While I’m still formulating my own ideas about how my job is considered a ritual act, I can’t deny that ritual does play a part in the piercing process. So, again, why do I do it? Why does anybody put their body through something traumatic? Is it for the results? Or is it the journey, rather than the destination?Īs a professional body piercer, I’ve heard many of my peers talk about the ritual that surrounds such activities as piercing, scarification and body suspension (though interestingly enough, never about tattooing). Left: Heather Darling with Gregg Valentino (photo: ), Right: BME’s Shannon Larratt, 1995. Who has put more effort into their body modifications? You’ll always need access to good-quality food and plenty of water. Want to go out drinking four nights a week like you did back in college? Forget about it. Ask anybody who’s started a fitness plan recently, and they’ll tell you that it’s all they can think about - everything you do outside of the gym will affect your performance once inside it. And all of that work in the gym is for naught if you’re not eating well and getting plenty of rest, both of which can consume your life. No, it’s not a lot of time, but realize that it’s getting significantly more time dedicated to it than any other body modification activity I can think of. Assuming you are following a basic four-day (weekly) routine, this means that you’ll be spending about 4 to 8 hours in the gym every week. Once the piece is finished, you can forget about it.īodybuilding, on the other hand, has an influence on your life unlike any other activity I can think of. While tattoos can take weeks to heal, they are basically very easy to care for and don’t require much effort on a daily basis - you don’t really need to think about it, other than to keep it clean. In this case, the few moments of pain (and weeks of aftercare) are worth it, because you’re instantly gratified with a shiny new piece of jewelry, or new colours under your skin. For the most part, the formerly-mentioned activities are isolated incidents, something that we do once (or maybe twice), and thoughts of the eventual outcome gets us through the process. While we’ve all overcome some of our fears regarding activities like piercing, tattooing and scarification, this is where bodybuilding and heavy physical exercise differs greatly. Maybe you’ve made an appointment to get your first cartilage piercing, and even though you’ve heard disaster stories, you still get to the shop on time and go through with it. Why I’m even bothering to sweat buckets under hundreds of pounds of weight every day. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why, but “off-days” aren’t uncommon. I have to admit that I have days where the last thing I want to do is go to the gym, where I destroy my muscle fibers for an hour, and then run my ass off for another 30 minutes. After all, wouldn’t you rather be at home, reading a book? Or watching a movie? Or drinking with your friends? Whether it be body piercing, tattoos, weight lifting or running a marathon, we always approach such activities with trepidation. As human beings, we’d much rather be doing something less stressful and less physically involved. However you look at it, pushing yourself physically is hard work. “Without doubt, O mighty-armed, the mind is hard to curb and restless but it may be curbed by constant practice and by indifference.” “…for the mind is verily restless, O Krishna! It is impetuous, strong and difficult to bend I deem it as hard to curb as the wind.”
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