Physical Practice Blog #1 Taking the first step

http://www.templeofthejediorder.org/forum/Health-physical-fitness-and-wellbeing/44845-Physical-Practice-Blog-2---Strength#forumbottom

Check out this feed I wrote about Strength (Force Strength). Covering a lot of what is being talked about here. Whether running or lifting, I think it should be done with mindfulness. I've started burning a candle when I do my home workouts. It helps me keep focused on the Force. Whenever I want to look at my phone or my mind starts to wander in any of the numerous directions it can, I just look at the candle.

I know this is a late reply, but that's an interesting concept. Thanks for sharing!

Never a late reply. This is a continuous topic.

Planet of Chaos wrote: http://www.templeofthejediorder.org/forum/Health-physical-fitness-and-wellbeing/44845-Physical-Practice-Blog-2---Strength#forumbottom

Check out this feed I wrote about Strength (Force Strength). Covering a lot of what is being talked about here. Whether running or lifting, I think it should be done with mindfulness. I've started burning a candle when I do my home workouts. It helps me keep focused on the Force. Whenever I want to look at my phone or my mind starts to wander in any of the numerous directions it can, I just look at the candle.

that's an interesting method to regain focus...i honestly can't remember what i used to do when i lost focus(it's been a really long time and i was always good at focusing on a single task)...looking at the candle is a lot like the zen koans...it distracts your mind from its wanderings through conscious thought and frees it to return to a zen like state of focus...

I'm all over the place!! I obsess with all my distractions. I feel like I'm always doing something to occupy my mind (waiting in line and checking phone, working on a project while watching TV, singing while driving a car, eating while checking phone, haha checking phone while on the computer lol).. Man!! I welcome the opportunity to focus on ONE THING! But after being so overstimulated it's hard. The candle and maybe some incense helps me remember to be mindful of the here and now. If for nothing else, than for my own personal health and well being.

I have found, as of late, that if I meditate before I go to the gym to work out, I get a better sense of focus and can listen to my body a lot more than before where I was distracted. Instead of focusing on how hard it is to lift a certain weight, I focus more on form and the push/pull and get more out of it. Legs day is where I need it the most because I usually go home afterward exhausted and ready for sleep.

We should talk .

When I do heavy deadlifts or squats I have to meditate right there in the gym, sometimes I feel like its the deciding factor if the weight is going to come up or not. Sometimes I will lie down completely on the floor and clothes my eyes and just breathe and focus on what I am about to do, while resting my body. Laugh if you will, but in my minds eye I try and become the metal. My cousin refers to it as, "beast mode." This is my process when the weight is extremely heavy, but I have found that doing this even on lighter weight helps immensely. I find when it comes time to pick up the weight I am extremely calm and utterly focused. Some weeks this process is the deciding factor if I will hit a new personal record, IMO. Would love to hear others processes of mediation during exercise

In a way, lifting heavy and finding yourself stuck is a kind of meditation because your mind is completely present in that moment. You have to, otherwise, if your mind is elsewhere, you won't lift at your best. It's complete focus on the task at hand and nothing else. I find that lifting can be a love/hate relationship, because when I'm done I find myself looking at the weight with scorn, but I go back for more because I love what moving it around does for my health.

Luthien wrote: In a way, lifting heavy and finding yourself stuck is a kind of meditation because your mind is completely present in that moment. You have to, otherwise, if your mind is elsewhere, you won't lift at your best. It's complete focus on the task at hand and nothing else. I find that lifting can be a love/hate relationship, because when I'm done I find myself looking at the weight with scorn, but I go back for more because I love what moving it around does for my health.

Exactly and in 1 rep max cases it can be the deciding factor, if I feel inner turmoil too much or at all then the weight just doesnt come up. Hmm, I used to have that love hate relationship but actually learning the mechanics behind the form/technique, which is far more complex than I ever used to admit, made me grow fond the of the exercises. I'm actually writing a 5 page paper for my speech class on the Deadlift.

Good point. And, nice!