Other fitness training?
 

I'm curious what kind of fitness routines you might do in addition to ILC to stay in shape. I confess that the question is inspired by a thread over at the EmptyFlower forum called Is IMA enough for health?

I think a couple of people have mentioned here that in addition to practicing I Liq Chuan, they are also enthusiastic yoga practitioners. Based on his YouTube videos, I would say that Ashe is into weight training and also leaping over tall buildings in a single bound. :)

In addition to daily form work and weekly classes, I try to do push-ups and pull-ups most days of the week, as well as a few yoga stretches like Parsvottanasana and Virabhadrasana II to loosen up my hamstrings and hips. I also do high intensity interval training (H.I.I.T) on an elliptical trainer several times a week. That's about it. Every now and then I do some rope skipping, go for a jog or lift some free weights, but not on a regular basis, which is what really counts for health. Spinning is also a surprisingly good workout - I noticed that after about an hour of spinning last week, all the participants were sweating buckets.

So what do you do (if anything) to stay in shape?

Peter

Since I got sick I haven't done much of anything. I'm woefully unfit at the moment. Ilm going to have a hard time hanging at the intensive.

Sorry to hear about that. I hope it's not anything serious. You do have almost 2 months to recover before the intensive, and that Arizona climate is supposed to be pretty healthy.

Peter

Big question Peter and to answer we end up having to define what is health. I think overall health has three components, mental, physical and spiritual and although ILC covers all three I still have some other programs to fill out my personal health and fitness program. I think you are specifically refering to physical fitness.

I like to be physically fit so I have a relaxed program of ILC which I work on daily solo and partner, cycling (on and off road, Perth is a great place to peddle although today is going to be 39C so maybe I'll give it a miss) and yoga (asanas and pranyama) to get the mix right for me. Wieght is a critical issue and of course your diet is important too.

Personally I'm not sure that IMA in a non-tradional context, i.e. a busy outward focused lifestyle is enough. I like the cardio and the flexibility and strength/core work outs I get from cycling and yoga. Personally I like the idea of a mix fitness activities to stay in shape, but for the last 6 years, the unifying overarching practice which pulls it all together for me is ILC.

i like cycling, hiking and climbing myself.

Yes, I was referring to physical fitness, but you bring up an important point: mental and spiritual health are also very important and closely interlinked with each other.

There's yet another aspect that's important to me, but I don't have a word for it. It's sort of the life energy within you that gives you the drive to get things done and enjoy life. People with chronic fatigue syndrome, for example, frequently suffer from a lack of this "life energy" and feel lethargic, exhausted and depressed (for years at a time! It must be horrible).

Most days I wake up brimming with energy, but on some days I feel lethargic and am just glad to get the day over. I don't know what it is that determines the level of this "life energy" (still looking for a better term!) within us. So much of life depends on this internal source of energy, and I wonder if there is a way to develop it, just as you can develop physical fitness.

Peter

I'm a little bit out of my depth but I think chi or prana might be a way of describing life energy. In traditional Chinese medicine MA your life force is inherited from your parents and stored in your kidneys. You can enhance and develop your chi by practicing chi kung. Pranyama is energising as well.

I was thinking that other words that could be used to describe this life energy might include things like vitality, spirit, pep, zest, vigor, etc.

I've heard of chi/qi and prana, the Chinese and Indian concepts. I generally associate these ideas with breathing techniques, but that's just off the top of my head. If the life force is inherited from our parents (and why not, we inherit so many other things from them), then it seems like we are stuck with the life energy we have, and there is not much we can do about it.

Have you had any experience with chi kung with respect to enhancing life energy?

Peter

I have some experience with a few chi kung styles but I’m not an authority. One of my ILC mates, Steve Bobs, who is a member of this Forum and has posted his web site address, teaches chi kung. There are lots of different styles to choose from.
Vitality is a good word and you can conserve the life force you have with sensible living and you can learn to generate and store chi if you can find a style that suits your particular circumstances. The ILC macro cosmic energy flow exercise is a form of chi kung and involves absorption and projection as compared to absorption and storage. And once you’ve stored it you can project it later if you want or use it yourself.

Vitality
 

Vitality or whatever word one wants to use for it, originates from the inner body. Normally we don't have access to this source as it is hidden below the seal of non-conciouss thinking and feelings.

The goal of practicing 15 basic exercises or the ILC forms is to unify the physical body with the mental aspects. Once one has reached this quality, he will feel vitality.