Joseph Campbell writes:"Sacred space and sacred time and something joyous to do is all we need. Almost anything then becomes a continuous and increasing joy.
I think a good way to conceive of sacred space is as a playground. If what you're doing seems like play, you are in it.But you can't play with my toys, you have to have your own. Your life should have yielded some.
....A sacred space is hermetically sealed off from the temporal world.When you are in such a space there is no penetration through the enclosure. You are in an eternal zone that is protected from the impact of the stimuli of the day and the hour. That's what you do in meditation;seal yourself off."
The gym has always been my sacred space;going back to that first impression that first day in the Miami Dade gymnastics gym.Training has always been play for me as well as a vehicle to go deeper into who I am and to change who I am according to who I want to be.Bodybuilding gyms back in the day were always semi dungeon like, either stand alone caves or some back part of the 'regular' fitness center. Where the 'real' work got done.
This increased even more with my own gym and then the power corner in the back of the power gym where only the committed( and soon to be committed) went to find out what was real and most true about themselves.
Closing the public gym and training in my garage only increased this sense of a sacred spot, a spot where only I went and where everything was exactly as I wanted it; needed it, to be.On days like today, when my partners are gone and I train alone, in silence this feeling is even greater.
My training always gets me closer, always brings me back to center, always makes me stronger. even when it beats me like a rented mule. I walk into the space in one mind and leave in another, much better one. I can't imagine not having it.
TRAINING
One arm swings
16kgx10/10x2
24kgx15/15x12 sets
x20/20x 1 set
400 swings
21,200 lbs
67% of best( 600)
32 minutes
Man, these went well but that 600 rep number is CRAZY! I certainly could have gotten 450 no problem but I will have to get some special motivation to meet,much less beat, that pr.Just kept thinking: One set, one rep at a time.dats alot of reps :))
One arm swipes
10lbs 10/10
15lb 10/10
25lb 5/5x2
4/4x1
15lb 20/20
wow! that 25lber in one hand is a MONSTER! Left arm was much better than right;it is easier with zero choke in some sense but right shoulder is a little less mobile in the back position with that weight.Plus the 25lb is an inch or more longer and I aint that tall.will work up to this slowly.
after the 25lb sets the 15 felt like a toothpick.
Shield casts
100 continuous reps ,switching hands every ten.
wanted something light after the swipes and this was good.Could have done a lot more reps per arm. 200 in this for sure.Lots of z drills and rifga stretches thoughout the morning shift.
One CB Rockit
25lbsx10/10x3
these were tough too!That 25lber is a brute.
BW 162.2
BF 8.7%
Water 60.9%
datsit!
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7 comments:
What a great quote Rif, and so true. Indian wrestlers go so far as to view their training pit as sacred ground.
That sacred space is for our sacred selves, both light and dark, void of judgment, pristine in its wholeness. The experience and the self, in oneness, is authentic in every sense of the word.
thanks rolando,
I really like what you just wrote as well.
Hey Mark,
You might want to check out your thoracic mobility on the right handed swipe. I've found that sometimes what we think is lack of shoulder mobility is actually in the thoracic region with this movement.
Keep up the great blogging!
Adam
adam,
you are right that the thoracic area is involved as well as the shoulder,remnants of my shoulder dislocation on rings in'77.
It's come back a lot(especially with the z work)but still has a ways to go. thanks though, your insight is much appreciated.
Great Post Rif!We all need our sacred spaces......I usually find it in books, while sprinting......and while sleeping
:)
thanks franz although one of your sacred spaces, sleeping, is sure to be of less use of late eh? hope the new family is doing well.
Yeah Mark, sleeping is definetly rare these days...and probably will be for quite some time!
But it's all worth it !!!!
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