What I learned from a 5 minute plank

A 5 minute plank can teach you more about yourself than a year in school. The secret is to be consistent , do it for at least 2 weeks. Let me tell about this experience.

A 5 minute plank can open a window into your mind, heart and body and how all those are interrelated. A plank is like a mirror that sits in your face and no matter what strategies you have to lie or deceive self this mirror only will show you the truth.

First what I learn about the mind. I got to noticed and face the endless ways I give up on myself, that I don't believe, that I say" I cant", the constant doubt. Like mindless snaking, giving up is like a mindless habit. You really start to realize how you get into your own way and how you cut your own leg. You also begin to understand all the ways you can also empty yourself and your mind of all that. Cultivating an empty mind that is just curious of what is happening, instead of judging what is happening.

Don't get me started on the emotional piece. When things start shaking and are unpleasant, oh boy I collapse, like a defense mechanism of playing dead. The plethora of emotions , using everything they got to avoid discomfort. I experience fear mostly as if a 5 minute plank is like a nuclear weapon against my humanity. I learn to smile and relax, to not look for any comfort in discomfort. The only certainty I have is that it will not last forever. You can teach your nervous system to meet stress in calm and peaceful ways, by teaching yourself to be peaceful and calm in a 5 minute plank. To do that you have to befriend all the ways that you are with discomfort. That is possible only though self awareness and unconditional kindness to self.

About the body learning. Now your posture and position are important ,however more important is what is in the inside. Where is the tension, how much you need to keep the posture and where do I relax, release. Breathing, softening, releasing, grounding, openings the energy channels in your wrist to let it more through you. The stories that I got about my arms as being weak, tight , unable come in and influence how I do or how I think is do this posture. When you begin to feel your body from the inside, instead of what you think your body is , you kind of get a feeling of peacefulness, the body is not freaked out, you are. The body is like a strong trunk, doing its thing as it always does when you are busy worrying about Everything.

Now, finally, you might asked yourself why did I do a 5 minutes plank? Well first the most obvious answer is that it was required in month 5 of my training. Why did I want to do it? You come to realize that all your life being weak really was a great defense mechanism. Being strong was dangerous and unsafe. Sometimes the greatest way to reclaim your power, to empower self, to find your strength, to trust yourself is though your physical body. The mind and the emotions will follow. The Latin used to say "men sana in corpore sano", a healthy mind in a healthy body.

I invite you to try something, anything that is hard for you, I will meet you on the other side.

Special acknowledgement: Thank you G.P. for the T shirt featured in this picture. I will never dare to claim that , however I honor your thoughtfulness.