Staying healthy on the Rez.

By Sky Vasquez

The other morning was a little melancholy for me. I didn't get the good night sleep that Arianna Huffington is always telling me about...I just had a lot on my mind.  The beautiful chaos that is my life filled my head, I couldn't relax my mind to just fall into a blissful sleep. Plus, I have been resting a pulled muscle so I haven't been getting my usual runners high to keep this feeling away.

I was back home on the Rez sitting on the porch in the sun and I realized I had to change my mood. "I have to do it, nobody else is gonna change it for me."  I had to pull myself out of this pool of sadness that I was wallowing in. I decided to give myself the morning to just feel it but then something inspired me...

Sitting in the sunshine, my sister-in-law sends me a text message asking if I could help chauffer my nieces to their practice after school. Then she mentioned the crossfit she has been doing to help her stay healthy.  She has a lot on her plate and I don't quite know how she always seems to look like she has everything under control.

It isn't until now, at 4 am I am realizing this text message was an opportunity. An opportunity to do two things that I've learned while growing up on the Rez. 

1. Living in the city, away from my family & cultural community as I raise a child is hard. It can also feel lonely at times.  What I really missed is having family so close, family I could call up for help and they would be there.  It made me so happy to be able to do this for my sister and nieces. I had forgotten how something so simple as a daily task could bring such happiness to my heart. Something, which to most people, seems so little could make me feel apart of my family again. 

And...

2. We all realize the need to exersice and eating healthy. There is a huge commercial market dedicated to exersice alone and it is great to have so many resources available to the masses. But I'm a big believer in why pay for something, that I can do for free, hence the running.  Yesterday, I realized I needed to move and I wasn't ready to commit to a long run after my recent injury. Since I was back on the Rez, I took my son & my dad out in the backyard and create my own crossfit workout. My son & I did relay races, burpies, attempted chin ups and rope climbing on the swing set and I pushed him around the big yard at a slow jog in the wheel barrel. We were laughing at each other, it was fun & quite a little workout.  I felt good that next morning and I can tell my body feels like it does when I was running.  

By the end of the day, I had turned my mood around. I felt good again and so many wonderful things happened like watching my niece play ball. Seeing her dive into home plate impressed me so. Seeing so many community members who had come out to support their daughters, nieces, sisters, cousins.  Plus, I got to catch up with some family, I don't always get to see when I come home for my short visits. 

I am still feeling good so early in the morning with the beautiful chaos still running thru my mind at 4 am. But my sister-in-law, in that brief moment, helped bring me back to focusing on the positive. Plus, it help me check something off my never-ending to-do list, a new blog post. If you haven't gotten the point of this post, here it is. When you are feeling down or sad, look for those little moments & opportunities to build on because they can snowball into amazing days. 

Little Sky Vasquez is Paiute/Navajo and grew up on the Bishop Paiute Resevation.  She spent her life working for a number of native organizations in California and Washington DC.  Always an optimist, a mother, artist and optimist at heart.  Her and her son currently reside in Portland, OR.