An introduction.

I have always been very mind-oriented – reading, studying, meditating. But as I reach the middle years of my life, I realize that the barriers I have with relating to my body are purely mental, and to combat that I have tried many systems of body-consciousness, but nothing stuck. It all seemed so gentle, and as people who know me can attest, I am hard-core in everything I apply myself to. I wanted to see and feel like I had done something, just to get past the entry barrier and create a regular commitment to my physical well-being.

Then my husband, who was a competitive power lifter in decades past, introduced me to strength training. It empowers me to continue, and I can definitely feel progress. It reminds me of the energetic fun I felt when I worked as a cargo handler at the airport, only I don’t have to do it in the snow. Win-win.

My objectives revolve around consistent practice and not the amount I lift, just like in my meditative practice. Also, I’m not accustomed to keeping logs, so that’s a skill I need to develop as well. I’m fortunate to have met fellow travelers of the Path who share my passions for breaking through barriers and for the geekery that entertains my off time. I’m three generations deep in sci-fi fandom so that part is important. We can’t be all about work and no play, you know.

– Emily Breder “@ohiobuddhist”

*****

I have always been a bit uncomfortable with labels and still am to this day. I hesitate to call myself anything. Even my own Twitter
handle, @blakethegeek, leaves me a bit uncomfortable because there I am, calling myself a “geek.” So it’s no surprise that I hesitate to
call myself a Buddhist, a weight trainer, or a fan boy. But here is what what holds my interest and time when I’m not working.

– I study Zen with the Kansas Zen Center in Lawrence, KS.
– I push around heavy objects at a local gym.
– I am a sucker for anything comic book or sci-fi related.
– I have started a hobby farm with my wife.

Oddly enough, I see the connection that each of these things have and it is my goal to help everyone else see this connection as well. This
is why I’m on Iron Lotus.

– Blake Wilson “@blakethegeek”

*****

Anyone that I interact with in person or online probably knows I’m a Buddhist. They also probably know I am involved in strength training. Along with these, they know I’m a big geek. I have also kept a training log for a while. This has mainly been for myself, to keep track of what I’ve done, my own successes as well as failures, and making it public has been good motivation as well. In strength training as is in meditation, consistency is extremely important.

Over the years I’ve been lucky to meet a lot of people online that I now consider friends. Some I’ve met in person, some not yet, but many are considered good friends. A few of us started to notice the similarities in interests; Buddhism, meditation, strength training, and well, we’re all kind of geeks in our own way. From this we began talking about starting a site together, somewhere for our training logs to combine, for us to share parts of our practice, for us to post about geeky things that interest us. From this, Iron Lotus was born.

– Kris Freedain “@mindonly”

Welcome to Iron Lotus.