Missing your log
@Harald Motz . Hope you’re well!
oh yes, it's been a while I updated my log. I was very well physically, psychologically not so much, but I think I am coming slowly out of that damn hole called depression. A kind of lifelong thing, like training. Training can be twofold for me: remedy and a rabbit hole.
My training went well. In June I was on my first ZEN sesshin for six days. In the ZEN monastery "Eisenbuch" established by Nakagawa Roshi, a Japanese ZEN master of the Soto school. 9 periods of zazen sitting meditation: shikantaza meaning sitting without intention facing the wall. Each zazen lasts 45min, then 15min kinhin (very slow walking meditation) then another zazen of 45min. Otherwise a bit of working meditation called samu, three very good vegetarian meals, with the first meal in the zendo on the zafu (meditation cushion). The six days where apart from the dharma lecture and ceremony held in silence, mostly.
Zazen in itself is just sitting with posture. easier said than done. There will be times, it gets really uncomfortable on the soft cushion, or tiredness can affect one. Everyone has its own special uncomfortable zones. I was well most of the times, but sometimes my legs burned like fire, the upper body was cool, a real contrast. And when its time to get up from the cushion, it takes a few seconds, and everything is relieved. I got through all sittings. I never questioned, what I am doing (not doing) here. I had my 32kg with me and did in some spare times some swings goblets and bent presses to be ready to sit through another sitting.
Zazen I practice for around eight years now, read a few books from the Soto school then and practiced some periods quite regularly, then not, and so on. A sesshin I would like to attend another time. It is quite a quite mindful and mind babbling experience. So far I am doing Zazen every day for 45 min.
I was on SFG1 in Italy in July with Brett Jones and Fabio Zonin, who were the Masters at my very first SFG 2,5 years ago in England. It was great education with a great emphasis to the teaching skills of the students. It showed me really how great the kettlebell is and "just" the basics are. It is great what SF teaches and how it is taught. Extraordinary.
My practice world looks kind of this:
- my bar is loaded with 170kg I
deadlift it on most days currently mostly doubles. It can be 3 - 10 doubles a day, on most days.
- Oh yes, the
snatch. Of course. I can't believe that I am still one arm snatching for repeats and I really discovered my golden beast for that. Especially the last week made me confident, to ebb and flow the volume with this over time
- I am into the
bent press for over three months now. I worked to the point, where I can use my golden beast on both sides quite comfortably to ebb and flow and to accumulate volume over time. So far I feel that this is a great addition to the snatch and a terrific lift with to many benefits which I should not ignore
- from time to time a bit of
two hands anyhow to lift my bodyweight or more over my head is very nice
- sometimes a few
goblet squats can not hurt
- aerobic locomotion, be it
running or rowing 30-45 min on most days
-
zazen
that's it, its enough and I want to interweave this stuff in and out together without any plan or aim, without intention… like zazen. I just want to stick to these basics for the next...I will see. It led me to some decent results in the past, and it will in the future. I see it as constant base work, not more not less.