Exercising while staying connected to spirit
 

Hi, I am working on my muladhara chakra and obviously one of the things one has to do is reconnect to the body and to the present moment through physical activity.

I realised that for me, this has to be done in a spiritually connected way. I want to start lifting weights again but in the past, I'd often just listen to rock music and train and it was sort of dissociated and strangely disconnected from my essence, even though I was very connected to my body... I think I used it as a way to disconnect, oddly enough.

This time I want to do it differently, I want to be present, not just absent so I don't have to feel anything, but still do it in a way that feels rewarding and spiritual.

Is it possible to lift weights and still feel connected to spirit? How should one go about this? Kind answers only please, not interested in snark.

(Apologies for the lengthy writing, I'm processing a lot right now.)

In Christian religion some fanatics offer their suffering to saints, to the Virgin Mary and to God.

In some occult practices, you can feed a thoughtform with exercise.

Another one: instead of counting repetitions, you can pray mentally, chant a mantra or anything spiritual related.

in my mind just 'breathing' can be a very spiritual thing when I get into it. I go a long way just concentrating on how I breath as I go about my day.

I think that is part of some eastern physical meditations, for example I think it is part of yoga. The taoists also did moving meditations which I think are heavily breath-related (tai chi), and other eastern physical systems such as karate would also have a component of this in my view. And there are other things like chi kung that are designed to work with breath. That has a more modern name now but I keep forgetting what it is.... qi jong??? did I spell that right????

But there is nothing stopping you from taking breathing meditations into a weight lifting session, if that is the way you know how to be physical. Only takes the desire to be thinking about it...

I think breathing is such a fundamental part of the lives that we know, that thinking about it and interacting with it would complement pretty much anything you want to do. It is possibly the only physical thing available to everyone everywhere at any time no matter what their situation. There are other things that will be mostly available that can be just as interesting but you don't always get quite as much control over the when....

Well i like it anyway.:hug2:

No, Qigong :biggrin:

I don't feel exactly tranquil in the gym, what with all the people around and some dressed like they're going to the beach ((despite being the ones with colder skin, and not wanting to be looked at......)). It can be distracting, as is the music at the place. I simply accept I'm in a different mood there, although when I do cardio for a while I do get into a flow. With strength training it's different because of breaks, you interrupt flow.

You could try other music if rock music bothers you. I listen a lot to natural sounds, video game tracks, and mystical tunes. Music with lyrics has its place but it does lead to more emotion and mental activity.

Wow, the way you managed to work such passive aggressive misogyny and hatefulness into a completely irrelevant discussion is quite impressive. Congrats.

''Staying connected while exercising'' is your topic. I shared my experiences, one thing I do is exercising at the gym and this comes with its own challenges that can keep me out of tranquillity. Loud music played there is one thing, crowdedness is another, as is sensual distraction. Excitement comes in many forms and if one notices carefully it changes heartbeat and breathing, and this is a very different experience from meditation. So no, it's not completely irrelevant. I simply shared and expanded on my experience. Just because my experience is different from yours does not make it invalid.

There's no need to throw around words you don't understand. Those are two very strong words that you used.

for what it is worth i only rarely go into a quiet room, alone, to meditate. Yes it is a different experience to be out and about where there are people and noise, and you have to be conscious of your surroundings instead of going deep within, but, to me it seems as reasonable as anything else...

and I will point out, if the way the status quo works worked as well as people believe it does, the world would be an entirely different place. But none of that got us anywhere as far as I can tell.... and noone is proving me wrong yet... so... no part in glorifying a dead horse if you ask me.

I personally do not see any "passive aggressive misogyny and hatefulness" in Altair's Post.....

The Gym I go to, that is, when I do go, is exactly the opposite. People are fully dressed with a few women wearing shorts. One women generally comes over and talks to me when I am there. She is from Malaysia. I guess she just likes to talk.