Exercise
Hi all,
I have lots of hobbies and I particularly enjoy seeing my skills grow and being part of a community. Some of the activities I enjoy doing are martial arts, gymnastics, and dance. Some of my goals include balancing a handstand and memorizing self-defense techniques.
I love getting to know my body and synchronizing it. It's amazing to see others do neat stuff with their bodies. It's given me a better appreciation of our capabilities :) I've been working on my physical goals for a few years now and I'm excited for 2023 to see how I do.
Anyone else able really enjoy exercise and is working on something for 2023?
@Espejo what type of martial art 🥋 do you practice? Karate? Kung-fu?
I love doing qigong, it's slow, but somehow activates the whole body flow
@QuietLake999
Hola QuietLake999,
Nice profile name :) It goes with the qigong vibe ;) I do karate and hapkido. I've been doing them for a couple of years now so I have my blue belt in both, but it will be another couple of years before I get the elusive black belt :)
I don't know much about qigong, but I can see how a slower/softer martial art can activate the whole body and probably be very relaxing. How long have you been doing qigong? Do you know if it is related to tai chi or kung fu? I think in the future I might want to check out other styles as well.
I also do yoga and dance and I find them to be very calming as opposed to karate/hapkido, which I think can be very dynamic and punishing on the body. A number of the people at the dojo I go to have had injuries due to sparring or even just practicing and I'm like, I don't want none of that. I'm just in it for the self-defense, self-mastery, community building, exercise, and workout lol.
Anyways, thanks for asking. Hope you are enjoying the holiday season! 💙❄️
@Espejo Thank you, hope you have a nice and warm holiday as well!
I think Qigong is simpler and easier than tai-chi, though they're both related.
I have been doing qigong for probably a year and a few months, it takes me a few months to feel the differences in my body. Just better in general, both mental and physical health.
@Espejo
I love this post. I walk/hike/jog and lift weights. I enjoy focusing on how my body connects to itself and coordinates within itself, so I'm always focusing on improving technique. Also applying mindfulness to my body when I'm exercising.
Years back, I saw a man in his 70's throwing a javelin in the park. I thought, "I wanna be like that!"
@orangeTree959
Nice! Wow a man in his 70's throwing a javelin - that is amazing. You sound like a very active and mindful person too :) I really do believe that people benefit from moving around and getting in touch with their bodies.
If you stumble upon any techniques for body coordination, please let me know because it is interesting how the different hemispheres of the brain communicate with each other. I'll also do the same and have found ballet/dance to be the most useful so far since it is so hard to keep up with the music and coordinate our arms, head, and legs as one.
Looking forward to being part of this community with ya, friend :)
@Espejo
Thanks!
Regarding exercises for coordination, I took a class on actor's movement with homework to study passersby in public. We had to take notes on each person's unique way of walking. Then we demonstrated those walks for the class. The final project required taking small parts from all we'd observed, combining them into our own custom walk, and performing it.
This got me thinking about coordination, because everybody has their own way of moving. Trying to live in someone else's reality of physical motion required noticing unconscious physical habits, and understanding how movement ripples through bodies in subtly different ways. Very fun and challenging!
I also used to play drum kit, one of the few instruments that uses all four limbs. During practice, I loved focusing my attention on each limb and refining my technique in even the smallest of ways. When my core was stable, with all four limbs in balanced motion, and I was efficiently aligned with the laws of physics, it felt like flying!
@Espejo
It's not bodily but I am trying to learn Math and get into a school, hopefully will have a better financial and environmental situation.
@seashell145
Hi, nice to make your acquaintance :) Are you currently in high school? Sounds like you got some good goals. Sure if you want to coordinate a chat, we can set something up to talk :) I'm available Sunday-Thursday 7pm-9pm for these couple of weeks while I'm on break (my availability changes once I go back to work).
@Espejo
Nice, so you will be available in an hour. It's morning in my place. I will probably not be available today, but I will knock you letting you know which day I will be available.
No, I'm not a high school student, I want to go back to the university to get a masters degree, it's been a while since I got my bachelors degree. I felt so happy when you said I have some good goals :)
Hope to talk to you!
@Espejo
Espejo, be my listener.
Also friend if you're interested.
@Espejo Hey, martial art seems cool, def something I wish I had gotten into. I agree that knowing what your body can do is really cool, and my goal for 2023 is being able to dunk, I am sooooo close ;(
@Espejo I do enjoy all these body exercising stuffs. I used to do yoga since my childhood but with few years of gap in between, i lost all of my flexibility. I again want to regain all the flexibility I had earlier. With the increasing flexibility, i personally want to learn dancing and karate as well.
What inspired you to obtain these hobbies?
@pandanfe
Hola panda 😊 Nice to meet you and thanks for sharing. That is great that you've been doing yoga on and off since childhood. I wasn't aware that it just takes a few years of non-practice to lose flexibility. Darn...I guess with our bodies it really is use it or lose it.
I also love yoga, especially yin and hot yoga. What inspired me to get into all my hobbies were a combination of the pandemic, getting older, getting to know my body better, wanting to meet new people and build community. I used to struggle with body image issues when I was younger and I've always had interest in different forms of athletics so doing a variety of hobbies has helped me to embrace my body and gain skills that interrelate.
How about you? What makes you interested in karate, dance, and what made you get into yoga? 💃⚽️🚵
@Espejo Thanks for you reply! Tbh, you don't even need few years of gap to lose your flexibility, few months is enough to start losing it and especially if its winter. I agree our body works on the philosophy of either you use it or lose it.
I'm glad you got many forms to get inspired to work for your body. Not everyone works for their bodies and I'm glad to meet the one who does care for. Personally for me, meditation was the inspiration for doing yoga. Meditation gives us awareness of our mind whereas yoga gives us the union of the soul as its name states. So yoga and meditation together gives us insight of both inner and outer self. On the other hand, I see dance as the form of meditation. Combining those yoga asanas into a form of rhythmic moves can work hand in hand. And about karate, I just enjoy their moves, all those energy it showers and so on...
@pandanfe
Thank you for your reply! I enjoy reciprocal conversations on topics I find interesting :)
A few months huh...okay, I'm going to keep focusing on my flexibility in the hopes that my body conditions enough to reach a level where it doesn't easily go down from. I have found this too be true with overall fitness level. It's been a 1 and a 1/2 years that I've been making flexibility my priority so hopefully in a couple of more years, I can get to that point.
I can see what you mean with meditation. I also try to meditate periodically since it helps with mental and bodily awareness. Yoga helps with meditating since it is more comfortable to sit in the same pose when you are flexible!
You seem highly motivated by your fitness/harmonization of the body/mind/soul so I am sure you'll reach your goals. Harmony and coordination is also one of the reasons why I do martial arts as I'm hoping to synchronize my mind/body/soul also so that it acts as one. Its interesting stuff and unfortunately, there aren't too many role models out there. Some people even think I'm wasting my time on nothing since in the US, many older adults seem to give up on their bodies and think that exercise is a waste of time. However, I feel good about the small communities I'm a part of and the progress I've been seeing :) Feel free to update me as you see progress as I think it is important to celebrate milestones, no matter how small they might appear :)
@Espejo Its hard to keep on doing the thing we find interesting cause the surrounding might be demotivating. But don't let them discourage you at any condition. I'm sure with continuous practice and determination and hard work, you'll achieve what you want to achieve.
Also, thank you for motivating me, i'll take small steps to achieve what I've to.