It’s September and Edinburgh has returned to it’s good old self. For a frantic month performers scrambled for our attention, lots of acrobats, magicians and musicians crowded our streets. One of my favourite Fringe shows was the pure physical magic of No Fit State Circus who brought the wonderful show Tabu to leafy Shrubhill. It was a dynamic show with the performers maintaining intense acrobatic energy for a full two-hours, twice a day, whilst looking like they were enjoying it. It got me thinking about whether narcissism is necessarily a negative thing.

The No Fit State performers were well fit and in peak physical condition – all defined muscles as they clambered up and down tent poles and swung around on the trapeze…nice! It’s commonplace for performers and dancers to be highly body conscious. Keeping body fat off is a crucial part of their job. As performers, they are expected to look good on stage as well as being physically capable of doing fancy tricks. But if you work in an office, say, and spent as much attention on your bodily assets as performers do, you would be thought of as narcissistic.

The best thing to come out of Wales since Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci...

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Body malarkey
Narcissism is defined on the ever reliable dictionary.com as ‘[an] inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity’. Let’s get controversial. Is a touch of narcissism necessarily a bad thing? How much is too much?

At one extreme there’s celebrity culture – self-absorbed, egocentric and childlike in it’s never-ending quest for attention and self-love (perhaps why many children want to be celebrities), and requiring a whole entourage just to ensure Beyonce’s waistline is in tip top form.

At the other end of the spectrum we have the typical ‘man on the street’ who has never considered his waistline (that is until it’s got so big that he can’t see his bits and pieces). The thought of giving up time to look after his body is a foreign concept. It’s more acceptable for ladies in an office to endlessly chat about everything that passes their lips, however when it comes to the nitty gritty of exercising, well, that’s less of a fun topic. In fact, when I worked in offices many moons ago, I would be teased mercilessly about the ‘rabbit food’ (i.e. my lunch) that I used to take into work. Things have changed a bit over the last decade, but on a bus recently I had a yoof slagging me for eating green leaves in public. Is there any hope for the waistline of our nation if a lack of respect for our well-being is so acceptable?

What I usually encounter with folk trying fitness for the first time is, “Wow! So this is what exercise is all about.” It’s seems to me a Scottish trait to abandon looking after one’s body, or even acknowledge that it might like looking after – it’s all a bit embarrassing, this owning a body malarkey – why on earth should one give two hoots? Who cares about arms and legs, and even livers?

Madonna shocker
So how much ‘self love’ or even self-maintenance is enough? Despite modern technology and labour saving devices we seem to have even less time to ourselves. Do you have enough time to spend three hours a week exercising? That equates to 30 minutes a day, which really isn’t much – just over 2% of your day actually. A convenient reason for not exercising is that there are not enough hours in the day. The funny thing is that even though exercise does take up some time each day, it gives you more energy to function well at your job.

I would say that 30 minutes a day is the bare minimum. You can spend more. Perhaps the 6 hours a day that Madonna apparently puts in at the gym is a bit excessive, but a happy medium can be found. If you feel that you really don’t have the spare time to exercise, you have two choices, either make it a priority and make time, or incorporate it into your everyday life – cycling, fast-walking to work or pushing a stroller at good pace. A few wee changes to your routine can make a big difference.
Consider the miracle of your body, how it functions, quite often without a lot of thought from the owner, you. I’m not saying you need your own entourage, but perhaps giving your frankly rather amazing body a bit of attention will help it function better. So embrace yourself because you have a truly unique asset, your body! Take the time to get yourself moving, if you don’t make yourself a priority no one will.

Info: Try Tracy’s Pilates classes, starting 25th September, email iwantto@getfitandenjoyit.com for details.