I was sitting in a coffee house a few years back,
talking to a successful entrepreneur.
He’d ordered himself a large coffee with a couple shots
of espresso.
‘Man, you must be made of steel,’ I remarked.
‘Gotta have this in the morning to start my engine,’ he
replied. ‘The ole heart doesn’t work without this stuff.’
At the time I thought what he said was pretty funny – and
in fact, still do.
But there is a better way to start your engine each day –
and it doesn’t cost a dime. All you do is take in a few gulps
of fresh air, hold it for a spell – then ‘spit out’ the stale, dingy
air that’s taking up space in your lungs.
Then you do what cats and dogs do. You put your palms on the
floor and stretch backward. In yoga they call this downward
dog.
Now, I’m not a yoga teacher – but I can tell you this – yoga
came from wrestling. This is a well established fact – you can
verify for yourself in books like, The Yoga Tradition of the
Mysore Palace. Not only that, if you pick up a book on
Iyengar Yoga – you’ll see the man who founded this style
doing – bridging. Back bridge, front bridge, kickovers, and
so on. All of them are commonly practiced in wrestling.
This is not to put down yoga. I think it offers a great deal of
help to many people. But the truth is that a lot of what is
being taught about it in the U.S. is pretty lame.
About a year ago I was talking to a yoga teacher who really
admires my book and DVDs on Combat Conditioning –
http://www.mattfurey.com/conditioning_book.html
He told me how much he liked it. I said, ‘Thank you.’
Then he said, ‘Yes, all of those exercises come from yoga.’
The thought of throwing him down and breaking something
on him crossed my mind – but I restrained myself and did my
Zen Master mind exercises instead. It’s a good thing I did so
because I learned a couple really good things from him. And
I wouldn’t have learned anything at all if I got embroiled in a
spat over a historical issue. Bottom line for me is this: Even
if wrestling came first – who cares.
When I’m at my vacation home in China throughout the year,
I learn everything I can. I’m a virtual sponge for new information
on health, fitness, longevity – and so on. I keep an open mind.
Pretending to be a know-it-all my be a ‘good story’ in your own
mind – but it keeps you from growing; from becoming MORE than
you currently are.
For many people, allowing new information into their minds is a
frightening proposition. They want to appear as if they have the
whole world and everything in it figured out. But that’s ignorant.
Let your guard down a bit. Let something new into your mind and
I’m betting you’ll be much better for having done so.
Kick butt – take names,
P.S. Speaking of new, the May editon of my Maximum Health &
Fitness newsletter and CD is a rump kicker. Want to know how you can
get it delivered to your door each month. You can find out how at