Author: Bear

Why your intent is ever important

Posted on by Bear

Introduction

When you go to the supermarket to get food you have a very distinct reason for going, to get sustenance and survive & thrive. Generally speaking you don't need a lot of persuasions to go and most of the actions you undertake are effortless.


This is primarily because your intent is very clear.



Why is it so hard for young children to study, read and do things that will help them on the long-term? This also has a lot to do with intent, as children because of brain development are not able to think long-term. They have not been able to formulate a clear reason for undergoing these somewhat uncomfortable actions. 


Why is it s difficult to stick with a habit after a month? Same reason, after the novelty of the habit has subsided you are relying on your intent. And if your intent isn't very firm you will likely quit.



What is a 'good' and 'clear' intent exactly?


1) For starters it has to make sense to you, personally. Repeating what others tell you won't work for long.


2) There has to be a clear goal, what are you working towards and when will you know whether you are successful or not


3) Involve other areas in your life into the intent, how will the rest of your life be affected by reaching the desired goal?


4) Make it noble, make it about others. We like the feeling of being a good person and being able to directly support someone els will help strenghten this sensation.


5) Make it long-term and less so on events or measurements, and more so on your character traits and/or being.


How can I formulate my own intent


Consider who you are and what your personal values and virtues are. Are you a mother, a business owner, what kind of work do you do?


What is truly important to you as an individual and how does keeping up with this habit or routine support your personality.


Maybe you really like taking care of others or maybe you get great joy out of creating things. Ask yourself how reaching a goal will help you with these passions of yours.


My own intent in life

I am at my happiest when I am able to make a positive impact on other people their lives.


When I am able to help someone feel good about themselves again, or when I can help someone overcome chronic pain.


I love the feeling of being a foundation to my partner, her kids and my direct community.


So what actions, habits and routines will help me with these intents


1) Meditation


2) Martial Arts


3) Exercise


4) Nutrition


5) Fasting


6) Sleep


7) Reading


8) Genuine connection


''I seek to be an asset to those close to me and a danger to those seeking to hurt my community''

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Rethink the function of your skeleton

Posted on by Bear

Rethink the role of the skeleton

Introduction

For the longest time the skeleton consisting of joints and bones has been viewed as a structure that protects your vital organs, stores fat & minerals and acts as a blood production site. But what if there is another vital function?



Information & predictions

Recent advancements in neuroscience have opened us up to the vital function of information, and its function within the body.


To fully understand what I mean by information we will have to take a quick look at your nervous system, and in particular your central nervous system.


The nervous system

The main function of the nervous system is trans duct signals to and from the body, as well as direct actions based on future predictions.


The central nervous system (CNS) consisting of your spine and brain are the main player when it comes to these predictions.


When the threat level is high your body will ready itself for action and when the threat level is low the body will start repairing and rebuilding.


Future states

Your CNS constantly predicts future states and prepares the body and mind. It does this by relying on prior experiences and current signalling from the body.


These signals can come from your senses like touch, taste sight, smell and hearing. And/Or they can come from your heart, bones, muscles, skin etc.



The role of the skeleton in your perceived reality


Before we dive into the details let's make the destinction between interoception (perceiving internal environment) and exteroception (perceiving outside environment).

Your CNS needs information from both of these categories in order to make accurate predictions.


Your bones are a key player in your perception of the outside environment and so do your muscles. They mostly rely on tension, pressure and impact in order to make their assessment of what's going on.


In essence what's going is that muscles contract (shorten and lengthen) in order to support movement affecting the skeleton in two major ways:


1) Vibrations

The impact of the external load causes the skeleton to vibrates the fluid within the bones. Also during movement tendons rub over the bones causing vibrations (like playing a harp)


2) Change in blood pressure

Bones are covered with blood vessels and whenever muscles contract they rub over these veins causing peaks and drops in blood pressure.


Both of these values will be supplied to the CNS and a better prediction will cause more effective states.

What might this mean to you


First and foremost, let's talk about why you would want better predictions and more effective states.


Have you ever experienced anxiety or spells of depression? These two are strong indicators of an ''incorrect assessment'' of future states. If you knew exactly what was going to happen in the future you probably wouldn't be so scared.


Or have you ever been really frustrated or angry because something didn't go as you expected?


So what can you do to make better predictions? FEEL MORE


* Wear thinner shoes or go barefoot


* Be calmer


* Cover less of your skin


* Do less sitting and more walking

* Expose yourself to the current environmental temperature


* Engage in effective routines


* Eat less

During exercise with regard to the skeleton and muscles this could mean


* No shoes


* Wearing tight-fitting clothes or very loose-fitting clothes


* Do something during your exercise that causes impact (like jumping, kicking & punching)






''Do not underestimate your ability to learn and become more effective at everything you do''

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The role your hands and feet play for producing force

Posted on by Bear

Introduction

The main aim of muscle firing is to assist in a given task, this might be reaching out to grab a cup or carrying your groceries to the car.

A natural tendency of the body is to expend as little energy as possible on menial tasks unless there is a direct threat.

Your nervous system (spine and brain) have patterns for every movement and through practise these patterns become more efficient and more powerful.

In order to supply the right movement pattern and muscular tension some information is required; What is the reason you are performing this action and what will you get out of it, but also what are your hands and feet doing

Image result for Hand anatomy

Tension over position

First and foremost I would like to share with you that it is not the position of your body and joints that decide which muscles fire, but which muscles are being tensed. Where do you put the pressure.

Muscles generally work in chains and transducts force via fascia (tissue surrounding muscles). If you want engage your big muscles (torso, hip) the focus needs to be on your hands and feet.

Explosive movement versus Controlled movement


Generally speaking painful tissue is explosive musculature that has been overused


When you are doing push-ups, squats, deadlifts, carries, pullups or any other non-explosive movement; be very mindful of where the pressure and tension is on your hands and feet, it will make a huge difference on which muscles you will fire.


''Train your grip and strengthen your feet first before anything''

Red tissue = Explosive & Fast / Yellow tissue = Slow & Controlled

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