There is No Emergency

In case of an emergency, walk, don't run, to the nearest exit. Be honest, you wouldn't walk. Everything in you would scream, "run!". Most people live in the "run!" world. Everything is an emergency. The thing is though, there is no emergency. And yet most people live their lives in a state of emergency. 

We are too stressed out. Our world of microwaves, instant clicks, deadlines, credit cards, and instant messages has taught us how to be high strung. Our society lives in a perpetual state of fight or flight. We all need to take a deep breath and relax. There is no emergency. At least, there isn't supposed to be. 

Life is not supposed to be spent in a state of emergency, in a state of fight or flight. We are only supposed to be in fight or flight mode when we need to be. It is not supposed to be our standard operating mode. Right now, chances are, you are breathing using your accessory breathing muscles - your emergency muscles. Why? Are you in a state of panic? You shouldn't be. 

I am going to teach you the most ridiculously easy reset you could ever do to help your body relax and restore your health and vitality: Diaphragmatic breathing - the way you are supposed to breath naturally. 

Many, many people are walking around in a state of emergency because they breathe using their emergency breathing muscles. They are stressed, anxious, irritable, easily fatigued, their stress hormones are out of balance and they have digestive problems. All of these issues could easily be solved by just relaxing, and breathing the way we were made to breathe - with our diaphragm. 

Are you overweight? Are you a chest breather? Are you always tired? Are you a chest breather?  Are you always nervous and you don't know why? Are you a chest breather? Do you get completely wiped out 2 minutes into a run, or your exercise routine? Are you a chest breather? Is your posture a mess? Does your head enter the room before your body does? Are you a chest breather? 

Becoming a belly breather - being a diaphragmatic breather - the way you were designed to breathe, can reset and restore your entire body. You can literally restore your strength, your health, and your body by learning how to become a diaphragmatic breather. This simple "exercise", this simple "reflex", is a key component to living life the way you were intended. 

Learn how to use your diaphragm. Take several breathing breaks through out the day or just be mentally aware of how you are breathing. Spend some deliberate time learning how to find and use your breath the way you were intended to. Once you learn how to do this, you will make this "reflex" automatic and without thought. You will be well on your way to life. 

Remember, there is no emergency. But if there ever is, knowing how to breathe will help you easily overcome whatever threatens you. Breathe on!

Freedom

In the heart of man, there are many seeds that have been planted: the desire to be super-human or immortal, the desire to be able to conquer life, the desire to save or rescue others - to be a hero, the desire to seek out God, and the desire to be free. 

Deep in man's heart, he longs for freedom. Freedom - free from bondage, slavery, suffering, oppression, depression, sickness, or whatever. Man longs to be free. 

We don't have much of a choice as to where we are born, or what government we are governed by (well, in today's world, that choice may actually exist, but it hasn't always). There are some outside constraints as to how much freedom we can experience. However, there are many aspects of freedom that are in our control. 

Your lifestyle, the actions you choose from day to day, play a large role in how much freedom you get to experience. If we are complacent, or apathetic towards moving (as we were designed to do), we can actually imprison ourselves to a life of obesity, pain, stiffness, fear, depression, and dreams. Movement is the key to freedom, the key to living.

We can actually put ourselves in bondage and become slaves to a chair, or a sedentary life if we do not engage in moving like we were created to do. Walking, skipping, running, playing - these are movements that we were made for. They are not intended for drudgery, they are not "exercise". They are vitality. They are freedom. 

Look around you. How many people do you see that sit around and say things like, "When I was young, I had all kinds of energy." , "I used to be a great football player when I was in high school." , "When you get older, things start to fall apart." , "I have to be careful, I have a bad back." , "Son, daddy can't throw the football with you. His knee hurts." This list can go on almost to infinity. 

Life is not meant to be lived in bondage to our broken down bodies. Life is meant to be lived in freedom through our resilient bodies. We are not made to sit around and remember how well we used to feel, or how well we used to be able to run and play. We are made to experience how awesome it is to run and play when we are 80 years old. We are made to be able to go hiking through the wonder and beauty that God created, we are meant to be able to play with our kids and their kids. We were not meant to be imprisoned in our own bodies. 

Deep in your heart, you long to be free. You long to live and experience life. You have a huge degree of choice as to whether you nourish that desire and enjoy vitality. You also have a huge degree of choice as to whether you suffocate that desire to the point that it haunts you and aches your heart. Your heart, your soul cries out for life, for freedom. Find a way, MAKE a way, get up and move. Move and TAKE your freedom. Live.

Superhero Powers

If you could have one super-hero power, what would it be? Of all the wonderful powers you can think of, or that someone else has thought of, which ONE would you choose to have if you could have it? 

I think I would choose, and have chosen, super-resilience. I would choose to be impervious to injury; bulletproof - if you will, like Superman. If you know anything about me, you know I'm a Superman geek. Anyway, I would choose to be bulletproof, because if you can't get hurt, nothing can stop you. If you can't get injured, and you know it, life is yours to live. There would be no fear of engaging in anything - physically. To me, that would be an awesome super-hero power to have. There would be no brakes. If you saw a mountain, you would know that you could climb it, or push it. Even if you don't succeed the at first attempt, if you can't get hurt, you are free to engage, to embrace,  the challenge. 

The power of being bulletproof, could lead to the power of living without fear. That is like getting 2 powers for the choose of 1. Think about it. How many times have you ever heard someone say things like, "I'd better not try to lift that, my back will probably go out." , or "I would love to go hiking, but I hurt my knee a few years ago, and I need to be careful." People limit themselves, their lives, because of the fear, the anticipation, of being injured. 

We are not supposed to live this way! We are supposed to be free! To live without reservations. Oh wait. Suddenly the power to be bulletproof leads to 3 powers: resiliency, no fear, and freedom. Whoa. That is a 3 for 1 special now. 

The point is, we are supposed to live. To really live. Not just take up space, not just long to be able to play like we used to, to feel like we used to, not just imagine having a good time or a good life. We are supposed to take, to grab, a good life - to walk it out. We are not supposed to be afraid, or imprisoned by our self imposed thoughts of pain. Your body was made to be resilient and strong! It is capable of so many wonderful things: Things that man envisions superheroes to be able to do. Those superhero thoughts come from us because deep down inside, there is a superhero that is craving to come out and live. 

I said that I have chosen to be bulletproof.  I have. There is a superhero in me, and I'm letting him out. You can do the same thing. You can live. Don't believe the lie of being normal and just merely existing. Be different. Choose your superhero power and then go take the life you are supposed to live. 

What power will you chose? Be strong. Be bulletproof. Be fast. Be elastic. Be powerful. Be witty. Be brave. Be. 

The Path Taken

This is my story. The events of this story are true. You may not agree with where I am coming from, but you cannot take away my experiences nor the path I am traveling on. Read this with an open mind and know. Also know that no superheroes were injured in the events of this story. They were, however, made.

In the last week I was introduced to two articles in the media about crawling. Perhaps these articles were seeking me, I don't know. One article was about a tribe that did not walk on two feet. Their entire lives were spent on all fours; they bear crawled everywhere they went. The other article was about a tribe where the children skipped crawling, they simply bypassed that developmental movement pattern. In this article, the writers were eluding to crawling not being necessary for "normal" child development. 

Both articles were interesting. And "scientist" can speculate and theorize all they want about these two outliers, but in the end, that is all they are: Outliers and distractions. Here is the deal: You were made to crawl. Crawling is a gift. It builds you. It builds your brain. It builds your body. It ties everything about you together. It helps develop you cognitively and emotionally. It helps to make you strong - in every sense of the word strong.

Here is what I know: About 3 1/2 years ago, God turned me on to crawling for making a resilient body. I wanted to be Superman... Anyway, Becoming Bulletproof was eventually born. Today, crawling is the rave! It is in every "movement" discipline; old ones and new ones. Everyone is talking about it. They talk about it, they theorize, they speculate. Some actually do it. Like I said, crawling is now everywhere. 

As I said above, crawling is a gift. You were made to crawl - so much so that it can actually restore your body's reflexive strength and mobility no matter what age you are, or stage in life that you are in. 

Last night as I was thinking about these two articles and all the discussion around them and crawling in general, I started thinking, "But, they don't know what I know." 

Now hold on, this gets deep. I've been crawling for a long time now. I know crawling. I can Spider-man crawl further than Spider-man, himself. Crawling is not some theory to me. It is FACT. It is - leads up to - strength. 

In my thoughts about crawling, last night, I decided I would prove what I know. I decided to Spider-man crawl, NOT BEAR CRAWL, one mile. One mile. I knew I could do this. 

(Here is where it gets deep, by the way.) I can crawl one mile - like Spider-man. But not by my own strength. I am smart enough to know that God gave me crawling, and through crawling, I have built a resilient and strong body. But I also know that God is my ultimate source of strength. To crawl one mile, I would need to rely on more than my own strength. I would need God. 

So, the decision was made to crawl one mile. I started thinking about how long it takes me to crawl one quarter of a mile (about 15 minutes) and doubt started to creep into my head, "Am I strong enough to do this?" The answer is no, not on my own. 

I opened up my bible to Isaiah 40: 31

"But those who wait on The Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up

with wings as eagles. They shall run and not grow weary. They shall walk and not 

faint."   

Then, on the next chapter, this caught my eye: Isaiah 41:10

"Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." 

Wow. I'm was going to crawl one mile. It is already done, I just had not done it yet. 

To really drive this home, when I woke this morning, my daily bible verse app said this:

"I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." Phillipians 4:13 

Do you think this was a coincidence? No. I don't. 

This morning, I crawled one mile, like Spider-man (butt down low, back level) in 49 minutes and 10 seconds. I never stopped. I never rested. My knee never touched the ground. The last 1/8 of a mile, I literally felt carried by the hand of God. I can do all things....

Why did I tell you all of this stuff about crawling and God? Because this is my story. To tell you less of the events would be to hide the truth. 

Also, there are two points to my story. One point is by far larger than the other - and you may not agree with it, and that is okay. God is the source of true strength. There was a lot more involved than just the strength my body trying to crawl for a mile. 

The lesser point is this: I know crawling. I understand it. I experience it, in some ways like no one else. I don't just think about it. Crawling makes you stronger. It makes you resilient. It sets your posture and your gait patterns. It coordinates your limbs, your brain, your everything. It can make you smarter. It teaches you: It can teach you so much about your body and what you are capable of doing. It can even help you become a superhero.

I crawled a mile today. Granted, it was not on my own strength. But, I am strong. I am tied together very well. Crawling was the gift, the tool, that tied me together. It is also the tool that has enabled me to move so well, so powerfully, so gracefully. I feel better at 38 years old than I did at 22 years old. I feel like Superman.

Regardless of whether or not you like my story. I know crawling. I know it can help you become the superhero you were meant to be. There is no debate. This is not theory.

If I did't lose you several paragraphs above, Thank you for reading.

  

A Drop in The Bucket

Have you ever heard the phrase, "It's just a drop in the bucket."? Where I am from, people use this phrase to indicate that something is small and seemingly insignificant. Like say you owe 1 million dollars to the bank. Giving the bank $10 towards that debt would just be a drop in the bucket. It might not seem like you were any closer to paying off your debt. Though, you would be.

Drops in the bucket, small as they seem, can eventually fill the bucket - no matter how large the bucket is. Every single itty-bitty drop adds up. One drop adds to another, to another and to another. The only thing that would keep the drops from adding up and filling the bucket would be to stop dropping, to stop making deposits. 

What in the blue blazes am I getting at? Two things: 

Don't underestimate the little things. 

Keep making deposits no matter how fruitless they may seem. 

For an example of this, let's look at rolling around on the floor, a reset from Original Strength and Becoming Bulletproof. Rolling seems "little" in the grand scheme of movements that you think you ought to do, or want to do. It seems insignificant. Especially if you have a huge goal or desire like being a great runner or even a strongman competitor.

Rolling, spending 2 minutes on the floor, every day is just a drop in the bucket for either of those goals. It doesn't even seem like it has anything to do with either of those goals. But, it does. Rolling can, and will, make you a better runner - a powerful runner. It helps build reflexive rotational strength - it is reflexive rotational strength. Rolling allows the body to withstand and take advantage of the forces that running generates. Rolling, which is so easy a baby could do it, allows the body to safely transfer forces of up to 10 times your body weight when you perform something like running sprints. Wow! Rolling, that simple drop in the bucket, allows the body to produce power and force - safely and efficiently. 

Same thing goes for a strongman competitor. Something as seemingly insignificant as rolling can tie the body together and allow a person to lift 3 to 4 times their bodyweight and carry it for 100 yards. Rolling lays the foundation for strength: One roll at a time. Done day in and day out, rolling can add power and strength to the "strongman" - safely.

Do you see what I mean? Something like rolling - something seemingly useless, insignificant, childish - if done regularly and consistently, can fill a bucket until it overflows. It is often the things that are small that make the biggest differences. Small movements, small gestures, small acts of kindness, small leaps of faith - they are small, but they fill buckets, they tip the scales, and they move mountains. 

The point of this is to stay the course. Whatever you are seeking, whatever you are training for, or living for; keep at it. Don't stop and don't dismiss the things that you think can never add up. Strength comes from the art, the discipline, of faithfully putting drops in the bucket.  Add little deposits of action, little drops of faith, every time you get the chance. Eventually you will fill up your bucket. Eventually you will be as strong and powerful as the waterfall that overflows from your bucket. 

I Went for a Crawl...

Today is my 38th birthday. In the last few years, I generally like to have a special "workout" to celebrate. Last night as I was trying to decide what I would do, the only thing I could come up with was crawling - the thing that makes me feel like a superhero. 

So today, I went for a crawl; through the neighborhood. For 40 minutes I crawled like Spider-man, only better because I doubt that he has ever crawled for 40 straight minutes. When you go for a crawl through the neighborhood you have plenty of time to think. You think about all kinds of things, too. For instance, why do people have no problem staring at you while you are crawling, but when you try to make eye contact with them, they seem fearful or act as if you are not really there? It's amazing how uncomfortable people can become when they encounter something they esteem as unusual. People that would normally smile and give a courtesy head nod, will not dare to make eye contact with you if you go for a crawl. 

Anyway, like I said, you have plenty of time to think and evaluate your life when you go for a crawl through your neighborhood. So today, I thought I would share some of my thoughts with you: 

I thought about how I've always wanted to be bulletproof, to be Superman. I've never outgrown that childhood dream. 

I thought about how I've even prayed to be Superman. Silly, I know. Or is it?

Today, while, and after I crawled, I realized I am never alone, or forsaken. 

I have a wife strong enough, patient enough, and loving enough to love me. Even though I do crazy things like crawl through the neighborhood. She doesn't understand it, but she accepts it. She has weathered the storm called "me" for twenty years. That is a blessing incapable of words.

I have two beautiful boys who also love me, AND think it somewhat normal that their dad can actually crawl for a mile. Can you imagine the conversations they might one day have at school? Can you imagine other little boys not ever even seeing their dad run, much less crawl?  

So In all my thinking this morning I realize this: I have everything I could ever want. My prayer has been answered. I am Superman. 

Don't freak out. I wear my underwear underneath my clothes, not on the outside. But, I can do, and be, whatever I want to do, and be. I am blessed. 

Here is my point: You can be Superman. You can be Wonder Woman, Wolverine, Batman, Spider-man, Cat Woman, Miss Marvel, Captain Marvel, Captain America. Whoever, whatever image you keep inside of you. It is there for a reason. Calling to come out. Nothing is impossible unless you concede that it is. You were made to be a superhero. That is a fact. Learn how to fly.

It's 9 am and my day is already fantastic. Have a great day!