So, I just finished my daily practice. I had a rest day from my workout so I basically did a couple qigong forms, some sexual cultivation work ( haha tisk tisk) and then finished off with an hour of yoga.

As is typical, I get pretty inspired as I start to notice the progress I am making in my practices because I start connecting the dots as to what aspects are doing what and it helps me to round things out.

As my practice has developed over the years I have indeed made some interesting realizations. And, I still do.

I wanted to go into one of them today. And, that is the role that a deep yogic and energetic cultivation practice can play in the development of foundational strength.

I have always been more of a health adventurer rather than a purist. In fact, I kind of hate the idea of doing only one thing because there are so many benefits to be taken from so many different types of practices and in many ways they all overlap.

Not only do they overlap, but, according to Ken Wilber’s integral model (which is what I look at when I truly want to understand the nature of holistic development), doing a range of practices (or spiritually cross training) actually enhances the effects that you take from each of the practices individually and creates an exponential growth curve.

I will go over that more deeply in a future blog post.

Today I just wanted to talk about what I believe yoga and energy cultivation methods bring to the table when being used as a support for a weightlifting or fitness regimen.

We all know what yoga is by now, I think. So, I will not go over that too much. Energy work though, can be a little confusing as it isn’t so well understood and it does encompass a vast quantity of practices developed over many thousands of years.

In my interpretation of energy work, I am basically using it as a generic term that refers to still or moving meditation (tai chi, qi gong etc.) and different types of sexual cultivation practices (tantra, Taoist sexual kung fu…). And, at its core, there is always some type of deep breath awareness that serves as its base and enables us to direct the flow of energy within our body (pranayama in yoga, Zen breathing etc.)

Now, over the years, and more so even recently, I am coming to the realization that, energy work sits on top of everything else as what effects us most deeply in the pursuit of strength development.
The reason for this is that as energy is released, cultivated, and allowed to flow more freely, it begins to provide a level of buoyancy. It really does make one feel lighter. What I mean to say is that it provides a deeper support to all other levels of matter manifestation, including what we see as the physical.

The Taoists have spent many millennia developing one of the most comprehensive approaches to development of any other culture and they maintain the perspective that developing the subtle body is of utmost importance. That is certainly not to say that they did not believe developing the physical body was important….because it absolutely is and has so many benefits that can NOT be understated.

But the Taoists believed that a well muscled person was only as strong as his or her internal body and organ system. Qi gong, although having a deep impact on the flow of energy, also develops the different organs. In their system of anatomy, the Chinese mapped out the many channels, meridians, and corresponding points that exist all over the body. Each one of these roughly corresponds to particular organs within the body….kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, spleen etc.

What lies within each pathway is what is known as chi (or qi, ki, energy, life force, or prana). And illness (physical, mental, or emotional) is created as a result of energy being blocked at a certain channel, meridian, or point. And, if the energy is flowing unimpeded than all of the body’s organs are strong and that in turn strengthens the body’s capacity for muscular development.

After all, it’s really the organs that feed the body its nutrients which allow muscles to develop properly. And, also as the organs and body centers are strengthened, than you will find that you can tend to go harder in your workout, you recover faster, and you don’t get injured nearly as often.

Yoga, at its base, is energy work as well and it actually gives you a range of benefits that are similar. What gives yoga its effect on energy is the concentration on the breath. Breathing deeply and with awareness is what enables someone to cultivate and move the energy. And, so that is why it forms the basis of all moving and still meditative practices.

But, the reason I wanted to go over it here, was due to its effect on strengthening those parts of the physical body that really cannot be developed through a standard weight training regimen.

Yoga, trains the body in a way that stimulates energetic production and awareness, it nourishes all the organs by creating a combined contraction and expansion within each of them, as you work into your folds, twists, and bends, it trains a deeper awareness of your nervous system, brain and spine, and it also strengthens the bones, all of the joints, and all of the muscles as it forces you to move in and out of positions that you would normally never move into.

I think this, to me, is the most compelling reason to undertake a yoga practice.

Yoga, though, goes so much deeper than that. It is much deeper than I can cover in a single blog post. It is so far removed from its current portrayal in the commercial world that it’s kind of ridiculous. But, there are many benefits that can be gained as a result of regular practice.

In so many ways and for so many reasons, yoga and energetic practice can enhance your approach to fitness.

Over the years, I have noticed a dramatic shift in the way I train, focusing less on lifting weights (a typical crossfit styled workout while being very tough and extremely effective lasts about 10-15 minutes) and really expanding my focus on energetic cultivation.

I have to say my yoga practice has gone in and out over the years as I have tried different cultivation means, but I always go back to it as a staple because it is so effective and multifaceted.

I would say out of a typical day of practice, I will spend between 3-5 hours doing different things. Out of that time, a fraction of it is spent working out with weights and focusing on the physical body. The vast majority is spent doing qigong, meditating, and doing yoga.

And that is how it seems to work best. Because I very very rarely if ever get injured and I haven’t gotten sick in a very long while (I used to be sick all the time in my younger days).

Thank you guys so much.

Peace, Love, Light!

Michael Angelica
http://hackingthebodymind.com

See more posts by Michael Angelica

General