Limits

Last night, after an extended bout of work, and graphic design, The realization dawned that the training was not yet done. Spiritually, things were good. The design process left me feeling mentally fresh. However, the day's previous physical activity in the hot sun resulted in the overwhelming desire to fall asleep. The first half of the usual physical regiment, a small run, a little Taiji, followed by some Hung Ga created a nice balance for the day. When offered the chance for food, my choice was a poor one. Chicken Wings. One of my ultimate weaknesses. Afterwards, I felt like I had consumed half a chocolate cake. Generally speaking, this wasn't the case, and merely a result of food related guilt, caused by a general dislike for my own gluttony. So, of course, the only thing left to do- was to counteract that with more physically demanding labor. Kettle-bells. This tided everything over for a bit, but after working at the computer for a while, once again, the body began making demands. And mentally, somewhere in the dusty, cobwebbed area I call a brain- Things clicked. The exercises from this morning hadn't been finished! And so it began. Pushups, situps, leg lifts, and more still. About three quarters through, I began to feel dizzy.
"This is odd." I thought. And it got worse.
The sit ups were the worst. The vertigo induced nearly caused me to vomit, at one point. Call me crazy, but it was awesome. For the first time, the limit had been approached. What had before been the concept of limit, was just a land mark for the convenient stopping point. Twice, I begged myself to give up. To stop, and twice, something denied me. Finally, it was finished, and I spent about ten minutes in Savasana, (Yoga's Corpse Pose) Letting everything sink in. Admittedly, for once, I truly felt the name sake of the pose. The dizziness didn't fade until sleep came, but when it came time to wake up- the sun was shining, the body attached to my conscious was pleasantly sore, and a first sip of water indicated one thing. This, is life, and it is beautiful. This isn't to say you should train until you feel like you're going to vomit, but pushing the self beyond its comfort zone is one of the few ways one can break out of it, to experience anything beyond that limited view point. It won't be comfortable, and it will likely be something you don't even want. However- to follow and do only that which keeps you comfortable within your own limits is ultimately going to be just that. Limited.

Osu.