Is “breathwork” demonic?
You wouldn’t know it unless you’re reading it in the original Greek or Hebrew, but you can’t read the Bible without reading about the connection between the characteristics of God and his relationship to man associated to the breath nearly 800 times between the Old and New Testament.
Bridging Physiology & Psychology: A Theory of Joy
The fact is, a body that is tense with anxiety or oppressed by depression is not in a state that is able to achieve the physical outcomes we usually want from exercise. It is much harder to lose weight and to gain muscle when we are in a constant state of survival. You may have experienced this as stubborn body fat or training plateaus and found yourself constantly seeking out a new program, new exercise or new coach.
Infradian Rhythms: Nutrition & Fitness for Women
The best thing that women can do to optimize their fitness and recovery is to understand their unique infradian rhythm, or menstrual cycle. Just like our circadian rhythm influences different systems of the body, so does our infradian rhythm by impacting our brain, stress responses, digestion, thoughts, emotions and metabolism. It becomes increasingly difficult to meet your fitness goals without acknowledging these biological rhythms.
How Ice Baths Might Help You Stop Peeing Yourself
If you’re of the rare category of people who has neither given childbirth nor had to endure sexual abuse and yet you still wrestle with incontinence, you may be frustrated by the lack of answers. So here’s a theory that is seemingly far less explored, but just might make a big difference.
EQ, Mirror Neurons & Paul’s Letter to Corinthia: How to Lead with Empathy
Defined by “the effective regulation of emotion in self and others, and the use of feelings to motivate, plan, and achieve in one's life,” emotional intelligence is about the discernment between varying emotions and how to use this information to guide interaction and behaviors. Our emotional intelligence is important to operate in relationships.
Two Exercises to Wipe Out Shoulder Pain
I’ve seen these exercises be highly effective in eliminating shoulder pain within weeks where months or years of physical therapy failed. These exercises alone aren’t the solution to all of the root issues behind your shoulder pain, but I am confident that they will begin to shift your state and your structure to living with less pain, less frustration and more joy in life. For all the ways you’ve learned to live with your pain, there is freedom available.
A Starter’s Guide to Ice Baths
It’s not just a matter of being able to “grit and bear it” through something that is obviously uncomfortable to the comfort-seeking tendency of the modern human body. It’s hardly about the cold water at all, actually. Being able to regulate body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate is also helpful when we get into an argument, rear end someone in traffic or walk into an interview or proposal for a raise. It’s about managing tension and stress.
Dry Bones Rise
At the end of October, a select group of leaders who have graduated from our Full Armor Leaders Course gathered in Southern California as the core fitness leadership team for a Beautifully Flawed Foundation event. “Gym Day” was a culmination of a 5-day experience for young men and women with physical disabilities of limb loss or limb differences as a call to action in living out the purpose of their testimony - learning to exercise the power of their confidence and capabilities not despite of, but because of their stories.
Exercise for Addiction Recovery
Exercise and general whole-body fitness help people fight addiction. When the goal is overall health and well-being, harmful behaviors can be effectively forced out of the picture. When exercise and healthy living are combined, sustainable substance-free existence is possible for almost anyone.
What is Strength?
We all need something. The human cannot function in its intended capacity alone. For this reason, self-love and self-service are nothing more than a trap to captivate ourselves in a lie of self-centeredness that is isolating and defeating, though it may elicit great sensation of pleasure in the seeking. The essential perspective in finding strength is first, to know where one is weak. Our fundamental weakness is that we cannot self sustain and this means that neither can anyone else.
The Forget Men's Retreat: Recap with Erik Thorson
Erik Thorson, a CrossFit Level 3 Trainer, was invited to serve on behalf of Point One Vision at The Forge men's retreat for limb loss in Kauai. We were honored by the gift of his time and the heart to explore the width and depth of the unknown. We asked Erik to respond to a few questions about his time in Kauai and what he learned from this experience.
Abel
Humility at its purest and by its very nature doesn’t take the center stage. Humility may be seen, but it is not seen in the most obvious or given light. Humility does not step up to the microphone, it doesn’t shout and it doesn’t say “look at me.” Humility, if you forget to look for it, is a most beautiful thing that will pass you by.
What is a Coach? - Part II
This isn’t a step-by-step program on “How to be a Coach" - if you want a logistical approach to your duty, this is not it. The summary is that being a teacher is about being genuine in building relationships with others.
What is a Coach? - Part I
True coaching transcends textbooks above and beyond. Being a coach requires a fundamental understanding of human nature and its thirst to have more and be more.
Flexibility vs. Mobility
To understand the difference in mobility and flexibility, we must first define the term ‘range of motion.’ Range of motion, commonly abbreviated as ROM, is the full movement potential of a joint, or it’s total possible range of flexion and extension. ROM can be tested and measured by degrees of movement surrounding a specific joint or body part.
The Sandbag Advantage: Why Training with a Sandbag is Good for Your Soul
Lifting, carrying and moving with odd-objects is natural to our human nature. For most of human history we have carried logs, stones and the fruit of our labor and have evolved thus far. Yet somehow in this evolution, we have also become so far separated from even ourselves - we have made so efficient the manners of forward progress that we've stopped doing the hard things ourselves. Doing hard things is not easy, but it is simple.
Take a Walk
You are made to be strong, confident and capable of doing hard things as a process of being in the flow of who you are created to be. So why is it that when the challenge is physical, when you exercise your body, that you accept panic, pain or punishment? Or do have a list of excuses for why you don’t do hard things at all?