Training as Meditation

I’ve done all kinds of physical training outdoors and indoors….running, mountain biking, open water swimming, body building protocols, circus arts, parkour, crossfit, obstacle racing, strong lifts 5×5, barstarzz, surfing, and gymnastic bodies (GSB).

Each had it’s effect.

• Running and mountain biking were great lung builders and meditative
• Swimming in open water was an effort of the mind and completely emptied me
• Body building built confidence
• Circus arts was just fun
• Parkour was explosive but full of injury
• Crossfit was a magnificent emptier but fried me
• Obstacle racing was OK but race courses were usually more running than obstacles
• Strong lifts got me a lot stronger than I’d ever been 
• The paddle out at Ocean Beach in SF is HARD, but on the other side it’s just surf bliss
• Barstarzz was fun with flow but also a source of injury
• GSB developed strength and mobility in a way you didn’t notice until you progressed

It was all work though. Tough and demanding work of the body and the mind.

Each one has a different kind of meditation to it’s process. A lot of it is a kind of work where I have to push myself mentally or physically. Working at a startup with a commute and raising twin girls, I need to unwork and not push anymore.

For me, after work, I ride in the most beautiful place I think one could ride. It’s the greatest feeling of flow I have ever felt physically. The undulating trails covered in pine needles give feelings of just pure flow. Here’s a view of one particularly magnificent ride I frequent. It’s exercise but I don’t really notice it. Just flow. When I’m done, I feel like I’ve been gone. Tired but recharged. Just perfect.