A new sprout peeks up....

[Terinatum]

Just checking in.

 

How are you doing?

 

No pressure, just thinking of you.

[Zaphine]

@Terinatum, thanks so much for the friendly check in.  Much appreciated!  It's so easy to only reply in my head.

 

I'm doing pretty well.  The sun is out, the trees have seemingly burst into leaf, the crabapple trees are blooming, and the birds are loud enough outside my window that I have people ask if I have avian pets on conference calls.  As I sit here, I can look out the window into the watershed creek, where this year's cattails are starting to sprout.  All of this helps SO MUCH, y'know?  I live in the suburbs, but I'm fortunate in being closer to nature than I might be.  One block to Walgreens, one block to the park.  

 

Daily walks are happening, stopping to take photos of nature along the way or just watch the waves for a while.  I'm saturating my senses during those walks -- there's a new gratitude to being outside this year.  Days get wibbly-wobbly, so I know I missed a day of meditation last week, but don't actually know how that happened.  Singing and social happens pretty easily along the way.  

 

The hard part of my daily routines is the Druid Thing, but I'm doing it more days than not.  I'm having a hard time deciding which NF Yoga routines to do -- the Water series and the Yin class is pretty easy for me, the Fire series has some real challenges for me (I've got an iffy knee, so some of the deep knee bend moves get twingey).  I tend to think that it doesn't COUNT unless it's hard, but I'm more likely to build the habit solidly doing the classes that feel inherently good in my body to do.  

 

I'm window shopping for a better desk than the folding table I'm working on now.  I think I'm going to be working from home at least part time through the end of the year, and I need better ergonomics than I have now!  I take suggestions.  Does anyone have thoughts on the standing desk vs. not standing desk debate?  

[Scaly Freak]

22 minutes ago, Zaphine said:

I'm window shopping for a better desk than the folding table I'm working on now.  I think I'm going to be working from home at least part time through the end of the year, and I need better ergonomics than I have now!  I take suggestions.  Does anyone have thoughts on the standing desk vs. not standing desk debate?  

 

My thoughts are that you need to figure out what's best for you. I need to sit regularly during the day so if I have to choose I will pick a normal desk with a chair, and then stand up and/or pace every hour. But that's not for everyone.  Maybe you need to start by looking at what is wrong with your current setup first?

[juliebarkley]

5 hours ago, Zaphine said:

Daily walks are happening, stopping to take photos of nature along the way or just watch the waves for a while.

 

5 hours ago, Zaphine said:

All of this helps SO MUCH, y'know?

Yeah. Yeah I do. I took a walk right after I learned that work laid me off way back in March, and somehow seeing nature coming to life and the birds doing their thing just made me feel like everything would be okay and life would, indeed, go on. And so would I.

 

5 hours ago, Zaphine said:

I'm saturating my senses during those walks -- there's a new gratitude to being outside this year.  Days get wibbly-wobbly, so I know I missed a day of meditation last week, but don't actually know how that happened.

"Saturating my senses" = getting lost in the present, being and not thinking? Sounds like meditation to me.

 

5 hours ago, Zaphine said:

I tend to think that it doesn't COUNT unless it's hard, but I'm more likely to build the habit solidly doing the classes that feel inherently good in my body to do.

Pick the one that makes you feel good. Sometimes exercise, like anything else, has sucky parts that you have to work through to get to some goal you want to reach. But if that's where you start, you're at high risk of dropping it long before it can become a habit.

 

5 hours ago, Zaphine said:

I'm window shopping for a better desk than the folding table I'm working on now.  I think I'm going to be working from home at least part time through the end of the year, and I need better ergonomics than I have now!  I take suggestions.

I swear I've seen this multiple times this challenge round, so you are not alone! I have no suggestions myself except to think about your workflow and what you really need when making your decisions. What was your layout at work? What was/wasn't comfortable and convenient about that arrangement? That should give you a place to start.

[Tobbe]

11 hours ago, Zaphine said:

The sun is out, the trees have seemingly burst into leaf, the crabapple trees are blooming, and the birds are loud enough outside my window that I have people ask if I have avian pets on conference calls.  As I sit here, I can look out the window into the watershed creek, where this year's cattails are starting to sprout.

 

That's so poetic. I love how you worded that.

[fearless 2.0]

same for me with the yoga. Just learned that its ok to stay with the comfortable movements for a bit. My nightingale is very loud too these days. Im glad though that she chose my garden to sing in....

[Zaphine]

We had a couple of days of teaser summer weather, but now we're back to rain and cool.  My excitement for the day is that I walked through the Jake Mace tai chi 14-minute video that @Jean recommended, my very first tai chi.  Some bits of it made sense, some didn't (yet), but I've started to explore!  Thank you, @Jean!

 

This weekend, I cleared some room in my house for a slightly bigger, less cramped workspace.  This morning, I did the hard work of live chatting with someone at a standing desk company to ask questions -- hey, that's a little intimidating, so it counts as hard work!  So I think I'm closing in on a better workspace.  

 

Yesterday, I went to the grocery store, which ...seems to have substituted for my will to work out.  So no yoga or walking yesterday.  (It feels ridiculous to say that grocery shopping takes an energetic toll, but it definitely does these days!)  That's ok.  Every day, I do what I can, start from where I am.  

 

 

[Scaly Freak]

35 minutes ago, Zaphine said:

Yesterday, I went to the grocery store, which ...seems to have substituted for my will to work out.  So no yoga or walking yesterday.  (It feels ridiculous to say that grocery shopping takes an energetic toll, but it definitely does these days!) 

 

It's not ridiculous at all. A lot of people feel the same way right now.

[Jean]

1 hour ago, Zaphine said:

Some bits of it made sense, some didn't (yet), but I've started to explore!

 

Right? Postures 3, 7 and 8 do that to me too. I like to focus on one part of the body at a time, either the legs, the core or the arms, then put them all together. It's rather confusing at first. Most of the movements come from the core. For postures 3, 4, 5 and 9, it helps to think that you are pushing something. These are good moves for balance and focus. They take their essence from combat moves so they can be converted into that too. Focusing on the breathing can help building peace, finding elegance in the practice of the moves brings me harmony. It's useful to recall that tai-chi isn't an art meant to burn energy: every move must have a purpose, every drop of energy spent serves a use.

 

The postures 1, 2 and 10 are my go to whenever I seek some peace of mind. Glad you're enjoying it.

[Scaly Freak]

4 minutes ago, Jean said:

It's useful to recall that tai-chi isn't an art meant to burn energy: every move must have a purpose, every drop of energy spent serves a use.

 

... it's meditating via movements?

[Jean]

That's one way of seeing it.

 

I've been taught it more like a martial art. I'm no expert but from what I recall, it was about putting purpose and efficiency in the movements. The purpose was to put the opponent off balance or dodge with efficiency (and combine it with another move). I guess the more meditational way of practicing it (which is the way I'm currently doing it) is about merging the mind, spirit and body to focus energy where it will be useful, be it for healing, energizing or mind recovery purposes.

[Zaphine]

Martial arts often have a meditational aspect to them as well, given the importance of mental focus and breath.  I did 10 minutes of meditation and 14 minutes of tai chi today, and .... it's hard to ignore the similarities between them, the intentionality of what you do with your body and how you breathe.  

 

Yeah, @Jean , with Jake Mace's video, I wished that he weren't standing in a stream, so I could see his feet better.  It's far too easy to just pay attention to the fancy arm movements, even as the captions on the video said to concentrate on the main body and just let the arms follow the body's movement.    

 

Maybe 5 years ago, my mother took tai chi classes at the senior center for a while.  She told me that for the first six months, she just concentrated on getting her feet right, and only then started working on the arms. I should have taken that more seriously than I did at the time. 

[Jean]

15 hours ago, Zaphine said:

Maybe 5 years ago, my mother took tai chi classes at the senior center for a while.  She told me that for the first six months, she just concentrated on getting her feet right, and only then started working on the arms. I should have taken that more seriously than I did at the time. 

 

That looks like a good approach to me. I've also been taught (in other disciplines) that it's better to learn things slowly but right than to imprint wrong moves in our muscles by trying to go too quickly.

 

Jake Mace has other videos and you can find videos from other artits. He's barefoot in this one so it may suit your needs better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0j5dSjme-Y

[Scaly Freak]

15 hours ago, Zaphine said:

Martial arts often have a meditational aspect to them as well, given the importance of mental focus and breath.  

 

I noticed that when I dabbled in several of them during my high school years.

 

I have learned a lot about mindfulness from the writings of Musashi, and from Bruce Lee.

[Athena]

8 minutes ago, Scalyfreak said:

I have learned a lot about mindfulness from the writings of Musashi, and from Bruce Lee.

 

I am so excited that there is a Bruce Lee podcast nowadays. Something I remember quite often when overanalysing why I can't "let go" is "Don't think. FEEEEEEEEL! It's like a finger pointing away to the moon. Do not concentrate on the finger or you will miss all of the heavenly glory!"

 

Ohhh, while googling for the quote I also came across a website referring to the buddhist teachings that quote is based on. Fun.  

[Scaly Freak]

1 minute ago, analoggirl said:

 

"Don't think. FEEEEEEEEL! It's like a finger pointing away to the moon. Do not concentrate on the finger or you will miss all of the heavenly glory!"

 

Ohhh, while googling for the quote I also came across a website referring to the buddhist teachings that quote is based on. Fun.  

 

This Bruce Lee quote was my signature here for a while: “If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”

 

This one by Musashi is one of my favorites as well: "Even if you strive diligently on your chosen path day after day, if your heart is not in accord with it, then even if you think you are on a good path, from the point of view of the straight and true, this is not a genuine path. If you do not pursue a genuine path to its consummation, then a little bit of crookedness in the mind will later turn into a major warp. "

 

 

 

[Athena]

3 hours ago, Scalyfreak said:

This one by Musashi is one of my favorites as well:

 

Thanks for reminding me of the Bruce Lee one.

 

And ohhh I like what Musashi has said. Food for thought. It aligns with the inside-out approach... Working on right thoughts should ideally come first, then right words, right actions etc. Though of course they all influence each other. 

 

Sidenote: This all being a product of my brain liking to make connections that work for me haha. No idea if Musashi's thoughts relate in that way to the eighfold path or if my interpretations are correct.

[Scaly Freak]

4 minutes ago, analoggirl said:

And ohhh I like what Musashi has said. Food for thought. It aligns with the inside-out approach... Working on right thoughts should ideally come first, then right words, right actions etc. Though of course they all influence each other. 

 

It's from this book, that he wrote right before he died. His students had been nagging urging him to write down what he was teaching them for some time, and when his health took a turn for the worse and confined him to his home he started writing. Thankfully.

 

The Book of Rive Rings is supposed to be a manual on the Way of the Warrior and martial arts, but at least half the lessons in there have to do with mentality, mindset, and focus. One of my favorite points made in that book is that it doesn't matter how tall you are, what matters is how tall you can convince your opponent to believe you are...  

[Jean]

1 hour ago, Scalyfreak said:

but at least half the lessons in there have to do with mentality, mindset, and focus

 

I find that more than half of being a warrior has to do with mindset rather than physical strength and combat skills. Fighting is a form of diplomacy. You want a big sword but, as you've written, most of all, you want your enemy not to want you to draw it against him.

 

I can't remember if it's in Musashi's book that I have read that you should choose when to draw your sword but once it is drawn, you should hit, hit hard and hit without hesitation. I'm struggling to live by this mentality but I can recognize its wisdom.

[Scaly Freak]

12 minutes ago, Jean said:

I can't remember if it's in Musashi's book that I have read that you should choose when to draw your sword but once it is drawn, you should hit, hit hard and hit without hesitation. I'm struggling to live by this mentality but I can recognize its wisdom.

 

Well, he is the guy who said that the primary objective once you draw your sword, is to cut your enemy. Every move or technique is a means to that end, and if your focus is on too much on your footwork or too much on parrying, you won't be able to cut your enemy and defeat him, because those minor details will distract you from your goal.

 

He also did say that he ultimate aim of martial arts is to never need to use them. Presumably by tricking your opponent into seeing you as a giant, and make them flee from you in terror.   

[Zaphine]

Or, to make it geekier -- as Wargames said, "the only way to win is not to play."  

[Zaphine]

Memorial Day check in.  Here's what I said I would be doing this challenge:

 

Daily activities (at least 6 days/week)

• Walk, at least 10 minutes, preferably outside (aiming for >5000 steps/day).  Pause to savor the nature.  
• Meditate (finishing up the 21 Days of Calm right now, will explore after that)
• Druid Thang (yoga, Tai Chi, bellydancing -- I multiclass into Bard)
• Social thang (World of Warcraft with friends, socializing via Zoom/Skype, walk with a socially-distanced buddy, phone call with family)
• Sing or dance (did I mention that I multiclass into Bard?)

Weekly activities

• Hobbit Hole improvement (make my workspace more ergonomic, make my balcony a better treehouse retreat, etc)
• Some bigger clean (take out garbage/recycling, clean bathroom, etc.)

Grasping the Nettle (things I really need to get done but don't wanna do -- and it will feel SO GOOD to have them behind me)

• Do my damn taxes at some point this month
• Set up my 403(b) at work

And here's how that is going.  Pretty good on the Dailies -- the walking and meditation in particular. The Druid thing seems a bigger hurdle to regularly get over.  I think I may need a few more yoga video options to rotate through, as the NF selection appropriate for my speed is pretty limited.  Does anyone have any YouTube yoga videos they particularly recommend? If not, I'll likely browse Yoga with Adriene and see what I find.  

 

For the weeklies -- I've done some improvement on my balcony retreat, and I've ordered a standing desk which will get here ... someday.  And my apartment is staying fairly clean, though now that warmer weather is here, I feel like I have too much "stuff" around.

 

Still haven't grasped either of those nettles....

 

The outdoors is calling me, but I'm much more cautious about going out during the lovely mid-day.  That's when all the other people are out, too.  I need to find my bike pump or get a new one and spend some time on two wheels -- that somehow feels more solitary in public.  

[darkfoxx]

My favorite yoga sources (all of which are on YouTube):

 

DoYogaWithMe (also a separate website with search and category capabilities)

Yoga with Adriene  was 

Kino Yoga 

Sean Vigue Fitness (yoga aimed at athletes)

Allie - The Journey Junkie

Yoga by Candace

Yoga with Kassandra 

Pop Sugar 

 

[fearless 2.0]

I also like Yoga with Adrienne, but ist still way to hard for me. Loved the beginning session of the 30 day thingy though!!!

 

[Terinatum]

On 5/25/2020 at 3:25 PM, Zaphine said:

The outdoors is calling me

I'm asking a favor

How about a picture of your beautiful nature while you are riding your bike? That would be cool, right?

Hehehe