The Sober Glow Studio is a weekly newsletter providing stories, recommendations, and resources on the art of living an alcohol-free lifestyle, navigating midlife, and anything that simply feels good.
LISTEN: The Rich Roll Podcast ep. 763 Movement & Mobility Masterclass. RR has been one of those long-standing podcasts that I return to again and again. The quality of guests is always top-notch, and RR is an excellent interviewer. In this episode, he shares tidbits from ten prior episodes all about movement/exercise/mobility and, the most important factor, the mindset around it all. When I first started sharing my MVMNT practice on IG, I made the conscious decision to refer to it as movement and not fitness, exercise, or working out. I have seen the fitness topic get as triggering as food talk, and I wanted to tread lightly. But I wanted to share that we can openly take care of ourselves and make ourselves a priority by doing the things that make us feel physically and mentally strong without it having to be toxic, shaming, or any other negative feelings around our bodies. The M&M masterclass podcast spoke to this idea a lot, and I highly appreciated it. And if you would like to go deeper into ideas around changing the perspective on movement practices and caring for yourself, check out ep 491 with Kelly McGonigal - Fall in Love with Movement, and ep 501 with Sadie Lincoln -Rewriting the Fitness Story.
Join me in the Old Man Balance test as I implement it into my daily life.
READ: Drinking, A Love Story by Caroline Knapp. I will not write too much here about this book only because the rest of this email below will be about my relationship with this book and how it put me on the path of questioning alcohol two decades ago. As well as how it made me start questioning how I labeled myself. Did I see myself as her? Was I better off? If I was so different, why do so many things she wrote feel true for me, too?…..
If you are into quit lit and have yet to read this one, go get it. If you can’t afford it, go to the library. If that is not possible, email me, and we will figure out how to get you a copy. In my most recent IG post regarding this book, a reader commented that it should be required reading in high school. I couldn’t agree more. But even if you are long out of high school, it’s never too late.
WATCH: Live to 100, Secrets of the Blue Zones with Dan Buettner. We have all been eating up information on longevity and how to live as long as possible. But we also have to include living as well as possible in this sentiment. Although I have not read any of Dan Buettner’s books, I am privy to his work and the Blue Zones. A Blue Zone is simply a geographical area that has been shown to have the largest population of centenarians, a person who is 100+ years old. And while certain dietary factors and movement practices are prevalent, there are other fundamental aspects to this. In the four-part series, Dan covers the five areas, Loma Linda, CA; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Sardinia, Italy; Ikaria, Greece; and Okinawa, Japan, as he tries to put together the reason that these areas have the most centenarians than any other place in the world.
This series made me want to immediately call my mother and force her to change how she lives. It made me want to pack my bags and get the heck out of Los Angeles. It made me want to apply for a stress-free, zero-responsibility job. It reinforced my idea of starting a commune with our families and dearest friends and their families. It gave me some anxiety about who will take care of us when we are old and unable to care for ourselves (since we don’t have children to burden :)) and the mere fact that someday we will be old and unable to care for ourselves. So, if you are up for all that smoke, check out this whole series. Or, if you don’t have the time, the last episode sums it up nicely.
Scroll down to read more thoughts on this epic quit-lit novel, how it affected my life at age 21, and how it still has me questioning things even at 47.