The Reach Out: Beth Lapides
The creator of UnCabaret, and author of 'So You Need to Decide,' is committed to yoga and loves walking, but does not hold back her feelings about the gym.
Beth Lapides is the creator, host, and producer of UnCabaret, the groundbreaking alternative Los Angeles comedy show. For the past 25 years, Lapides has provided a platform for marginalized performers to tell their personal, conversational, unscripted stories.
During the pandemic, Lapides stepped in to fill the comedy void by hosting UnCabaret shows on Zoom, but live shows have resumed.
Lapides’ introspective audiobook, So You Need to Decide, features conversations with comedians, writers, and cultural icons — including Bob Odenkirk, Phoebe Bridgers, and Merrill Markoe — about the tough decisions they've made about family, work, love, relocating, and spirituality. The audiobook is part memoir and part interviews.
Lapides has appeared on CNN, Comedy Central, and NPR’s “All Things Considered, and wrote a syndicated monthly column, “My Other Car is A Yoga Mat,” for LA Yoga.
I spoke with Beth Lapides about getting back into yoga, why she walks, and which fitness trend she would really like to try.
How do you make being active a part of your life?
Even though I was a sedentary, bookish child, I always loved to dance. I found yoga in high school, but I didn't start to practice it seriously until much later — and I love it. Without yoga, I don't feel fully myself.
I’ve never loved the gym. I will use it for fitness — really just to burn calories — but if I go to the gym, I’ll be counting the minutes until I leave.
Something I really love is walking outside. I'm not a hiker — I just love to walk around the neighborhood, see people, see the dogs. I think walking is an especially important part of life when we've been so cooped up inside during the pandemic.
Speaking of the pandemic, has your exercise routine changed over the last two years?
I did have quite a break in my regular, rigorous yoga practice because life got busy, but about a year ago, I realized that if I waited any longer, it would be too late — too hard — to get back into the kind of intense yoga that I’d been doing.
I’d been a pretty advanced practitioner — the fancy poses, the crazy back bends, the headstands — so when I started back with a beginners yoga online class, I just didn’t feel very engaged.
But then it occurred to me — my current yoga level was something I termed “Rusty Advanced.” As soon as I was able to say, “Ok, so I’m Rusty Advanced,” I felt much more calm.
I also reconnected for a few in-person sessions with my teacher and that was great. My meditation practice did stay strong throughout the pandemic.
Does exercise — in your case, yoga — help you with the creative process?
Oh, yeah. 1000%. When I hear something in class like, “Boundaries create freedom” or “You need a foundation before you can have movement,” it reminds me that these kinds of basic principles of life are embedded in the practice of yoga.
The idea that when the body is in quiet meditation, we’re able to connect and think more clearly — that’s very appealing to me. I’m also much more engaged and attentive during yoga, whereas at the gym, I’m so bored!
Is there something in particular that motivates you to exercise regularly?
To stay alive? Ha ha. That’s the first thing that comes to mind, but I just feel so much better — and who’s not trying to take off a little bit of their COVID weight?
I also want such different things from my yoga practice than I wanted twenty years ago. For example, one big motivation for me is posture. I spend a lot of time sitting and writing, and on Zoom, so I found myself feeling a little droopy. Having good posture and a healthy spine — and feeling agile and fully engaged physically — is really important to me.
So I’m very motivated to stay committed to the practice of yoga and I’m super grateful to have gotten back into it.
Your audio-book, So You Need to Decide, focuses on how and why we make decisions. Was your decision to practice yoga one of these decisions?
Yes, I'm much more attuned to how and why we make decisions. As I mentioned, my decision to go back to yoga was because of a light bulb moment — “If I don't do it now, I don't know if my body will be able to go back to it.”
That decision came after a very stressful weekend. I’d been so distracted and had so much stuff going on in my head — the show, my parents moving — that when I went to the washroom, I actually didn’t realize that I was peeing with my underpants on.
It was at that moment that I knew I had to do something — therapy or yoga. I decided on yoga, and the next day, I bought a monthly membership at the closest yoga studio, and started going consistently and just really committed to it.
Do you wear an Apple watch or a Fitbit to tell you to remind you to move?
I don’t, although I do track my steps on my phone, and I might get a little competitive with myself. I sometimes run up and down the stairs to get my blood going.
You mentioned that you find the gym boring. Do you watch or listen to anything to reduce the boredom?
I haven't gone back since the gyms reopened, and I don't know that I'm going to go back. I would mostly watch the gym TV, but I hated it because I wasn't in control.
I did have my own elliptical machine at one point, and I would watch a lot of HGTV. I would spend a lot of time on there, so I was in great shape doing both yoga and cardio.
Is there a fitness trend that you think you might like to try?
I would really love to try pole dancing! I actually wish I had time to do any kind of dance class, and I think Pilates is super appealing. I have also tried the P90x program.
When you are on the road, do you maintain an exercise routine in your hotel room?
I have a special travel mat — it’s super thin, made by Manduka — which I throw in my suitcase almost every trip. I don't consider being on the road an excuse to not exercise at all, but I'm also not going to do my typical 90 minute class.
When you're traveling, you do need to work out the kinks, so even if it's just a headstand, or three sun salutes, you don’t need to do a lot of movement to have movement be effective.
There is no question how much Beth Lapides lives for comedy, but, wow — does she ever love yoga! She’s a role model for balancing laughter and physical activity.
Thank you, @bethlapides
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