Balancing active exercise with internal cultivation

[taoguy]

From what I understand, exercise also utilizes chi (post-natal maybe?). I need to keep my body fit because I have need to pass an annual military test, also partially to keep myself healthy. My exercises include going to the gym to do some bodyweight exercises like pushups, pullups, etc. Does anyone else keep a fitness regime? How do you balance it with attainments in internal cultivation, or are they really not compatible? Thanks, I appreciate your advice.

[Taoist Texts]

From what I understand, exercise also utilizes chi (post-natal maybe?). I need to keep my body fit because I have need to pass an annual military test, also partially to keep myself healthy. My exercises include going to the gym to do some bodyweight exercises like pushups, pullups, etc.  

 

How do you balance it with attainments in internal cultivation, or are they really not compatible? 

If there are any real internal attainments there is no need to worry about damaging those with external exercise. These two are synergistic. The more you wear out your body externally, the more your internal will grow so one is in fact beneficial to the other.

[Benjamin]

Yeah from my experience they can definitely go hand in hand.  I'm not a practitioner of the more popular practices here like Internal Alchemy or anything like that; I practice Yoga, Feldenkrais, and a few forms of simple meditation.  But for me the awareness/inner cultivation practices have definitely helped my workouts, and my workouts have helped me feel more at peace with myself.

 

I mean, working out produces pleasure hormones and does all that other good stuff for your body, so it would make sense to me that it can help support inner peace & practices.  And part of cultivating awareness of self is practicing awareness of the body.  The more aware you are of your body, and how you use it in movement, the more refined & effective you can make your actions.  So what you learn on the path of awareness can be of use in your workouts - changing how you do certain movements to stimulate/relax certain muscles, feeling out when you're tired or energized, knowing when you're pushing too hard toward injury or pushing just right toward growth, etcetc.

 

So my answer is definitely do both at the same time, because they'll support each other

 

Ben @ www.syntropulse.com

[Ell]

One of the biggest reasons Taoism makes sense to me, and works for me, is because of how much I perceive it to be about balance. So, I can meditate twice a day, and generally seek serenity, but still work out like a mad man if I so choose. 

 

I've done weights 3x/wk (supplemented with some yoga/hockey/other activities) pretty religiously (no pun intended) for about 3 1/2 years now. However, I've recently decided that over the course of the the winter I'm going to transition to a program of swimming, yoga, and better diet. I'm nervous about it, but also sure. It's time for a change. It's good to mix things up. Plus, I'm goal oriented when it comes to this stuff and so in my mind getting in the pool will be "training" to eventually do a long-distance lake swim or two.

[redcairo]

Due to a genetically-associated, environmentally-triggered incurable condition (not fatal, unless one's own bullet in a moment of despair counts) my mobility and physical activity has been radically reduced over the last couple of years. (I am still hoping this might turn around but it's uncertain.) I've learned more about exercise through not being able to do it, than I ever did while doing it.

 

In no particular order I guess. Most of these were 'insights shared with me' from inside, usually when I was complaining about something that is an issue now and didn't used to be (and what changed was my mobility/exercise level).

 

There's a lot of stuff one is working on 'internally' that can be gradual and cumulative and may literally require "time" -- as in, the laws of physics as applied to the body -- to develop. Getting at least mild exercise to clear out a daily sort of white-noise barrage of energy is helpful especially cumulatively.

 

If you do much sitting quietly for meditation, or meditative work that is likely to hit cognitive dissonance issues or other change triggers, it's especially important because initial exercise and then some time to rest will clear out daily and larger chaos and relax the nervous system, which will then abreact less.

 

Everything technically 'yours' is pulling on your energy, so regularly walking around your property and weekly looking in all your drawers and cupboards is a good thing. It basically keeps the flow of energy open between you, so you still have access to whatever (everything on your property) innately has. Otherwise it's like some freeloader living not just on your sofa, but on the sofa in some hidden basement room you forgot about. You're supporting it but the flow isn't open beween you so it won't be giving back. This isn't an exercise need, just a good form of exercise (more functional than literal) one needs mobility to do...

 

If you do chakra exercises where you are moving energy around in any way, these are great to do while physically exercising.

 

The physical and energy bodies are not as separate as we think, so anything you do for your body helps the rest of you too. And it's usually in humorously predictable ways - our cultural associations with body parts came around for a reason. For example if you have a situation where you want to have 'a strong backbone' then literally, do deadlifts and other back/spine-strengthening. If you want to be decisive and autonomous, stand up straight (your mil bkgd should give you that already). If you have trouble allowing yourself vulnerability in order to release energy that really needs it (literal translation, many men have a helluva time allowing themselves to cry), doing some heart chakra exercises while physically exercising (esp. swimming) is great.

 

That might not be all but I'm sleepy so gotta stop for now.