"The aim is not to quench your thirst. The aim is to develop the perfect thirst, so that you never stop drinking." —Sufi Teaching
You probably don't believe me when I say this, but I'll tell you anyway:
Somewhere inside you is a vision for your life that has the fuel of a thousand suns.
Once fueled, the fire is so much that it burns a hole in your belly if you don't surrender to its will.
Right now it might be nothing more than a dim ember, a barely visible spark. If you've neglected tending the fire there's a great chance you might not even recognize its presence.
One of the experiments I'm going to start doing with Move Heroically is sharing with your my progress on key markers each months. Some months will vary in their goals.
In January, for instance, one of my main goals was the Dragon Squat (behind the leg pistol squat), which I accomplished. Since I checked that off the list, I won't be measuring that for February.
My major goals in January were:
- Handstand pushup (to yoga block with wall)
- One arm chinup (w/ assistance)
- Front Lever (adv tuck)
- Back Lever (adv tuck)
- Side splits
- Front splits
- Dragon Squat
Initial testing January 5th, 2015:
A1. HSPU to 3.5 inch block – 5 reps
A2. One arm chin-up progression
– R = 4 reps
– L = 4 reps
B1. Front lever (adv. tuck) = 13.63s
B2. Back lever(adv. Tuck) = 13.89s
C1. Middle split = 14.5 inches
C2 Front split
– L forward = 80.75 inches
– R forward = 81.50 inches
D1. Dragon Squat - supporting leg at 90 degrees
Retesting February 2nd, 2015 (28 days later)
A1. HSPU to 3.5 inch block – 11 reps (120% improvement)
A2. One arm chin-up progression
– R = 7 reps (75% improvement)
– L = 6 reps (50% improvement)
B1. Front lever (adv. tuck) = 23.51s (72.5% improvement)
B2. Back lever(adv. tuck) = 26.96s (94.1% improvement)
C1. Middle split = 10.5 inches (38% improvement)
C2 Front split
– L forward = 82.50 inches
– R forward = 83.00 inches
D1. Dragon Squat - full range of motion on left leg, right leg 90% there!
Here's a video of some experimentation I did with single leg squatting patterns:
In the future I hope to do more before and after pictures, as well as more videos of movements the new range of motion and strength allowed me to explore.
Credit goes to my coach Justin Goodhart for his awesome programming and guidance helping me along my journey.
For February I'll be focusing on much of the same strength and mobility goals, but adding more movement flow work into my practice. I'm focusing on these five moves:
- Croc (single arm lever)
- Lizard crawl
- Handstand pushup
- Butterfly kick
- Rotation into low bridge
What movement goals are you working on? What are you doing to track your progress?
Leave a comment below.
Look around you.
Better yet, look in the mirror.
Nearly every one you see, and probably yourself included, is a walking head.
Almost no one these days is in touch with their bodies. We live in a sky culture. In other words, we value the mind, but not the heart or the body.
We want more money, success, and happiness. But we're never there to enjoy it. We're always looking to the future, time traveling in our heads.
We want to make an impact on the world, but we come at it only from the mind. We don't address the body, the actual vehicle for being alive.
In this video, I talk about the importance of embodiment and one thing you can do now to be more embodied.
Why Do We Lose Touch With Our Bodies?
- We get hurt by those we care about, so we close our bodies off and shut down to the world
- Movement is outsourced so we're not longer required to move and use our bodies -- it perpetuates the disconnection
- School and knowledge work trains and conditions us to sit still and become head dwellers
- Because we don't move, our bodies hurt so we'd rather check out and escape to the sky where we don't have to deal with it
You don't have to keep living this way.
I'm starting my beta movement coaching program. And now is your chance to get a free session with me.
Leave a comment and subscribe to my channel for a chance to win a free Purposeful Movement Coaching Session with yours truly
For two lucky folks, I'll be giving away a free moving with purpose coaching session.
Why? Because I love my tribe (that's you). And because I want to get your feedback on my brand new coaching methodology.
No one I know is doing work like this and the power of it I believe is extremely potent.
We'll not only be addressing the physical, but the internal and energetic components of you living and moving with purpose.
How to enter:
Step 1: Subscribe to my Youtube channel here.
Step 2: Leave a comment and tell me:
What gets you out of your head and into your body? (If the answer is, I have no idea, that's fine. Just leave a comment anyway.)