Let's get physical

Just back from two weeks in Greece, bronzed, more toned and barely heavier than I was before, I'm trying hard not to feel smug, but it isn't working.

The first day of the holiday the kids had a windsurfing course and I eavesdropped for a refresher - I tried windsurfing several times in 1982 and thought it should be easy enough to get back into. However, the first day this time was awful - falling off into the sea countless times, struggling back onto the board, hauling the mast and sail up with my arse sticking out and my legs wobbling, falling off again, looking and feeling like a complete dork. After an hour or two I realised why I hadn't done it for a long time and decided to give up. But then, at the end of the session it all came together for a minute or two and I thought maybe I'll stick with it.

So I tried again and ended up going out windsurfing morning and afternoon, for about 3-4 hours a day, graduating to a smaller board (155 litres) and a bigger sail (5.0 sq metres). Gradually I fell off less, needed less hauling back upwind by the rescue boat, and was able to ride the winds at some speed. Mind you, I was constantly overtaken by kids in small sailing boats, because boats go faster than windsurfers. But I stuck with the windsurfing because it's more like riding the waves and the wind bareback - holding on to the boom, you have direct physical contact with the force of the wind. And, as I discovered, it does great things for the upper body muscles and the core strength.

For one such as me who spends most of my working time sitting and writing, there's something deeply refreshing and humanising about getting really physical. I realise I'm very lucky to be able to do it, both financially and from a health perspective - my mum is now in rehab after falling and breaking her femur. So I intend to make the best of it for as long as I can.

In this increasingly IT- and screen-mediated world, there's a real danger of retreating from our physical beings and living far too much in just our heads. In doing so, we lose physical awareness and what I think of as Body Intelligence. When we live fully in our bodies, we are more grounded and benefit from a more rounded understanding of life