Day 23

It worked!

Waking up and knowing that I had extra push-ups to do today really motivated me to get started right away and push myself to complete them. I felt strong and able while I was doing them. Some days I feel so strong, as though I could do anything and some days I feel weak and tired. I'm still not sure exactly what makes such a big difference. I know it has something to do with my frame of mind though. More and more I'm realizing what a huge impact it can have on my experiences. Even though I know to a certain degree that our thoughts create our reality, I'm seeing real proof of that all the time and I'm learning it on some deeper level now. I think with a concept like that (thoughts and beliefs create reality) you can know it in theory but to really integrate it into your life you need to know it experientially. It's kind of like "the secret" except that it's not a secret and it's been around for thousands of years. So many people see the movie or read the book and think "Ok, now I can just manifest whatever I want" without doing any actual work. You can think positively all you want but you also have to take ACTION! You have to change your habits and rearrange your life to make room for this new stuff that you're manifesting. You have to look around and see all the opportunities that are around you and jump on them. I'm not saying it has to be difficult, but you do have to change your beliefs on a fundamental level. That's the real "secret" in my opinion.

I think I've ranted long enough now. Good night.

Day 22

I had an interesting day today. After work I went to the community hall where I teach my yoga class on wednesday nights but when I got there I found some people setting up for a concert. Turns out the hall was double booked for the night so I couldn't teach my class. I came home and decided to do yoga anyways for what was left of my training for the day. Steve joined me so we had a mini class in the living room. It was really relaxing and a good way to stretch out after the strength training we did yesterday. I'm really glad that I was able to stay calm and go with the flow so that I could enjoy the evening and get the most out of it. I think that as I age I realize what's important and don't get bent out of shape over the insignificant glitches in life. I can picture a younger me in the same situation being frustrated and angry even though there was nothing I could do about it at the time. Now if only I could maintain this calm attitude on a busy day at work...

I've been feeling really bored with my push-ups lately. A big part of me just wants the 26 weeks to be over with not because I don't want to do push-ups, just because I'm not excited about them anymore. So I decided that today I would do less and do the extra ones tomorrow to give me more of a challenge. Something to get pumped up about! I'll let you know how it goes.

Day 21

I'm falling in love with tai chi.

When I first tried it I didn't like it at all, then I grew to realize that it's actually pretty cool. Now I love it! The more I practice it the deeper I fall. Today I was going through the form and it was flowing well and my movements were all synchronized. It was like a beautiful piece of music that you just want to close your eyes and savour. I had this experience that my chi was the wind and it was swirling around me like a gentle breeze. I could actually physically feel it against my skin. I half expected to see my hair blow around. I wonder if other people have felt that too. I've never had a hard time feeling chi but this was much more tangible than most of the experiences I've had. Awesome!

Day 20

Today I got in a lot of training, especially cardio which I sometimes struggle with. I really feel like this training is becoming a part of my life now. It's almost hard to remember what it felt like to go a whole day without doing anything. I just know that at the end of the 30 days I'll have become a whole different person. Someone who is focused and disciplined. I wish that I'd decided to do this years ago. Imagine where I could have been by now. But I guess I probably wasn't ready to take something like this on until now. I can really see by looking back how there were many events and challenges in the past that prepared me for where I am right now. I know from experience that if something comes too easily, it's easy to take it for granted. I'm really glad that I've had to work so hard to progress in kung fu, there haven't been many other things in my life that have been both so challenging and so rewarding.

Day 19

I spent a fair amount of my workout today working on kicks. I'm noticing that stiffness and soreness in my lower back is affecting my kicks. Generally front kicks are ok, it's side kicks and roundhouses that are suffering. I figured that I should focus more on improving that by kicking a bit lower than I normally would and then working my way up higher and higher. I also think that I need to stretch more at work. I work in a standing position most of the day. I do get to walk and move around a lot which is good but my back and hips still get stiff after a full day. I'm going to start doing a quick stretch on each break throughout the day and see if that makes a difference. Yoga always helps but I'd rather be pro-active and prevent it before it becomes a problem.

Everything else is going well. My forms are coming along nicely and I'm noticing an improvement in my stamina. I find that having stamina for working out at the gym is a lot different than for practicing kung fu. They don't necessarily go hand in hand.

Day 18

I've mostly been practicing my hand forms lately to try an improve on my basics but today I decided to do some weapons and pulled out the old nunchuks. I'd forgotten how fun they are! Even though I wouldn't say that chucks are my forte, I have a good time with them. I started out practicing my form and then I just improvised for a while and made some stuff up. I was surprised at my creativity when I got to trying new things. I wonder if the fact that I've been training so much means that I've got the juices flowing and new ideas are coming to the surface? I've noticed that I seem to be coming up with some neat ways to mix up my training so this might just be the next step.

I also noticed that the nunchuk form is a great one to work on footwork. I was having a challenging time when shifting stances. My ankle seems to be doing a bit better when doing a horse stance so I'm pretty pleased. I was starting to worry that it would never fully heal and I'd be stuck with a lopsided horse stance forever. Now I see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as that goes.

I ate 2 sweets today and it was the most sugar I've had since doing that cleanse. I feel kind of gross. I think it was a mistake and I wish I'd been more disciplined and less concerned with being polite. I'm going to have to get over that unless I want to have a sore tummy too often. yuck

Day 17-Thanks!

Today was great.

I had the day off so I could just hang out this morning and perfect my vegan green tea latte making skills and tidy up the house. Then I went for a swim with my cousin and had a great time. Something about splashing around in water makes me feel like a kid again.

Kung fu class was a really good experience. I learned a lot just from being at the second degree brown class and then in our class I learned even more. Master Brinker helped me to see some of the mistakes that I've been making in my sparring and how to correct them. I got to really practice the techniques and get a feel for them. Some of the mistakes I was making seem so obvious in retrospect but for some reason I needed someone else to point them out to me. I think that's one of the good things about going to class consistently, your instructors can offer you really good advice on things that you might not ever notice on your own.

I also want to thank everyone who has complimented me on my blog and my current training project. I've had some very kind words lately and it's so nice to know that other people are benefiting from my actions. I feel encouraged and inspired to continue on.