all about the dress!

Good, I'm glad you read this, then! It always makes me sad when I see adults who consider skating (or some other hobby) a "luxury" for themselves but if their kids do it, it becomes a "necessity" for the kids. I think an adult's hobbies are just as important as kids' hobbies (and maybe more so, as the adult is more likely to need the exercise and stress relief and break from mundane life--for some folks, any hobby they have is the only thing that gets them away from work, childcare, housework, and other "necessary life crap" during which they get no time for themselves).

I keep telling myself, and my coach--it's either him or therapy, and he's cheaper than therapy!!

Very interesting info--thanks for sharing that.

Phoenix - I dumped my therapist to return to figure skating, too, LOL! And he was GOOD! I must have just realized that I needed to focus on something I could hope to progress in instead of listening to myself whine about the same old stuff every week.

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

THANKS for sharing!
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