Early 20th century boxers called one of their essential conditioning exercises "Roadwork". It was simply running on the road while shadow-boxing. My variation is marching and high-stair-climbing with a 2kg dumbbell in each hand. It works my legs and core, and it's a great aerobic workout. Three times a week.
I do an hour of prep before marching. First a micro-dose of C sativa, then Tai Chi, Yoga, stretches, and calisthenics. I recently added a second round of TC and cals using 1kg weights. Then I hit the pavement with the 2kg ones.
I have been constantly pushing it, swinging the weights, twisting, pumping them, especially focusing on working my core. I am exhausted by the end of these workouts and need a rest day between them, but I am feeling stronger. My sciatica pain is mostly gone, although I still get twinges of a reminder of it if I move carelessly.
Views:
From the top of the stairways up to the Rama 7 Bridge, I can watch the river traffic, eg, tugboats pulling long trains of barges, and express boats. Looking north, up-river, I can see six Buddhist temples and one new mosque, which is very beautiful in white and light green.
At home, from the corner of my veranda, I have a view of a couple of the only trees left out back. I keep my binoculars out there for watching the squirrels and birds. My pair of Zebra doves came back and nested a 3rd time on the veranda, successfully hatching another chick. The doves were a bit disrupted this time because of major demolition of a building just across the wall on the side of the electric company.
This disrupted other creatures as well: a big Monitor Lizard was perched on the fence at the top of the wall, evidently flushed out of his underground home. His body was two feet long, with a very long tail, and he had muscular arms and huge claws.
I am reading Stephen Batchelor, *After Buddhism: a re-thinking of the dharma for a secular age* (2015). Batchelor and I are on the same page about Siddhartha Gautama.
-Zenwind.
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