Yesterday I talked a little bit about martial arts as a spiritual practice. I mentioned that I did Tai Chi for 7 years. When I first started doing Tai Chi it was really challenging for me to try to move so slowly. I had a background in sports and was used to a much faster pace. I also felt awkward and unbalanced.
It was funny to me that even though I grew up an athlete it was hard for me to do Tai Chi. Eventually I was able to get my body to do the sequence very accurately, and what I discovered was unreal.
At the school where I learned Tai Chi the master who founded it was very big on not talking about the spiritual benefits. He preferred to focus on the health benefits. He also never talked about breathing or trying to breathe a certain way, he suggested to let it come naturally.
What I discovered was that Tai Chi was like a form of meditation. I found myself becoming very peaceful and relaxed while doing it. I also noticed a significant change in my leg strength and flexibility. And, ultimately, I discovered it’s spiritual benefits. I found myself breathing with the moves almost as though my body and my breathe were one thing. I felt it harmonizing me with the energy of the universe. As crazy as that sounds....I suggest trying it for yourself before totally disregarding the spiritual benefits...but if you are in it for the fitness then you will benefit either way.
If you look at someone doing Tai Chi it is easy, I think, to see it's spiritual quality...
Exercise: Free
Menu: Fast
Until next time…
Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up
Dakota
Today’s Mantra: Give what you think you most lack.
I don’t think any of you know that I studied Shotokan Karate and eventually received my black belt. Before I studied karate I studied Taoist Tai Chi. Because I studied Tai Chi for 7 years, learning Karate came very naturally to me.
What I liked most about the martial arts is that it felt like a combination of exercise and confidence building and spiritual practice. Whether I did Tai Chi or Karate I benefited the same.
I definitely noticed an improvement in my confidence after doing karate for a while. On another note, my physical strength, flexibility and timing improved ten-fold from practicing karate.
Much like some of my bodyweight training I am doing, karate exercises the whole body, but also the mind and spirit.
Bruce Lee is a perfect example of how someone took martial arts and fitness and spiritual beliefs and put them all together. He really experimented and examined how the human body responds to all forms of exercise. Eventually a book was published about Bruce Lee’s workouts, compiled by John Little called The Art Of Expressing The Human Body.
Bruce achieved strength and speed through daily training and experimenting with exercise and diet...here is a short clip on his physical capabilities...
And here is some insight into Bruce Lee’s talent and thinking...
Exercise: bike 30 minutes, turbulance training, ankle stretches (it never ends)
Menu: Protein and veggies
Here is an old pic of me in my karate stance....
Until next time…
Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up
Dakota
Today’s Mantra: To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities. ~Bruce Lee
There are so many funny opposites that exist. Somehow we give value to the things that bring us pleasure. But what is pleasure? For some people pleasure could be watching the Superbowl and for others that is not the case at all.
We individually define what makes us happy as much as society as a whole defines what happiness is. There are formulas out there telling us what to do to achieve happiness; a seemingly unachievable thing. Why is it unachievable? Maybe because many of us don’t know what it is, at least not consistently. We have moments of happiness...kind of like a taste of the good life...right? But then we also have moments of unhappiness.
Some people might say happiness is being rich, but that isn’t always true. There are lots of unhappy rich people. I think it has more to do with what many spiritual leaders are talking about; happiness is a decision. It is not determined by any outer circumstance. It is a feeling of equanimity in the face of any situation...whether good or bad.
Is it possible that good and bad don’t really exist either; without PERCIEVING good and bad, do either of those values have meaning?
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a noise? Can any one thing have value without one other thing giving it value?
The Tarot cards of ancient say it is impossible to exist with out two things. If you study science deeply I suspect this will be the case. We need OTHER to give anything value or meaning. What if everything was green...do you think that any other color would mean anything to anyone? Probably not.
I have decided that losing weight and exercising and eating healthy will make me happy; or why else would I work so hard at it? But I am finding that my happiness with my weight and exercise has more to do with my attitude about my self in response to my weight, eating habits, health...etc. The process is healing for me, but not necessarily happiness. Once one goal is fulfilled, the old feeling of what should I do next to feel better comes up.
This type of thing is a normal human condition. I guess my hope is that if I THINK hard enough about this...and CONTEMPLATE the true goal I am setting for myself I will unveil some hidden personal truths. I think it mostly comes down to what makes me happy.
What I am finding is that what makes me happy isn’t necessarily any one thing...like being thin or getting a good grade in school; it has more to do with getting some kind of reward for my effort. The more reward I get the better I feel about myself and the harder I am willing to continue to work at it.
Weight loss is a fun way to see results from effort and it also tells you when you need to adapt. All of this effort that goes a long with failure and success can either prove that effort pays or that effort does not pay. If it proves that effort does not pay it is easy to give up. So, again, success comes back to PERCEPTION. If I perceive 1 pound lost as success then I continue my effort, but if I see it as failure then I might give up and FEEL like a failure (which makes me unhappy).
On that note...I found an interesting book called Think And Grow Rich by Napolean Hill on how to achieve what we want for our lives. I wonder if it is achieving the goal that makes us happy or is it being able to achieve the goal or is it the process of achieving the goal....or does it really boil down to what we BELIEVE will make us happy?
I think it has some useful tools in it that could be applied to weight loss as well. Basically, the writer in many words describes the secret to success. Why many succeed while others failed. He studied many successful people and drew his own conclusions.
The things that pop out for me make perfect sense....and have we not heard this before...but repetition is the key to success...so here is a little list gleaned from this book.
Persist
Take Chances
Capitalize On Great Ideas
Learn From Mistakes And Improve
Define Goals
Have Purpose
And the list goes on....
You get the point....
If you want a free download of Napolean Hills book Think And Grow Rich CLICK HERE.
Here is an inspiring video on this topic...
Exercise: bike 30 minutes, turbulance training, ankle stretches (it never ends)
Menu: Protein and veggies
Until next time…
Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up
Dakota
Today’s Mantra: Edison failed 10, 000 times before he made the electric light. Do not be discouraged if you fail a few times. Napolean Hill
I didn’t get much sleep last night...a little bit too much thinking! Instead I ended watching Pema Chodron talks on the human condition and Buddhist beliefs. I was introduced to Pema Chodron years ago by a Buddhist friend of mine who loved reading her books.
One book that really stands out is called When Things Fall Apart. She explains how to handle difficult times in your life and use it is a way to turn around and really get to know your self. One thing that struck me about her book and her talks is she is very down to earth and grounded. She also knows how to explain Buddhist teachings and practices in a way that Americans can understand.
She lives at a monastery in Novia Scotia and is basically the leader. In her book When Things Fall Apart she talks about how she became a Buddhist nun. She was taken completely by surprise when her husband said he was going to leave her for another woman. She felt like her whole life was pulled out from under her. She had no illusions left about the formula for happiness, because it had failed her (this is my interpretation, in part)...so she turned to spirituality and within a couple of years was ordained a nun.
She never thought that she would go that direction, but she found some thing that really made sense to her and went for it.
I think this is what we are all here to figure out...what is our talent, our passion and pursue it. It is so easy to get sidetracked by life’s obstacles and put aside what truly inspires us. She claims her passion is what she is now doing and that she had to have something major happen in her life to get there. Here is a video of her talk...
Is it possible that all of this economic trouble in the world has a grander purpose? Perhaps it is meant to force us to really pursue our dreams, because if not, we will be pushed out of where we are stuck. What I mean is maybe all of the jobs ending are an opportunity to open us up to new possibilities.
I guess I am saying this because I have the possibility of losing my job and it has really forced me to look at what I love to do and how I can create that in my life. Some of what I do is my passion, but there are some parts of my experiences and talents that aren’t being used and some of those parts really make me shine. In my current job the shining isn’t there for me, so on some level I haven’t quite found the type of life work that fits the full specrum of my talents.
This is part of why I started this site....to use this as a platform to find my talents... you see... part of what holds me back from believing in my self is how I feel about myself. I feel better when I am healthy and strong. I feel more motivated and capable when my body is in shape. My secret hope is that through this process I will also gain the confidence to REALLY forge out on my own with all of my talents and make a life purpose that fulfills me and my talents.
Anybody have any thoughts and experiences about this topic?
Exercise: bike 30 minutes, turbulance training, ankle stretches (it never ends)
Menu: Protein and veggies
Until next time…
Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up
Dakota
Today’s Mantra: To forgive is an act of love...why is it so hard?
As some of you may already know I am going to combine the Turbulence Training exercise program with the Eat Stop Eat method by Brad Pilon. He claims that if you fast for short periods of time you won’t kill your metabolism. He also states that if you combine exercise with his eating method (or should I call it the non-eating method?) you can seriously burn some fat.
For many years I have heard how much fasting can really slow down the metabolism, so it is kind of a scary thought to try this method, since I have had a lot of success with 5 meals a day eating protein and veggies. However, I want to see what this will do to my body, so I am willing to try it for 12 weeks.
Frankly, I don’t think this method will work for everyone, some people are not built to fast. I find it pretty easy for me, so I am not afraid to try.
Here is his video on exercise and fasting....
Until next time...
Here are my pictures…
Exercise: 30 minutes spinning, tt
Menu: Protein and veggies
Until next time…
Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up
Dakota
Today’s Mantra: So many spiritual leaders have fasted...even Jesus, so why not?
I needed to cheer myself up this morning. Last night was a little rough for me. Why is it so hard when you don’t get the sleep that you need.
To cheer myself up I played my violin...which I haven’t played in a while...and it actually worked and I didn’t sound too bad. I also went for a run. It was a short run, because I have a very full day today. Who would have thought running could cheer people up...but for me it has always been that way.
Since I feel a certain amount of freedom moving that fast....not that I am that fast. I also like to drive or go an a road trip. It always cheers me up to go to a destination...something new and exciting.
Sometimes being by myself cheers me up, but also company can do that too!
Anyway...I have a long day ahead of me so I am going to leave you with this video with Lance Armstrong...I wonder how he cheered himself up? LIFE IS TOO SHORT...EH?
Until next time...
Here are my pictures...
Exercise: Running 30 minutes
Menu: Protein and veggies
Until next time…
Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up
Dakota
Today’s Mantra: Courage is the discovery that you may not win and still trying.
I just found out one of my favorite youtube workout videos by Arnel Ricafranca, who started the I want six pack abs website, have been deleted. I am thinking it is because of copyright issues with music. He uses music for almost all of his workout videos.
He did a sixteen week bodyweight workout that gave him six pack abs and posted them on youtube. His videos have a lot of really good ideas in them for mixing up your workout. He also started a site called ARNEL.TV which is basically a social network. He also does weight loss challenges to help motivate people.
He started a new site with a few new videos to get himself back into youtube.
These videos were the first ones I looked at when I needed to add some variety to my workout. The only thing I struggle with is that I am not able to do some of them because of my own strength level, so I usually modify them a little. He doesn’t post a lot of videos with modifications, but I think he was beginning to do that.
Here are my pictures…
Exercise: bike 30 mins. interval, turbulance training
Menu: Protein and veggies
Until next time…
Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up
Dakota
Today’s Mantra: Focus on the training, not the outcome.
