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Treadmill as Spiritual Practice – in 3 Easy Lessons (Lesson #3)

Posted on August 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

The three (3) lessons:

Treadmill as metaphor for life – two weeks ago
Giving up control; shifting mental focus when the going gets tough (or easy) – last week
Using machine lights and timers for affirmative prayer and here-now presence – this week

USING MACHINE LIGHTS AND TIMERS FOR AFFIRMATIVE PRAYER & HERE-NOW PRESENCE

Before you hit the start button it’s time to layout your spiritual workout …

DURATION. The length of your workout depends on your fitness level and the time that you have available. Over the years, I found that 30-minutes was optimal for me. If needed, I would could shorten it to 20-minutes and still have a meaningful body-mind-spirit experience. For workouts that were shorter than 20-minutes, I found that my mind and spirit didn’t have enough recharge time; and, for workouts longer than 30-minutes, I found that I was more focused on a body experience (exercise!) than a spiritual workout. You’ll have to find your own sweet-spot, your own duration middle-way.

Warm-up – consider using the first 5-minutes of your workout as a warm-up by focusing on your breath; or, releasing the “woes of the day” on your out-breath before starting your workout.

Cool-down – at the end of your time, your treadmill will shift into a step-down pattern (reducing speed with each passing minute). Use this time to shift both your muscles and your mind back into the day-to-day world.

LEVELS (affirmative prayer). The treadmills* that I used had 7 levels of lights that displayed one’s course – with 7 being the most difficult (think “climbing a mountain”) and with 1 being the easiest (think “a walk on the beach”) with levels 2 to 6 being somewhere in-between. I mapped my practice to these seven levels:

[A word about “whisper speaking” while working out. I have found that speaking affirmations (or other words) aloud makes them more powerful than merely thinking them – but the choice is yours. In the midst of health club noise, and with the advent of cell phone headsets, I doubt that anyone will even blink twice.]

7 (hardest) – walking, holding onto the handles, merely breathing
6 – walking, holding onto the handles, merely breathing
5 – walking, swinging arms, merely breathing
4 – running, filling with a spiritual quality that you need most(whisper speaking this quality aloud)
- Some of my more frequent qualities were love, faith and peace
- I would speak my “quality of choice aloud” as many times as would fit between my 1-counts
- EX: “1” – peace – peace – peace – peace – peace (if level 4 repeats for the next time period , you’d repeat this sequence, else shift to the sequence for the other level)
3 – running, asking for what type of “help” that you’d like(whisper speaking this request aloud)
- Some of my more frequent requests were “show me,” “hear me,” and “guide me”
- I would speak my “request of choice aloud” as many times as would fit between my 1-counts. I directed these to my power of choice (i.e., Infinite Spirit), but be sure to use your power of choice.
- EX: “1” – Infinite Spirit guide me – Infinite Spirit guide me – Infinite Spirit guide me (if level 3 repeats for the next time period , you’d repeat this sequence, else shift to the sequence for the other level)
2 – running, a short connecting prayer(whisper speaking this aloud)
- One of my favorite verses is: “Spirit as peace, help me to see. Spirit as love, help me to be.”
- I speak this verse aloud twice between my 1-counts
- EX: “1” – Spirit as peace, help me to see; Spirit as love, help me to be - Spirit as peace, help me to see; Spirit as love, help me to be (if level 2 repeats for the next time period , you’d repeat this sequence, else shift to the sequence for the other level)
1 (easiest) – running, a slightly longer prayer, but not too long (whisper speaking this aloud)
- Because this is the easiest level, you can be more creative with a verse, an affirmation, a poem, whatever … but it will need to fit between the “1”s on the clock (10 seconds). Be creative! One of my favorite affirmations is: “I listen deeply to all; I am boldly authentic.”
- Whatever you can fit into the 10-second cycle is fine – whether you state it once, twice or several times between your “1” brackets on both ends (if level 1 repeats for the next time period , you’d repeat this sequence, else shift to the sequence for the other level).

CLOCK (here-now presence). Every treadmill has an electronic clock that tracks your workout time. I’ve seen many people cover it up with a towel (“I don’t want to know how much longer this misery will go on!”), but for this practice, you’ll focus in on the time – every ten seconds when “one (:01)” rolls around, you will include that as part of your workout – whisper speaking “one” (think unity, wholeness) as part of your routine. The levels on the machine change (or remain the same) every 10 seconds with each level starting with one (1) so this will always be your starting point.

Take time to layout what you want to include at levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 before you step onto the treadmill. Your workout is spiritual practice based on your current thoughts, feelings and sensations – you want to focus on your here-now personal energy to transition it to a more energetic level. Give yourself time to find the rhythm and repeat of a new routine – new habits take several weeks to start feeling normal. And, pay attention to how your breaths and steps fall into a connected rhythm.

* – LifeFitness treadmills were used, but these practices can be adapted for other brands/styles

Thanks to the following people (Flickr) for photos: “stacya” – people treadmilling in a gym, “dr. coop” for the LifeFitness treadmill panel, Keith Davenport “sirwiseowl” for the woman on a treadmill, and George Hatcher “toastforbrekkie” for the digital clock.

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Posted in Everyday spiritual practices

Tagged attention, exercise, focus, free will, health club, Leslie Gernon, meditation, metaphor, movement, spirituality, treadmill, walk, whisper speaking, workout

Treadmill as Spiritual Practice – in 3 Easy Lessons (Lesson #2)

Posted on August 1, 2012 | Leave a comment

The three (3) lessons:

Treadmill as metaphor for life – last week
Giving up control; shifting mental focus when the going gets tough (or easy) – this week
Using machine lights and timers for affirmative prayer and here-now presence – next week

GIVING UP CONTROL; SHIFTING MENTAL FOCUS

So, here you are at the beginning of your spiritual treadmill workout …

RANDOM. It all starts with selecting a workout where you have no control; where you cannot predict or influence what comes next which is, oh, so much like real life. You choose “random” – hit the button and know that you are no longer in charge of when and where your course is hard (all 7 vertical lights* lit up) or when and where your course is easy (only 1 vertical light* lit up) across time, but you can choose what you do on any given level when it kicks in. And, you can see what’s coming in the very near future (usually the next 1-1/2 minutes) – so it’s living in the now, with a bit of advance warning. You’ll see in the next lesson how the seven different rows of lights map to different spiritual practices and determine whether you walk or run (what I liken to leaning into a machine and walking when the going is tough; or, going it alone on a run when the going is easy). “Lean on me when you’re not strong …”

You’ll also need to pick a starting speed and duration, which should match to your fitness level (I used 4 MPH for walking and 6 MPH for running since the machines I used had quick select buttons on the handrail for these two speeds); and, a difficulty level of 7). Start low and grow over time.

FOCUS. As you walk or run, you’ll either be focusing on a spiritual practice when the going is easy (typically levels 1, 2, 3 and 4*) or merely being present when the going is tough (typically levels 5, 6 and 7*). Isn’t this just like life? When things are easy, we find the time to fit in our daily spiritual practices; and, when the going gets tough, just remembering to breathe is enough! And, being aware of time – its repeatability, its rhythm, its 1-ness (oneness) – creates a repeat cycle for the percussion of your feet (think drumming circle) intermixed with your words.

In the next lesson I’ll tell you how I fit my spiritual practices to the levels; and, the levels to walking/running. And, how to focus in on the clock to stay grounded and focused. My hope that is by sharing how I created a spirituality-based treadmill practice that you’ll be inspired to create your own unique practice. Perhaps this practice could be called spir-treading (or should it be tread-spiring?).

* – LifeFitness treadmills were used, but these practices can be adapted for other brands/styles

Thanks to Peter Burgess “burge5K” (flickr) for the happiness treadmill photo; and, thanks to Christine Urias “Shopping Diva” (flickr) for the treadmill lights(level 3) photo

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Posted in Everyday spiritual practices

Tagged attention, exercise, focus, free will, health club, Leslie Gernon, meditation, metaphor, movement, spirituality, treadmill, walk, workout

Treadmill as Spiritual Practice – in 3 Easy Lessons (Lesson #1)

Posted on July 25, 2012 | Leave a comment

When I used to belong to a health club (before I realized that I was tithing the club more than I was using the club), walking/running on a treadmill was more than exercise, it was spiritual practice. If I could focus THERE – while in motion; while surrounded by sweating, panting people in superficial conversations; while 15 TVs provided every variety of mindless distraction imaginable – then I knew I could focus ANYWHERE! And, by combining exercise and spirituality both my workout routine and my spiritual practice had more energy – what I call symbiotic spirituality

The three (3) lessons:

Treadmill as metaphor for life – this week
Giving up control; shifting mental focus when the going gets tough (or easy) – next week
Using machine lights and timers for affirmative prayer and here-now presence – in two weeks

TREADMILL AS METAPHOR FOR LIFE

If you stop paying attention, you’ll be knocked onto your keister! There’s nothing quite so subtle as spacing out on a treadmill only to have a misstep that flings you off of the tread; or, to not keep up with the speed of the tread only to find that you’ve escalatored off the end. And, if you happen to swing your hands too much (or too wide) you’ll trip the emergency power off button or the emergency clip-on-cord and everything comes to a screeching halt - without recovery.

Nothing screams “free will” as much as a treadmill that lets you step unbounded – wherever and whenever; that lets you pump your arms – wherever and whenever. But push the bounds of time or space and you’ll disrupt your routine, your rhythm. And although it seems as if your body initiated the chaos, it was your thoughts/feelings that shifted you out of the here-and-now moment that caused the “blip” that caused the “trip” that (finally!) got your attention back on track (along with a few curses at the treadmill – as if it were the source of the problem!).

And, I have found, that to stay-in-the-moment in what seems to be endless monotony (aka boredom) that you have to choose to either lean further into the void (focusing more) or resort to distraction (focusing less) to make it bearable. But, adding a distraction (e.g., music, TV, conversation, reading) means multi-tasking; and, by multi-tasking you lose the focus, the flow, the mindfulness, the savoring that go with giving 100% attention to your spiritual workout …

Thanks to Michell Hofstrand ”mfhofstrand” (Flickr) for the photo of the treadmills

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Posted in Everyday spiritual practices

Tagged attention, exercise, focus, free will, health club, Leslie Gernon, meditation, metaphor, movement, spirituality, treadmill, walk, workout

Tail Light Meditations and Street Sign Awareness

Posted on June 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

Driving down the road gives us all sorts of opportunities to focus on the present moment – in fact, when we don’t give 100% to the present moment is when we often get ourselves in trouble – the cell phone conversation, the changing of radio stations, the quick check of directions – anytime that we have our body in one place, and our thoughts someplace else.

Several months ago, I shifted my mindset when it comes to brake lights in front of me. I went from a grunty “geez, another brake-aholic” to seeing it as a tail-light meditation. When I can look at all of the cars in front of me (especially with intentional squinty eyes that transform the synchronicity of lights coming towards me into a blurry, fuzzy wave of red just short of Fantasia) and just marvel at the ebb and flow of red lights rather than thinking of it as a stop-and-go annoyance.

And to be focused on what’s around us, from the whimsical license plates (i.e., “EYE AM,” “APRESH8”) to the amazing road signage. My usual commuting exit is 2B (“to be”) which amuses me to no end, especially in conjunction with the signs for the other road (the road not taken) – expect a slippery, serpentine experience. But then, at the end of April, one of these ominous “danger ahead” signs came down – in the manner of, if you don’t like what it means, then take it out and create your own meaning – you choose what comes next, you decide what your next best step is, you determine what your next best self is. Who says that there aren’t metaphors in every nook and cranny of our lives? Slow down; consider nothing mundane or ordinary; and, everyday life will pop with more meaning, more humor, and more choices.