Practice and weight training

I just got this book in the mail I remembered from a BG episode a couple years ago.
www.amazon.com/Strength-Training-Spiritu...s=strength+to+awaken

I'm going to give it a read. I've been going to the gym recently and it seems like a really attractive thing to combine practice with my workout. Do any of you guys have experience with that?

More later as I read the book

I was asked recently if I use any of my cycling time for practice. Turns out I have. I cover around 1,800 miles a year on my bike, so there's lots of time. I used to practice a lot, but not so much lately. Most recently, I try to be simple and present for whatever arises, whether that's physical sensations, hard effort, stillness, thoughts, joy, daydreaming, frustration. Other times, I just ride and don't worry about it. Simply being on a bike is enough.

First, a warning. Don't do this in traffic, or where you might need to make decisions. Stop doing this if traffic appears, or if it's important to pay attention to distractions, or if the route is complicated.

Noting/Noticing

• A lot going on, many sensations competing for attention, sometimes gets chaotic.
• Hard to continue for long periods. Easier to pick a landmark and note until you pass the landmark. Then, pick another one.
• Easier when I focused on one specific set of sensations(sound of the wind, the sounds of birds, the feel of the wind on my body, the feel of the bike on the road, the feeling of lactic acid burn, etc.)
• Easier when I looked at longer-term phenomena, like the general feeling of breathing, rather than single bumps or vibrations in the handlebars
• Easier when I noted slowly, every few seconds, taking the time to feel the base sensation, than when I try to note as fast as possible. Needed to find the appropriate pace for situation.

Counting

• Pedal stroke counting: every revolution was too much, somewhere around 3-5 per count
• Breath counting: when pushing hard, every breath was too much, same as pedaling
• Thought counting: seemed to work okay

Chanting
Definitely interesting on longer rides. Started with chanting out loud when breath was available, transitioned to chanting silently. Seemed to build concentration fairly well. The internal chanting would develop on its own after a while. I started hearing harmonies, echoes, shimmering, ringing.

Resting Naturally, Just Sitting

• Difficult to do for long periods
• Worked on recognizing intention, worked on returning to resting
• Returning to resting in the body, resting in the space I was moving through, resting in the soundspace

I do a lot of daily life noting which has included many a weight training session. I don't know exactly how it changes the workout although I would say I am less prone to distraction (looking at others is a bad, gym-habit, anyway). I am less caught up in the tacky pop music played over the stereo system. Sometimes it has made me more lazy, although this might be side effects from specific nanas. I'd be interested to see what you discover, as meditation and strength training are both long-term hobbies of mine.

I can't really exercise any more due to injuries and such, but I used to try and apply practise/certain techniques with training. Makes you feel the pain more, but really helps with pushing through by not getting caught up in negative narratives like 'I can't...'

I learnt a lot about mind/body connections just by paying attention, especially with how easy it is to manipulate the body through particular narratives (giving yourself adrenaline dumps when needed, etc.). Also, how the reverse is true. I used to do a lot of martial arts too, and similarly learnt lots about mind/body through that.