A capable body and a committed mind = chi flow

Dojiva workouts help you self develop on so many levels. They not only boost your physical strength, but also help you to be strong on the inside. Keep up with your training and you’ll be less likely to become fragile. Rather you develop an element of toughness…

‘you become hard-to-break - in mind and body’

In line with this, there is a phrase that I first heard when I was 10 years old and I carry it around to this day. In the depths of a martial arts class, my sensei would often say:

”Use your Ki”

In Japanese, ‘Ki’ translates as ‘vital life force or energy that flows through the body and the universe. Similar terms come from China as ‘Chi’ and India as ‘Prana’. 

But what is required to tap in your vital energy?

“There is an intensity journey to dynamic exercise…

one that begins at the start of fatigue and ends at total failure.

The question is, what stage are you ready for”?

Last week, we had a class cluster about muscle building that included a list of 15 benefits that you can enjoy from regular resistance training and you can review that here. 

If you have selected the right dumb-bell/band, even after the first few repetitions you should begin to feel the load. Then, about ten repetitions (60 - 90 seconds) into a set of strength training, your muscles will start to feel very tired and achey. It’s like the dumb-bell gets heavier! But this experience of fatigue is just the beginning of the end of that set.

When your body is ready (which means it’s free from injury and knows to keep good form under pressure), you can tap into something that doesn’t get revealed that often in everyday like. And that’s the magical place where

a capable body and a committed mind meet

It’s when your ‘chi’ gets released, flow steps up and you find that you do have more… you tap into new limits and maybe you manage 14 reps of that set. Those are moments of personal growth, they are rare and they are amazing. When it happens for me, I automatically shout out loud with some spontaneous positive words! 

I suspect it’s some huge dopamine surge that gets released through the mind body experience of inner reward and self accomplishment.

It’s what writers, artists, musicians athletes and extreme sports fanatics (like climbers and surfers) experience when they drop into flow state… that unity of body, mind and moment. As well as a completely clear mind, it comes with a sensation that lands in the body as a direct experience of total harmony, abundance and efficiency (all without effort). It is also a portal to timelessness.

But flow should not be exclusive to athletes, artists, free runners, writers and cave dwelling meditators. Can we not all get a glimpse of this? I think so and you up your chances by:

• Having a committed mind that is drenched in focus
  
• Doing dynamic exercise at least two, but no more than four times a week 
• Developing good level of body awareness (presence)
  
• Get good at visualisation and self positivity 
• Fully embracing the hear and now as it is, and…
• Reducing day to day distractions such as addictive food, booze, TV, news, job worries, etc 

It will serve you well if you can reduce these and get your game head on before you begin your game of tennis, hit the gym, enter the dojo or as you click play on your next Dojiva workout!

So, what is it that is always here and now?

Yes, you got it… it’s your body. Only the mind can time travel and get caught up in thought, effectively taking you away from your body (and the moment) like a speech bubble above a cartoon. That’s not where to live and time spent in the past and future can fuel fear and stress (it’s the opposite path to chi-flow).

If thoughts do arrive in your day, let them be brief and come right back to here.

In a nutshell to enhance your sense of being in flow that helps release your inner chi:

• Be present - not too far ahead (it’s the journey not the destination)
• Be natural - notice if you start to effort and relax
• Commit and move gracefully through challenging moments 
• It’s always new, so watch out for trying to hold on to recreate an old experience
• Practice things (sports, hobbies, music, writing, wood work, etc) that you enjoy.
• Becoming immersed (but not lost) in what you do.

Let’s see what happens, maybe your next workout, game of chess or a hike in the woods help you drop into a flowing feeling of aliveness and presence? I hope so! Remember, flow it is not a concept to understand rather a physical reality that you can feel viscerally.

Your ability to challenge your cardio-respiratory system also builds this inner chi, so this week’s class selection has some engaging HIITs!

Thanks for reading

Take care

Danny

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