Bodybuilding as a spiritual endeavour.

Today as I was doing my 30 minutes of High Intensity Interval Training on the elliptical trainer; it occurred to me that the practice of Bodybuilding, is an amazing spiritual and transpersonal practice.

Currently, I am in the process of doing a body recomposition. For the uninitiated, this is where you train and eat in such a way that you preserve hard earned lean muscle mass whilst stripping away fat. This differs from “dieting for fat loss” where a person is likely to lose both muscle and fat in order to get leaner. “Body recomping” as it is known is a tricky business as it requires a delicate balancing act nutritionally and attention to detail on the training front. Too many calories and fat loss stops, too few calories and precious muscle is subsequently lost. Too much cardio and weight training will result in lean muscle being cannabilized; while not enough physical stimulation will result in minimal results with negligible fat loss and muscle gain.

So, what does Bodybuilding and more specifically my body recomposition have to do with spirituality you may be asking? If you have never been involved in the practice of bodybuilding or have only had exposure to the sport via the media; then you may be forgiven for thinking that bodybuilding is the domain of narcissistic individuals who are constantly primping and preening themselves in front of a mirror. That bodybuilding as a sport is the glorification of the ego at the expense of the spiritual self as there is no deep and meaningful philosophy associated with it. If you happen to think this way, then I would agree with you; that is, if you were to only look at the practice on a purely superficial level.

Without pointing to any particular spiritual or esoteric practice, let me highlight generally how valued spiritual practices and concepts link with the process of Bodybuilding.

MINDFULNESS
Bodybuilding requires mindfulness. One must be mindful about the foods they eat and how this will affect their mind and body. A bodybuilder will generally eat 5-6 times a day and each meal requires attention to detail in respect to the ratio of Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats contained in that meal. Meal planning is crucial to ensuring that one stays on the path to their goals, whether that be fat loss or muscle gain. Each meal that has been prepared has been prepared in a mindful way with it’s resultant effects on the body taken into account prior to eating it. Even the process of shopping for the ingredients to be used in the meals is done mindfully with the original purpose for buying and eating these foods kept firmly in mind.

When training, being present in the moment and being mindful about what one is doing turns weight lifting into a dynamic meditative practice. Focusing on the muscle as it contracts and relaxes creates a powerful mind-body link with the part(s) being exercised. The mind’s focus is squarely in the NOW. Engaging in aerobic training provides time for internal reflection and contemplation for anywhere up to an hour. And provided that the activity is physically repetitive and boring enough for the conscious mind, it may encourage a deeply meditative state, similar to one that can be achieved in static meditative poses.

DISCIPLINE
Bodybuilding requires supreme amounts of personal discipline. It requires discipline over one’s desires for immediate gratification and short term rewards by staying true to one’s training and nutritional goals even in the face of temptation. It requires discipline to stay on a path to achieving a level of physical and mental wellbeing that the majority of people do not understand or attempt to follow. It demands discipline over the mind and body as one continually faces pain and fatigue at each training session in an attempt to surpass a previous best or break a previous limitation.

BALANCE - The Middle Path
Bodybuilding requires balance internally and externally. The concept of Balance could also be called the Middle Path. Extremism in any area regardless of whether it is training or nutrition may result in catastrophic results. Too much intense physical training will result in the body being damaged and broken down, possibly beyond repair. Paying too much attention to specific body parts at the expense of others will result in an unbalanced looking physique that may cause patterns of dysfunction in movement, physical structure and alignment and also impair muscle co-ordination. Too little physical training yields poor or even non existent results. Extreme dieting may cause short and long term health issues, whereas too little attention to nutrition may also cause long term health issues. Achieving a balance with time so that one can pursue their bodybuilding and fitness aspirations; yet still effectively manage the expectations of family, friends and career is critical to maintaining longevity and consistency with bodybuilding.

 

ALCHEMY
Bodybuilding is an alchemical practice. Transmuting a body and mind that started in a base state and converting it through the process and rigors of bodybuilding into something with multifaceted value is the goal of Bodybuilding. A quote from Wikipedia on Alchemy states that “Thus, both the transmutation of common metals into gold and the universal panacea symbolized evolution from an imperfect, diseased, corruptible and ephemeral state towards a perfect, healthy, incorruptible and everlasting state.” Attaining and maintaining long term health through the consistent practice of Bodybuilding is a means to achieving a perfect, healthy, incorruptible and everlasting state of health and mental wellbeing. Treating the body as a temple for the Spirit and engaging in physically supportive healthy endeavors provides the Spirit with a house that is well maintained and useful for it’s needs.

MIND OVER MATTER
Bodybuilding is the constant practice of applying the principle of mind over matter. Each time a weight is lifted, the mind must move it first. Each physical action that is conducted must occur as a thought before it translates into physical action. Lifting any weight, regardless of how big or small requires a process of mental conceptualization and co-ordination that is often overlooked in the process of lifting. This is one of the most remarkable elements to the practice of Bodybuilding and in my opinion to life itself. Regardless of what we intend on doing in 3 dimensional space, our minds must go there first. This may be a conscious process or it may be completely unconscious. If you were to pick up a pen right now, take the time to consciously think about all the things your mind and body has to do in order to complete this simple task. Now, apply this same process of thinking to an exercise like a squat or deadlift and repeat it hundreds of times with a large volume of dense heavy weight that is constantly shifting and moving as you lift it. Our minds are amazing and progress in lifting heavier weights is more often a mentally adaptive process than a physically adaptive one, that is if the body is already conditioned to the task. Commonly, it is the case that a lifter will accidentally pick up a heavier weight than they intended and complete their training sets with it. Only realizing after the fact that they have just lifted more than they consciously thought they could. Mind moves matter and this concept is clearly demonstrated through the practice of Bodybuilding.

CONCLUSION
So what does this post have to do with my body recomposition? Not much really, as I mentioned, I was on the elliptical trainer doing my 30 minutes of High Intensity Interval Training and I was contemplating about how Bodybuilding is a spiritual endeavor. Then I thought I might share this insight with you.

“You are a spiritual being having a physical experience; not a physical being having a spiritual experience.”

Quoted by my Sifu Francis Wood Founder of Mae Paem Tao.

~ by Paul Mischel on September 29, 2007.