Looking for a way to increase muscle size but not by heading to some gym filled with large, sweaty men grunting and groaning over big weights? Well, there’s a way, though many people don’t believe it is so easy. That’s because they are not filled with focus such as found when one does housework while engaging in Zen. Now, think about that. Zen and housework: what’s not to like?
Though we might think it a bit unlikely, it’s a fact that doing things like what Mr. Miyagi had Ralph Macchio do in the Karate Kid (i. E. ‘wax on, wax off’) can actually be a way to build up the muscles all without even thinking that hard about it. For instance, go grab a 5 or 10 gallon wet dry vacuum and practice pushing it around while cleaning. It’ll build a little muscle, and be Zen on top of it.
It might sound a little quirky but it is a fact that what the mind can conceive the body can achieve in many cases. This is just as true in the gym and weightlifting environment as it is in the home environment, where the opportunity to meditate and bend like a reed in the wind — as the Zen masters might say — can present itself at the most opportune times.
To use an example, go out to the garage and begin cleaning it out, appreciating everything that is occurring right at that moment. Pick up those old garden blowers sitting in the corner of the garage and put one in each hand. Walk outside and begin going up and down the garden holding them out at the site as far as possible. Appreciate the beauty around you. Fitness will soon begin to show up, also.
The point to all of this is to begin to appreciate the fact that a house environment offers a million different ways in which serene calmness can be cultivated like a Zen master, all while doing a bit of useful housework. It is somewhat metaphysical to think of the journey that the body and the mind will take, but focusing on the beauty of the activity really works when it comes to subtly encouraging fitness.
This can be useful even for an 80-year-old great-grandmother who can do nothing more than sit in a rocker and maybe do a little needlework. Fitness can be cultivated even in her case while she is doing something like needlepoint or sewing as long as she focuses on the beauty of the moment and clears her mind. The body will bring forth energy that she will certainly come to appreciate, for sure.
So, when it comes to Zen and housework what’s not to like, really? Fitness can be cultivated without even trying to do so simply because there are so many ways to go about accomplishing housework and appreciating it while doing it. The body will soon enough follow along and real fitness games can be achieved. After all, what isn’t to like about doing such activity when done with Zen?