The Challenge
Joe must master the splits in the same time or less than Jeremy Piven did, nine months. Start date is January 1, 2011. This challenge is made between myself, my friend and Yoga instructor Kris, Ninie Ahmad (via twitter) and Jeremy Piven (via Ninie). As most of my friends know, I love a challenge and love anything that requires me to go after something that some or most say is impossible. Today I posted a comment on my facebook wall and tweeted that I was headed to Yoga and I would master the splits by September 1st. You know, just putting my goal out into the world view for more accountability. The responses were just as I imagined, some support, some haters, some “holy shit, you’re out of your mind.” My favorite though is the comment from a friend (a non-supportive friend apparently), who told me that she had attended over 550 yoga classes over the past two years and is not even close to mastering the splits. My first thought was the same that I always have when criticism is thrown at me, “just wait and see how I accomplish this.” I have 243 days as of the writing of this post to accomplish this challenge. Just wait and see how I do this!
Image by: Men’s Fitness Magazine
How It Was Sparked
It started while I was watching past episodes of the HBO Series Entourage with my sister and her roommate; this has become our tradition when I am in town. We don’t usually start until nearly 10 PM, but we watch half of a season in a night and work our way through the six different seasons that are on DVD currently.
In one episode Ari Gold, the most hilarious TV character ever created (played by Jeremy Piven) is in his office working out (doing some Yoga) and his assistant comes in to speak with him. While holding a side plank pose (the full version with the half-splits), Vasisthasana as shown in the image below; and at the same time he was screaming at his assistant as Ari does. My sister turned to me and said, “that’s a pretty tough pose isn’t it?” I replied to her, “Yes it is, especially while yelling at the same time.” That got me thinking, so I googled “Jeremy Piven Yoga” to find that a blog post written by an amazing Yoga instructor, Ninie Ahmad, that I already followed via twitter. Apparently she was fascinated with his Yogi lifestyle as well.
Her blog post mentions Jeremy’s introduction to Yoga and then in an article in Men’s Fitness, he gives credit to Yoga for creating the calmness that allows him to play the high-strung character of Ari. He also mentions that he mastered the splits in nine months. This fascinated me because I am naturally not very flexible, or at least I haven’t been for the past 29 years of my life. I mean, I couldn’t even sit indian-style as a kid, how pathetic is that? I couldn’t sit indian-style even to meditate until about two years ago when I first started doing Yoga recreationally.
The Process
I am calling in all resources I have to make this happen and using every trick I can find. In order to short cut the process and speed the results up, it is imperative that I find people who have done it and find out what they did. I must allow my mind to be opened to this weird concept of me in the splits position. What will it feel like when I master this? Not just the physical feeling of being in the splits, but also the emotional feeling of accomplishment? What thoughts will I have in that moment? What sounds will I hear? Where will I be?
For most people these questions seem like nothing more than distant goals, but the human mind cannot detect the difference between something that is vividly imagined and something that is physically done. As we all know, everything starts in the mind; my first step in this process is getting my mind right, wrapping my head around this concept and believing it is already here. Belief is the most powerful force we have to work with. When we believe without a shadow of a doubt, the universe works to create the exact life scenario that we are playing in our mind. Meditation everyday will be a major factor in fulfilling this task. Removing all mental limitations will result in the removal all physical limitations. A flexible mind creates a flexible body!
Next will be my actual Yoga practice and training with my Yogi. Every single day, I will practice yoga with intense focus upon my hips, groin, hamstrings, quads and core. Of course, I will work on all other areas of my body as well (and post pics so you can see some of the crazy inversions), but these main body parts will be a part of my practice daily, maybe even twice daily. Another suggestion that I was given and I hate the idea is to do Hot Yoga or Bikram. I am not a fan of heated rooms during Yoga or at all for that matter, I am hot enough all the time as it is, but the science behind it is too simple. The heated room will help loosen my muscles, allow me to slip deeper into poses and really gain the flexibility to master this challenge. In combination, the release of toxins through my sweat will help me remain alkaline and allow better assimilation of nutrients to heal and strengthen my muscles further and faster.
Drinking a ton of water, removing toxic foods and anything acidic will keep my body alkaline as well. The nutrients from whole foods (not the store, actual whole foods), mainly plant-based, will offer the highest electric charge to power my body. Water and foods with high water content will be essential to my success. Because our muscles are made up of nearly 75% water, the more hydration that I can keep in them will result in faster recovery, more strength gain and increased elasticity.
Lastly, fun must be part of the equation or I can’t do it. I am all about enjoying yourself and doing things that empower and enrich your life, so this must be a fun process even though it will be a literal challenge. Nothing is worth doing if it doesn’t bring you joy and love. I am going to post my progress for you to read and follow along as I make this journey from not being able to sit indian-style to actually sitting in full-lotus, Padmasana (another mission of mine, see the pic below) and then accomplishing the full splits, Samakonasana (illustrated in the pic of Jeremy Piven).
Stayed tuned for my journey!
