Definition of Health

                                                  Definition of Health

Since my childhood, I have always been told that I am a healthy kid. I believed that healthiness meant physical strength and well-being. However, a growing pain that injured my knees made it impossible to perform any physical activity that required pressure on my legs. Since I was 13 years old, I became more motivated on studying and gave up on basketball and soccer teams. A few years later I became more knowledgeable as a person than I would have been if I spent most of my time spent on physical activities. Regardless of my growing pain I was not deprived from being socially equal to any other kid in any environment. On the other hand, I traditionally had a “class clown” who would always try to distract students during classes and bully some of them during breaks. Since then I have questioned what the state of healthiness really meant. A lot of people think that health is something that describes one’s physical well-being. However, it is not always necessarily true. I believe that health is supposed to be describing one’s mental condition rather than physical. There are a lot of people with physical disabilities but, their mental healthiness proved others that mental power reaches beyond the boundaries of physical healthiness. Even bodybuilders, who represent the strongest and the “healthiest” groups of people in society, perceive themselves healthy in a different way. Roxanne Edwards, who has been bodybuilding for ten years is a great example of someone who reached her perfection not only through her body, but also recognizing her individuality and social position mentally. In Roxanne Edwards is a superhuman by S. Adrian Massey, Roxanne makes it clear that her mentality is a key to her success. In addition, in Against Ordinary Language: The Language of the Body by Kathy Acker, the author describes bodybuilding not from a physical, but a mental perspective, which makes bodybuilding look more as a mental art. Health is a concept that describes not the physical condition of one but the ability of having a stable mindset and making rational decisions.

          During the interview, Roxanne is introduced to us as a woman who has supernatural power and agility. In the beginning of the discussion, Adrian Massey asks Roxanne questions that show how she lives her life as a bodybuilder, which seems to be a better life than the one of ordinary woman. However, she later explains that it was her decision to become a different person; she had to convince herself that changing her body radically would make her life better and more meaningful. As she says,

“I know what their insecurities are, I know why they exist, I wish they would do something for themselves so they would not judge others so harshly…I am not putting a handcuff on their potential, they do.”

She points out that her mentality has reached a goal where she is satisfied with herself. She believes that people who judge her are those who are unsatisfied with their life and feel jealous of her. The point that she wants to make is that she has found herself as a bodybuilder and she is satisfied with it. She is healthy not because she leg-presses 1,025 pounds, but because she found her character in her new body. She is mentally relieved from the concept of “finding yourself” which keeps her mentally stable. Thus, Roxanne represents a healthy person not from a physical view, but from a view of a person who has found stability in herself and enjoys it.

          Compared to Roxanne Edwards, Kathy Ackers looks at bodybuilding as a piece of art. Just like playing a guitar or drawing, bodybuilding has its own understanding and “language”. She says that bodybuilding is “a language which is speechless”. It is very different than any other life activities; it requires counting, accuracy and consciousness. Breaking any of these rules can ruin the whole process and one might end up injuring itself. Thus, she believes that it is “a life in which meaning and essence no longer oppose each other. A life of meditation”. Just like art is meant to feed one’s brain, Ackers finds her joy in bodybuilding. She experiences a spiritual cleansing while performing strict routines on herself. Just like Roxanne’s life experience, Ackers shows that bodybuilding is more about finding your inner self mentally than getting your muscles bigger; she shows that bodybuilding is a healthy performance in a way that she meditates and enlightens her brain.

          It takes a great deal of mental power to convince oneself to make a workout not just a routine, but a part of one’s social life. It is not as hard to go to gym and work out every day as mentally accepting the idea that the struggle of picking up weights will pay off in the end. Mental power is far more important for a bodybuilder than just a physical endurance. It is very similar to climbing a mountain or riding a bike around the planet. They are all the same in a way that they all challenge one’s character. They are all very hard processes in their own way, but only a person who is mentally “healthy” can achieve such heights. Roxanne’s and Acker’s healthiness is defined with the same pattern. Both are challenging their mind and character to perform a heavy duty. A healthy person is defined as healthy not because one has never gotten sick in their life, but because one has established their mindset to something meaningful.