Step 9 – Using Exercise Tools in a Purposeful Way
As we have previously established, exercise is a means to connect to and improve how you use your body. If you have intentionally relaxed your body and released the tension stored in your body before you exercise you are now in a body ripe for movement. This state will promote your desire and ability to move and exert.
The formula is:
With the enormous amount of information regarding health, the unique needs of your body have been replaced with the “rules” of fitness. Your mind knows the facts….“Exercise must be done in order to be healthy.” Or, “I need to run a certain amount of time and lift weights to burn this amount of calories in order to look good!”
I am not disputing any of this.
However, instead of always telling yourself what you should be doing based upon other people’s opinions, try listening to your body and it will tell you what it needs.
The Check-In is a self-evaluative tool where you sense for yourself what is going on within your body. From this check-in you will easily be able to discern what health practices are aligned with where you and your body are in any one moment.
My suggestion is to perform the check-in when you:
Before you leave your car for the gym, remain seated and close your eyes. Feel what your body is like in that moment. Is it tired? Is it tense? Is it energized? Does it feel like doing cardio or exert via weights? Maybe today is the day to try a yoga class. Whatever the path you take, allow your body to tell you its needs. What this provides is a great deal of autonomy versus the strict discipline that you must conform to “this routine” or “that routine.”
The current fitness environment provides for three scenarios:
Stretching is a wonderful opportunity to deepen your connection with your body. A good understanding of stretching sensitizes you to the degree of tension your body is experiencing in any one moment. This is such an important skill in a modern world where we sit for long period.
The body accumulates tension slowly over time. The problem is this slowness causes you to adopt to it presence as “normal.” Years of sitting at a desk working in a stressful job focusing on things around you have caused your neck to progressively tighten until your shoulders are elevated. You unknowingly walk around with this tension locked in your body and mind. Not only does this affect your posture and movements, it also drains your energy and influences your thinking.
Stretching provides our body an enormous amount of relief. What is required is a focus upon the sensations the stretch brings. These sensations are loaded with information specific to your body.
Stretching teaches you to:
Tension reveals the body’s resistance to life. This tension keeps us from being fluid and open. Stretching is a practice that will improve session to session. You will discover muscles you never knew you had and discover internal reserves of strength that will empower your daily life.
Again, I recommend becoming well practiced with the Intentional Relaxation (page 56) and Melting Tension, Aches and Pains process (page 59), before attempting the following stretch.
Forward Bend
Contraindication – if you have any pain in bending forward or have problems in your lower vertebra, disc problems, spinal conditions, etc. please refrain from the forward bend.)
This technique takes practice. The payoff is tremendous. Learning how to connect to your tension and let go of it is invaluable in daily life.
The more you practice the better you will be at surrendering to your body’s sensations. This technique of conscious surrender is a great step in learning your body’s language and limits. Also, the body’s tension usually goes very deep. Once you reach this depth, you can work with it and release it.
The procedure of the Forward Bend Stretch described above can be applied to any stretch as follows:
Your core is composed of the muscles constructing your midsection or torso (the abdominal and lower back region). This section connects your upper body to your lower body, from the top of your hips to your rib cage. Without your core you would not be able to stand up straight.
The core’s strength, power, and stability flow from the center of the body to the periphery; therefore, the stronger your core, the stronger your periphery.
Your goal is to begin using your core everyday and re-train your body to rely upon it rather then unconscious static tension from stress. Most people use their upper neck muscles to stabilize their upper body. This causes the neck muscles to be overworked. The more attentive you are to your core when you’re sitting, walking, standing, and moving - the more your body will adapt positively to your life. Eventually, this daily core practice will become automatic.
In order to properly use your core, you must understand that muscles function in three ways:
The last function is what we want to focus on.
A different method is to push your fingers into your stomach so you can feel your stomach muscles when they contract.
Then, laugh or cough. Laughing or coughing automatically activates the muscles of the core. Use this as a tool to directly experience a contracted core.
As you progress, try to see how much core tension you can develop. Tighten as much as you can and relax as deep as you can. This will help to not only strengthen the area, but also it will strengthen your connection to your core. The more you practice, the better you will get at using your core.
Remember the Goal Before Proceeding
This section below describes the mechanics of exercise. Before you can apply your vision attributes to your workout understanding how to use your body will take up most of your processing power. If you already know how to use your body then you can immediately apply the attributes of your vision to your routine. For those of you who need more education, please read on…
Core Progression
Lie on your back and connect to your core. Make sure the small of your back is pressed against the floor and you can feel this connection. Hold your core (or engage your core) so the small of your back does not move off the floor.
Level 1
Bend both knees so the bottoms of your feet are flat on the floor. With your core held tightly, and your knees bent, lift one leg off the floor. Then lift the other leg off as well. Is your core still holding you stable?
If so, slowly straighten one leg away from you so it is parallel to the floor. The more you straighten your leg the harder it will be for your core to maintain its position against the floor. The goal is to only straighten your leg as far as your core remains stable.
Alternate legs and repeat for at least two sets of 15 repetitions.
Remember to challenge yourself, but be aware of your limits. Exercise can be intense but it should NEVER CAUSE you PAIN.
Level 2
With both knees bent and feet off the floor, place both hands behind your head and focus on holding your head with your hands.
Maintain this position and focus upon tightening your core while relaxing your neck.
Again, observing your inhale will help and as you exhale, relax your neck into your hands.
When you feel you have allowed the muscles of your neck to sufficiently relax, focus on connecting your hands, head, neck and upper body into one unit. Then as one, lift this unit off the floor towards the ceiling then lower.
Perform two sets of 15 reps.
Level 3
Assume same position as in Level 2. Now, with the same crunch you will combine both exercises.
As you crunch up, allow one leg to travel away from you. Focus upon keeping your lower back and core to ensure total stability.
Only allow this leg to travel as far as your core dictates. As you lower your first crunch, bring your leg back in. Next crunch - use your other leg. Perform two sets of 15 reps.
The traditional purpose of endurance training is to promote cardiovascular health via repetitive motions of large muscle group. This increases the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood thereby increasing the amount of O2 uptake and improving the efficiency of the heart.
In my thinking, this effect is gravy. This is because so much of us spend our energy trying to get “there”. Traditionally, the goal has been much more important than the process. In our heads we hear the chant, “I want to get there now,” but as soon as we get “there” we start saying, “No time for rest, now, I want to get there.”
The quest for “there” can become endless. There is always another mountain to climb. If you spend the rest of your workout life trying to get somewhere where you are not, all you will experience is frustration.
If you focus on the process of exercise to: 1) express your vision, 2) discover your power, and 3) learn to use your body better then you are more engaged in the activity for it has meaning and purpose in your life.
This method constantly stimulates your mind in a new way. Your health improves. Your connection to yourself improves and as a result of all of these deeply meaningful benefits you also receive the benefits of aesthetics. I am not saying aesthetics aren’t important, they are. What I am saying is aesthetics come faster and stay longer when you focus on the process as the goal.
In our lives, we need a great deal of mental and emotional endurance to get us through the tough moments of life. The need for this endurance increases when we begin to reach for our goals. Learning to endure while staying calm will serve you for the rest of your life.
If you begin your endurance training with this procedure and base it upon how your body feels, you will begin to enjoy moving your body. If you can have enjoyment in your body during exercise, then this becomes another motivation to exercise. However, we still want results from our efforts, so brutal self-honesty is required here.
Start with this simple procedure and be true to how your body feels. If it feels like running: run; if it feels like walking: walk. Let yourself explore your body on a daily basis and allow for its daily changes. The honesty is finding out what you really want to do, what your commitment is and staying true to it.
Grounding involves literally giving our full weight to our feet. Our feet connect us to the floor. Most of us have been holding so much tension in our necks and shoulders for so long, we seem to be literally trying to lift ourselves out of our bodies. The result from this body behavior is weak backs, tight necks and weak abdominal areas. Grounding provides much relief for the body and is easy to do.
To Ground:
Walking is an advanced level of grounding.
o Focus landing on your heel and actively pushing off on your toes.
o Feel each time you land on your heel.
o Feel as you shift your weight forward until you reach your toes.
o Push off the toes as you transfer all your body weight to your other leg.
Running
After practicing walking at an easy pace, you may start to notice a calm and comfortable feeling. Your body may naturally start to move faster. Soon you start a slow jog and then you break into a run.
Running can be wonderful! Remember when you were a kid? Running is such a pleasure when you do it strictly because you can. Run as long as you want for as long as it feels good.
We take exercise much too seriously. Why do you want to do something that has such wonderful benefit for your life and make it into a chore?
(Only perform this routine if you are comfortable working at high speeds and have no contraindications to walking for long periods of time. If you have bad knees that hurt while walking, please do not walk on the treadmill.) The speed I have used is just an example. Please find out for yourself what speed you and your body can work at that is comfortable but also challenging)
Grounding Phase
Acclimation Phase
Running Phase
Grounding Phase
Acclimation Phase
Once acclimated, increase your pace and acclimate again.
3.5 mph
4.0 mph
Incline Phase
Increase the incline to 5% and acclimate.
6% - acclimate.
7% - acclimate.
8% - acclimate.
9% - acclimate.
10% - acclimate
Continue upward until you reach a point where you can only stay on if you hold on. (Please be careful and use your discernment. Only attempt this level if you are ready to push your limits.)
I believe weight loss is directly tied to our belief systems. Most of us believe eating too many calories causes us to get fat and yet there are so many diets out there, which conflict with this. There is a book called the Ice Cream Diet proclaiming you can lose weight by following its process. I am not disputing or agreeing with this or any claim. I am merely observing that diet is a highly personalized thing that may be more about what you believe than what you actually eat.
Recently, there was a professor of nutrition who did an experiment. He ate nothing but junk food and vitamin supplements for 2 months. He closely monitored his cholesterol levels and other aspects of health via blood samples. Over the course of his experiment, his levels of health actually improved as he lost weight! You can read more about this experiment at: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/
The point of sharing this is not to suggest eating junk food as a way of losing weight and attaining health. I believe this experiment illustrates the power of belief. Since this professor has been studying nutrition for x number of years, not only his mind has learned but his body has as well. Because of his research, on a very deep level of his being, he believed a calorie is a calorie no matter where it comes from. It was his belief that caused his results.
If this is true, than your belief can create YOUR results.
Therefore, I suggest listening to your body and eating what your body needs. Eating “correctly” is easier than it looks when you listen to how food affects your body. If eating a certain food makes you feel sluggish, stop eating it. If other foods make you feel energized, continue eating them.
Re-Program Your Nervous System To Lose Weight (or re-program yourself for anything you want)
Find someplace quiet and comfortable and begin Intentional Relaxation (page 57). Observe your inhale and let go with your exhale until you feel centered and calm within your body. Make sure all distractions of your day and your body is cleared before moving on. (See Reflections Meditation - page 98 - if you need help to clear your mind)
Begin to imagine yourself at your desired weight. (Now please be reasonable here. I don’t want to encourage you to see yourself super thin if your body is used to having a large amount of body fat. Rapid change never lasts. If you really want to be super thin, do it in increments over a long period of time. Also, if everyone around you tells you, you look good but you constantly see yourself as being fat then please consider getting help to change your self-image. Most likely, you are not seeing reality and are striving for goals that may be beyond your abilities or they may be unhealthy. Please be honest with yourself.)
Close your eyes and see yourself looking the way you would like to look. See yourself wearing the clothes you want to wear. Feel how your body feels to be this weight. If it feels good, you’re on the right track. Spend time really feeling this and sending the message to your sub-conscious and all the cells of your body that you are ready to change and have the body you say you want. The more you feel it, the more your sub-conscious will adapt to this new goal. Feel what life would be like if you were this ideal weight. What would change in your life? How would your life be better?
Continue to feel this new reality and choose an empowering and easy to remember image/symbol/word that encapsulates this commitment. See this image/symbol/word and associate it with the feeling of your commitment. Feel it. Make it real for yourself. Thinking about it is not enough. Feel it in every cell of your body. Strengthen this association as much as you can. Pour your heart and desire to be this goal weight into this image/symbol/word so every time you see it or think it about it your whole being remembers the path you have set for yourself.
Now each day have this image/symbol/word all around you. Put it where you can see it. You post it notes and put them in your car, by your computer as your screen saver and on the refrigerator. This will help to remind you of your commitment and goal. By doing this you will be actively reinforcing your message to your subconscious.
Once you begin, you will start to notice the behaviors that support your goal while at the same time, the ones conflicting with it will come to the surface. This is good for you will choose the new and shed the old. Remain true to your goal. Be strong. Be dedicated. Remember, if you don