Michael

Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it. - Plato

Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person’s physical, emotional, and mental states. - Carol Welch

I started a new exercise program on June 30th. I’m not sure what has been harder; the actual 6-day a week program or getting started. I believe that getting started has the edge on being the hardest as it took many months to get to this point.

I know myself well enough that when I’m heavily resisting something, it almost always means that I really need to do it. In psychological terms, it’s the ego that begins to lose control when you start to do things that benefit yourself or give one confidence. The Buddhists call it the monkey mind. The ego or monkey mind uses the subtle techniques of fear, lack of confidence, judgment and etc. to prevent us from being who we truly are. The ego wrongly believes it will die if it loses control.

For sometime my ego has worked overtime to make sure I don’t exercise. I have a clever technique in the fact that I have always had a “good reason” why I can’t exercise at any particular moment. Granted some of the excuses are lame, but they’ve been working quite well up until June 30th.

I’m getting through this one exercise session at a time. If I start to think ahead too much, my ego kicks in and I start thinking about how much work I have to do and how far away I am from my ultimate goal of finishing this 90 day program. So, my one goal is to complete today’s program. That’s all. I find it much easier.

This week, I’m starting to feel better as I’ve gotten over the hump of very sore muscles and feeling tired. Each day, I make a small amount of progress over the day before. It feels really good. I’m striving to build a good habit in 90 days, but I suspect I will have to watch my thoughts for quite some time.

Sometimes all it takes is to take one step forward. The inertia of that action will help to carry you forward and generate another step.

Michael

Erica and started off the day with a 10 mile bicycle ride around Ocean Drive in Newport, RI. It was a perfect morning for a ride; sunny, deep blue skies, early enough so there wasn’t much traffic and a cool, salty breeze off the ocean. As we approached Brenton Point Park, we could see that many people were already launching kites to take advantage of the strong winds. We particularly enjoyed two enormous (automobile size) rainbow colored kites.

After returning home, we made a beeline to Sweet Berry Farms to pick strawberries. We picked two large containers of the ripest ones we could find. Erica took some of the largest and best to make a wonderful fresh strawberry pie. Strawberries are my favorite fruit. Being able to pick them fresh off the plant and then consume them was a huge treat for me.

Lunch consisted of three slices of a freshly made, thin crust pepperoni pizza. For dessert we savored two homemade ice creams; coffee and ginger. Both flavors were exquisite. The coffee ice cream had a rich full bodied coffee taste while the ginger ice cream had large chunks of candied ginger.

The only drawback was that the sugar made both of us sleepy so we took an afternoon nap to recuperate.

The point of this story is to get out and do anything fun. Don’t sit around. Go explore. Do something different. Discover new things.

Have a great day!

Michael

Erica stayed local this weekend. We decided to take a long walk on the famous Cliff Walk in Newport, RI. The total length is about 3 1/2 miles one way. We didn’t walk the entire length, but we did go about 2/3 of the way.

Yesterday was mostly rain, fog and wind. Today, the fog lifted by noon and the rest of the day was windy and partly cloudy; a simply stunning day.

It was a leisurely walk as I was doing some geocaching along the way. Erica turned out to have a knack with the geocaching game. She found a difficult one that I couldn’t find.

I enjoy looking at the mansions along the way. These places are huge and represent a different time and place. I really like the stonework on a lot of them.

Today was a great day for surfers. We watched them for quite some time. The waves were around 6 feet high and were rolling into the coast in groups of three.

I love watching the ocean waves. I find it mesmerizing and relaxing at the same time. So, it was a thoroughly enjoyable walk combined with the ocean, waves, blue sky, huge cumulus clouds, stone mansions and some great company.

I feel really rested from this weekend. It was fun to just do very little and like I mentioned yesterday, make time to play. We tend to get too tied up in the world around us and forget to take time for ourselves.

Michael

Last Wednesday, in my blog titled “Resistance to Yoga“, I talked about my difficulties in going to the first class. It had been quite challenging to close down the mind chatter that was trying to get me to stay home and not go.

This week was a little better, but I was feeling resistance again last night to go. So, I made up a silly prerequisite that said, “If my yoga teacher doesn’t call me on Wednesday, then I won’t go to the class.” She called me this morning at 10:05 and asked if I was coming to yoga tonight. Of course, I had to go now, since my prerequisites had been met.

The class ended up being really good. Surprise! I felt just a little bit stronger and little less tight than the previous week. Last time it took me 4 1/2 days for my hamstrings to recover. We will see how things go with this second class.

I’m glad I went, as I feel that each time I make the choice to go in the face of heavy resistance, I gain a little bit more control of my life. It may sound funny but that is what my inner struggle around this feels like.

Chewing away at a difficult change can be a good way to gradually work through it. Before you know it, the change you want to make has become a new good habit.

Have a great day!

Michael

I left work early as did everyone else. My company calls it “early release” and it typically happens right before a three day weekend. I quickly drove home, grabbed my GPS receiver, some water and my camera.

I decided to take a hike this afternoon as the week had been long and somewhat challenging. A lengthy hike was just what the doctor ordered. The sky was partly cloudy with many patches of blue sky. The temp was 75^oF. It was a perfect afternoon and shouldn’t be wasted sitting inside.

I went down to one of my favorite hiking areas in Rhode Island; Arcadia Management Area. Here’s a link to the topo maps for the area.

I hiked on a trail that went to a body of water called Deep Pond. Before getting there I made a slight detour and walked along a trail that took me to Hemlock Ledges which gave some very nice views of Beach Pond (top left photo).

After enjoying the views I traced my steps back to the turnoff to Deep Pond. After another mile of hiking I arrived at this lovely pond (see photo to the right). I spend a little bit of time here and then headed back to my car.

Overall the entire hike was about 3.20 miles which was just about right for me today. I got to enjoy the beautiful weather and spend some quality time under the forest canopy.

It’s the kind of therapy I was looking for.

Michael

A photographer gets people to pose for him. A yoga instructor gets people to pose for themselves. - T. Guillemets

I went to a yoga class tonight. I was very resistant to go. My mind was working overtime trying to find the perfect excuse for me not to go. Here are some of the excuses. Most of them are quite lame.

1. The class is at 7:15. When I’m a going to eat dinner?
2. It’s too late. I’ll be tired.
3. Do I really need to take yoga?
4. Is it really going to help me feel better physically?
5. I’m not that flexible.
6. The class is located in an area that is hard to find parking.
7. I should do some other exercises first before starting something like this.
8. I’ve lost the directions. (This qualifies for the lamest excuse of the bunch.)
9. Do I really want to commit to a weekly class with everything I have going on right now?
10. Is a one hour a week class really going to do that much for me?

As you can see, the excuses were not that creative. I’ve also realized over the years that if you are that resistant to doing something, then you must do it. Something is going on or you wouldn’t be so insanely resistant. This type of resistance usually happens when you are about to break through old habits and paradigms. It’s also common when you are approaching a new understanding about yourself.

There is always a part of you (your ego) that does not want you to be knowledgeable. Your ego knows that knowledge is power and more importantly knowledge about yourself is freedom. Freedom from fears. Freedom from repressing your true desire. Freedom to create the life that you really want.

So, next time you are feeling resistant about doing something, make it a point to go and do it. Get a friend to push you there if you need, but go and do the thing that you don’t want to do. You’ll grow by leaps and bounds.

Have a great day!

Michael

Two and a half weeks after my surgery and I’m still working on getting my stamina back. When I’m in London, I typically walk a lot. I tried that today and realized I’m still not all the way back to my normal self yet even though I feel really good.

I walked a total of about an hour today. I didn’t walk it all at once but the cumulative effect was that I got tired very early. I could easily get frustrated about this, but what would that do, except to make me feel even worse.

So, I’m learning to take it one day at a time. I’ll do a little more each day. Before I know it, I’ll be back to hiking miles and miles. Patience and acceptance are the keys. As long as I don’t get down on myself, I’ll continue to heal at exactly the rate my body needs.

It’s amazing what you can teach yourself when you just listen.

Have a great day!

Michael

Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind. - Robert G. Ingersoll

It was a really challenging week at work; lots of politics, multiple priorities, too many people working on the same thing and what I like to refer to as work silliness.

By Friday, I had actually lost my patience, my stress level was high and I was feeling anger and frustration. It takes me quite some time to get to this point as I usually am able to bleed off and transmute any kind of negative feelings. But this week, I was mostly unsuccessfully.

I remember an episode of Seinfeld where George’s father was learning to deal with his uncontrollable anger. His anger coach had told him to say out loud the phrase, Serenity Now. Except George’s father would scream the phrase instead of peaceful speaking it. I was feeling the same way.

As I had left early (mid-day) to fly to Philadelphia, I decided to take the extra time I had at the airport and reduce or eliminate my anger and frustration. I started walking from one end of the T.F. Green airport terminal to the other as fast as I could, pulling my computer bag behind me. 43 minutes later I was feeling much better. I felt more relaxed and the crazy week I had just endured seemed to melt away.

Sometimes I can’t work through an emotionally challenging time with my mind only. There are times that simple physical exertion is the only answer. In fact, it’s a real good reason to exercise regularly; for stress reduction, emotional well-being, mental clarity and not to mention all of the physical benefits.

Another lesson I always learn from these times is a refinement of what I truly desire. As anyone goes through difficult times the contrast (e.g. between what you don’t like and like) becomes very clear. I take a moment to always enforce what I do enjoy and not what I don’t enjoy. It’s a small shift in thinking but it has long term benefits.

Have a great day!

Michael

After a nice dinner of sushi, I went with my daughter and her boyfriend to a climbing gym. I had always wanted to climb a rock wall. I put on my harness and after a brief training session by both of them, we were ready.

My daughter is good and her boyfriend is really good. This sport requires strength, agility, intelligence, patience and trust. I have a least two of the five qualities. Well, maybe I have three.

I don’t have a fear of heights. But I definitely don’t like the idea of falling down from a high place as I don’t like the sound of bones breaking. It’s just not my cup of tea. But, enough of that.

One person is the climber and the other person is the belayer, i.e. the one who will stop you from falling if you miss a hold. This is where the trust part comes in. I watched both my daughter and boyfriend climb first. My turn came very quickly as Pat seemed to climb to the top in about a minute.

I took my time and followed the expert advice I was given and made it to the top on my first climb. Pat was guiding me by climbing right next to me. The wall was about 30 feet high and I have to say that the hardest part was letting go of the holds, sitting down in my harness and allowing the belayer (my daughter) lower me to the ground.

I did one more climb after that with only ground guidance this time. It was a little bit harder, but I made it to the top. I found this one to be a little scary because the wall jutted out a few inches. A few inches that high up seems amplified. A few deep breaths helped me work through it.

Another item checked off my list of things to do. It’s been a great trip so far. Each activity I do like this increases my self-image. It’s a great feeling.

Have a great day! Oh by the way, go climb a wall. It’s a lot of fun. I’ll be doing it again real soon.

Michael

I had my first yoga lesson today. This is part of my new effort to take more care of myself and manage my stress. I choose yoga because it is really good at connecting mind, body and spirit.

During today’s lesson I learned a lot about myself and had some interesting realizations. While doing two postures I had a strong feeling that I couldn’t really do them very well, because my muscles were so tight; hamstrings and upper back to be exact.

My instructor could tell what I was saying in my mind. She told me that we all have many lenses when evaluating what we can and cannot do. I’ve talked about this topic before but I liked her slightly different perspective.

She proceeded to tell me mine. I had preconceived ideas about how far I could stretch my hamstrings. She also told me that I was thinking if the exercise was hard to do on my right side than it will most certainly be hard on the left. These thoughts were preventing me from completely experiencing the yoga position and therefore getting the full benefit. She proceeded to show my how my ideas were incorrect. In fact I was able to do much more than I had anticipated by her bringing this to my attention.

We do the same thing in life. It really is important to be vigilant about keeping an open mind. Most of us have so many lenses to view the world and ourselves that they become habits. These habitual thought patterns become unconscious. So, it’s important to continue to look at how we view the world which will help remove our lenses and be more open.

Have a great day!

Michael