It was a few minutes to eleven AM. I was in my apartment. A false one-bedroom apartment. An apartment with the kitchen, the bathroom and the bedroom all in view from any part of the living area. I lay on the carpet with my upper body hoisted by two couch pillows. It was bright outside but thick veils covered the windows. The room was lit by a candle that burnt from the top of a tea leaves tin, placed on the floor. In front of me was a fourteen-inch laptop screen placed on the arm of a couch. A pair of speakers was corded to the laptop playing the life of Mahatma Gandhi on youtube. The sound was ambient and felt natural.
Two books lay open on my left near my legs. One on the bare floor, one on the carpet. A rusty five-shilling coin with the head of the first president of Kenya rested between the books on the carpet. Near the base of the couch which the laptop rested. A white high cup of tea was on the floor near the edge of the carpet. A small green bowel containing green forest peanuts was near the cup.
The tea leaves in, the white cup of tea and the green bowel stood triangular like the holy trinity. The tea leaves were the soul inside the tin- the heart. The candle flame illuminated the base of the couch exposing the dusty under. It was the spirit. It was the light.
The carpet was black with white and grey patterns of the lotus flower. I bought it two years before from a used goods store. On the right of the laptop at the base of the couch was a black backpack with strong silver zips and minimal red writings. And I lay there in grey sweatpants and a white sporty vest. Watching and keenly listening to the voice of an eloquent English lady who was was the narrator. It was a DW documentary called 'dying for freedom.'
You see at some point in the history of India, there was some kind of war between the Hindu Indians and the Muslim Indians. The Muslims were butchering the Hindus and the Hindus were massacring Muslims. These incidents made Mahatma sick and he started fasting in an effort t to end the war. Long before, the Indians approach to tolerance was found to be nothing but an excuse against physical strength and violence. That is why the Hindu men began to reclaim their strength by boosting their morale and physical strength. Across many Hindu villages in the north, they would convene in the mornings and evenings for ideological training and physical exercises. Hinduism began to transform into some violence. It was at the point where Mahatma was in Calcutta fasting while the violence went on that I stopped watching for no reason.
My smartphone was on the carpet somewhere near the books. I felt the urge to check up on something on google. Something about Mahatma. I knew this was not right. It was not right for me to keep my phone near me especially when I had books and a pen around me as well. Even watching documentaries had not been my thing for so long. I can't even recall what influenced my decision to watch a documentary over reading a book. It was just the bossy vibe in me. Yes, I liked being a boss in the morning by setting the time to wake up and having a restful night sleep. By writing a to-do list for the day, by deciding how and what to spend my time on in the morning. I liked to prioritise work before noon. Self-help coaches and gurus on the internet may call it something like ' be in charge of your life by bossing your morning.' But there I was, treating myself to a cinematic experience and enjoying English tea, smoking and regulating with peanuts. What a lazy way to live, especially for a writer!
I will save you my fantastic stories. Instead, let me tell you something I did on the phone. After pausing the documentary and picking up my phone, I found myself admiring the photos and videos of a local martial arts gym. The gym itself looked good. The floor was nicely carpeted with what looked like blue square mats having worked out edges gripped into each other, forming the exercising area, one big blue carpet. The name of the gym was Warrior Martial Arts Kenya. After scrolling on their Facebook feed, I got interested in some 5-minute bodyweight home workout video.
It was like something in me connected back to the idea that a lot of Hindus lacked physical strength. Well, at least back in the 1940s as per the documentary. Back when India was in the struggle for independence. Back when the nation was politically torn between the Muslims and the Hindus. Yes, it was Hindu inferiority that easily enabled the English and the moguls to conquer the Indians. But as you might have noticed, the Hindu Indians had just started getting stronger mentally and physically before I stopped watching the documentary. They were doing this to be able to fight the Muslims. And my sincere good luck wishes to them. I know they eventually got stronger. And I don't think I will be watching the documentary again today.
So here is the catch... A lot of human sickness and weakness stems from the core area. Yes around the belly. That is why it is best for us to regularly exercise the core. To make sure we get flexible and have minimum fat in that area.
There are several ways we can train the core. Some serious gym-goers, don't even need to do such exercises if they have already mastered things like the squat, things like the deadlift and the bench press. You would ask why and I would tell you that the three exercises which I just listed are naturally going to work the core and are best for people struggling with excess body fat and weight.
Nonetheless, there are these five exercises that I performed after watching the warrior martial arts video. The exercise was strictly targeting the core and I felt great afterwards. It was involving five exercises namely;
hip raises
half-squat burpees.
swingers
plank to push up and toe grab.
sit-ups.
I promise you that this exercise is great for beginners or people who are not frequently exercising. The best thing about it is that it requires only five minutes of your time. It will leave your core burning and your body sweating. Sweating is the simplest way and the best way to pay rent of the temple that is your body.
Now I guess I shall go finish the documentary. My word to you, exercise is the natural drug to all human illnesses. It is the marriage between the mental and the physical. Getting physically strong is a sure way to reject all human weaknesses. In these sick, modern times, getting physically strong is the best option to living a truly happy life. Feel free to watch and work along with the video. Peace and love to everyone.