PleasureCize- The Method
PleasureCize is predicated on the theory that exercise that worked and made us feel good in the first 50 years of life DOES NOT work in the second 50 years of life.
This is very, very hard to accept because these are the exercise beliefs we’ve lived by, that the world is still telling us, no matter how old or injured we become, that we should keep doing. Things like:
- Driving your heart rate up and keeping it up- high- for as long as possible
- Ignoring and pushing past your limits
- Disdaining limits of any kind, in yourself or others
- Competing with others, or your own past performances
- Pushing further, faster, with more weights
But wait, these are hallmarks of fitness! These are sacrosanct values of athleticism! After 50 years old, these tenets apply less and less. Many of us simply give up on exercise altogether.
Consider the concept of “misogi” espoused by Dr. Marcus Elliott, an advanced sports science physician who is well regarded in professional sports circles and profiled in the book Ballistic: The New Science of Injury Free Athletic Performance by Henry Abbott. Misogi, according to Dr. Elliott, is immersing yourself in an [exercise] task that is extremely difficult, pushing yourself to the limit and beyond, and then emerging a changed person. He goes on to tell the story of bringing a star NBA player, who had never kayaked before, on a 30 mile kayak ride that took 9 hours. He described it as a great experience. And this is the influencer who is supposed to protect us from injury!
“No Pain, No Gain” is the dominant tenet most of us have lived by. It is nearly impossible to let go of this hard coded, decades-old value system and embrace something almost entirely opposite. And yet that is exactly what PleasureCize requires: chase pleasure in the body, not pain. Below are the tenets PleasureCize goes by.
1. Stop Competing
Whether it be in a race, a yoga class, or at the gym, it is human to compare one’s own performance to that of someone else’s, and to use that information to impact one’s own level of effort while working out. However as we age, and pushing ourselves starts to increase in difficulty, injury risk, or both, the case to stop competing with others becomes more compelling. PleasureCize places no value whatsoever on what other people are doing. Caring about that is a young person’s game. In fact, closing ones eyes, even using an eye mask, is strongly recommended. PleasureCize is entirely an inward journey.
2. Go Slow. Extremely Slow.
Traditional exercise is either aerobic- get the heart rate up and keep it there- or repetition based: lift heavy weights 8 times, rest, do it again. Neither of these approaches is relevant to PleasureCize. This is also where microdosing cannabis becomes so useful and important. Cannabis slows us down and increases the mind-body connection. Using cannabis to exercise allows us to access small muscles and sensations we would otherwise overlook, and the only way to do it is by going extremely slow. It is amazing what the aging, damaged body can do by going very, very slowly.
3. Let go of how you look.
Almost all exercise programs are geared towards looking good and losing weight. In total contrast, PleasureCize doesn’t care about that at all. The goal of PleasureCize is to increase health by experiencing more pleasure in one’s body, including the pleasure of feeling strong and healthy. There is no objective at all to derive that pleasure from outside of oneself, such as the glances of admiration that other exercise programs promise you’ll receive by losing weight and becoming “shredded” or some such. Chances are you've already had 50+ years of those promises that yielded limited results. If your goal is to lose weight or look good, and plenty of people over 50 still prioritize this, PleasureCize is not for you.
4. Chase pleasure, not pain.
Traditional exercise says “no pain, no gain”. This is a sacrosanct belief in the fitness world. But it is an absolute truth that is in fact, only true for young people who have yet to tear their ACL or rotator cuff. Those of us who have experienced such things, or just the wear and tear of 50 plus years, have learned to be cautious, or perhaps we’ve given up exercise altogether because it’s too painful.
The great, joyful news is that the body can still get a great workout by chasing pleasure. Think about the last time you woke up in the morning and had a really good stretch. Usually, it lasts a few seconds and then you get on with your day. PleasureCize says keep that stretch going as long as you like. Stay there in that pleasurable pose, whatever it may be. Feel that delicious stretch feeling. Then try that in another part of the body. Lean into it in order to stretch a slightly different different muscle, at a slightly different angle. Go slow, there’s absolutely no rush.
5. Stretch, balance, and strength.
Combined, these are the goals of PleasureCize. PleasureCize has no specific poses, rather, it is an exploration of one’s own body. Standardized poses of traditional exercise are designed for major muscle groups, like the quadriceps or biscepts. But after 50 years, haven’t we exercised those muscles enough? Those muscles are tired. Once you no longer care how you look, and you’ve accepted a snail’s pace of movement, you will discover that there are smaller muscles around those big muscle groups that are ignored by traditional exercise. As you explore, slowly, you will touch those muscles, lean on them just a little bit, just enough to use the muscle but not strain it. Done right, this is incredibly pleasurable.
6. Explore!
Like giving yourself permission to allow that one delicious morning stretch to last and last, give yourself permission to explore your body, wherever that exploration takes you. There is no way to impose a standard pose, such as yoga’s popular Downward Dog or Warrior 2, because after 50 years, maybe you can’t bend over like that anymore. Maybe it’s better for your particular body to stretch in a different way. Only you know the amount of force you can place on a certain part of your body. Maybe you need more on the right side than on the left. If so, do that, for as long as you like, so long as it feels good to do so. There is no pain in PleasureCize, only pleasure. And as it turns out, the body is capable of feeling an abundance of pleasure.
PleasureCize is completely counterintuitive to traditional exercise in every way.
Let’s start the conversation!
Have questions or ready to explore how PleasureCize can help you turn Age into an Asset? Fill out the contact form to the right, and we’ll get back to you.
