I've never been a fan of routines:
“Same places, same faces, same times, same crimes. Way too easy to fall into a rut with Resyk waiting at its end.” — Judge Dredd
Routine somehow gets in the way of living each moment. Deprives you of fluidity. But total chaos isn't fun either. Chaos and order. In harmonious balance. That's the way to enlightenment.
So I've decided to adopt a few routines in my life. Shock! The first is regular exercise.
This might come as a surprise to those who know me as I've always maintained explicit exercise to be a tad ludicrous. With the beautiful genes I've inherited, the acts of dancing and making love have always been enough to maintain a healthy body.
But then, several days ago, whilst walking by a billboard ad for Dolce & Gabbana underwear, I noted to one of my lovers that perhaps I could be a male model. To my dismay, she slowly shook her head — in the wrong direction!
The way my ego saw it, I had a much better body than the guy in the ad! The only difference was that his muscles were a lot more defined. Not having excess of fat on my body, I've never seen the attraction of bulging muscles.
But my ego wasn't happy to let go of the issue. So last week I decided to start doing some exercise. Not going to a gym — you'll never find me doing that — but exercising in the comforts of my own home.
I was expecting this to be a very simple affair. 3 weeks of exercise and end up with a 6-pack and well defined arm and leg muscles. But I managed a mere 2 days of exercise before my body ached like crazy!
Whilst I haven't done any explicit exercise since I was a teenager, the idea isn't new to me. Since I was about 5 years old, my mother would wake me up at 4 in the morning and make me do a whole series of exercise and meditation.
So I was rather surprised at the pain involved. But Mister Ego wouldn't let me give up. So, after a 4 day break, I've now decided to carry on with my exercise routine. I'll be doing it in a 2-day cycle. 2 days exercising. 2 days not. 2 days exercising…
For those of you interested in my exercise routine, it consists of:
- 4 sets of Surya Namaskara — 2 on each leg
- 30 upper abs stretches (Crunches)
- 20 lower abs stretches
- 30 side/back abs stretches
- 30 Thopu Karnas (Squats without weights)
- 30 seconds of shoulder stretches — on each side
- 20 push ups
- 20 stool lifts — on both arms
We shall see in 3 weeks if there is any noticeable difference in my body. But doing the Surya Namaskara — which is meant to be a “Salute to the Sun” done in the mornings — made me look at my sleep cycle again.
I've never been a fan of the alarm clock. It is one of the shittiest inventions in the world. Ideally, I try to go to sleep when I am actually tired and wake up naturally.
Whilst this suits the “Bohemian” part of my life and is actually very healthy, it means that I can never predict my sleep cycle. Sometimes I feel tired after being awake for just 8 hours. Other times I can be energised for over 50 hours.
Having a regular sleep cycle gives a certain level of predictability which is useful in conventional society. I am not sure what to do on this front. Help! I've tried many things.
I like being awake really early in the morning. Dawn is such a magical time of day. I also like working through the night — when it's so peaceful and without distractions that you can truly concentrate.
And then there are the practical considerations. Needing to be awake across multiple time zones in order to collaborate with an international team. Being awake for physical meetings in your locality.
Not to mention the sleep cycle of your partner. If she's going to bed at midnight, then you don't want to wait till 2am to get into bed ;p
Any suggestions on this front would be really appreciated. Thanks! And, oh, I've decided to start blogging again. Another routine =)
