The Tao of the Kettlebell - Verse Six

The spirit that never dies

is called the mysterious feminine.

Although she becomes the whole universe,

her immaculate purity is never lost.

Although she assumes countless forms,

her true identity remains intact.

The gateway to the mysterious female

is called the root of creation.

Listen to her voice,

hear it echo through creation.

Without fail, she reveals her presence.

Without fail, she brings us to our own perfection.

Although it is invisible, it endures;

it will never end.

-Lao-Tzu

Strength.  The production of strength.  Produce.  To produce.  To create.

Strength:  1.  the quality or state of being strong; bodily or muscular power; vigor.  2.  mental power, force, vigor.  3.  moral power, firmness, or courage.

Produce:  1.  to bring into existence; to give rise to; cause.  2.  to bring into existence by intellectual or creative ability.

OK.  Now that we got that cleared up!  Strength is a creative act.  It is an art and a science.  Like most things, strength lends itself well to the Yin and Yang.  Positive and Negative.  Male and Female.  Black and White.  Strong and Weak.  Opposites that are symbiotic.  You can't have one without the other.

This verse is about creation.  In our case, we are searching the Tao for insights into our training of strength.  What can Lao-Tzu teach us about tapping into the creative energy of the Tao to further enhance our practice of strength?

Why feminine?  Because mother is the most creative.  A mother brings life.  A mother nurtures.

The spirit that never dies is called the mysterious feminine.

This mysterious feminine spirit that never dies is the foundation of force production.  The production of force is a creative act.  When you combine that with the science that develops the skill of strength, you have a one, two punch.

In Pavel Tsatsouline's book, Power to the People: Russian Strength Training Secrets for Every American, Pavel teaches that Tension = Force.  "Force and tension are essentially the same thing.  That is why neurological, or 'bulk free', strength training can be summed up as acquiring the skill to generate more tension."

In Pavel's book, The Naked Warrior, he says, "The skill of tension generation is the most important variable in getting stronger-it is much more important than the building of muscle mass."

Although she becomes the whole universe, her immaculate purity is never lost.

Strength as a skill...  Imagine an individual pressing a heavy Kettlebell overhead in a slow and controlled movement.  Imagine one executing a perfect Deadlift.  There is purity in that and for the lifter in the moment of pressing or pulling, there is a silence.  The mind quites as it enters this Zen like state of focused tension and strength.  In these moments, the lifter, whether they know it or not, is connected to the spirit of creation.  In this instance, we're referring to the feminine nature of the Tao and the Tao itself.  However, this connection can lend itself well to God, Buddha, Krishna, Allah or any higher power of your choosing.  Case in point:

Although she assumes countless forms, her true identity remains intact.

This creative act of Tension to produce Force and then using the moment to connect with sprint is also a calling to see if you can carry that connection into other aspects of daily life. 

The gateway to the mysterious female is called the root of creation.

For some reading this, it may pull at your ego strings a little bit as it does challenge how we look at and see the Higher Power.  I contend that God is neither male nor female, but both.  The Bible states, "Let us make man in our image."  The "us" part usually refers back to God as a King and also lends itself well to the Holy Trinity.  But what is the image of God?  God made man and woman.  Both are aspects of the image of God.  Thus God created a whole person capable of experiencing body and soul and being a divine expression of the wondrous mystery that is God.  This verse will perhaps offer us a chance to see God in a different light and connect with God on a different level.

The gateway for us is in the silence of the mind.  That is where the creation starts and where strength of body, mind and spirit will begin to flourish.

Listen to her voice, hear it echo through creation.  Without fail, she reveals her presence.  Without fail, she brings us to our own perfection.  Although it is invisible, it endures; it will never end.

In Wayne Dyer's Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life, he talks about creativity this way:


"Being creative means trusting your inner calling, ignoring criticism or judgment, and releasing resistance to your natural talents.  Read the 6th Verse paying particular attention to these words: 'Without fail, she revels her presence.  Without fail, she brings us to our own perfection.'  Then choose to let go of the doubt and fear you've harbored within you regarding your capacity to harmonize with the creative power - a power that's not only greater than your individual life, but is life itself."

Next time you find yourself under a heavy weight, be it a Kettlebell, Barbell, or life issue, use the combined strength of yourself with the Higher Power to press on.  Take advantage of the silent mind and feel the connection.  For me, I have a little prayer/saying when I press a heavy weight overhead, I say, "OK, I'll press and You pull."  It always feels a little lighter when I do that.  The weight is always at it's heaviest when I try to do it by myself.

I love the smell of Kettlebells in the morning...

7am.  Sunrise today was at 6:43.  The sun had been up for 18 minutes and I was enjoying the pain in the morning air with Hindu Squats and Double Kettlebell Snatch.  10 sets of 10 reps each with 1:30 to rest.  Warmed up with Super Joints and got down to it.

In my last post re: this workout, I was concerned that I didn't own this set up.  I felt the form wasn't there due to early fatigue.  Since then, it seems I have adapted well and increased my conditioning enough to say it's time to drop :15 seconds and see how that goes.  I was ready to go early, each set.  Owned it!

Mucic of choice was New England Contra Music: Farewell to the Hollow: New England Tradition. 

I forgot how beautiful a Spring morning can be.  And how nice to know it's 8 am and you're already smoked!  The day just got started off with a bang!  Pura Vida!

Sometimes it really is just all in your head...

Warm Up:  Super Joints and Pumps from ETK

Session:  Double 24 KB Front Squats with Renegade Rows.  10 x 5 with 2:30 rest period.  Down 30 seconds from last time.

Finish:  Hanging Leg Raises 5 x 5

Music of choice:  The Young Dubliners

Thoughts:  When the brain is ready to quit, know that you got at least another 3 to 4 sets in the bank.  Don't take that crap the brain dishes out.  Just got one more.  One more set, one more rep.  One rep at a time.  Keep at it until all the work is done.  You know what needs to get done.  You know what you are capable of.  If you're brain decides to fight you through the last 3 sets, well then that's just the brain's problem and has nothing to do with me finishing this work. 

The Tao of the Kettlebell - Verse Five

Heaven and Earth are impartial;

they see the 10,000 things as straw dogs.

The sage is not sentimental;

he treats all his people as straw dogs.

The sage is like Heaven and Earth:

To him none are especially dear,

nor is there anyone he disfavors.

He gives and gives, without condition,

offering his treasures to everyone.

Between Heaven and Earth

is a space like a bellows;

empty and inexhaustible,

the more it is used, the more it produces.

Hold on to the center.

Man was made to sit quietly and find

the truth within.

-Lao-Tzu

This is a challenging verse, wouldn't you agree?  And although it may prove difficult to weave Kettlebell training and the practice of physical strength into this verse, I'm sure you can already tell that what Lao-Tzu is suggesting and asking of us will require an enormous amount of strength.

Let's identify a few items to fully understand the context.

The 10,000 things refers to all the observable things in the world, the physical side of things.  

In modern day speech, a straw dog is something of a scapegoat.  In Asian tradition the straw dog is a ceremonial prop.  Something to use for the showing of reverence but discarded after the ritual.

A "bellows" is according to Wikipedia, a device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location.  It's that do-hickey that looks like an accordion which is used to fan a fire!  Remember that one for later.

The book I'm using to read the Tao and get some help and inspiration in interpreting the meaning is Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life  by Dr. Wayne Dyer.  The subtitle is called, "Living the Wisdom of the Tao."  In this book, Dr Dyer challenges us to look at the Tao as a guide to living daily connected to spirit.  For me, this book is as much a strength training book as Power to the People and Enter the Kettlebell.   With out developing a strong spirit, a strong body will never manifest.  You must train each one equally.

This particular verse of the Tao challenges us to look at the world through the eyes of God.  Eyes where there is only love and no one is excluded from that love.  To see the world where everyone is equal and the same.  No one is more special than the next.  The other challenge is, can we give of ourselves equally to everyone regardless of who walks through the door?  I see this as a very prevalent trait in the RKC community.  People always willing to help, share thoughts, ideas and through this spirit of community and giving, the RKC has and is changing lives.

This impartial aspect of the Tao can lend itself to the practice of strength.  Like the straw dog, your training should be venerated and focused.  Intense and given 110%.  After though, discard it.  It's over now.  Continue moving forward.  Whether you hit your goal or failed miserably is of no matter.  Did you train with all your heart?

Recently on the DragonDoor forum I read a post where a person was struggling with a lift and reaching his goal.  He felt as if he was going backwards.  There was discussion of over training and  proposals of new more effective programs.  Hitting your goals is important.  It's an essential piece of the development puzzle.  But what happens if you don't?  You must remain impartial so as not to be defined by your goal.  If I can just dead lift "X" then I'm strong.  What if you don't?  What if you couldn't dead lift.  When we allow our accomplishments to define us, we are not living in harmony with spirit or the Tao. 

When we have earned wisdom, share it without condition.  Offering your treasures to everyone.  This doesn't mean work for free.  This means that everyone willing to listen and learn should be privy to the wisdom.  Tangible things like money are abundant and inexhaustible.  There is plenty for everyone.  The idea that one needs to get as much of the pie as possible is short sighted.  You can always make another pie.

Your strength comes from inside you.  It resonates deep in your center and in the core of your being.  Uh-Oh, I'm using exercise terms here.  Your core.  The center of your being and doing.  Look at the breath.  Look at power breathing and tension.  That all comes from the center.  The core.  Like the bellows, you bring in air and force it out with tension and pressure to create force/strength.  The air that goes in is infinite and inexhaustible.  Abundance abounds.

Look with in yourself to find your strength.  If you are strong inside, your body will respond in kind.  True strength can be found in reserving judgment and extending kindness in the unlikeliness of places.  The last line of Verse 5 pretty much sums it up for me.

"Man was made to sit quietly and find the truth within."

Phew...  I welcome your comments and discussion.

And then there's that...

Gloomy morning.  June Gloom in March.  Getting my head in the game was challenging but worth it.

Warm Up:  Super Joints, Hardstyle Locks, Halos, Pumps, Shoulder Bridges.

Training: 

Box Pistols & Bottoms Up Presses with 24kg Bell.  Alternated.

For the Box Pistols I used a High Step 5 tier box dropped down to 3 tiers.  I'm feeling more and more comfortable with this tier and can see myself dropping another tier soon.  10 attempts, all pretty solid.

With the Bottoms Up press, my left hand is still weaker but catching up quick.  Lat shelf is dialing in, stability from the abs and glutes plugged into the rooted legs is coming along quite nicely.  10 attempts and pressed out 8 times up and back to the rack.  Missed it only twice.

Spent 20 minutes on these two drills and then moved on to...

Ladders alternating Negative Free Pistols & Bottoms Up Press with 16kg Bell.

Added a tier to the box, got a lighter bell and did 5 ladders of 1,2,3 in 20 minutes.  That was refrreshing and quite rewarding when form and technique with a little added conditioning allow you to squeeze in a whole extra ladder in the same time it took you to do only 4 the week prior.

Music of choice:  David Arkenstone's Atlantis.  This CD is great for slow grinds and exotic lifts.  The music is reminiscent of times long ago when there were Greek and Roman warriors sailing the Aegean sea and heading off to bring Helen home or conquer Egypt.  This is music of myth and legend that lends itself well to feats of strength.

All in all it was a very good session.