One of the things I found interesting in his approach was his ability to maintain momentum. I sometimes get into a good habit of regular exercise, but then a work trip, holiday or injury knock the habit and it takes me a while to get back into it. Waitzkin tells a story of a broken arm that is awesome. Not long before a major Martial Arts contest, he had entered into a weight category above his to test himself. He had won but had got injured. He continued training, building up the strength in other areas he normally neglected. The result was that the injury made him a better athlete.
I haven't been great at that. Identifying the bigger picture plan and using injuries as opportunities. Since starting my new blogging/learning life, I had managed to do yoga each day. It is amazing what a difference regular practise makes and how stress starts to evaporate from the muscles. One of the lessons I have learnt though is to try and control the inner competitive South African male in me when yoga and my neck are involved. Just over a week ago I had had two rather long sessions in two days and my neck was feeling it. Had I been Josh, I would have worked on strengthening my abdominal muscles and flexibility while resting my neck. Not Josh, I took the week off exercise, and focused on other learning projects. While back into it now, I am a little removed from reality, work and life do catch up and 'restarting' can be very difficult. When I have had similar episodes before, it has often taken a few months to pick something up again if at all. I won't list good habits that lasted then faltered and disappeared. Developing an art of maintaining momentum through bumps is wonderful foundation for life.
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