New Warrior Wellness observations

[Ryan]

Within the last couple days, I had a flat tire. While trying to change the lugs, I greatly exacerbated a lower back problem (just right of the spine and runs down into my gluteal area). Little did I know that the lugs were "frozen" to the wheel. In my efforts to change the tire, I actually bent the lug wrench, eventhough it was too short for any sufficient leverage. Sounds negative right? Wrong.

Sure, I hurt my back, but I learned some very interesting things from it:

1. I could sense when my body was bracing itself, my abs would remain flexed unless I took notice of them. Is this close to fear reactivity? (I have not begun Body Flow yet, I wish to focus more on basic recovery of movement.)

2. I have learned to trust my body even more. Intuitively, I have been allowing my body to move and change direction gently. My transitions between everyday movements have become more fluid as I am now relaxing into my movements.

3. Although my back is injured, my daily Warrior Wellness practice has become deeper and I am "feeling" my movements even more.

In the past, when I would injure my back or any other body part, I would be focused on the pain and diminished capacity for functioning. Not now. I have learned so much about my body in the last couple days that I wouldn't pass up this "injury" for anything. Emotionally, I have no fear and can smile just fine. I attribute this change in persective to my daily practice of Warrior Wellness. I am still suprised at the difference this program has made in my emotional life. Just wanted to share this with the tribe...

[Connie Brown]

That is very cool! There's something about being armed with understanding, and the means to be in charge of our breathing/movement/structure, that changes everything.

great story

[KD Jones]

This is really great. Beautiful really, if you think about it on the level of reunion...

I had something similar (but much smaller) recently. We live in one of those split-level mid 70's construction houses. We've had to knock a few walls out... but the way I move is still too big for the house - I've slam into corners, and am constantly whacking my forearms into the few doorknobs in the hallway.

Anyway, several days ago, I was speeding out of my daughter's room towoard some other imperative, and my shoulder made contact with one of the dreaded corners. I didn't notice until I was down the hall that without thinking, I had 'slipped' the impact. My body had made a 'vertical wave' quickly enough to maintain the flow of my movement, speed and balance.

"Thank you, Warrior Wellness (Intu-Flow®)"

[Nick1974]

Good post Ryan. My perspective on 'fitness' has completely changed also since discovering RMAX. Coach Sonnon's articles 'What is fitness' and 'what is flow in fitness' blew me away, and changed my view of what it means to be fit.

Previously, when training 'conventionally' I would adjust my life around my workouts, and make sacrifices in my life to conserve the energy and motivation to 'do my workouts'. I would avoid doing anything physical (other than my workouts) for fear of it injuring me or tiring me out and preventing me from 'achieving my fitness goals' - because I defined fitness as being able to attain a certain work capacity in the gym. For example I would use an elevator instead of stairs so I could conserve energy for my squat workout that night. Ridiculous I know!

But now I view my training as an investment whose returns are: more energy, vitality, concentration, relaxation, and efficiency of movement throughout the whole day (not just during the 'workout'). I take pleasure now in the 'fun' of scootting up a flight of stairs efficiently, and effortlesslessly (ie reaping the rewards of my training). I'm not suggesting that all of a sudden I am the perfect picture of health and fitness - far from it - but I am saying that my view on the definition of what constitutes that has changed, and as a result, so have my training modalities.

And I agree with you about the 'bodily awareness'. Before I would deny problems and hope they would disapppear, and live in fear of them happening, now I listen to everything that is happening internally and respond appropriately to address the issue (without anxiety). Actually by being sensitive to your body's needs and treating it with respect you actually grow to respect yourself more as a person, and others for that matter. The change in me is quite profound.

[peterng25]

I quit fencing a couple of years before I discovered RMAX. I've been doing body martial arts (krav maga), and it's going really well, feel much more confident than I could without the resources found here.
Yesterday, I fenced again and it was a real eye opener! I guess you can imagine going back to a martial art, with the apprehension that its 'teachings' are so specialized, that nothing I learned here would be relevant. I was girding myself for some sort of disappointment.
Let me tell everyone, fencing as I saw it with my RMAX eyes was like having a special zoom and focus feature installed secretly in your brain. All the work done on Warrior Wellness kicked in, clicking in one after another. Performance breathing is a gem, makes you leap forward in progress. I want to say that grappling, striking, sword fights, shooting, each deals with specialized circumstances ('Biomechanics of the blade!'), but our knowledge seems universally applicable.
One question I'd like to raise, is has any tribesmember noticed anything when doing riding/driving/flying sports, ala motorbike, motocross, etc... By now I am thinking that there has to be some benefits from what we practice daily

Peter

[Ryan]

Thanks everyone for the encouragement and your willingness to share. I love the way a simple post can bring us together in common experience and expound upon the details that we could not see in ourselves.

I had something similar (but much smaller) recently.

Kd, I don't think that your experience is smaller in any way; it's awesome. The event was profound in that it had no impact.

Great stuff, everyone, great stuff...

[BanzaiBonnie]

On Coach Sonnon's recommendation I had been working on the knee circles for the last week and I was hoping I was doing it right. I've been taking 500mg. Naproxen 2x daily for months and it was no longer taking care of the pain in my knee. I quit taking the Naproxen the day I began the knee circles and have only had an occasional twinge since.

My copy of Warrior Wellness came yesterday.

After one round with Warrior Wellness I felt great. My circulation was pumped up and my whole body was warm. I tend to have low blood pressure, so getting it to circulate in the way it did was fantastic.

Now, my fitness has not been the best, but my husband's is really poor. He is so impressed with the way I am looking and feeling he is going to start Coach Barnes "Five Minute Miracle" and follow with Warrior Wellness. I am going to shut up and not say anything more to him about it because it has to be carried by his own desire to feel better.

At 50, I have no intention of going into the next 50 or more years of my life being some crippled person barely able to move.

I'm just going to go about the business of getting fit and people around me will want to know what I'm doing. When I tell them, I'll point them this direction and they'll have the opportunity to do something too.

[Scott Sonnon]

Bonnie, you're wonderful! Congratulations on your dedication to your pain-free health and longevity!!!

[stultzies9]

Reading Steven Barnes for years, and being turned on to RMAX because of him has completely changed the way I think and feel about fitness. I used to be pretty obsessed with the idea of having the "bodybuilder" physique, which, since I'm pretty heavily overweight, seemed right out of the realm of possibility. Since starting Warrior Wellness and Intu-Flow®, and spending WAY too much time on this forum, that's all changed. Anymore, I don't care if I match the current social "ideal", as long as I'm fit enough to work all day, spend time with my friends, family, and loved ones, and rehearse and play out without collapsing afterwards.

In fact, I was watching TV the other day and saw one of the new Bowflex commercials, and they had some 41 year old professional volleyball player pitching for them. His whole spiel came down to "I have pumped arms, ripped abs, and legs of steel". Which in and of itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, but for the first time, I found myself wondering "Yeah, but how do your knees and back feel?"

I'm corrupted now. Yay corruption!

[Scott Sonnon]

Aaron, word, mi amigo!