By not trying to get fit, would we in fact, become fitter?
Radically Transformative Fitness has been re-named Art of Slowing Down (please click on Art of Slowing Down icon to find out more information about the method). One reason for the change is that I never really warmed up the original title. Radically transformative always sounded a bit flashy to me and I wouldn’t want any more limelight shone in my direction now that I’m 736,241 on the Amazon Bestseller list (Thanks, Mom, for buying the remaining 20 copies and distributing them to our relatives!). Moreover, the term connotes something otherworldly and instantaneous, perhaps reminiscent of a Hollywood film where Clark Kent runs into a phone booth one second and flies out as Superman the next. Unlike in Hollywood, however, radical transformation generally occurs over a prolonged period of painstaking attention and effort (one reason I like to teach intensive 4-week segments where we meet 5 days per week).
Finally, I’m uncomfortable associating the human body with the word, fitness, because of its link to the term, survival of the fittest. Nature kills off those who are “unfit” and in doing so, separates the chaff from the wheat, so to speak—at least that’s how the popularized and less-than-accurate version of Darwin’s theory of evolution goes. A famous failed German artist took the popular idea and ran with it… all the way to the borders of Stalingrad. He killed off a few people on the way.
Just wanted to let you know how much I loved your book. What a relief to see that change is possible even if it’s slow and requires effort-that’s usually the sign of something that works. Radical transformation, on the other hand, sounds a bit suspicious to me, even if it’s true ! I’ll keep an eye on your schedule just in case you ever end up heading to Toronto.
Thank you, Adrienne! Yes, I agree with your thoughts on “radical transformation.” I’ve always had some reservations on the name. BTW, Toronto is one of my favorite cities–like New York but in many ways, better!