[DeRaiL]

I'm coming back to this after a five year hiatus. Here's the plan:

 

1. Meditation every day. This is always a good habit to keep up on, and there is really no excuse to not do it daily. It only costs time, and it is always time well spent.

 

2. Something active every day. I know this is very non-specific, and the generally accepted practice of SMART goals calls for it to be specific. I'm intentionally deviating from that practice. More on that later. In this case, "something" will generally mean something martial arts related, as that has been my long-time hyper focus. I currently practice taijiquan, and attend a weekly class. It's been a good fit for my current physical state, as a 40+ guy with a slipped-disc of recovering from sciatic nerve pain.  Qigong is another practice I like, and fits well with the taijiquan. There is also a mobility exercise routine I bought online, and it's really accelerated the sciatica recovery. And last, there is always the time-tested practice of going for a nice walk. The main objective is to do something every day.  Stay active. Keep it simple.

 

3. Do a certain thing NOT every day. One of my martial arts-related hyper focuses is practicing with a rope dart. It's extremely fun, challenging, and a little bit dangerous. I good mix all around. However, it can be very taxing on my body, especially my lower back, especially when practiced with speed and intensity. As with most intensive activities, the body needs time to recover. Because I find rope dart so satisfying, I have an unfortunate habit of practicing hard, several days in row, without chance for the body to recover. The goal here is to not do that. It's sort of an anti-daily goal. Do the thing NOT every day. At very lease, have two rest days from rope dart per week.

 

That's the extent of it. There's more I will share as this goes on, especially related to the governing principle of radical acceptance. More on that later.

[Elastigirl]

Solid challenge goals. Here to cheer you on!

[DeRaiL]

The first two days have gone well. Mondays are easy days to get a win since I have my taijiquan class. Today I did taiji at home. Not a lot, but enough to keep things limber. And meditation for both days. 

 

I've kept away from the rope dart these past two days, giving me time to recover. I feel my hyper focus beginning to shift away from the rope dart, probably towards another weapon skill. We'll see where that goes. 

[DeRaiL]

Oh wow, I just noticed a five year old signature at the bottom of this thing. I'll have to do something about that.

 

So I've made it to the end of week one, still on track. What I didn't mention earlier is that this past week has not been a typical week. I took the entire work week off as PTO, since we were hosting a house guest and I wanted to be 100% present for that. In a way, I think having an atypical week was a good way to begin my return to NF. It showed the importance of being adaptable. I think I did it well. My challenge didn't suffer for it, neither did my ability to be present for others during the week. I've traditionally struggled with this sort of divided attention in the past, feeling I had to go all in on one thing, and one thing only. Maybe it's a hint I'm getting better at the less rigid thinking thing.

 

The past week included a lot of time on the road. This had an unfortunate effect on my lower back. Staying active seemed to help me get through it. I managed to keep up some kind of activity each day, as planned. Some days more than others (Wednesday included MILES of walking). I have also managed to refrain from playing with the rope dart, or similar flexible-weapon, every single day. If anything, I've just dabbled with it this past week. This is probably ideal. Enough to keep me interested and confident, without the detrimental effects that daily practice can bring. However, as I stated in an earlier post, I feel this hyper-focus beginning to shift. 

 

For this upcoming week I want to focus on the daily meditation habit. I've been holding to it, but it's still inconsistent. Some days I can only manage about five minutes before becoming restless. Some days 12 minutes comes easy, and even then I can keep going. I think time of day can make a big difference. I'm going to try meditation at the same time each day this week, and see where that takes me. 

[Elastigirl]

Way to go with being adaptable! It's so easy to think, "I'll be more active when life is normal, and life  doesn't often get normal"

[DeRaiL]

On 9/15/2024 at 3:16 PM, Elastigirl said:

Way to go with being adaptable! It's so easy to think, "I'll be more active when life is normal, and life  doesn't often get normal"

 

It never does get normal. 

 

Things are still progressing well. I'm still keeping on top of daily meditation, which is the cornerstone of all this. It's really about overall wellness, rather than peak performance. To that end, I'm still staying active each day. Some days that only means a walk, but most days it means more.

[DeRaiL]

Still in the game here. Meditation is happening each day. I try to make a point to stop and sit more than once per day, but that's any easy one to forget. It can be hard enough just remembering to sit once per day. I'll take the extra credit as it comes, to the best of my ability.

 

I've been messing around with a lot of stuff these past few days, which is a good way to avoid hyper focusing on any one thing. As I've established before, hyper focusing on the rope dart tends to wear me down physically. I've been mixing it up with my taijiquan, which is always accessible, regardless of my physical and mental state, and also some nunchaku practice. Specifically, I've been playing around with a short nunchaku routine only using one hand at a time (see below).

 

https://youtu.be/W0mn0RKNieQ?si=10VukCB3wd557amy

[DeRaiL]

I am contemplating doing something different this week. Something measurable, where I can track progress. I generally shy away from that sort of thing, but I am beginning to see the potential benefit. I have many ideas going through my head. More on that to come. 

[DeRaiL]

So I'm now half of a week into a new bodyweight exercise routine, using the model from hybrid calisthenics. I'm starting with the most basic exercise for each of the six movements, though it seems I can already move on to the next progression towards pull-ups. Push-ups might be moving ahead in rather short order as well. Squats, leg raises and bridges will need some major work. Twisting may have to be reconsidered, at least until the core strength is in order. We'll see on that one. Anyway, I'm rather enjoying it so far. And two exercises per day is more than manageable. 

[DeRaiL]

Day 6 of the hybrid calisthenics routine is done, so that's basically week 1 in the bag (as Sunday is a rest day). Thurs - Sat is just a repeat of everything from earlier in the week. I think I hit my stride with a few exercises I struggled with the first time around. Twists just needed a modification so that it wasn't so intense. I actually hit the goal for the first pushup progression (wall pushups), so I technically could move up to the next exercise. However, I'll probably wait another week to do that, to be safe. I started the next pullup progression using my brand new gymnastic rings. Overall, the conclusion of this first week of hybrid calisthenics has me feeling pretty good. It's quite a departure from my initial "just do any kind of movement" approach, and more fundamental than my tendency to hyper focus on martial arts activities. It's a good reminder that I am better off when I focus on fundamental fitness first, then add specific skills (like martial arts) later. 

 

I still got my taijiquan practice in, even a little bit with the long knife (1st of the 2 weapons we learn in my taijiquan class). Of course followed by my daily meditation. 

 

And it was a special day as a longtime Battletech fan, as the latest Tex Talks Battletech premiered today. Two hours well spent. IYKYK

[DeRaiL]

It's been a week. There isn't much to report, other than everything remains on track.  I'm nearly two weeks into hybrid calisthenics. Progress is as it should be: slow and steady, safe, but also very evident progress is happening. My posture is improved. I didn't expect that. I didn't expect anything to be noticeable this early in the game. It's a good reminder to keep moving. Moving is good. 

 

On the taijiquan front, apparently there is an exam coming up in December. News to me. I didn't know we did rank exams in taijiquan. I guess this particular organization does.

 

To be perfectly honest, the idea of a rank exam doesn't exite me. I never really enjoyed the process in my karate days, even though I usually did well with them. If I had my way, I would just train in the art, no ranks, colored belts, or titles  (except for the teacher of course). One's status in the group would simply be a matter of years in training and evident in their skill in the art. But that's just me. I do like this taijiquan group, and the art they practice, so I'll play ball. One must compromise. 

[Cassandra Persister]

So great that you are posting your journey to inspire us too!

I have been meditating every morning, short journal, andworking on trying to get some kind of movement practice every day. Gym on tuesday and Thursday works well, but I think I have too many choices for the other days. Trying to dial it back in the small habits approach so 5 minutes of 'play' is a win.

[DeRaiL]

Mild illness struck this past week.  Nothing too serious, but I did lose one day of training on the hybrid calisthenics routine. I accepted it and moved on. That's a big step for me. I tend to have a black-and-white mindset on these things, hence my reluctance to start specific, measured fitness routines. I guess the physical side of this is not the only way to grow.

 

I've also changed one small but significant aspect of my meditation practice. I've deleted the meditation app I've used for years. There's nothing wrong with the app itself. I've just found that it provides an artificial, or superficial, incentive to meditate. I find myself sitting down to meditate only so that I can keep my running tally of consecutive days on the app going. Like I'm chasing the higher score. I believe my practice suffers for it. It's about being present in the moment, being aware of thoughts but not getting lost in them. This gets lost when I'm thinking "oh I'm at 107 days, can't let it slide now, gotta get 110, 150!" No. I am at no days. There is no "days." No mind. There is no spoon. 

 

I still do my weekly taijiquan class, and it continues to be good for me. The talk of an exam in December causes me mild stress, as I will apparently need to know the long-knife form. I still don't know the long-knife form. But I'm sure things will attend to itself. Or it won't. Either way, it does affect my ability to practice taijiquan. 

 

[DeRaiL]

I gather this challenge is now ended. I don't really remember how this goes. A summary I guess?

 

1. Meditation every day: With maybe one missed day, I'd say this goal was extremely successful. 

 

2. Movement every day: More successful than I could have imagined. What started as a vaguely defined, wishy-washy goal (with good intent) evolved into a very measured, deliberate calisthenics routine. This already feels awesome, and has loads of potential, so I will keep running with it. 

 

3. Do not hyperfocus on rope dart practice every day: This turned out to be way easier than expected, as my hyperfocus has shifted away from the rope dart. I still practice about once per week, which is enough for now. The main thing is that I didn't grind my body into dust as I had in the past. 

 

Next challenge will likely be a continuation of what I learned in these past few weeks. 

[Cassandra Persister]

@DeRaiL Thank you so much for sharing. I also missed exercise as i was ill this week, but I fgure I'm in for the long haul now so have to accept that it was necessary and actually very nice to rest. I am using a meditation app and finding much the same issue with just going through the motions at times. I'll reflect on your decision and see where I land.