Archive for January, 2009|Monthly archive page
Exercise at home
I started with 1 hours and 10 minutes of running . it is like an Obstacle course with all the people who are out walking and I tried to be as close to the beach as possible. Sometimes the sand is wet and at other times it is more dry. Sometimes I need to jump up on stones and almost all the time there is an inclination combined with small stones in random patterns. The fresh air from the sea and the sound of waves hitting the beach is really calming for the mind. In general jogging have a tendency to become a bit boring and there are some ways to avoid that. Challenge yourself ! jump up on that low concrete wall and try to get as much variation in as possible. For inspiration watch this video Strength training for Parkour .
After the run I tried to do my whole yoga routine in the bathroom just to challenge myself in the limited space there is in there. I find that when I do yoga in different places and with different people I do it differently and I remember poses I have not been doing for a long time.
I also did a few clap push ups today inspired from the book ” train a quarter of an hour a day” with Paulo Roberto. Even if you can find a lot of training videos on youtube and on podcasts for example I recommend one book that gives you some exercise patterns, how to eat and how to put together routines.
Earlier today I was watching “Scooby’s Home Workouts” and he have done a series of videos about training at home and I really recomend them. There is no advertisments on the page and if you like it you have the possibility to donate money. he gives a lot of useful information on how to use a back pack when you do pushups to intense the training for example.
In general I am amazed how many different training exercises you can find on youtube. Today I was watching a special variation of pushups that thai boxers do as well as some guy doing push ups with his whole body in the air.
Life is great
woke up pretty late and started the day with 30 minutes of jogging and after that the sivananda yoga program. life is great
Technology in libraries, yoga and schools
When I was a kid I actually wanted to go to the library at Saturday evenings. But the Swedish Society preferred that I went to bars or clubs to drink alcohol instead . The possibility to wander around in this giant storage room of information tempted me and I like to be around people who read books. That was impossible since the opening hours, 10:00-14:00 restricted the possibility to read a magazine or a book to midday on a Saturday and the early evening on workdays. A self check out and a security person would be all that is needed in the extra hours.
Another thing that is a little bit strange is that you cannot study from home at high school level in Sweden but you can attend harvard lectures online. Would it not be great to have access to the lectures online if you for some reason are unable to make it in to school or you would like to catch some sunlight in the middle of the day and then study in the evening.
My last point on technology was something that struck me when I saw a 50″ plasma screen in a showroom. Why not have one of theese in the front of a yogaclass. All the students can see what to do and they can hear what to do next. Then the instructor can walk around giving small advice and corrections.
Early morning and a healthy breakfast
Today I have an appointment with an instructor at S.A.T.S. and he is supposed to be very good with back problems. Since I stopped working in the game industry roughly 1,5 months ago I have been doing yoga everyday and that combined with gym training and running have done wonders. I remember having pain in my neck and wrists but currently I have none of that. I also for two years had a very irritating Eczema which is not completely gone but almost. I have been to several doctors for the Eczema and I got a Synthetic drug with Clobetasol propionate as the active ingredient in my last visit. The doctor said that the Eczema is stress related and I think I am a lot more relaxed right now since the drug had a much better effect. Yesterday I had a health check with S.A.T.S. and my body fat, cholesterol and blood-sugar levels where normal. It is nice to to get such positive feedback on my efforts and I remember being close to the 100 kilos mark in the fall last year. Now I was on 94,8 kilos which means I have at least dropped 3 kilos. I still have approximately 20 kilos of body fatt according to S.A.T.S. so there is no worry even if I loose some more of that lard sitting on my body. More jogging on the beach and more regular eating habits should do the trick. From the studies I have read eating less calories gives a more healthy and longer life. This morning I woke up at 07:55 and I had a glass of rise-milk with soy protein, a rye bread with Olive Tapenade and two carrots. I feel proud of myself !
my goal is to have a clearly defined top part of my stomach muscles and a weight around 90 kilo with a body fat percentage around 15 %. According to wikipedia fitness is between 14-17 % and athletes are around 6–13%. I read somewhere on the internet that at Around 15% you will start to see the top row of abs, 12% for the middle row, 9% for six pack and around 6% for an 8 pack.
Yoga around the world
For fun I tried to find some of the poses I do in my morning program on youtube. I would advice to learn yoga directly from a teacher and to always be gentle and slow.
Sarvangasana
Supta Vajrasana
Baddha Ardha Matsyendrasana
Bhujangasana
I think it is a very interesting concept that sivananda yoga have put their entire 12 postures program online for everybody to download.
Effortless running
All my worries disappear and my focus is directed to my body. After a slow start I slowly get into a rhythm and my thoughts start to wander. I notice I have moved a great distance and all of a sudden it is more easy and my breath is no longer heavy. To my surprise I keep on running and maybe some of this effortless breathing is due to my late evening pranayam. I was able to endure jogging for 60 minutes without a single break ! WOW it feels so good to be on track again.
some facts from wikipedia
“Frequent and regular aerobic exercise has been shown to help prevent or treat serious and life-threatening chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, insomnia, and depression … Some studies have shown that vigorous exercise executed by healthy individuals can effectively increase opioid peptides (aka endorphins, a naturally occurring opiate that in conjunction with other neurotransmitters is responsible for exercise induced euphoria and has been shown to be addictive), positively influence hormone production (i.e., increase testosterone and growth hormone), benefits that are not as fully realized with moderate exercise. … Exercise has been shown to improve cognitive functioning via improvement of hippocampus-dependent spatial learning, and enhancement of synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis “
rant: why white people fail at yoga
I am sitting here drinking a cup of coffee which for certain is not ayurvedic and before that I had a big meal at Kentucky Fried Chicken. If you are a self declared yoga guru you have probably passed out by now. I wonder, how the hell could I stay true to a vegan diet for three years !?! fast food with all the magical ingredients , which is just strange names to me since I do not have a doctors degree in chemistry, taste great ! Ok I failed miserably according to the yoga books. Eat in moderation ! Vegetarian food is the best for yoga ! etc. But what does all that mean ? If I eat meat and lots of it should I just avoid doing yoga altogether ? I have been starving myself on a vegan diet and for sure my body was light and I could do some semi advanced knots and hold my breath for quite a long time. The only thing it led to in my case was social isolation. You get invited to a dinner and you cannot eat anything they are serving and you are boring because you do not drink. They do not invite you again, what is the point in cooking for somebody who does not eat ? By the way I stopped the holding breath excersises when I read that you actually kill braincells by not giving them enough oxygen. Enlightment in all honour but to function in this world I need what is left of my brain. Expect on my last work were I could have left it at home without noticing. But what is the point with all these excersises ? No matter what we do we have to shit, eat ,sleep and pay the bills. No meditation I have done so far have actually put any money in my bank account. It have been a steady stream of expenses to course after course. For some the whole spiritual journey is a linear one but where does it end then ? I mean if you go from eating meat to just lentils what is the next step ? You meditate 24/7 and eat a spoonful of rice each month but what then ? I see these yoga guys who can make a human knot out of themselves and I wonder why they do it ? no matter how much they try, Mister fantastic in the fantastic four can still do it better. OK I admit it i will do some yoga before I go to bed tonight. Just a little bit I promise. No mister fantastic just some breathing exercises. I have already burnt all the bridges to enlightenment but I have very vivid dreams when I do some relaxing before bedtime. I do not need to rent a movie. I have horror movies in 4D every night. It feels like I am in the middle of the battleground and when I am scared it is for real. I never understood people who take drugs like LSD and stuff. Take a couple of yoga courses and I can assure you that your dreams will be very strong and clear and if you really get into it you are even able to control the dreams at night. Imagine that you can choose your own destination in dreamland. You want a date with Jenna Jameson you got it ! But this is something they never advertise about in the yoga ashrams etc. Tantra sex were you meditate for hours together with your loved one. How exciting is that ? i think in general dreams are largely underrated. I mean in a dream you can do whatever you want. In an instant you can have the house you want and drive the car you want. You wake up and there is no bill to pay. I am just rambling I know but it is late and I am about to see a movie. It is called “walk the talk” and it is about a self help guru who have to re valuate his life. In general I think it is easiest to be a self help guru if you have inherited a fortune and live alone. As soon as you actually have to deal with the real world no words will help you unless you are willing to walk the extra mile. Oh no I quoted a self help guru by mistake in the last sentence. I think there are more people who have succeed who have have never opened a self help book. Writing a self help book instead of reading one is the first step to success or at least that is my theory(tm). What does all the self help books give you ? you get more egoistic and selfish ? Read some help others books instead. I think this world would be a much better place if we actually spend our time helping others. But I guess that is what mothers, firefighters, policemen, dads etc. have been doing all the time without having the time to write a book about it.
peace to you all whoever you are.
dreaming away
it is cold, windy and dark here in denmark right now and I can imagine several places with a more pleasent climate ..
pictures are from omnihotels therealadam pacificpalmsholidays gabbe susanna
love and violence
Our fascination with violence and love is pretty interesting and do they have something in common ? I happened to see one of Oshos lectures where he said love and hate are the opposite sides of the same coin and that started my thinking. Today I got totally absorbed when I saw the Finnish player Ruutu tackle people in the NHL and just out of curiosity I looked up “NHL best” on you tube to see what the best is from nhl. I have to admit I was a bit surprised when a big fight came up instead of some Gretzky goals which would have been my first guess ( ” Unbelievable Hockey Fight” with close to 12 million is beating Gretzky almost 12 to 1 ). I am a fan of hockey and what really gets the emotions going is the tackles and the roughness. I watched the young Swedish team get beaten by the Canadian team in the world Junior Hockey Championships just some weeks ago and I was totally caught in the moment and I really thought that Canada did not play fair at all and the referee was bad. Now I look up some clips and I can clearly see that the Swedish goalkeeper really fell over easily. My emotions totally took over and sound judgement was put aside.I can just imagine how it is for the players on the ice. Almost all of us have come in contact with the fight or flight mechanism when we are in dark back alley and suspect somebody is following us or we see a horror movie on TV. the fight or fight mechanism is wired into our brains and our logical thinking is totally shut off when it comes into place. When our fight or flight response is activated a lot of chemicals ( for example adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol ) are released into our body and you could say that we get an altered state of being where all our daytime worries disappear and our only focus is on the object that caused this reaction. I cannot help but to find similarities to what we normally call love . the love between two persons which causes all our daily trouble to disappear and we focus only on the object of our love.
from wikipedia
“Lust is the initial passionate sexual desire that promotes mating, and involves the increased release of chemicals such as testosterone and estrogen. … Recent studies in neuroscience have indicated that as people fall in love, the brain consistently releases a certain set of chemicals, including pheromones, dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, which act in a manner similar to amphetamines, stimulating the brain’s pleasure center and leading to side effects such as increased heart rate, loss of appetite and sleep, and an intense feeling of excitement. Research has indicated that this stage generally lasts from one and a half to three years”
Now both fight and flight and love states will disappear after some time and we are left with Withdrawal symptoms.
With this in mind I think it is rather confusing to say “you should love everyone” because it is something you will only do for a period. Maybe that is the reason why Buddhists use the word compassion instead ?
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At an early age I got interested in Buddhism and the prince who left his kingdom in the search for truth. How can I apply this story to my own life ? to be able to sit I took up the study of yoga. Is there a contradiction between yoga and science ? Sure we can get a theoretical understanding through books, but without the experience we are stuck. Why is it so hard to practice non-violence when the mosquito is landing on my neck ?