My Training Philosophy
Training should be fun. It must be an activity that brings freedom and a sense of efficacy. Exercise is an activity which represents a process of study and experimentation. Part of this process is to learn to enjoy the act. We must utilize the methods of science while remaining "in touch" with our need for play.
Human beings become fully realized when the mind/body is integrated to the extent that the two components are equally healthy and developed. The body's state of health and development is a representation of the direction of the mind .Engaging in purely intellectual activity is not the sole measure of one's mental powers.The mind also manifests its power through the body. An often overlooked aspect of intelligence is self preservation through physical cultivation. The mind functions optimally when the body is healthy. The often projected image of the athlete being dull witted or intellectually underdeveloped is a falsity that does injustice to the human form.
I have found that thoughtful and effective training is constructed upon the idea of play, which allows us to enjoy the acts of learning, working and skill development . Just as other animals learn to hunt through play, we humans learn to use our minds and bodies in an integrated way through play.
Your training should never be a dreaded duty. It should be an enjoyable act, performed by a mind/body that is aware; focused on the reality that physical development contributes to leading a rich and meaningful life.
How is leading a more profoundly enriching life related to exercise? Through learning, knowledge and connectedness. Knowledge is aquired through the body, of which the brain is a component. From this brain and its attatched nervous system arises the mind, where integrations of aquired data take place. Therefore, if we ignore physical training, believing it secondary or separate from intellectual training, We create a deeply ironic schism.we neglect a critical component of stimulation needed by the human organism needed to aid brain and nervous system growth and efficiency. After all, is not the knowledge of task performance in the body as well as the brain? Some component of piano playing is in the hands and the brain, yes? Train your entire self to become your best self.
Each of us needs a path or paths to self-knowledge. Musashi wrote "the way is in training", and through observation of people at work, we find this to be true. Every human being who has applied their energies toward mastery of some kind of skill has found a route toward knowing their capabilities and limitations better than those who have never challenged themselves in such a fashion. Practice and training lead to confidence born of practical, tested knowledge. Furthermore, it is not merely knowledge that is gained, but that one enters a state of knowing. In a universe that is full of mysteries to the human mind, practice can induce the rare state of knowing. I'll leave you to ponder that.
