Evolution & Adjustment

The ebb and flow of my life over the past months has required certain priorities to take centre stage. As a result my ability to complete team and personal requirements have been all over the place. Some days are good, other days not so good. I think back to those first few months and there is a part of me that misses the apparent simplicity of what I was able to accomplish. Nothing ever stays the same though. 

Each time I find my groove, the boat gets rocked or I just don't have the mental or physical energy to stay on course and I find myself unable to sustain that groove. There is a lesson here and so I have to ask myself why and reflect deeper. 

I am learning to be more flexible with my routine and discovering it doesn't need to be an all or nothing state of mind or being. I've created a good solid base to build on. I need to trust that foundation and myself. Rather than tossing away some of my well established routines, I can make adjustments to the routine or replace it with something just as valuable. Where am I, what am I doing, why, and what will serve me? These are the questions I ask myself.

I've discovered it is ok to replace all or a portion of my physio exercises with yoga some days, providing its own value. And most Monday and Wednesdays I spend extra time at the Kwoon attending and helping out where I can at the Level 1 Teen/Adult class. I could spend the extra hours at home working on IHC requirements and adding to my numbers, but for me there is currently more value in the extra class time and learning how to help other students. Often there isn't enough time to do it all and so I consider my priorities and look at options when applicable.

I am evolving as a person and as a martial artist and as a result it makes sense that my routine and the actions that I take each day need to evolve as well. I do what I can and am getting to a place where I mostly don't feel guilty when it comes to what isn't getting done. Instead I try to keep in front of me each days successes and am learning to live more in the present. There is value in everything I do and don't do. The not doing can have value when it is mindful and filled with its' own value. 

Initially I saw the IHC requirements as boxes to check off. Tasks to complete. It took a bit of time to understand and experience the underlying value the requirements hold. Each year that I am on the team I've gained more insight into how the requirements serve me. Take push ups for example. I could concentrate solely on numbers completed or I can be mindful of my technique, my breathing, engaging my core and listening to my body.

The requirements are tools. And these tools can have infinite value depending on the user. We are only limited by our imagination, our level of awareness or mindfulness and our efforts. I'm human, my efforts aren't always pure and there are times when numbers are my priority, but I know the requirements aren't just boxes to check. I see them as valuable tools and accomplishments. Each of the requirements have a total number attached as well. That number is also a tool, not a box to check. Less, more, or just enough? What is the correct number? This will depend on internal and external priorities, effort put forth and will be different for each of us.

As I continue to evolve I am finding that this valuable set of tools the IHC team has been given are now  needing some adjustments themselves. I am requiring and acquiring additional tools to help me move forward and take me further in my journey. I don't throw away the original tools, as they are still hold value and purpose. I just view them slightly different and am more aware of what is in my best interest at any given time.  I am discovering how to take what I need, when I need and where to push myself.

 

 

Yoga

I've had some experience with Yoga in the past, but had never committed to it long term. When I think back to my previous experience I mostly remember having a strong dislike towards the downward dog technique. This was because I had poor upper body strength and didn't practise Yoga often enough to build those muscles or see any benefits. I can look back at this now and smile. I have gratitude for the person I was then and I have gratitude for the person I am now because of experiences and knowledge gained along the way.

There was a time when I was struggling internally with my Kung Fu and I had considered ending my Kung Fu training with thoughts of turning to Yoga instead as a way to continue improving my overall health and mobility. At the time I saw it as one or the other, not both.

Fast forward a few years. The decision to add Yoga to my personal goals for this year has been a great decision. I no longer see Yoga as a separate entity. Instead I have come to see it as complimentary and an important component for me as I move forward in my Kung Fu journey. 

So how is my Yoga practise going? I am loving it! I have made use of some great online Yoga videos for beginners and have also signed up for a weekly Yoga practise with Daya Mata Lacie which I am thoroughly enjoying. Each Yoga session has an intention that aligns with a theme for the month, creating a more intentional practice. My Yoga practise ebbs and flows based on my schedule. Some weeks go by with no Yoga and then other weeks I am able to find the time to add it in. When I'm able to add it in I am reminded of how much I enjoy and benefit from it. My goal is to develop more consistency with my Yoga practice over time.

In addition to the initial reasons for adding Yoga to my personal goals, I have also experienced other benefits. I find myself developing an increased awareness with my breathing, posture and the ability to ground myself during Yoga and outside of Yoga as well. I also find myself randomly smiling at times during Yoga. Smile is my intentional word for the year and so I am happily surprised to see Yoga helping me with this. 

As I build a solid Yoga base I find that I am also building internal connections. And my intentional practice is expanding into other areas of my life and Kung Fu, just as I knew it would. Even as I struggle in other areas I know that everything is evolving as it is mean't to be. The more that I do, the more I learn and the more that I learn, the more I do. 

Managing Expectations

It is easy to get caught up in the energy and expectations of others. Reminding myself of where I am at, what I'm doing and why, is an important component to staying on track. Multiple reminders per day can be necessary to keep my goals and expectations true and on course.

With a 4th job added into my busy schedule I am getting better at saying no and setting parameters. Communication is a key factor. Life can happen to me or with me as long as  I take an active role. I have control. Control when it comes to my perspective and control in my actions and reactions. 

Sticky hands comes to mind. An internal dance. A give and take that requires intent, awareness and trust. I learn more from the interactions with others than I do on my own. We are all individually part of a collective 

Being able to manage the expectations of work has made it possible to getaway for 3 days. We are staying in a great little guest ranch outside of Jasper with wonderful views of the mountains. And as we drove into the entrance to the guest ranch there was a beautiful kaleidoscope of yellow swallowtail butterflies to greet us.

I feel blessed and full of gratitude for the lessons that have brought me to this place. 

Dragon Dancing

After tonights Dragon Dance practice I realized I am becoming more and more comfortable with being in the dragon. I am starting to experience moments of joy and happiness. To some that may not seem out of the ordinary, but I have not always felt this way when it comes to dragon dancing. 

My very first year of the IHC included learning to Dragon Dance and performing in the dragon for the Chinese New Year's banquet. That was a year of many firsts. I was constantly pushing myself out of my comfort zone and the dragon caused me an enormous amount of anxiety. I actually had my first panic attack that year as a result. Being attached to 8 other team members and knowing that if I mess up it would affect everyone else as well. The dragon is a team of 9 people all relying on each other. Once in motion there are a lot of moving pieces. The responsibility feels enormous. 

Our dragon dance performance that year did give me a measure of accomplishment but mostly I was just relieved to be done. Afterwards I thought I would never get back into a dragon. I had done it and checked it off the list so to speak. I did take a bit of a break from the dragon and then eventually stepped back into it off and on. I was even able to take part in the dragon dance performance again at our last in person banquet when Logan earned his black belt. Still out of my comfort zone though.

Dragon dancing has slowly become less stressful. In addition to the team work and communication required I feel like dragon dancing is a bit like sparring. And even though we haven't been able to spar much in class over the past two years I am still finding ways to apply the lessons from sparring to other activities and everyday life. Being a part of the dragon requires me to be aware of what's going on around me, and my fellow dragon dancers. I also need to be able to react and make adjustments while in motion. Staying calm and breathing come into play as well. I am happy to say I am becoming more confident in myself and actually beginning to enjoy the dragon. I am happy to have made it to this point and am enjoying this journey. 

Life's Agenda

My goals were carefully considered and decided on for the year. I then planned and created organizational tools to help achieve and track those goals. And I know that everything was working great as I have my recorded numbers and notes as proof of my effort and achievements over the first few months.

Then along comes life with its own agenda. And life doesn't always align with our personal goals and plans. It's as if life has a life of its own, a sense of humor at times. It can spin us around causing our direction to be all wacky or sometimes leaving us feeling like we've been tossed into a deep dark tunnel.  Life's agenda is not designed to be mean and is not out to get me. It is about lessons to be learned and personal growth. It is also about perspective and learning to be in the moment. Even a minor upset in the matrix of my life can provide a number of lessons. I can become a harder person as a result or a softer person and be open to learn. 

Going through our forms mindfully helps to develop an eye for detail and to stay in the moment. That eye for detail starts to open up more pathways to an even greater awareness, possibility and subsequent exponential growth. The lessons provided by life also contain an enormous amount of detail. So I am learning as a result of my kung fu training to apply my eye for detail when it comes to life's numerous lessons. The key is I am willing to put in the effort and learn. 

I feel like I'm in a bit of a holding pattern currently as I navigate everything life is throwing at me and trying to teach me. I am learning to be gentle with myself while still finding the correct balance. The tricky part is how much to push myself and when. I am fearful of taking the easy road. I fear falling off the wagon completely and getting stuck under a rock, unable to get loose and move forward again. It feels a bit like being on a merry go round and not able to get off. And just when it starts to slow down and I can feel some semblance of control, the wheel starts to spin quickly again. I know that my trajectory is still moving forward even with all the spinning and bumps along the way. I just want to be accomplishing more.

There is a combination of external factors swirling around me as I spin. Grief, my dad's health and living situation and working/coordinating 3 separate jobs for starters. Then there is the internal battle I am having when it comes to dealing with my knees and how I am going to move forward with my Kung Fu training. This is something that I am really struggling with. Logically I know there are adjustments that can be made and other directions and focus when it comes to my training. Much of that has already been implemented and in progress. When it comes right down to it, I am mourning the loss of being able to practice my forms as I have been able to do in the past. I had developed a love for forms. Forms have taught me so much, helped me to push myself past barriers, connected dots and provided numerous aha moments. I fear I am loosing the ability to continue that momentum.

Maybe my love of forms can transition over into helping other students in their Kung Fu journey. And while sparring and application has never been my strength, this is possibly another area to gain confidence and skill. Not the basket I would have put my eggs into, but I know there are plenty of benefits. Life has its own agenda designed to help me be the best version of myself if only I listen, learn and adapt.

Nutritional Self Defence

I am gradually learning to be a more intentional and conscious eater. The foods that I consume on a daily basis are fuel for my body. And the quality of that fuel dictates my overall health and can improve the functionality of my body providing me with a natural form of self defence.

Nutritional self defence:

Improves mental health

Keeps skin, teeth, and eyes healthy
Supports muscles & boosts immunity
Strengthens bones
Lowers risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers
Increased energy levels and can improve sleep
Helps the digestive system function
Helps achieve and maintain a healthy weight

It can be overwhelming with all the information and the different dietary plans to follow. I have found that for me what works best is to start with a cleanse/detox plan. Even detox programs can vary greatly so I found that working with someone that had experience and expertise to be of great benefit. Thank you to Sihing Cosgrove.

My first cleanse/detox was in September last year and I gained valuable information and tools. I developed some great new habits to support my overall health. Now my day almost always starts with fresh squeezed lemon in hot water. I've also added intermittent fasting 4 - 5 days of the week. The more time my body has to complete the digestive process without adding more food and additional stress on the organs, the better.

I found myself still struggling though with choosing healthy foods and meals on a daily basis. When I fall behind on meal planning or even just prepping foods I find that is where I make unhealthy choices. My schedule like many of us can get very busy and suddenly there I am at a fast food chain picking up something quick because at that point it's either convenience or simply go hungry. I am mostly able to avoid those fast food traps, but I find carbs way too easy to fill in as fuel for my body when I am at home because I'm tired, hungry, busy or don't have the ingredients needed for a healthy meal. 

After too many months of making poor eating choices, I made plans to detox and cleanse again in May. I signed up for a paid program with a nutritional consultant by the name of Jonie-Lynn. She provided a wealth of knowledge and expertise and eagerly shared with all of us that joined her during the 21 days. There were a lot of great valuable takeaways. I think this time around what is sticking most is the concept of clean eating and adding more super foods into my daily diet. For me this means more greens and fruits in the form of salads and smoothies on a daily basis. I also consciously consume less gluten, dairy and animal products. I learned that I need to eat more often throughout the day when eating clean so prep is important to success. If I allow my body to get low on fuel I don't make the best food choices to support my health and well being.

Determining what works best for my body is an ongoing process. It's a balance of clean eating, adding in super foods where ever possible, reducing dairy ( cheese is my downfall) and animal products and putting together meals with fresh herbs and ingredients when available. Of course this does take more time and effort, but so worth it. And I'm learning that eating healthy is more than just the foods going into my body. It is also my attitude attached to eating. Some of the ingredients that are not the best for my body can still be nourishing if there is positive energy in the preparation of the meal, gratitude for all that I have in front of me and the love of family or friends while eating together. This is where consciousness and intention plays a powerful role. 

 

Calling all IHC team members!

I am in the process of putting together a challenge for the school to expose the students to the benefits of the IHC mastery program, have fun and build some healthy habits. And in the process become more familiar and active on Kwoon Talk. There will be core challenges which will be different for each of the 4 groups of students and daily bonus challenges for everyone to participate in.

Tiny Tigers/Lil Leopards

Black Dragons 1 & 2

Teen/Adult

IHC Team 

The bonus challenges will be presented in the form of a daily video created by IHC team members and will help to keep everyone engaged. The idea is to have each of the 2 daily video segments be no longer than 5 minutes when joined together. Long enough for great content and instruction but not too long to prevent students or parents from taking the time to watch.

Challenge - 7 Days In The Life Of The IHC - Proposed start date is the beginning of October to line up with the announcement of new membership enrollment.

Main challenge components

Push ups and sit ups

Hand form and weapon form

Acts of kindness

Daily gratitude

Dietary goals

Bonus Challenges

There will be a list posted separately to choose from. With the challenge running for 7 days we will need 14 videos to post so that we have 2 bonus challenges to choose from each day. Multiple team members can take part in each video. Eg. One person talks while others demonstrate allowing more team members to participate in the videos. Be creative and have fun. Ideally the videos would be completed by the end of August giving myself and Todai Ferris plenty of time to finalize everything.

There are also plans in place to include a tracking sheet specific to each of the 4 different groups. This will be an important tool to help keep track of progress and build another great habit. I also have some ideas swirling around in my head on possibly a way to tie the challenge into classes. Just not sure how exactly so I would love some ideas.