The Dragonfly Warrior

All original content © The Dragonfly Warrior.

[demonhunting-timelord-in-221b-d]

When one of my family members asks why I don’t have a boyfriend

[thedragonflywarrior]

17 notes to self for a good life

Don’t wear a sports bra to work. You think you’ll be comfortable but your boobs are going to sag and ache by hour 3.

No one has time for full makeup, but at least put on eyebrows before you leave. Your face will literally feel more assertive.

Negativity is boring and no one will remember you for it. Unerring positivity is the ultimate rebellion.

Your body is not your masterpiece. Your life is your masterpiece. Appearances mean nothing if you are not engaged in the world around you. Staying fit and healthy is a good thing, but don’t let it get in the way of real experience.

Eat food that makes your body and brain feel good. Don’t ever force yourself into a diet that you hate. Eat to fuel your best life. Don’t ever force yourself into exercise that you hate. You have a higher purpose in life than burning calories and toning thighs. Exercise to feel awesome.

All your hard work goes to waste if you don’t get enough sleep. 

Simple quality always trumps tempting quantity. One pair of Docs matches everything and will last forever. And you’ll never wear those ten shitty pairs of cheap heels anyways.

Fashion is fleeting, but classic practicality is always in style.

Fancy soap is nice and all, but you’ll be just as clean and healthy if you use the generic brand. Save your cash and use it for something that actually matters.

Simplify your material existence. Don’t have more; be more. Do more.

Leave your house and do something social at least once a week. Even if it’s just a 20-minute coffee break with a cute stranger. Don’t stagnate. Be human.

Feelings are gross and uncomfortable but they’re a necessary part of having a healthy existence. Don’t avoid them.

Your sex life is no one else’s prerogative and has nothing to do with your respectability unless you lose respect for yourself in the process. If you want to have sex (and your partner/s want to have sex), have sex. If you don’t want to have sex, then don’t.

Self-awareness is a powerful weapon, but a weapon is useless until you learn to wield it. 

Travel is the only way to buy happiness.

Life is too short to put shitty fabrics up against your bare skin. Go buy some well-made, high-quality underthings.

Life is also too short to never have brownies. Make time for brownies.

[thedragonflywarrior]

Reblogging for myself. Especially, "don't stagnate, be human".

[thedragonflywarrior]

Hello, friends! Today I break my long and unfortunate silence to report that I received my blue belt last Saturday. It was a surprise and an honor to be promoted by two inspirational coaches whom I deeply respect and love. Receiving this blue belt represents everything I’ve been through in the 15 months since I started my BJJ journey: Depression, anxiety, panic, pain, injury, surgery, fear, doubt, ego, and failure… I am grateful for the instruction of my coaches Mayko Araujo and Karen Antunes, and humbled by their belief in me.

[sdasdaasd123]

[nerdgasrnz]

This is the savings cat. Reblog so u can save up and pay ur bills like the responsible egg they know u can be

[sad-boyofficial]

I like savings cat better than money cat tbh

[ofshxeldarchive-deactivated2017]

MY FAVOURITE trope is the 

“leave all your weapons” *takes out far more weapons than expected (or logically able to carry)*

[haberdashing]

and then

“i said ALL of them”

*takes out a dozen more weapons from increasingly improbable locations*

[brutusfeels]

And then *stern look*

*pulls out one more tiny pistol*

[thedragonflywarrior]

Green! Epic!

Thanks! I have a lot of work to do, though.

[thedragonflywarrior]

PROUD OF YOOOOUUUU!!!

THANKS HOMIE!!

[liftingwayoflife]

[thedragonflywarrior]

Level up! 👊🏼💥✅🙏🏼

[thedragonflywarrior]

I love my BJJ ladies! <3

[the-exercist]

Healthy & Awesome New Year’s Resolutions that are Alternatives to Weight Loss:

You don’t need to be thinner in order to be happy and healthy.  If you want to make some healthy improvements to your life in 2016, choose to make a resolution that goes beyond losing weight. Instead, target areas of your life that can be directly improved:

Make doctor and dentist appointments in a timely fashion

Cook and prepare lunch instead of relying on processed foods

Floss

Support local farms and food producers

Get more quality sleep

Eat vegetables at every meal

Meditate

Spend more time outside

Actually eat your fruit before it goes bad

Don’t watch tv or use the computer during meals

Take vitamins

Stretch and improve your flexibility

Drink herbal tea instead of coffee

Concentrate on improving your posture

Participate in Meatless Mondays

Cut back on your sodium intake

Regularly donate unworn and ill-fitting clothing to a local shelter

Wear sunscreen every day you’re outside

Quit smoking

Re-try foods that you hate, but haven’t eaten in years

Moisturize and remove your makeup before going to bed

Keep a journal

Focus on changing your behavior instead of changing your body, and then every step will be a step forward.   

[literatebitch-deactivated201902]

The Pennsylvania Ballet shared the following Facebook post

Pennsylvania Ballet

“A Facebook user recently commented that the Eagles had “played like they were wearing tutus!!!” Our response: “With all due respect to the Eagles, let’s take a minute to look at what our tutu wearing women have done this month: By tomorrow afternoon, the ballerinas that wear tutus at Pennsylvania Ballet will have performed The Nutcracker 27 times in 21 days. Some of those women have performed the Snow scene and the Waltz of the Flowers without an understudy or second cast. No ‘second string’ to come in and spell them when they needed a break. When they have been sick they have come to the theater, put on make up and costume, smiled and performed. When they have felt an injury in the middle of a show there have been no injury timeouts. They have kept smiling, finished their job, bowed, left the stage, and then dealt with what hurts. Some of these tutu wearers have been tossed into a new position with only a moments notice. That’s like a cornerback being told at halftime that they’re going to play wide receiver for the second half, but they need to make sure that no one can tell they’ve never played wide receiver before. They have done all of this with such artistry and grace that audience after audience has clapped and cheered (no Boo Birds at the Academy) and the Philadelphia Inquirer has said this production looks "better than ever”. So no, the Eagles have not played like they were wearing tutus. If they had, Chip Kelly would still be a head coach and we’d all be looking forward to the playoffs.“ Happy New Year!”

[thedragonflywarrior]

108 sun salutes. ☀️🙏🏼🕉

[thedragonflywarrior]

I think this was the first New Year's Day where my mind isn't full of things I want to do differently. 2015 was a tough year in every way, but it was also an important and honest one. So instead of trying to quick-fix imaginary problems and pretend like an arbitrary resolution is the answer to anything, I'm just recommitting to continue doing all the hard, exhausting things that made me grow in 2015. Keep kicking ass in school because there's no point in paying for anything other than straight A's. Keep managing all the weird money pits and confusing responsibilities of adulting. Keep training at the Cellar because it's incredibly rewarding to see my body and brain work together in ways that I never thought were possible for me. Keep getting smarter, faster, stronger, and happier. And maybe take more naps. The first two days found me in a deeply restorative Yin yoga class and the first BJJ team session of the year. I hope that the beginning of my 2016 will carry through to every day that follows.

[indomitablespiritfingers]

S/o to martial arts butts

[thedragonflywarrior]

Want to lose weight but also gain muscle?

You gain muscle by doing strength-based training and eating at a surplus so that your body will allocate the extra calories to growing new muscle tissue. You lose fat by maintaining a caloric deficit so that your body uses the spare fat. Eating “right in the middle” often doesn’t provide a stable enough baseline for either goal, and you stall out right there. Trying to do both at the same time is a recipe for very unsatisfactory results in both arenas. You can try something like, working on gains for 12-16 weeks and then working on reducing your body fat percentage from there (being careful, of course, to preserve the muscle you just put on). 

But what I really recommend is to stop thinking of those two things as standalone goals. Are you looking to get stronger or perform better in a particular sport/activity? Just gaining the muscle or losing the fat, in and of itself, doesn’t necessarily make you fitter or faster or better trained. If this is for athletic or personal health reasons, then go focus on your sport or ability or actual fitness, eat to support your training/recovery, and worry about body composition later. I completely believe that when we focus on the function of our training, the weight and body fat or whatever tends to balance out and mostly take care of itself. If this is for aesthetic reasons, I don’t have much advice for that type of goal and you might be better off asking a blog run by a bodybuilder or figure comp type.

[paprikamom-deactivated20160112]

the diet industry just loves the New Year

and i hope all my friends can be safe and not slip back into body hating mindsets even while surrounded by people resolving to lose weight in the new year.

your body is fine as it is.