Movement

Movement

Centre of The Circle

It was only by stumbling upon Laozi’s words (at bottom) that I began to find a way to express experiences from this past week and what is present now. Moving into the weekend there was uncertainty, self-doubt and fear. I exited with motivation, self-confidence and gratitude. A shift in viewpoint resulted in a transformation of attitude, but, as pointed to in chapter 29 of the Tao Te Ching, the place I find myself now is where always I’ve been. Both are true from their own perspective. ㅤ In a recent post, I shared that I’ve been struggling with frustration and

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Ritual

It’s been almost three years since I last lined up at an athletic start line. A lot has happened since then, perhaps most of all internally. Unsurprisingly, there are different movement patterns appearing this time around. On the morning of race-day while sitting in meditation, I notice that the mind is generating more noise than what I discern on most mornings. Discord reverberates through the body as anxiety. Like a tap on the shoulder, a question arises; “Who, or what, was there before the mind’s gesticulations?” By turning attention towards the underlying, or real, nature of experience—that which is independent

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Health

Several years ago I battled with depression. It was hell. Thanks only to a dear friend who actually heard me, and realised the severity of my state, did things turn around. I’m happy and healthy now. But just as in addiction recovery, I have to make a conscious choice every day to shun the melancholic vortex and choose healthier paths. This takes energy. Physical exercise takes energy as well. As an endurance athlete, I spend many hours each week in training: yoga, swimming, biking, running, strength workouts and more. I do it because I love moving my body, being fit

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Infinite Pause

Occasionally, clarity presides. For me, it happens most often when sitting quietly in or after meditation. Life, in its wondrous simplicity …just …happens. Later, the individual ‘I’, believing itself to be the creator, moves about attempting to orchestrate and manage. This is both true and false at the same time. True because, the separate self creates all manner of illusions in pain and happiness. False, because these veils, overlaid on reality, mislead and complicate unnecessarily. Yesterday, while skiing, it was clear that no thought was required in order to transition the body effectively through the complex array of neural and

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Light

Here and Now

I recently had a very long travel day that provided an opportunity to spend time continuously listening to chanting and reading, interrupted occasionally by game playing. The many hours of idle musing laid a fertile bed for a simple question, one posed by a beautiful friend the morning after my arrival, “How does it feel to be there?” This modest, loving query quickly took root, giving rise to prodigious introspection. Among the gamut of impressions sprouting in response was a sense of lifelessness and disconnection from nature. Wanting to get some oxygen in the body and morning light in the

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Something

Something has changed. Breadth in discovery. Obvious shift, indeed. Abaft, door closes gently. Portal ahead. Wide landscape, invites. Opportunities birth. Much to learn. Everything, to forget. Patiently earnest. Its nature unknown. Already, familiar. Tutored by trees. Adapting and being. Steadfastly flexible, in communion. Curious essence. Mental, emotional, physical. All, and none. Daemons not quite vacated. Retiring in peace. Less sticky, withdrawn. Embracing the adjustment. Vulnerability the theme. Whatever, this is. Something is changing. Peaceful venue. Living, in breath. ❝ People underestimate the power of Self-awareness. It is the purest and most potent force in the universe and yet few human

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Adaptation

❝ Zone 3 is too much pain for too little gain.❞ Let’s tease this apart a bit to gain more understanding. • Zone 3, in a five-zone exercise intensity model, is the workload often called ‘tempo’ or ‘threshold work’, meaning that the intensity is just below Ventilatory Threshold 2 (VT2) and the Anerobic Threshold (AnT), which is the approximate boundary between zone 3 and zone 4. Above VT2/AnT is where interval sessions are typically done. • Pain refers to more than just the sensation of experience; it’s the overall cost to the body: i.e. substrate (fuel) utilisation, tissue health, overall

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Even if…

Even if you’re only doing what’s fun, it’s still 𝙙𝙤-𝙞𝙣𝙜.Enjoying one’s work is not permission to continually extract.Fallow & replenishment are necessary. Nature has day and night, cold and warm, wet and dry, and four seasons for a reason. Humans have a multitude of circadian rhythms. We can work with them or, to our peril, fight them. In a podcast episode entitled Burnout and Renewal, Charles Eisenstein opened up and bared himself. He started by doing what he always does, investigate the substratum of life. In this case, he became the subject of enquiry. Devorah Brous beautifully went down the

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Non-state

Occasionally it’s clear… The world seems a dream. Not solid, as hitherto experienced, believed. Fantasies in temporary wonderland. The entire contents, nothing more than theatre. Thoughts, once believed themselves distinct, now witnessed preposterous. Form boundaries fade, translucent space alive. The mirage is witnessed. Activity without involvement, cogitation unnecessary. Same events as before, but no person to believe himself the performer. Sacred Mirage The cord is not fully cut. Illusions of separateness remain, comparing past to present. But the deception is glimpsed. …the entire fantasia of a slowly fading dream. ❝ If something was fictitious, it never existed. It was never

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Nature's Winter

CGM

I’ve been using a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) for three weeks. Although I’ve only scratched the surface, some patterns are emerging that allow me to plan interventions and observe their effects. • Week 1: Just watch and document without changing anything.• Week 2: Become more acutely aware of the effects of foods, exercise, and their timing in order to attune mental and physical sensations with objective data.• Week 3: Start testing various interventions. As someone with a history of an eating disorder, I was concerned about monitoring food intake*. I feared falling into a cycle of attempted control. But I

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Movement

Close friends and family know that I’m a much happier person, and a great deal more pleasant to be around, after I’ve exercised. This is especially true following longer duration sessions, whether that be biking, running, swimming, or downhill skiing. The reason for the increase in affability is multifold. In her book, “Joy of Movement”, Kelly McGonigal does a science-based deep dive into the health-enhancing and life-extending benefits of exercise and movement. The underlying mechanisms may surprise you, they did me. Without question, exercise helps create happiness, meaning, and connection! ❝ McGonigal draws on insights from neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, and

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Keystones to Health

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