Friday

We choose our leaders, political or spiritual, out of our own confusion, and so they also are confused. We demand to be coaxed and comforted, to be encouraged and gratified, so we choose a teacher who will give us what we crave for. We do not search out reality, but go after gratification and sensation.
(Krishnamurti)
If true to our essential natures,
we can make no mistake.

(I Ching)

Thursday

You are your body

No matter what philosophy you care to use, there is no escaping the fact that you are connected to your body, part of your body.
You are your body.
Why not look after yourself?

Wednesday

Faux detachment

If you think of your body as being like a machine, you adopt a position of psychological detachment from your body.
This is peculiar.
After all, if a pin pricks your finger... you feel it, don't you?Machines do not feel pain, they do not suffer and they do not die.

Tuesday

What can you do?

There are many ways to improve your health e.g.:
  1. Eat a healthy diet
  2. Drink plenty of water
  3. Gently exercise your body
  4. Flex your brain
  5. Limit your exposure to toxins
  6. Avoid damaging technology
  7. Lead a less stressful life
  8. Develop a more 'holistic' view of things
  9. Be patient 
Instead of treating your body like a machine, you can take care of it.
You can be responsible for it, look after it, nurture it, feed it well and a let it rest.
This will improve the quality of your life.

Monday


Learned helplessness

By thinking of the body as being a machine you are trying to make it somebody else's problem. 
Expecting somebody else to fix your body is just downright lazy...
They cannot just grow a new foot, a new lung, a new kidney.
Pills cannot fix everything.
So, what can you do?

Friday

A biological organism

The first major consideration here is the fact that biological organisms grow.
This is something to keep in mind at all times.

Thursday

A body

If you treat your body like a car, what does this mean?
The doctor is the mechanic?
Should your oil need changing, the hospital just gives you fresh oil?
replacement foot? 

Let's face it, the body is not a machine.
It is a biological organism.

Wednesday

A machine?

Many modern people think of the human body as being like a machine.
But is this correct?Consider a car...
If the tyre wears thin you replace it.
When the car needs servicing, a mechanic replaces broken parts and tunes the vehicle.
Perhaps at some stage the car develops too many faults to warrant repair so you buy a new one. 

Wednesday

Confronted by limitations of effectiveness, the martial arts of the West responded with a continuous crafting of superior equipment. Confronted with similar limitations, the Asian warrior responded by fashioning a better self. The warrior turned not to technology in making his sword a better tool for fighting. Influenced by contemplative aspects of Taoism and Buddhism and by the self-discipline of Confucianism, he turned inward. He fine-tuned his body and mind in order to better manipulate his sword.
 
(Dave Lowry)

Tuesday

Green tea

A lot of studies claim that drinking green tea is good for your health.
Unfortunately they usually neglect to mention the fact that they are talking about fresh green tea leaves rather than tea bags.
The green tea sold at the supermarket lacks the potency of organic, fresh tea.
To find a good supplier, look on-line.
Seek the most medically beneficial variety you can find.

3-5 cups a day are recommended.

 

Thursday

Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Do your work, then step back.
(Lao Tzu)

Wednesday

Don't stretch

Philip Maffetone maintains that stretching is problematic; a balance must be found between too little and too much.
There must be 
play in the joints.
This enables folding.
Taijiquan is about relaxing and releasing rather than stretching.
Remember the 70% rule?

Tuesday

An inch

There is a point where something is weak, then it becomes strong, only to become weak again.
The human lifespan is like this: a baby, to adulthood, to decrepitude and death.
Seek to do only what is necessary to find that optimal point of strength.
Sometimes it requires just an inch of movement.

Monday

Just enough

It is so tempting to stretch, to extend, to reach.
To force, to push.
Don't do this.
Just do what you need to do to accomplish the result and nothing more.
Aim for this ratio: minimal effort achieves maximum results.

Friday

A different way

Taijiquan advocates moderation in all things.
e.g. over-training is as bad as under-training.
If you do not train enough, there will be very little health benefit and no martial development.
If you train too much, the body will become tired and there is an increased risk of injury.