Orgasms N Exercise!

So while reading the NY Times Sunday Magazine article about the science of female desire last week, I saw a brief link to orgasm-like feelings after exercise (sadly, since I no longer have access to Wesleyan's medical journal descriptions, I can't read it--I got into reading medical journal articles when I took this one epidemiology class).

I WISHIWISHWISH I could read about this! People talk about running "highs" or whatever, and that's true, but calling something a "high" is a pretty neutral term. YES, it can refer to drug use, but NO, it doesn't conjure up a full-body orgasm or anything. Looking at the abstract more closely, it appears that exercising made people more responsive to sexual imagery, but it wasn't due to the hormonal changes they thought.

As a swimmer, and especially a distance swimmer, I've had times where I inexplicably felt really, really, really good while exercising. It's a giddiness, a euphoria. It matches, but is qualitatively different, to times where I've felt euphoric from caffeine, alcohol, getting really good results on my AP tests in the mail, and, although it's been awhile, sex. I imagine this is under-researched because it's a personal, not shared emotion. While your teammate is in agony it's a bit alienating to slur out "I feel soooo good right now! I'm totally high off this ridiculously hard set!"

While I've had warm fuzzy feelings during exercise and after---usually it takes pretty strenuous exercise to induce it--I have particularly strong memories from my senior year water polo season. Maybe because at that point I'd sampled the various sources of euphoria, I had a different sense of contextualization that made full-body pleasure seem like a simile to orgasm. Anyway, we would have these two-hour, strenuous practices, then I would have to dash over with wet hair (15 minute walk, which I know now from living in New York is 3/4 of a mile) to catch one of the bajillion screenings I had for my Senior Film Seminar. So while changing/walking over/before starting the movie, there were a few times where I felt REALLY, REALLY good. Just like dreamy, stupid smiley, and good allll over. It radiated from me and kind of draped over me and either made the whole world look like Willy Wonka or made me super ebullient and wanting to share my good mood with someone. Kind of like a certain variety of orgasm, but so so much longer lasting. And also kind of like the Little Match Girl before she freezes to death in the snow.

So, while people don't really talk about random acts of euphoria (I contemplated telling my classmates that I felt orgasmic, but reconsidered) unless you're, of course, having sex, it's interesting to see that something so wholesome, like exercise, can produce such a profound reaction in the body. I LOVE it. And what better place to talk about it than in the frankness of the blogosphere?

I felt something like that today, walking home after I interviewed my first movie director over the phone. I had been so nervous, and then it went really well, and I just felt giddy and happy and relieved and it all felt so good.

I think this might mean I'm becoming happier in general.

And do you know what--I've been feeling a lot happier lately, and I've also been doing much more strenuous exercise. Although I've been walking to and from work for five months now (that's 2 miles a day, provided it's not raining really hard or I don't take the subway to a screening after work), and doing yoga a couple times a week, it's only now that I've started running (20+ minutes on a treadmill; funny...that was how long the test subjects were on there...) that my body has really been activated and made use of those pleasure centers (in order to help with the pain of getting back in shape?).

I really like the idea of the body as a machine. I think it's empowering, healthy, etc.. Noticing such a big difference in mood, I definitely think I will work to keep this gym habit going.

Cipriani, Boot Camp, and Yoga

I've gone to the gym a couple times this week (boot camps class and yoga class), with a trial membership at Gold's, and I LOVE it. I get such a high from exercising. Even if I'm tired and exhausted, I feel more energized after working out, because I think most of the fatigue from the day at the office is mental, not physical.

Yesterday I went to yoga class (after our company meeting and a sick amount of fried and buttered hors d'oeuvres at Cipriani). Even though I haven't formally done a yoga class for maybe four months, I still had a decent amount of strength and was able to pull off the warrior and plank poses without much strain in the thighs. Yay for subway steps!

We only went into child pose once during the class, which is so unlike the yoga classes I used to take at the Y, which is a family gym with perma-beginner classes. I tried to do a headstand and failed (something never even offered in the classes I used to take), but I think I could definitely do one in the future! I could also do a shoulderstand. I totally thought I was going to pull my back, but I was able to walk this morning, thank God.

Shoulderstand!

Back to the company meeting. I adore Cipriani (only ever been to the one at 42nd st). We had our company holiday party there. It has the most amazing service and food, and the venue is unparalleled, an old bank with high Corinthian columns and the original teller stations still intact in the middle of this gigantic bank. When you walk in a fleet of white-suited people come at you with a hanger and take your coat. No standing in line for coat check!

Their food is amazing--last night I had these great mini-burgers, which were my favorite, and I hate burgers. They were stacked with a quarter-sized bun, a ball of top-quality beef, a tiny bit of cheese, and a dollop of ketchup. The omission of the second piece of bread was a clever choice, I think, appealing both to the low-carb people (perhaps? are there any of those left?) and making the familiar burger slightly unrecognizable. Mini burgers/tacos/grilled cheeses/reubens seeem to be all the rage when it comes to cocktail parties, so I thought making the sandwich open-faced a nice tweak on that trend.

The cone of calamari: hot, lemony, decadent taste of oil. NOT chewy. Since calamari is so awful for you, I only like to eat it if it's prepared perfectly, otherwise it just feels like a waste of fried goodness. Liked that they gave me a whole cone, which I gobbled before it cooled.

Tomatoes and fresh mozzarella on a stick with thin matchsticks of basil sprinkled on top. I had three since it was a "veggie"

I steered away from the chicken croquettes at first because they looked like little brown fried balls. I finally tried one and was pleasantly surprised it didn't taste too greasy. The chicken filling, while not dry, relied on the fried coating for its richness, which made it a nice complement.

They also had mini ham and cheese sandwiches that many people spit out. The cheese was swiss, but I could tell that they used a flour roux (that they might have screwed up since I could taste the flour...) to change the consistency of the cheese. Seems like a needless way to embellish a ham and cheese that backfired, but I still really admire the kitchen there.

...I'd also like to point out that right after that I went to my yoga classes. Doing all those forward bends was a little hard, as I was afraid the meal was going to come right up. Oh hors d'oeuvres for dinner, I think it's hilarious that this underpaid media girl lives on free cocktail party food, all at places like Cipriani...