Yoga Workouts in Exton, PA

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If you are in the Exton, PA area and are looking for yoga classes, check out www.extonyoga.com 

Here are some great at home Yoga ideas for you to try:

 

How do you find inspiration?

Posted by & filed under Motivational.

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martial arts training in exton paInspiration is an interesting thing.   I think most of us consider it as something that happens to us, rather than something that we seek, or even create.

We've all had those sort of aha moments where we saw something, read something, heard something or were told something that really inspired us.  Those external stimuli instigated us to act, learn or better ourselves in some way.

What if there was a way, to find a constant, or at least more regular source of inspiration?

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Frank Shamrock, four-time UFC champion.  He was a very interesting man, and had a very clear explanation for his successes in mixed martial arts competition and in life.

He said, he always found a plus, a minus, and an equal.

In the context of martial arts training (any style of martial arts), this make a lot of sense.  In martial arts training, we have instructors or coaches and senior ranking students; these are our pluses.   We have new students starting all the time, or we may even have our own students; these are our minuses.  We have training partners, other students that are similar in rank and experience; these are our equals.

It's an interested, but rather straight forward concept.  How does this relate to finding inspiration?

Remember, that we typically consider that inspiration is something that happens to us.   And, frankly, sometimes when you try to hard to find something like inspiration, it only makes the task more difficult.

However, something we can do pro-actively is seek out pluses, minuses, and equals.   In the dojang (training hall) they are all around us and the first step is to start recognizing those relationships.

If you are someone's plus, then they are your minus and vice versa.   All of these connections are two-ways.  The minus does not only thrive from the plus, the plus also thrives from the minus.   This is part of our um-yang philosophy (harmony of opposites).

By observing these relationships, and your part in them, you will consistently find sources of inspiration.  Note: inspiration doesn't always come from your plus.

Your minus' struggle could inspire you to do more and work harder and find ways to help them, which will in turn make you better.

Your minus maybe catching up to you thus motivating you to work harder and stay ahead.

Your equal may be falling behind and you'll make sure they don't, thus making you do better as well.

Your equal may be getting ahead and you'll intensify your training in order to stay on par.

You may be catching up to your plus and that realization enables your to go the extra mile and meet or surpass them.

Your plus may be widening the gap and you see that you mustn't let that gap get vast and you are re-invigorated to try and keep up.

You see my point.

You can take this a step further and have A plus, A minus and AN equal for specific areas of your life.   Let them know that you would like to create and nurture this relationship.  Worthy pluses, minuses and equals will realize that the benefit will be mutual.

Sincerely,

Somnath Sikdar

Master Instructor

Dragon Gym

 

Who's teaching today?

Posted by & filed under kids martial arts, Motivational.

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How many times have you asked yourself, a classmate or a DG staff this question?

It's a pretty interesting question, and it makes sense. Let's face it, sometimes you just "click" with certain instructors more than others.  Just like you are attracted to certain personality types (and certain types to you) more than others.

That makes sense, we need to find instructors, classmates and training partners that we jive with, both in terms of personality and philosophy. That way we'll be in the best environment for learning, right?

Wrong.

I'll be honest.   You need to get over it.

This goes for kids and adults (but mostly adults, since the kids' parents are making sure the get to classes).

You are going to have an affinity for some instructors and training partners more than others.  That's not going to go away and I'm not going to change that.  But, your primary concern needs to be about the community at large.   Does the community jive with your philosophy and values?

Yes?

Good.

Now back to you.

Being choosy about which instructor is teaching on a particular night is at best looking for extrinsic motivating factors in your training and at worst just making excuses to skip class and not train.

There are only seven days in the week.  In most cases, you need to take class two to three times per week in order to reach your goals.

Martial Arts and Kettlebell training can be hard at times, admittedly "not-fun".  Your energy and motivation levels may wane do to either biological, neurological, or psychological factors, or some combination there of.   It may be really stinking hot outside.  You may have had a long day.  You might be tired. It maybe someone other than your favorite instructor teaching.

These are all excuses.

Only you can put the time in, only you can do the work.

Only you can reach your goals and succeed.

External motivation works (the carrot or stick approach) for a time.   But to keep going, we need something more.

For kids, we can keep this simple.  They need to develop the discipline to follow the plan, attend classes, work hard and do their best even when the "situation" is not ideal (not their favorite instructor, best friend isn't in class, friends/siblings are playing video games, etc).   We want them to prepared for the future: they may not always have teachers, bosses, classmates,  and teammates that they "like" but still have the ability and maturity to work together and be successful.

For adults, it is a little more complex.   We have more leeway to control our environment especially when it comes to our fitness and health.  All to often, that "control" is to not do it.   (make excuses).

So how do we, as "grown ups", find the intrinsic motivation that we need and not just rely on external factors?

Daniel Pink, author of "Drive", has distilled the source of intrinsic motivation into three things: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose.

Let's quickly break each of these down as they pertain to Martial Arts, Kettlebell and Physical Training in general.

Autonomy - "Freedom from external control or influence, independence" -- In training we need to realize that we are not depending upon the instructor or classmates to "have a good class" or "get a good workout".   We get out what we put in.   It's on you to do the swings, do the kicks, hit the bag, do the pushups and work through the "pain".  (note: the pain of effort is very different than the pain of injury).   Nobody else can do this work for you, even if they are your favorite instructor or partner and are right there next to you cheering you on, motivating you, pushing you farther...it's still on you do get it done.

Mastery - "Comprehensive knowledge or skill in a subject or accomplishment" -- This is my favorite part of training.  I always start on the subject of mastery with this common refrain: an expert is just someone who is better (has mastered) the basics.   This is the crux of our martial arts philosophy as well as our system of Kettlebell training....getting better at the basics.   And then, from that foundation we can increase the robustness, variety, and enjoyment in training.   We keep practicing "it" in order to get better at "it" all the while knowing that the dedication, and joy, of said practice propels us towards our goals.

Purpose - "The reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists" -- This final piece is of course the most important and yet the most difficult for us to enunciate.   We do know this, your purpose for training has nothing to do with who the instructor is or who else is in class.  You started your training journey for a reason. Maybe it was to get in shape, lose weight, learn self-defense, get a great workout, or build confidence.   When you feel the excuses creeping in, ignore them, and remind yourself of your purpose.

I'll leave you with two more things.

1 -- 90% of your success is showing up.

2. -- After all of this talk of intrinsic motivation and autonomy, remember that martial arts or kettlebell training is not a "team sport" ... but it IS a group effort.   Remember the notion of autonomy in training: you get out what you put in.   That goes for the group as well.  You get out of the group (the community) what you put into the group.

Sincerely,

Somnath Sikdar

Master Instructor

Dragon Gym

 

The hardest break up...

Posted by & filed under Motivational.

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is with yourself.

Dragon Gym martial arts and Fitness Exton, PAIt comes down to self-identity, how you define that identity and why you are emotionally attached to that identity.   It is composed of how we assess ourselves (and how we think how others assess us) on a variety of attributes, some more tangible than others: our job, our education, our hobbies, our skills and abilities, our physical appearance, our relationships, our past experiences and our future expectations.

Now, take moment and think about those elements, and any more that you can think of, and describe for yourself what constitutes your self-identity. Write it down.  Do this first before reading further.

Why is that important?   Because, there may be some permanence in the language you used to describe your self-identity.  And, that may be holding you back...holding you back from the progress or change in your life that you seek.

You see, the language we use, how we talk, how we write things down, how we communicate can be limiting in itself.   For example, in the description of your self-identity you may have made a statement like this "I am _______".

For me, it could be as simple as "I am a martial artist".

Without getting into a lengthy debate on how a martial artist is defined, do you see that inherent permanence in that statement? This is what I am period.   But really, I am defining my self as a martial artist because of the things I have done in the past, my daily activities and the expectations of my future activities.

Our self-identity is not a statue, it is a process, a continuum.   If I ceased to practice and teach martial arts, could I continue to describe myself as a martial artist?  Perhaps not.   But, I've decided there is some value to that statement, I have an emotional attachment to being that thing, so I continue to take the actions that keep that statement true.

In this case I think that attachment has value; there is merit in the physical exercise, mental training, and camaraderie from the teaching and training.  However, what if this avocation and occupation became an obsession causing detriment to my family and my own health?  Would the emotional attachment still have merit so to speak?

This is a simple example where there is a clear inflection point between benefit and harm.   But, sometimes that turning point is not so clear.   This lack of clarity may lead to confusion, it may lead to doubt, it may lead to fear of the unknown and it may lead to resistance to change and progress.

As result, we seek the safety and security of permanence.  This is likely not a conscious decision, but it manifests itself in our language, especially the language we use to describe our self-identity.  First, we need to change that language, then we need to ask ourselves the following questions:

- Is the process from which you define your self-identity consistent with your goals?

- Could it be fear of changing that process (creating a new self-identity) that is holding you back from reaching your goals or making progress?

- Are you worried that those around you may not accept your new self-identity?

- Does not being that "thing" scare you?  When you look into uncertainty does it deter you or excite you?  Will you have supportive relationships to guide you?

Fear and emotional attachments are very powerful things, but we need to push through in order to facilitate personal growth and become better versions of ourselves.

A common exercise is to write a letter to your "former self".  It is a good way to see where you have been, where you are and provide clarity on where you need to go.   This is a great exercise, but this time I'll propose something slightly different.

Have a meeting, a conversation with your future self.

A year (or two) from today, what would your future self tell you?  What has to have happened in your life that you feel happy and satisfied with your progress physically, personally and professionally?

Write it down.

Find a reliable way to remind yourself to look at that description one year from now.

Life is a combination of destiny, free will and action.

Sincerely,

Somnath Sikdar

Master Instructor

Dragon Gym

instructor somnath sikdar