Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Tuesday, February 9, 2021
Breathing and Exercise
Brushstrokes to Painting
All that time spent in planks and side-planks...
I wnat to get stronger. I try to hold the poses by concentrating on breathing. It somehow feels that when something is the journey, we learn more of its essence than when its the destination. If we want to breathe better, we might find it harder, but if we are managing our breath to accomplish something, then the breathing skill get more utilised and perfect.
Thinking of yoga, it is told that yoga was practised, so the rishis body would not feel any pain when they endlessly meditated. For a beginner, anything to be done longer is painful, initially the joy goes down and then starts increasing with accomplishment. In Vikra's case, after a while he couldnt even feel the arm he had raised had been like that for a long time.
The cracked wheat on the stove brings you out of your thoughts, only after the water has reached a boiling state.
There is a habit of asking loved ones, if they had dinner. One such question, made me recall that I hadnt cooked something that I promised. I had one more such self reminder earlier, but between kid's homework submission, it got relegated to a la-la land where people find that their lunch boxes are empty.
There is a box breathing technique that helps those who suffer from asthma by building their lung capacity. When we know the benefits or have a goal further out, we are likely to take the route that takes us there. With exercise too, if you choose a bigger goal, then it can help you get better for that, eg jumprope for agility or abs for pull ups and so on. A goal that seems huge but achievable through daily steps. If you can perceive the positive difference, you will keep at it. When you do strength training, you can tell that you are gaining strength by your ability to wanting to move onto heavier weights.
All that time spent daily in exercise are not boring looking similar brush strokes. But week after week, as you add the brushstrokes to the painting, you see the dog's ear and then more of the body as you keep continuing.
Friday, February 5, 2021
Feb 10th
Jump rope weight loss workout This seemed like one I already did, so moved onto boxer skip with abs and 20 pushups, when in the first video Dan said he does 100 pushups after the workout.
Exercise as flow
Upperbody and Abs Sydney cummings workout after a long time. Because of a minor inconvenience, I thought I will rest it out with the jumping. Then I felt a great relief that I could do strength training. When you do strength training, you can tell the gains as well as losses very fast, when you stop doing it.
This turned out to be great. The side planks and x jumprope feet.
Yesterday, when I came across autonomy in The art of impossible as a flow indicator, I knew it would be relevant to the joy you get in exercise. With today's experience of doing the rightest exercise, it ingrained it even more, how when you do the exercise you want for fun and not as a must, you get into the flow state.
The six core psychologial characteristics of flow according to the book:
Complete Concentration
When you are exercising, you are thinking mostly about how to do the next set, how to breathe, how to give it your all in the present. The bodily engagement anchors you in the present.
Merger of Action and Awareness
Your workout buddy or trainer can give you hints on the engagement, with their insight of where should you feel the impact.
Sense of self vanishes
Now you are a power machine getting strong. You are bigger than your self.
Altered sense of time
This takes us to Einstein's relativity. This also depends on the choice of exercise. If its something you love, then you will see the time pass quickly. If you are struggling at the move, you look at the clock more often.
Paradox of control
Other than AMRAP, the exercises are little compartments or curiosities that you explore and then find something really great, that is novel and think how wonderful the new move is. With Sydney Cummings, I am always amazed at the host of new exercises in each video.
Autotelic Experience
When you like some exercise, you might overdo it, but luckily your body as a system warns you if you exhaust yourself.
spectrum of experiences. Microflow to macroflow. You can feel it when things dont go according to the plan. AMRAP hrows me off a bit.
Deep embodiment which is a flow trigger for flow according to Steven Kotler, physical exercise because it involves you fully, it works as a good flow trigger.
Feb 6th
Making everyday count
Did the front to back one side to side addition
jumprope pushup - yesterday
Brandon says by the end of it, we do about 200 pushups.. wow..