Burpees

Burpees: 

so the main thrust of my workout lately, for over a year now, has been burpees, two different versions of this exercise that I alternate daily, every day, for high repetitions. For those unfamiliar, the burpee is a complex movement that takes one from the upright position to prone with a pushup thrown in before leaping back to the feet in a smooth but explosive manner. It's a full body expression of grace and power, or at least to the extent that those qualities are present to the day. What I do is generally considered "prison" or "military style" burpees, which generally means extremely high repetitions, staying in relatively the same stance throughout - holding myself accountable to an unbroken chain of motion for the length of time or number of repetitions that I've committed myself to. 

it's a demanding workout, every version, and one I greatly enjoy. 

in many ways it's the opposite of my love affair with yoga, a counter point to the supple stretch and surrender to the flow of poses. But what I find in essence though, more similar than imagined, is that all motion is just a display of energy, everything is yoga, the union of body and mind and how it's a divine and joyful expression of the whole. 

burpees are yoga, 

really, in this commitment, it's little different than the Sufi's whirling, a Dervishes practice of abandoning ourselves to the purity of motion, completely to to the point that unions found. This is meditation, mindfulness of each position, giving no time to distractions that seek to gain our focus, attention turned towards breath, aspects of the movement as it flows in union to the next, and every pause a brief moment to listen to the body's response before another rep begins. 

not every session.

sometimes it's just a workout. 

but there's always that possibility, if I'm able to listen to soul and body, giving myself completely to the movement without worry of time or repetition...

I find myself in a Dervish's whirl of motion.

~

Peace, Eric