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« A Mystic Knight is a person engaged in a battle
within. The outcome of the inner battle is always the bettering
of oneself. One day, a group of Mystic Knights will believe in
the necessity of fighting. This day will be the beginning of the
end of the Mystic Knighthood. Until then, learn well how to
fight, well enough to know how to turn away from a fight. »
- François Lépine
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents .................................................................................... 5
The Mystic Knight................................................................................... 7
The Mystic Knighthood.......................................................................... 9
… of the Crowned Heart ................................................................. 10
The Mystic Knighthood Code ............................................................. 15
The Training ........................................................................................... 22
Nutrition.................................................................................................. 86
Kitchen Logistics............................................................................. 107
Recipes .............................................................................................. 117
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The Mind of a Knight ......................................................................... 147
Mental Training ............................................................................... 151
Recognizing the truth ..................................................................... 154
Observing the volcano ................................................................... 158
Resolving a problem ....................................................................... 161
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good nutrition and physical training. You have to practice your
mind to function correctly. While a religious activity is not required,
you must also develop your inner self, spiritually. It is
recommended to practice a martial art of your choice, combining
both mental and physical training at once.
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The Mystic Knighthood
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The Mystic Knighthood of the Crowned Heart is a group of people
who gathered to give encouragement and guidance to those
engaged on the path of the Mystic Knight. While some level of
training is suggested, a Mystic Knight should keep on caring about
his own training, in the specific fields of his choice. While martial
arts are encouraged, the exact art belongs to the choice of the
Knight. While spiritual development is required, the faith and
beliefs of the Knight belong to him only. No indications will be
made to point in any direction. The Knight must choose his own
path.
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Our multi-cultural approach respects each member’s traditions,
occidental and oriental, in their cultural, religious and spiritual
beliefs. None of the Knights will judge other beliefs that are not
their own. We also encourage the open-minded approach to try to
understand the basis of all spiritual beliefs, and various martial arts.
Training
Studies
Integrity
Self-development
Helping others
Role-playing
Fantasy
Power-trips
Comparison
Judgment
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Joining the Mystic Knighthood does not imply anything else than
the sharing of your experience with others. Those who wish to tie
strong bonds are allowed, while those who wish to keep the whole
of their autonomy are greeted with gladness. You may get more
information on the website: http://www.MysticKnight.org .
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The Mystic Knighthood Code
Humility
in service to Strength
in service to Justice
in service to Compassion
These are the principles upon which our code is built. For those
who join the Mystic Knighthood, all Novice Members should study
the Code while all Knights are expected to act according to the
Code.
Humility
Without Humility, we will restrict our growth in strength.
Regardless of whatever level of strength we believe we may have
achieved, we will not recognize it in any form when one is lacking
Humility. Humility teaches us that no matter how great the man (or
woman) they are still just one person. They still rely on others in
some degree. No matter how wonderful a person is, no matter how
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powerful, they are no greater than any other of our brothers and
sisters. When one cultivates the virtue of Humility, they can come
to understand their own strengths and weaknesses. This will allow
them to have a better understanding of the roles they can play in
the Knighthood, but mostly throughout their daily lives. When one
is ignorant of their own weaknesses they are robbing themselves of
strength by making their weakness even more vulnerable. Through
understanding Humility, one can come to understand and gain
access to the true reservoirs of strength that can be made available
to them.
Strength
Strength follows, being nurtured by Humility. Strength is the
foundation of power. It allows one to act. When one lacks strength
of character, of body, or heart, all of their works will be weak.
When one is strong, everything of their creation, every word and
deed will emanate with power. They will have stability and focus.
Strength is the tool of Justice. When one acts in service to justice
without strength, their action will be weak, and unable to succeed,
often causing more harm than good. When you choose to walk the
path of Justice, you must cultivate Strength. Each day add to it, little
by little. Should you be called upon to serve Justice, you must not
waver, and need to be able to act on the spot. Justice served weakly
is a disservice to not only yourself, but the community at large.
Strength can be manifested in the power of your speech, by the
cunning of your mind, in the overcoming of your fears, in the tone
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of your muscle. Strength is the virtue that allows one to act.
Strength allows free-will.
Justice
Justice rules the heart of a Knight. Born of Strength, you are in
service to something greater than yourself. You seek to better the
community, even the world, with the power of your actions. Not
everyone is strong. To serve Justice, one needs to understand this.
You seek to bring calm to the situation, not chaos. By speaking out
against tyranny, by alerting authorities of wrong doing, you are
serving Justice. Justice serves Compassion. The Code revolves
around this fact. You must be able to look through the eyes of
others. If you would not like to endure what others are being forced
to, you should take appropriate action to help alleviate the situation.
Above all, you need to use your common sense. If you act too
boldly to serve Justice, your efforts can be twisted to further enslave
and defeat the innocent. Actions should only be as bold as you are
strong. Know your weakness. Justice towards one-self is free-will.
Towards others, it is respecting their choices, even if you don't
agree.
Compassion
Justice is driven by Compassion. Compassion is a loving
understanding of the human experience. It shows the lessons
hidden behind what seems to be pain. Compassion sheds light on
anger and fear. Without understanding Compassion, the other
virtues fall apart. Without Compassion, one will misinterpret Justice
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and blind his own heart. One needs to understand the point of view
of all involved, and act accordingly. This is the Compassion that
fuels the fires of our Knighthood. Things are often not as cut and
dry as they may appear at first. It takes a constant development of
Compassion, with unconditional love, to see without bias. Through
the development of Compassion, we understand how to serve
Justice, and how to apply our Strength. Compassion, as great and
powerful as it is, serves Humility, and we come full circle. One will
never have a complete understanding of every situation. You will
never be done learning about Compassion. You’re understanding
won’t ever be complete. This returns us to Humility. We need to be
patient and kind with ourselves, Compassionate, and understand
that we still have more to learn. We still have more to do. The path
of those who wish to become Knights can be difficult at times, for
we are never done. We must constantly polish our character, build
our Strength, serve Justice, develop Compassion, and have enough
Humility to accept that we alone cannot save the world, that we too
have our own flaws and weaknesses.
These are the virtues our Code is based around. There are still more
qualities for us to develop to reach a better understanding of these.
Each virtue that you develop will bring more power into your life.
Each virtue can be developed infinitely. We ask that you work
towards the development of each of these over time.
The most powerful and direct links to power are the development
of virtues. Your energy bodies continuously manifest according to
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the type of person you are. When you develop virtues, your energy
system is more powerful than if you were continuously doing rituals
and spiritual practices. With virtues developed, it is like if you were
in a continuous state of ritual, of meditation, of contemplation of
the beauty of the world. With virtues, you are always in a state of
power towards the universe, and the universe obeys to those who
have developed the means to command it.
Temperance
Do not give in to anger. Do not give in to judgment. Be
compassionate. Endure the pressure when it can help others
discover Love. Smile and be happy about what life has given you.
Accept your role in the universe, and work to discover it. Do not be
susceptible. Do not take anything personally. Be careful of your
words when you answer back to some offense. When people offend
you, tell them you are sorry if you have offended them.
Justice
Integrity, honesty, truth. Act in ways you know are right. Do your
best to respect the human laws of your country. Over that, do what
you think is best according to the laws of the universe. It can take
some time to understand the laws of the universe, but deep within,
all of us know what is right or wrong. Do not make decisions that
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would lead you to abuse. Do not be abused by anyone. Accept to
earn less when it is right to do so, and defend your right to profit
when it is right to do so.
Strength
Move! Do not stop unless it is necessary. Determine yourself to
peaceful actions. Make a plan and deploy the necessary energy to
accomplish it. Do some physical exercises to enhance your physical
strength. Then, transpose the feeling of strength to a higher level,
with analogy as a tool. This will help you understand the mystic
symbolism of inner strength, of self-empowerment.
Faith
The universe, the great Love of the universe, will take care of you.
Know that you are in a classroom, in an experience to learn to
master yourself. Realize all of your projects with the assistance of
God. Take care of the matters of God, and God will take care of
your human matters. God is without shape, without name, without
any definite identity. He is the absolute truth of the universe, and he
loves you. You are never alone. Thus, all will be fine.
Charity
Give to others without any return. Do not expect recognition or
payback. Give without any expectation. Do not ruin yourself. Do
not give your physical means of subsistence; it would not be
prudent. Give your time, give compassion, take care of others, and
take care of yourself in the process. Give love only to give love.
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Give yourself the opportunity to love others more than you have
done yesterday. Take care of your heart in the process, and do not
play the “savior” game.
Prudence
Think about it before you move. Develop trust, and develop a sense
of responsibility. Make sure of what you are doing. Be careful with
any detail. Do not think that nothing will go wrong, take care of it
personally. Study, set everything in place, and counter verify. Then
act. Do not stop because of fear; hesitation is not prudence.
Hope
A higher version of having a positive attitude, hope is a more
tangible expression of faith and self-trust. It is a determination to
never give in to negativity, never to play the victim of the events
that compose your life. Smile, trust yourself, be positive, and know
that all will be fine. It is easy to keep this attitude alive when you
know, deep inside, that every event that seems negative is only a
lesson to go thru, an experience of knowledge sent by your higher
consciousness.
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The Training
Body
The body of a Mystic Knight is his temple, his home. It must be
cared for with nutritious foods and exercises to keep it healthy. In
this section, we will present guidelines to good nutrition and basic
bodybuilding exercises.
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Mind
It is suggested to practice your cunning either by studying various
subjects, or by playing mind games. The more you study, the more
you will become knowledgeable in many fields, either in wisdom or
technical application.
Spirit
Spiritual self-development is the key to becoming a Mystic Knight.
In time, it will help you develop extra-sensory perception, but first,
it will set the grounds for spiritual improvement. Developing your
spirituality will bring concentration.
Martial Arts
The practice of martial arts is the ultimate tool to assist in the
integration of all other aspects of becoming a Mystic Knight. It will
work on your body, mind and spirit. Any kind of martial art can be
practiced. It is recommended you find a school near you.
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The Body of a Knight
A Knight must care for his body, by training physically and having
healthy nutrition habits. In the following pages, we provide basic
fitness concepts to make the body stronger and more endurant, as
well as a guide to help you understand the base of having a good
nutrition.
WHY WE DO IT
Running, pushing, jumping, swimming, hiding, climbing, pulling…
There was a time when those tasks were necessary for survival.
Nowadays, they are not as much. In fact, many people find those
activities to be a pain rather than a blessing. And yet…
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Similarly, the body will also adapt to the lack of stimulus. A fit
human body which ceases to be stimulated for this goal will “re-
train” itself to adapt to this new stimulus, or lack thereof. The body
will not hold on to metabolically costly muscle if there is no need to
keep them. Muscular atrophy inevitably results. It will not burn fuel
just for the sake of burning fuel if it doesn’t need to. It will then
store whatever fuel it doesn’t need in the form of body fat. The
heart will not remain strong if it never has to pump harder to
supply the moving body with fresh, oxygen and nutrient rich blood.
And so on and so forth.
Of course there is a limit to the intensity, and duration, that you can
apply a stimulus on the body, but the result will always be the same:
the body will adapt. One thing you need to realize is that YOU
decide what kind of stimulus you subject yourself to. Everyone has
pretty much total control over what they decide to read, eat, talk to,
think about, etc. No outcome should come as a surprise. It’s not
just a matter of looking good. It is a matter of taking care of the
very essence that allows you to live your human life.
The feeling of your running shoes molding your feet, air rushing
into your lungs, oxygen being delivered to your brain and hard
working muscles. Sweat that starts pearling on your skin to cool it
off while you pick up the pace. Your heart rhythmically pumping
oxygen-rich blood throughout your body. You feel alive.
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Everything will seem easier as you progress. Flights of stairs won’t
be as much of a pain. Moving furniture could become fun. Getting
out of bed won’t be an hour-long process anymore. Playing with
the kids outside won’t be a chore anymore, but a great quality-time
opportunity. In short: the few exercise sessions during which you
will temporarily step out of your comfort zone will enhance and
better everything else in your life, 24/7.
Just like many other things in life, the body only gets better if it has
a reason to. By being constantly pushed a little further than it is
used to, and given the time to recuperate from the effort, it will
adapt so that the task can be done more easily next time. But next
time, you outsmart it: you push it a little further again. And so on.
What the body needs is to be "kept on its toes" and the best way to
do that is not only to modify duration and intensity, but also the
nature of the stimulus itself. You like jogging? Try swimming! You
like rollerblading? Go for a jog! You usually ride a bike on a track?
Get out in a hilly-mountainous area and enjoy a great hiking
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session! Any variation will call upon new muscles or make them
work differently. Changes add up to continued results.
GENERAL STARTUP
CAUTION: Although exercising is a natural and safe activity for
most, we strongly advise you to consult with a physician before
starting any exercise program. If you have never done it before,
beginning an exercise program can be a daunting endeavor. Where
do I start? What do I wear? What do I do, and for how long? How
often?
Here are three basic rules that apply to most people who want to
undertake a physical conditioning program :
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new principle, a new way of doing things. I’ll reveal to you an
important secret that is in fact not a secret at all: Everything that
“works” has already been discovered. We are not saying that
exercise science is not evolving (quite the contrary!), but the basics
of getting and keeping fit are very, very old news. There is no
revolution. No need for the latest ‘Ab-Whatever 2000’, the super
program used by the hottest new Hollywood superstar or the
revolutionary meal replacement that is supposed to turn you into a
Venus or an Adonis. They’re not necessarily bad (although some are
definitely useless), but no matter how revolutionary, scientifically
proven or hip a new gimmick/activity/system seems, it is most
likely wrapped in a nice package to get people to buy, but do little
else than imitate something that you can readily do at no or little
cost: move (or eat healthy if that’s the case). One of the reasons
there is so much confusion out there is this: it is human nature to
look for quick fixes. People seek a “lazier” solution to their physical
conditioning needs.
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CARDIOVASCULAR TRAINING
Cardiovascular training is rather well tolerated by the body.
Recovery from a cardio workout is achieved faster than a strength
training workout, even if you will likely feel more tired afterwards.
Cardio work doesn’t usually damage your muscles nor does it put a
strain on your nervous system as much as strength training does.
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sleeping (which is about as low intensity as you can go) almost
100% of the energy your body uses to keep you alive comes from
fat. The problem is not in the ratio of fat vs other fuel sources but
in the absolute amount of energy used. Low intensity work is so
“easy” to do that it doesn’t require a great deal of energy to be
carried on. So in terms of health or aesthetics benefits, very low
intensity work is not very productive.
Most experts in the know will tell you that cardio work is over rated
when it comes to losing fat and that the most efficient way to do so
is to practice kitchen control (meaning that what you eat pretty
much overrides any kind of training you happen to do). The fat
burning zone is found at about 60-70% of your maximum heart
rate.
First, we need to determine what your heart rate is when you get to
70, 80 or 90% of your max. Experts have theorized that the
maximum heart rate in humans is 220 bpm (beats per minute)
minus the individual’s age. So, for instance, if you are 30 years old,
your theoretical max would be 190 (220 minus 30). Now, 70% of
your max would be 133.
220 – AGE
220 – 30 = 190
MAX HR X %
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190 X 70 % = 133
So, 133 beats per minute is the “goal” you should aim for when
training at 70% of your maximum heart rate. (Again, this example
has been calculated using a 30 years old individual. Please make the
necessary adjustments using your own age.)
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Much like resistance training, there are different intensities of
cardios that you can use depending on your goal. If you wish to
improve your cardio vascular power, (more intense performance
done for shorter periods of time), then a more intense workout is
recommended. If you want to develop your endurance (be able to
sustain a low level effort for longer periods) then a lower intensity
protocol should be used.
The reasoning that one has to go slow to burn fat stems from the
fact that lower intensity burns fat as fuel. This logic is at least
partially faulty when it comes to real world results in that low
intensity activities don’t require a lot of fuel. In other words, yes
you will burn fat if you ride a bike at low intensity for an hour, but
your total energy expenditure will be relatively small.
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On the other hand, high intensity cardio, while it burns a lot of
glucose, also happens to use a lot of fuel, even if you cannot sustain
it for as long. Plus, your metabolic rate (the speed at which your
body burns fuel at rest, to keep you alive) will remain elevated for a
few hours after you’re done with your workout.
Now, before any of you start doing bouts of very intense running
like crazy, fat burning has less to do with exercise than diet. You
can really sabotage a lot of physical work hoping to shed unhealthy
weight only because your diet is not in order. Please refer to the
chapter on nutrition for nutritional guidelines. Those guidelines will
go a very long way to manage your weight (whether you need to
lose or gain) and will put you way ahead of the average crowd when
it comes to healthy eating in general.
That said, with consistency and effort, you will become quite strong
and endurant by improving both and, ultimately, this is the most
desirable place to be.
INTERVAL TRAINING
Interval training is a great way to spice up your cardiovascular
workouts. Its intensity can be adjusted very easily to adapt to
anybody’s current level of general conditioning. Simply put, interval
training is composed of bouts of low intensity cardio alternating
with bouts of higher intensity. It could look something like this
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Looks easy on paper, but if you take it for a test drive, you will
notice that you will be jogging for a bit more than 13 minutes
(13:45), and you will be full throttle for over a minute (75 seconds).
Now, 75 seconds doesn’t sound like a long time, but when you’re
running as hard as you can, 75 seconds is an eternity. No human
being could sustain maximal intensity for 75 seconds straight BUT,
with this protocol, you will be able to cumulate it.
By pushing your body into this zone, you will gradually increase it’s
cardiovascular power, raising the bar bit by bit.
There are many ways to do interval training, too. Here are four:
Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4
Walk Jog Walk Walk
Jog Run Jog Run
Run
There are also different ways to increase intensity. For example, for
Option 3, you can decide to keep jogging time at 45 seconds and
increase only running time.
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Jog 45 seconds 45 seconds 45 seconds
Run 5 seconds 7 seconds 10 seconds
… and so on.
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Alternately, you can increase both:
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Jog 45 seconds 50 seconds 55 seconds
Run 5 seconds 7 seconds 10 seconds
Note: the more intense the interval, the smaller you should try to
increase its duration. I suggest increasing jogging time by 5 second
increments and running times by 1 second increments, especially if
you decide to reduce your lower intensity interval and increase the
higher intensity one.
RESISTANCE TRAINING
Resistance training is a little bit more complex than cardiovascular
training in the sense that there are many more variables to play with.
Of course, what is outlined here are the very bases.
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bodybuilding. Competitive bodybuilders need to combine the
highest amount of muscle mass along with the lowest amount of
body fat, resulting in the striated and vascular look that you see
when a bodybuilder steps on stage.
So, in short: you don’t need to even begin to worry about becoming
“too” this or “too” that. It just doesn’t happen this way, no more
than taking up jogging will turn you into a scrawny marathon
runner with boundless endurance overnight.
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hope to perform as well as an Olympic weightlifter and, at the same
time, perform well in a marathon. Balance is everything.
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EXERCISE SELECTION
There are literally dozens (hundreds in some cases) of movements
for each muscle group, to strengthen the muscles in your body.
Entire books have been written on this subject alone. We are going
to suggest a few exercises here for the main muscle groups, but this
is by no means a complete list.
How much work you can recover from until your next
workout?
For the sake of simplicity, and given our purpose, we’ll go along
with those very general rules:
What’s the best way to organize our workouts in such a way that we
can improve both strength and endurance, and that would provide
us with as many benefits as possible? For our purpose, there is no
best way. Here are a couple of examples:
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EXAMPLE 1:
Alternating resistance workout every other day with cardio
workouts
EXAMPLE 2:
Doing one short resistance workout and one short cardio workout,
daily.
EXAMPLE 3:
Doing a resistance workout immediately followed by a cardio
workout, every other day.
EXAMPLE 4:
Resistance training in the morning, cardio at night, every other day
A rule of thumb is to work the bigger muscle groups first and the
smaller ones last, and to use the bigger compound exercises first
and the smaller, isolation ones, last. So back, legs and chest would
come before arms and shoulders in the workout, and bigger
exercises such as squats for the legs would come before sissy squats
and leg curls. There exists advanced techniques which involve the
exact opposite (pre-fatigue, staggered sets, etc.) but we will not get
into those. As mentioned, while the subject of getting fit is very
vast, the guidelines below are basic, albeit sufficient for general
conditioning.
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We will work the whole body during our resistance training
sessions. Just for the record, it is possible to organize the workouts
so that the body is ‘split’ into individual body parts, or groups of
body parts, each having their own specific ‘day’ (Ex.: Chest and
Back on Monday, Shoulders and Legs on Tuesday, etc.). All this is a
little more advanced and numerous books and articles have been
written on this subject, so we will not expand on it. For a very
complete, well written and easy to understand reference on this
subject, we suggest Christian Thoibaudeau’s The Black Book of
Training Secrets. If you wish to further your knowledge in
performance training, we highly recommend Theory and Application of
Modern Strength and Power Methods, by the same author. Both books
are available at MuscleDriveThru.com as well as in any good
bookstore.
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Muscle Group Compound Isolation
(multi-joint) (single-joint)
movement movement)
Legs Front squat Sissy Squat
(quadriceps Lunges
dominant)
Legs Stiff-legged Leg curl
(hamstrings deadlift
dominant) Hip raises
Back Pullups Pullover
Bent-over rowing
Chest Flat pushup Flyes
Declined pushups
Shoulders Military press Lateral Raises
Upright Rowing
Biceps Barbell curl Concentration curl
Hammer curl
Triceps Close-grip Kickback
pushups
Bench dips
Abdominals Jack knives Reverse ½ crunch
Twisted crunch
Since you will work the whole body during your session, limit the
number of sets to 20-25 to avoid overtraining.
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TRAINING VARIABLES
As mentioned earlier, your body will adapt to any stimulus you
subject it to. Keeping this in mind, you will quickly find out that
eventually you will need to change your training program around a
bit in order to keep improving and to keep things interesting. There
are many variables that can be modified. The following chart shows
the most common ones:
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Add to this exercise selection and cardio workouts, and you can
vary almost indefinitely your exercise sessions. As previously
mentioned, the idea is to work in the whole spectrum of stimulus:
from strength to endurance, from cardiovascular power to
cardiovascular endurance. As a rule of thumb, try to focus on one
goal at a time, and change every 4 to 6 weeks. For example, you
could increase your strength for 4 weeks, then work on building
your muscle mass for 4 weeks, and then increase your endurance
for 4 more weeks, and start over. The idea is to keep changing
things around, but still giving the body enough time to adapt to the
new stimulus. Below are sample workouts for each goal: Strength,
muscle building and endurance. All three workouts use the same
exercises, only the above training variables vary:
Strength*
Muscle Exercise Sets Reps Speed of reps Rest
group
Legs Lunges 4 6 Down: 4-5 secs 2-3
(quadriceps Up: Explode minutes
dominant)
Legs Hip raises 4 6 Down: 4-5 secs 2-3
(hamstrings Up: Explode minutes
dominant)
Back Pullups 4 6 Down: 4-5 secs 2-3
Up: Explode minutes
Chest Flat pushup 4 6 Down: 4-5 secs 2-3
Up: Explode minutes
Shoulders Upright 4 6 Down: 4-5 secs 2-3
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Rowing Up: Explode minutes
Biceps Barbell curl 4 6 Down: 4-5 secs 2-3
Up: Explode minutes
Triceps Close-grip 4 6 Down: 4-5 secs 2-3
pushups Up: Explode minutes
* You may have to split your body in 2 days, since the total number
of sets will be rather high.
Muscle building
Muscle Exercise Sets Reps Speed of reps Rest
group
Legs Lunges 3 10 Down: 2-3 secs 1 minute
(quadriceps Up: 1 sec
dominant)
Legs Hip raises 3 10 Down: 2-3 secs 1 minute
(hamstrings Up: 1 sec
dominant)
Back Pullups 3 10 Down: 2-3 secs 1 minute
Up: 1 sec
Chest Flat 3 10 Down: 2-3 secs 1 minute
pushup Up: 1 sec
Shoulders Upright 3 10 Down: 2-3 secs 1 minute
Rowing Up: 1 sec
Biceps Barbell curl 3 10 Down: 2-3 secs 1 minute
Up: 1 sec
Triceps Close-grip 3 10 Down: 2-3 secs 1 minute
pushups Up: 1 sec
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Endurance
Muscle Exercise Sets Reps Speed of reps Rest
group
Legs Lunges 2 20 Down: 1-2 secs 30 secs
(quadriceps Up: 1 sec.
dominant)
Legs Hip raises 2 20 Down: 1-2 secs 30 secs30
(hamstrings Up: 1 sec. secs
dominant)
Back Pullups 2 20 Down: 1-2 secs 30 secs
Up: 1 sec.
Chest Flat 2 20 Down: 1-2 secs 30 secs
pushup Up: 1 sec.
Shoulders Upright 2 20 Down: 1-2 secs 30 secs
Rowing Up: 1 sec.
Biceps Barbell curl 2 20 Down: 1-2 secs 30 secs
Up: 1 sec.
Triceps Close-grip 2 20 Down: 1-2 secs 30 secs
pushups Up: 1 sec.
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So, while an Olympic lifter would be very powerful, his
cardiovascular endurance would be rather poor. The same can be
said about endurance athletes: they can last for hours on end, but
their strength is usually minimal.
CIRCUIT TRAINING
The lazy man’s approach to training… NOT! Don’t let the word
‘lazy’ fool you: properly done circuit training is no walk in the park.
On the other hand, it is a fantastic way to work every physical
quality at once, albeit in an incomplete way. If you had to chose
ONE kind of workout that would cover everything, Circuit
Training is it.
You can either do complete sets before moving onto the next
exercise in the circuit, or you can do one rep per exercise and keep
rotating exercises until you REALLY need to take a break.
Alternately, you can squeeze in some quick bouts of cardio work,
too, such as jogging in place or rope skipping.
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Example 1 Example 2
Legs X 10 Legs X 1
Chest X 10 Chest X 1
Back X 10 Back X 1
Skip rope (30 secs) Abs X 1
Abs X 10 Triceps X 1
Triceps X 10 Shoulders X 1
Shoulders X 10 Biceps X 1
Skip rope (30 secs) Triceps X 1
Biceps X 10 Repeat until exhaustion
Triceps X 10 Rest
Rest.
We suggest you try to use light rather than heavy weights at first,
and then adjust them to your level of perceived effort. As you get
used to it, you will find the correct weights to use to be able to
complete the whole circuit. The idea is to build exercise ‘complexes’
that allow you to smoothly move from one exercise to the other
with as little preparation as possible in between exercises.
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presented above: simply push and pull until you can no longer do it,
rest a little, and start over.
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but this can easily be learned (remember: the body will adapt to the
stimulus…), just as you learned to stand up and walk.
EXERCISE DESCRIPTION
Legs (quadriceps)
Front Squats: Start with your feet shoulder width apart. Your toes
should be pointed slightly outwards, never inward or knee strain
will result. You should look straight ahead, without tilting your
head. The body tends to follow the eyes, so if you look down, there
is a chance that you lose your balance. If you squat with a lot of
weight, this could be hazardous.
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The Front Squat
Lunge: Stand upright with your feet shoulder width apart. You can
hold a pair of dumbbells in your hands. Take a 2-3 foot step
forward and begin bending both knees, as if you were kneeling on
one leg. It is important to keep the torso straight and to make an
effort to shift as much of the weight on the back leg as possible. As
the set progresses, you may have a tendency to bend the back leg
less and less, and to bend the torso forward more and more, which
you should try to avoid. A good trick is to imagine your face hitting
a wall, and then slide down. Better yet: do the exercise in front of a
wall, so that your front foot touches the wall. That way, when your
front knee touches the wall, you will have no choice but to shift
your weight on the back leg. Lower yourself down until your back
knee almost touches the ground, then return to the starting
position. You may do several repetitions on a single leg before
switching or alternate legs.
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The Lunge
Sissy Squat: Don’t let the name fool you: this exercise is rather
hard on the legs! Place your feet shoulder width apart and grab a
solid object for balance. You can hold a weight close to your torso
with your free hand. The idea is to bend the knees while keeping
the hips as neutral as possible. Allow the body to lean back as you
bend the knees. Let your heels come off the floor. Go down as low
as you can, striving to go lower as you progress. Return back to the
standing position by extending the leg, again keeping the hips as
neutral as possible. Make sure the toes are pointing forward and
that your knees don’t buckle in nor out.
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The Sissy Squat
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then drive the torso back up, again straightening the body at the
hips.
Hip Raises: This exercise is done on your back. Lift your feet and
put them on a solid surface that is about 2 feet high. Very slightly
bend your knees and keep them at this angle. The idea is to lift the
hips towards the ceiling using your hamstrings. Make sure you push
up with the muscles at the back of the legs and that you do not end
up bending the knees, pushing yourself up with the quadriceps.
Lower yourself down without touching your hips to the floor
before the set is finished.
The Hip-Raise
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Leg Curl: This exercise will require a machine. Lie face down on
the machine and place your feet (at the Achille’s tendon)
underneath the padded roll. The legs should be straight, and the
knees should clear the pad you are lying on. Point your feet towards
you (if you point them away from you, you will most likely get a
cramp) and bend your legs until the pad touches your buttocks.
Return to the starting position without letting the weight down.
BACK
Pullups: You will need a bar that you can lift yourself up with.
Grab the bar at shoulder width, palms towards you. An alternate
grip, which is harder but isolates the back better, is to grab the bar
with the palms facing away from you, a bit wider than shoulder
width apart. Pull yourself up, focusing on using the back muscles
instead of the arm muscles. Your arms will most likely give out first,
but make a conscious effort to bring the back muscles into play.
Avoid kicking and swinging yourself up with your legs as this will
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most likely result in your body balancing back and forth, which will
ruin your tempo. If this exercise is too hard for you, you can use a
pulldown machine, which is essentially the same movement, except
you pull the bar, attached to a weight stack, towards you.
The Pullup
Bent-Over Rowing: Bend the knees slightly and hold that angle,
while keeping your back as flat as possible (imagine yourself
pushing your buttocks against a wall). Grab a bar (or any heavy
object) using a grip that is about twice shoulder width, palms
towards you. Pull the bar towards your hips, rowing it using your
upper back muscles. Bring the weight back down, without touching
the floor, nor bending your knees, nor rounding your back.
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The Bent-Over Rowing
Pullover: Lie on a bench (or on the floor) and grab a heavy object
in your hands, that you will bring above your torso, keeping your
arms straight. Take a deep breath, and hold it in, then bring the
weigh back as far as you can. Bending the arms is acceptable, but try
to limit this as much as possible, as it would take the stress off the
back muscles (which is the goal of the exercise) and shift it onto the
triceps.
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The Pullover
CHEST
Flat Pushup: The pushup is probably the most known exercise in
the world. To make sure you hit the chest muscles as much as
possible, make sure to use a grip that is wide enough, about twice
shoulder width. A narrower grip would put more emphasis on the
triceps, which is not bad, but it is not the purpose of the exercise
here. Be sure to always keep your body as flat and straight as
possible (don’t let your hips dip before your shoulders). To make
sure the pectorals work as much as possible, make sure to keep your
elbows out.
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The Pushup
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Flyes: The flye is done in a supinated (facing up) position. Hold 2
objects of the exact same weight in each hand, just above your eyes,
arms almost straight. It is important not to lock your elbows
straight as you do this exercise to avoid undue strain. Begin the
movement by lowering the weights away from you. Try to bring
them as low as possible and, at the bottom position, you should
have your hands brought as much as possible to ear level, to
maximize the stretch in the pectoral muscle.
The Flye
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SHOULDERS
Military Press: From the dawn of time, humans have lifted objects
above their heads as a demonstration of their strength. It can be
hard to do, especially if you lack flexibility in the shoulder area. It
can be seated or standing, although extra care must be given in this
latter case to the lower back to avoid hyperlordosis (excessive curve
of the lower back) which could lead to injury. If you chose to do it
standing, make sure to tilt your pelvis forward to help flatten the
lower back (although it cannot be completely flatten), which will
create a much stronger support for the load that you hoist
overhead. Use a grip that allows your elbows to create a 90 degree
angle when the hands are just above ear level.
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work is done by the shoulders and not the biceps, imagine two
ropes that pull on your elbows, lifting them up. The hands and
forearms are used only as hooks to hold the weight, but the work is
done by the shoulders and traps. The elbows should always remain
above the bar. If your elbows end up below the bar, you are pulling
with your arm muscles (mainly the biceps) and this defeats the
purpose of the exercise.
BICEPS
Barbell curl: The barbell curl is probably the first exercise one
thinks of when hearing the words “weight training”. It is very easy
to do, although there are some points to keep in mind to perform it
properly. Start with a shoulder width grip, palms facing away from
you. Simply bend the arm to lift the weight. Most people will have a
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tendency to move the elbows forward to complete the lift, making
it easier towards the end of the range of motion. This is a mistake,
since not only the front deltoid comes too much into play, but the
resulting shift in levers releases way too much tension off of the
target muscle (the biceps). To do the curl correctly, glue your
elbows to your side for the duration of the set. If it helps, imagine
that your elbows rotate around a single axle.
The Curl
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Hammer curl: The hammer curl is quite similar to the barbell curl,
save for the grip. The hands are in a semi-supinated position (palms
facing each other, as if you were holing a hammer, hence the name).
The elbows still need to remain on either side of the body without
going forward. The shift in grip brings the a lot of the forearm
muscles into play.
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Concentration curl: This exercise is done seated. You need to rest
the elbow of the working arm on the inside of your thigh. Grab a
weight, palm facing away from you. Lift the weight up, avoiding to
swing or to use momentum by “pulling” with your torso. Make sure
that it is your biceps that does the work. Also, you may have a
tendency to recline back a bit to complete the reps as the set
progresses, which you should avoid.
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TRICEPS
Close Grip Pushup: Very similar to the regular pushup, which
targets the pectoral muscles, the close grip pushup shifts the stress
on the triceps. To make sure you hit the triceps as much as possible,
make sure to use a grip that is narrow enough, at most shoulder
width, ideally narrower. Be sure to always keep your body as flat
and straight as possible (don’t let your hips dip before your
shoulders). Keep your elbows as close to your body as possible.
Bench Dips: This exercise can be done with the feet on the floor,
or on a stool. To do it, sit on the edge of a chair or bench (make
sure the surface is solid and stable enough so that it doesn’t tip over
or slide away). Put both hands on either side of your hips, and lift
the hips away, just in front of the bench. Keeping your elbows as
close to you as possible, begin dipping as low as comfortably
possible. You will feel a stretch, which is OK. You can put a weight
on your lap for extra resistance.
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The Bench Dips
The Kickback
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ABDOMINALS
Jack Knives: This exercise is excellent for the abdominal muscles,
but it does require a little bit of balance and practice. Lie on a flat
surface (it can be done on the floor). Imagine that you are trying to
get the ribcage and the pelvis to touch, “rolling” yourself. You will
end up in balance (or lack thereof!) on your buttocks. Do not rest
completely on your back upon returning, as this would release the
tension on the abdominal muscles.
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were trying to bring the shoulder towards the opposite hip. Return
to the start position without resting on the floor and do the other
side.
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This is by no means a complete exercise list, FAR from it! There are
several variations of the exercises described above, and there are
hundreds of other exercises for the same muscle groups, plus their
own variations. The above selection is just to give you a head start.
A great book on this precise subject is called Getting Stronger, by Bill
Pearl. It lists dozens and dozens of exercises that can be done for
every muscle groups, each of them accurately illustrated.
A WORD ON STRETCHING
Stretching is also a very important component of fitness, yet it is
very often done haphazardly, if at all, after a 45 minute weight
training or cardio session. We will not discuss it in great length here,
but we strongly suggest that you do some research on it. As a basic
rule of thumb, if you weight train a muscle, you should also stretch
it. Many experts recommend to stretch a muscle for as long as you
train it. As with resistance training, stretching can help correct
posture problems, imbalance, undue tension caused by faulty
compensation by the muscle structures, etc. The subject is too vast
to cover here, but you should try to remain limber enough by
stretching regularly. An excellent book on this subject, similar to
Bill Pearl’s Getting Stronger, is called Stretching by Bob Anderson.
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A WORD ON POSTURE
Posture is also very important. Again, improper posture often
results from years of overuse of certain muscles, or simply by not
paying attention to it. Excessive lordosis (the curve in the lower
back), hyperkyphosis (rounded shoulders, the ‘caveman’ look), lack
of tone in the abdominal muscles, poor feet positioning, faulty
walking pattern, etc. are usually the visible consequences of poor
posture, from which may stem unnecessary pains and ailments that
could have been easily prevented.
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NUTRITION
Don’t have the time to eat right? Tired of eating the same old food
day in day out? You don’t know which expert to listen to when it
comes to nutrition? Yet, eating well is so simple and the “rules” of
proper and healthy eating are already known to all.
Many people are looking for the very latest discoveries made
yesterday in the field of dietetics, and yet neglect the basics. The
following pages go back to those basics, take all the guesswork out
of preparing varied, healthy meals and, most importantly, present
you with a method on how to do it in record time!
Light a fire, sharpen your spears and re-discover how easy sound
eating should really be!
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The modern man survives, even if he is less and less active and even
if the quality of his nutrition has deteriorated quite a bit over the
last decades. In fact, he survives so well that, despite poorer and
poorer health, the modern man's lifespan increases. It is very sad,
however, that those extra years aren't always quality ones...
Well, those times aren't that far behind us considering the history of
mankind, and our genes haven't really evolved since those last
couple thousand years. What HAS changed way faster than our
genes is our lifestyle. The modern man doesn't walk for long
kilometers looking for food anymore. He doesn't climb trees to
escape predators. He doesn't really have to make much effort to
push, pull or move objects. He doesn't work hard physically at all.
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Modern life is easy. It sedates us. We seldom move, we seldom
explore, we are much less resilient than we used to be. There are
escalators everywhere despite the fact that 95% of those who use
them could very well do without. We don't even have to get out of
the house to get our food: we can have it delivered!
The mere fact of walking seems like torture to many, despite the
fact that our physiological make up is surprisingly well adapted for
that exact purpose. Our bodies have gotten soft and, with it, our
will and strength of character. Is it really that surprising that the
modern man has a tendency to eat for fun rather than for healthy
nourishment? Balance is off.
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Unfortunately, it is this component that is most often neglected,
either by ignorance, by lack of know-how or by pure laziness.
This booklet addresses these issues precisely. One can still remain
ignorant, incompetent and lazy if such is his/her desire, by simply
follow what's in this booklet verbatim, that person will have all
his/her nutritional needs covered.
Joking aside, not only will you learn how to eat healthier and more
efficiently all the while keeping an eye on your athletic goals without
having to cook for days on end, but I have added a bunch of
recipes that you will be able to prepare in 5 minutes or less!
BODY-PLATE SYMBIOSIS
The human way of feeding is the one that has changed the most
compared to that of any other animal species over the last 10
thousand years, and even more so during the last century. Taking
into account that human genetics has very slightly evolved during
mankind history, 10 thousand years is very little time.
A while back, the meat that was eaten by men came from healthier
animals. Those animals were more active than today's, since we
force them to overeat and stay as immobile as possible (much like
modern men, in fact). Those ancient animals' meat was leaner than
the one you find in groceries nowadays. Without over blowing the
issue, we can't ignore either the "supplements" given to modern
animals. Last time I checked, syringes loaded with anabolics and
other chemicals didn't grow on trees 10 thousand years ago.
Back then, people ate more whole plants, which provided a wider
range of nutrients and more fiber. Soft drinks didn't stream down
rocky walls, the beverage of choice was water. Sweets like honey
were scarce (and you had to face whole armadas of bees to get it)
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and available only shortly in the year. So the ancient man ate
healthier more by necessity than by choice. With all those
"restrictions", one could believe that it is the perfect setup for
healthy eating, right? Not so fast. Even if the food was more natural
and less "poisoned" and transformed, life was not easy back then.
A bit low on blood sugar? Not enough carbs in your diet? Easy
solution: guess which one of those colorful berries isn't poisonous
and help yourself.
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You lack some minerals? No need to panic! Just reach down to the
ground, cup some dirt and eat it. It contains all the minerals you
need.
As you can see, our ancestors’ lifestyle didn't have only advantages.
However, today, we can take advantage of many good sides of this
ancient diet as well as do without much of its inconveniences. The
main "rule" we should strive to follow and imitate from back then is
to eat a lot of nutritionally-dense foods, but which provide less total
calories (the modern man does the exact opposite: few nutrients
and way too many calories).
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It is a fact that we don't have to work very hard to eat. The whole
tedious tasks of hunting, killing, butchering, cooking, harvesting,
preserving, etc our food has already been done for us. No more
milk? Butter? Chocolate chip cookies, potato chips, soft drinks?
The only effort we need to do is to drag our feet to our car. Want a
meal already prepared, which includes all the dressings, drinks and
even those little paper napkins? You don't even need to walk to
your car: a simple phone call and you're set!
Very often, after a big meal, not only do we feel lethargic and
sleepy, but our blood is loaded with glucose, fats and insulin, a
devastating combination for whomever tries to remain healthy and
lean. The body simply cannot use this much energy in one single
"dose", so what does it do? It stores it.
There is such a thing as essential amino acids (amino acids are the
building blocks of protein). There also exists what are called
essential fats. But there is no such thing as an essential
carbohydrate. There are many ways to look at this issue, but to keep
things simple: the amount of energy, especially in the form of
carbohydrates, should be dictated by our level of physical activity.
The less an individual is active, the less he will need carbohydrates
in his daily diet.
Please don't get me wrong: carbs are NOT bad, far from it! See
them as a source of fuel, which is what they are. Many experts will
recommend up to 55% of calories from carbs (sometimes even
more!). Others will claim that such a number is a bit high for most
people (and I agree), even those moderately active. Again, it
depends on the total amount of energy consumed.
First, you should keep one thing in mind when you "hunt" your
food: Your health. To be intensely active, you need to be healthy,
right? Even if your sole goal right now is your looks, or your
performance, and that your health is not a priority for you at this
moment, it would be sad if your progress came to a halt, or was
delayed, because your health is not optimal or suffers from any
given deficiency.
Very often, here is what you will see if you analyze someone's diet
logbook:
It is not only a question of how many calories are eaten. The source
of those calories is a cornerstone for any diet or nutritional
program. In fact, many people could even lose weight by eating
slightly more calories than they currently are by simply manipulating
their macro-nutrient (protein-carbs-fats) ratio.
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You can also pretty much forget about calculating portions. Your
appetite will be linked more to your level of activity rather than
being slave to an uncontrollable blood glucose roller coaster. The
more you are active the hungrier you'll be. The amount of food you
will eat will reflect your needs, not your gluttony.
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How Many Times per Day?
If you follow this "less more often" nutrition philosophy, you will
never really go hungry (since you will be constantly providing
nourishment to your body). By having more stable energy levels,
you will be able to perform at a steady rate thru out the day, and
your training goals will be easier to be met, whether they be to lose
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weight, to maintain your weight, to gain weight or to perform
efficiently in the field.
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Foods can (should) be categorized in 5 main categories:
That's it. And if you can forget whatever you learned from
"modern" eating habits, those 5 "food groups" probably look a lot
like the ones our ancestors have eaten for thousands of years, those
on which our very species has evolved and developed. Fruits,
veggies, nuts, meats, and sometimes eggs and milk.
Think about it. Potatoes and rice (we're not even talking about
pasta!) were probably available, but not by the kilo, and not every
day, like we have now. Sweets (like honey) were seasonal
commodities, IF you could find it.
Bread as we know it has been invented only around 3 000 BC, and
even then, the flour to make it must have been pretty coarse indeed
(not as refined). So, if you MUST have bread, downsize your
servings and choose multi-grain products. Rule of thumb: the more
your food seems to be containing woodchips, the healthier it is for
you.
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Beans are also great and are excellent sources of complex
carbohydrates and fiber. Also, we find whole varieties of them at
the grocery store, pre-cooked and canned, very easy to prepare.
Vegetables are also a must. The main thing that seems to discourage
people with vegetables however is their preparation. Washing,
cutting, peeling, cooking... In fact, it can be very simple. In the next
section, I will tell you about how to prepare a week's worth of food,
including salads and vegetables.
Mixed nuts also have many advantages: they taste great, are easy to
carry around, are loaded with essential fats, vitamins and minerals.
They can very well be used as a quick snack, and their glycemic
index is very low, which prevents blood sugar peaks and crashes
that are so common with most refined snacks. Given that they are
still calorically dense, it is wise to consume them in moderation. As
a rule of thumb, a handful of nuts is a reasonable amount.
Fruits, nuts, meats, vegetables, eggs and milk or cheese. If you only
have those food stuff handy, you won't be tempted by "glow in the
dark" or other "radioactive", overly transformed foods, like pizza,
chips, candies and cold cuts. (Please note: those foods are not bad
by themselves, abusing them is). For some of you, the cultural
shock may be a bit harsh; before long however, not only will you
notice that you're not dying because you don't have your usual junk,
but I guarantee you will get to appreciate your new way of eating
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and you won't want to go back to your old habits of your own free
will!
Nope. Enters the "magic" with this little method here. The
following infos are a real goldmine for those pressed by time. Also,
you will find a whole slew of quick recipes classified by source of
protein (chicken, tuna, eggs, etc...). All those recipes are ultra
simple, low in bad fats, rich in proteins and made with healthy
foods. While it is not a gourmet menu, if you use your imagination
just a little you can spice and season your meals to make them
perfectly palatable.
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The Hunt
I will pretend that your fridge and cupboard are both empty and
that you're just about to leave to do the groceries. Of course,
quantities will depend on you. Based on your experience, estimate
how much you need to buy and prepare.
Grocery List
PROTEINS
- Chicken breasts
- Extra-lean ground beef
- Water packed tuna
- Eggs (and or egg whites, in cartons)
- Lean cheese
VEGETABLES
- Onions
- Peppers
- Hot peppers
- Crushed tomatoes (canned)
- Tomato sauce
- Tomato paste
- Frozen and or dehydrated vegetables
- Salad vegetables (celery, carrots, radishes, spinach, cabbage,
cucumbers, etc.)
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CARBOHYDRATES
- Pasta
- Rice
- Potatoes
- Pita bread
- Tortillas
- Whole wheat (or multi-grain) bread
- Fruits (varied)
SEASONINGS
- Salsa
- Ketchup
- Relish
- Mustard
- BBQ Sauce
- Tomato paste
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Tips on How to Choose Your Game
Proteins
Buy skinned and boned chicken breasts. Choose the leanest ground
beef that you can get your hands on, or you may have to remove
the fat from it (here's how to do it*). For tuna, choose the water
packed version.
For cheese, you have some choices: there are quite a few relatively
lean cheeses to choose from in grocery stores. However, the leaner
they are, the more rubbery they get, save for cottage cheese. That
said, it's easy to get used to the taste and texture, and the advantages
are worth it.
For eggs, I suggest you to buy whole eggs as well as egg whites that
come in cartons. Both will be handy for you.
Carbohydrates
Vegetables
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*How to “Defat” Your Beef
If you couldn't buy very lean beef, there's an easy way to take the fat
out of it. Once it is cooked, throw it in a big bowl filled with very
hot water. Stir a little and let sit for about 30 seconds. Notice what
rises to the top: this my friend is saturated fat, almost identical to
the one that graces society's midsection. Please give our warmest
regards to your arteries who won't have to deal with it, since all you
need to do now is to drain the water the same way as you would
pasta. You can repeat the process once if you wish. Once this is
done, throw the beef back into the pan, pepper some garlic over it
and cook it a couple more minutes. This step is not essential, but it
will GREATLY enhance the meat's flavor and won't give you the
impression that you're eating boiled meat.
KITCHEN LOGISTICS
OK, now that you're back from a generous hunting quest and that
you have everything handy, let the fun begin. Choose a time when
you have two free hours at your disposal (you won't believe how
quickly they'll go by!) Those two hours will not only save you a lot
of time later in the week, but they'll also save you a lot of hassle.
The goal is to prepare and cool enough meat, vegetables, rice, pasta,
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etc., to last the week. With some coordination, preparation and a
test-drive or two, you will easily be able to do all that all at once.
You will need 4 boiling pans, one frying pan and a big cookie tray.
Save a little meat, some potatoes and vegetables as is, in the fridge
or the freezer: you never know. Pop in your favorite CD (whatever
inspires you). Ready?
1- Pre-heat the over at 350 degrees Farenheit. Drop the beef in the
frying pan (if you don't have non-stick pans, use some cooking
spray).
2- Fill 3 boiling pans with water and turn up the fires to the max. In
the first pan, put your eggs while the water is still cold. The best
way to hard cook eggs is to start them in cold water and as it begins
to boil, turn off the heat. The water will remain quite hot for a while
and the eggs will keep cooking. Once the water has cooled down,
you'll have perfect hardboiled eggs.
Not too hard yet is it? Soon you'll be able to join your fellow
nanderthal buddies and play at guessing what the weather will be
like tomorrow by throwing squirrel bones on the ground. But for
now, take out your stone cutting board and ivory knife (or food
processor): time for some chopping!
3- Wash your potatoes and slice them in thick slices (do not peel
them).
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4- Display the chicken breast on the cookie tray, without butter nor
margarine nor oil. The oven should be hot enough now, throw the
chicken in. it will need to cook for about an hour to be ready.
6- Fill your sink with water and throw all your veggies in it to wash
them. Simply rub all accessible surfaces either with a soft brush or
with your hands.
7- Peel your onions and chop them. Chop some peppers. Store
them in the fridge in separate containers.
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water back into this pan and set it to boil: when it does, throw in
the pasta.
Storing
Now that everything is cooked, we'll need to store the food, but not
any ol' way. You'll need to let everything cool down first, otherwise
the food that goes into the freezer will have a tendency to get floury
and mushy when you'll de-freeze it. Place your food in several small
containers, ideally one or two servings per container, instead of one
big one. That way, you can take out only what you need at any
given time, as you need it. Empty 250 grams cottage cheese
containers are great for this, and will allow you to pack about 1
serving of food. Leave a few servings in the fridge for the next
couple of days, and put the rest in the freezer. If you want to be
picky, pasta, rice and potatoes should be measured at about a half
cup, and meat at about 2/3 of a cup.
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WELCOME TO NEANDERTHAL NUTRITION!
At last! The step many were waiting for. In the following pages you
will find quite a few quick and easy to prepare recipes that should
help you answer the eternal "What are we eating?" that drives mums
crazy.
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About Ratios and Quantities
What seems like too little for someone may seem like a lot for
someone else. Don't go believe that those general guidelines are
tailor-made for everyone, BUT, for the needs of most moderatly
active people, try to keep an equal ratio of protein to carbohydrates
for all your meals. Again, for the sake of simplicity:
If, however, you are training to lose weight and maintain your
muscles but don't do much more activity than that, you can go by
the general rules outlined therein.
Lastly, if you have a lot of bodyfat to lose, or if you gain fat easily,
you can start with the guidelines given here, and see what happens.
- 112 -
You "should" lose fat (since your weight is probably the result of
foodstuff not recommended here, combined with lack of physical
activity). If not, try reducing slightly your carb intake.
About Dressings
- 113 -
GO EASY WITH: GO MORE FREELY WITH:
About Seasonings
Like dressings, they aren't necessary but greatly enhance the taste of
the food. The difference with dressings is that they don't supply
much calories at all. They can be, however, loaded with salt, so
moderation is still key here. Also, only small quantities are needed,
so they can be used relatively freely (save the salty ones).
"Liquid spices"
Worcestershire sauce, tabasco, soy sauce, vinegar (balsamic, etc.)
"Dry spices"
Garlic, basil, chili powder, curry, oregano, pepper, parsley...
- 114 -
Other Tips
- Even with all this food already prepared: prepare in advance! It's
too easy to take 5 to 10 minutes the night before and prepare meals
for the coming day. That way you won't have to rush in the
morning (as is the case with most people.) The next day, all you'll
have to do will be to grab your thermos bag and leave for school or
work (I suggest getting dressed first however.)
Another bonus of this is that the food will taste better! You
probably already noticed how sometimes re-heated dishes taste a bit
better than when they were just prepared, as if the various
ingredients "shared" their respective flavors, making the meal taste
richer. This is particularly true for beans since their taste is rather
bland and a bit hard to cover.
- 115 -
- Marinate meats, even if they're already cooked. Cover them with
some light salad dressing, tomato sauce with balsamic vinegar or
some other dressing (lemon juice, hot mustard, etc.) The meat will
absorb some flavor.
- You know that tuna is an excellent food but you can't stand the
taste nor the smell of the canned variety? No problems: here's a
little trick that will make the smell and the taste vanish. Simply boil
it for about 2 minutes, then drain it and let cool or rinse it with cold
water. You'll end up with extra lean protein that's almost tasteless
and odorless.
- For cooked meats, always choose roasted meat over fried meat. If
you absolutely need to cook your meat in a frying pan and don't
have the non-stick kind, use a little cooking spray.
- 116 -
RECIPIES
1- Chicken Fajita
Chicken
Tortilla
Sweet peppers
Onions
Tomato sauce
OPTIONAL : Cheese, hot peppers, lemon juice
Cut all ingredients in strips, heat and place in a tortilla.
- 117 -
2- Soup Chicken & Noodles
Chicken
Pasta
Sweet peppers
Onions
OPTIONAL : Chicken broth.
Finely dice all ingredients and put them in a bowl of water. Heat in
microwave.
3- Chicken Cajun
Chicken
Rice
Tomato paste
Chili powder
OPTIONAL : Hot peppers
Dice chicken. Heat ingredients in a pan.
- 118 -
5- Chicken Creole
Chicken breast (shredded)
Onions
Canned tomatoes
Rice
OPTIONAL : Chili powder
Mix ingredients in a pan and heat.
7- Chicken Sandwich
Chicken breast (shredded)
Onions
Pita
OPTIONAL : Vegetables, salad dressing
Place ingredients in pita.
- 119 -
8- Chicken & Tomato Rice
Chicken breast (shredded)
Onions
Canned tomatoes
Rice
OPTIONAL: Cayenne pepper, garlic
Mix ingredients in a boiling pan and heat.
- 120 -
11- Chicken Burrito
Chicken breast (shredded)
Onions
Hot peppers
Tortilla
OPTIONAL : low fat cheese
Heat ingredients and place in tortilla.
- 121 -
14- Spanish Rice & Chicken
Chicken breast (shredded)
Rice
Canned tomatoes
OPTIONAL: Chili powder
Mix ingredients and heat in a pan.
- 122 -
17- Chicken paprika
Chicken breast (shredded)
Onions
Tomato sauce
Rice
Paprika
Heat ingredients and serve on rice.
- 123 -
20- Sauteed Chicken Pita
Chicken breast (shredded)
Potato
Onions
Pita
Heat ingredients in a pan and place in pita.
- 124 -
23- Chicken Enchiladas
Chicken breast (shredded)
Onions
Hot peppers
Tortillas
OPTIONAL : Low fat cheese
Place ingredients in tortilla, then roll and eat.
- 125 -
26- Garden Chicken Soup
Chicken breast (shredded)
Dehydrated vegetables
Rice
OPTIONAL: Vegetable broth
Place ingredients in water and bring to a boil. Add shredded
chicken.
- 126 -
29- Pepper Lemon Chicken
Chicken
Rice
Lemon juice
Pepper
OPTIONAL: Garlic
Place ingredients in as small a container as possible and leave in
fridge overnight. Heat in pan the next day.
- 127 -
BEEF
1- Meat loaf
Ground beef
Potatoes
2 egg whites
Onions
Tomato sauce
OPTIONAL : Worcestershire sauce, pepper.
Dice potatoes and mix all ingredients and make into a loaf in a
Pyrex pan. Cook in oven until eggs are cooked.
2- Steak-Fries
Ground beef
Potatoes
OPTIONAL : Ketchup (better : Tomato sauce)
Slice cooked potatoes in strips, put them on a cookie tray and put in
oven until golden. Eat with steak.
5- Country Pie
Ground Beef
Potato
Sweet pepper
Onions
Diced tomatoes (canned)
Low-fat cheese
Place ingredients in a microwaveable pan, in layers in the order in
which they appear above (meat at the bottom, cheese on top). Heat
until cheese is melted.
- 129 -
6- Chili
Ground beef
Kidney beans
Diced tomatoes (canned)
Tomato paste
OPTIONAL: Chili powder, cayenne pepper.
Mix ingredients in pan and heat.
EGGS
1- Egg sandwich
Hard boiled egg (1 yolk for 5 whites)
Sweet peppers
Onions
Pita bread
OPTIONAL : light mayonnaise (better : the one described earlier)
Dice sweet peppers and onions. Put ingredients in pita bread.
2- Hen’s Burrito
Egg whites
Tortilla
Onions
Hot peppers
OPTIONAL : Chili powder.
Slightly cook onions. Add in egg whites and stir. Put in tortilla.
- 130 -
3- Huevos Picantes
Egg whites
Rice
Hot peppers
OPTIONAL : Tabasco
Cook egg whites in a pan while stirring. Add rice and hot peppers.
4- Egg Dish
Potatoes
Egg whites
Onions
Tomato sauce
Mix ingredients in pan until eggs are cooked and cover with tomato
sauce.
5- Egg Enchilada
Egg whites
Tortilla
Salsa
Low fat cheese
Cook eggs while stirring lightly. Put ingredients in tortilla.
6- Garden Omelette
Egg whites (1 yolk)
Mix of varied vegetables, diced.
Cook ingredients in pan. Flip to cook evenly on other side.
- 131 -
7- Egg Dip
Pita
Egg whites
Salsa
Hot peppers
Diced onions
Broil pita in oven until crispy. Cook eggs and mash. Add other
ingredients.
TUNA
1- Tuna Giovanni
Tuna
Pasta
Tomato sauce
OPTIONAL : Olive oil, basil, parsley.
Mix ingredients.
- 132 -
2- Pepper Tuna on Bed of Rice
Tuna
Rice
Hot peppers
Sweet peppers
OPTIONAL : Lemon juice
Mix tuna and peppers and place on rice.
4- Tuna Burrito
Tuna
Onions
Hot peppers
Tortilla
OPTIONAL : Low-fat mayonnaise, low-fat cheese
Heat ingredients in pan and pour over tortilla.
- 133 -
5- Tuna and Rice Casserole
Tuna
Rice
Onions
Optional : low-fat mayonnaise
Mix ingredient in pan and heat.
7- Tuna Sandwich
Tuna
Onions
Pita
OPTIONAL: Low-fat mayonnaise
Place ingredients in pita bread.
- 134 -
8- Tuna on Rice and Pepper Bed
Tuna
Rice
Hot peppers
Sweet peppers
Put tuna on rice and peppers.
9- Tuna patty
Tuna
Potato
Onion
Egg white
OPTIONAL: pepper, parsley
Mix ingredients and make into patties. Cook on both sides in pan.
- 135 -
11- Tuna & Beans
Tuna
Diced tomatoes (canned)
Beans
OPTIONAL: Olive oil
Heat in pan while stirring.
- 136 -
14- Roma Tuna
Tuna
Pasta
Diced tomatoes (canned)
OPTIONAL: Olive oil
Heat ingredients in pan.
- 137 -
CHEESE
3- Country Salad
Cheese
Salad (various vegetables)
OPTIONAL : Light salad dressing
Dice cheese and mix with other ingredients.
- 138 -
4- Potato Dressing
Potato
Cottage cheese
Spices (to taste: parsley, oregano, basil...)
OPTIONAL: Lemon juice
Mix ingredients, serve on cooked, sliced open potato.
6- Turbo Yogurt
Cottage cheese
Yogurt
Diced fruits
OPTIONAL : Artificial sweetener
Mix ingredients.
7- Fruit Dip
Cottage cheese
Diced fruits
OPTIONAL: Vanilla, cinnamon and artificial sweetener.
Mix cottage cheese in blender, dip on fruit pieces.
- 139 -
8- Lasagna
Cottage Cheese
Pasta
Ground beef
Tomato sauce
OPTIONAL: Low-fat cheese, spaghetti spices
Place pre-cooked ingredients in layers in over suitable pan.
9- Cottage Pancakes
Eggs
Cottage cheese
Oatmeal
OPTIONAL: cinnamon, vanilla
Mix ingredients in blender (in that order) until texture is smooth.
10- Nachos
Cottage cheese
Ground beef
Tortilla
Sweet peppers
Onions
OPTIONAL: Tomato sauce.
Place tortilla in over. Mix cottage cheese and tomato sauce in
blender. When tortilla is crispy, break it into pieces and pour
cottage cheese mix over it. Add other ingredients.
- 140 -
11- Cheese Chocolate
Cottage cheese
Cacao
Artificial sweetener
OPTIONAL: Vanilla, ground nuts
Mix with hand mixer.
12- Cotta-jell
Sugarless Jell-O
Cottage cheese
Mix equal part of either with a fork.
- 141 -
15- Tapioca Pudding
Cottage Cheese
Vanilla
Artificial sweetener
OPTIONAL: Field berries
Mix fruits in blender. Add other ingredients, mix with fork.
16- Bruschettas
Low fat cheese, grated
Pita
Diced tomatoes, canned
OPTIONAL: Parsley, basil, olive oil.
Mix tomatoes and spices, place on tortilla, ad grated cheese. Grill.
- 142 -
2- Hot Chicken Omelette
Chicken breast (shredded)
Hot peppers
Onions
Tomato sauce
Brown onions and chicken. Pour in egg whites. Place omelette in
plate, pour some tomato sauce.
3- Olé Chicken
Chicken breast (shredded)
Eggs
Low fat cheese, grated
Onions
Tomato sauce
Tortilla
OPTIONAL: Chili powder
Brown chicken and onions. Beat eggs and pour over chicken,
without stirring, until eggs are cooked. Flip over with spatula, add
grated cheese until melted. Place on tortilla.
4- Calypso Eggs
Cottage cheese
Egg whites
Beans
Sweet peppers
Onions
- 143 -
OPTIONAL: Pepper or Tabasco sauce, brown onions and peppers.
Mix other ingredients with hand mixer and cook with onions and
pepper.
5- Egg Casserole
Egg whites (1 or 2 yolks)
Cottage cheese
Rice
Mix and cook in pan.
6- Presto Breakfast
Oatmeal
Eggs
Low fat cheese, grated
Mix eggs and oatmeal and cook in pan. Flip over, ad grated cheese
until melted.
7- Oriental Eggs
Eggs
Tuna
Rice
OPTIONAL : Soy sauce
Mix eggs and tuna and cook while stirring. Place on rice.
- 144 -
8- Amino Shreddy
Hard boiled eggs
Chicken breast (shredded)
Beans
Vegetables
OPTIONAL: Ultra light mayonnaise
Shred all ingredients. Mix.
- 145 -
- 146 -
The Mind of a Knight
- 147 -
Mental clarity is a key to spiritual practice. You cannot have a stray
thought in mind, or you will be robbing your operation of its
power. Some spiritual practices invoke powerful forces, and a lack
of focus is a disservice to these mighty forces, sometimes with
negative results.
- 151 -
#3 For this exercise you need to find a trail where you will be able
to safely walk for a good distance without risk of injury. (Example,
do not do this in the city where you could walk into a person or
traffic). Relax your gaze, breathe naturally. Stare towards the
horizon. Now, just walk. Do your best not to let your eyes focus on
anything. Just relax, take an un-focused wide-angle of vision. As you
walk, simply try to be aware of the world around you, without
thinking, or focusing your vision.
#4 You can practice this while you get things done around your
house/office. If you're cleaning, or straightening things, this is
perfect for this exercise. Relax, and breathe deeply. Count your
breaths from 1-108, and then backwards. This should take awhile if
you are breathing deeply. If you lose count, don't worry about it,
just simply restart the exercise. This will stimulate concentration on
multiple tasks.
- 152 -
and flexible in life. Change makes the mind uncomfortable, so this
drill is designed to make change a comfortable part of life.
- 153 -
process at first. In fact, not only is it inevitable, but it is also healthy
for your mind to have time to clear itself out.
When you achieve focused thought and focused gaze, drop the
thought process completely and try to lose yourself in a gaze.
During this process, start by paying attention to what your
consciousness is, as abstract as it can be, and then drop the thought
of it progressively so to transcend in an open-eyed gazing
meditation.
- 154 -
Down to earth, recognizing the truth means that we accept every
possible aspect of the human existence as a part of us, as a
possibility, and not necessarily as an actual fact. You must not judge
what is Truth. If you can say to yourself "I am a liar, I am
egocentric", then you are in truth. It does not mean that you lied,
right now, about a particular subject, but that you recognize the
truth. If you lied only once in your lifetime, you are a liar. You must
also be able to accept that you are honest, since you told the truth at
least once in your lifetime. If you lacked charity and goodness at
least once in your lifetime, you are egocentric. Of course, you are
also charitable and kind if you helped out someone for free at least
once. Without actually hurting anyone, can you recognize that "I am
a killer"? Again, do not judge truth. Truth is everything. You might
have killed a living creature in your life.
If someone asks you if you just told the truth, don't answer "I am a
liar" if you did not lie. Truth has nothing to do with what others
perceive of you. In truth, we both know that you are a liar, and it
only concerns your personal open mindedness towards your own
acceptance of self as a whole. In the same line of thought, we also
know you are honest. To answer someone with honesty or not, if
you told the truth or lied, concerns your integrity and does not
mean you should tell the truth, but rather respect yourself. Usually,
telling the truth is encouraged.
Once you felt, once you are aware and conscious, forgive yourself
and admit that you are a thief. There is a space that will liberate
within you when the guilt smoothly dissolves, while you breathe
softly. After taking a few minutes to elevate the emotion, fill this
space with joy and compassion, the fruit of forgiveness. This will
not change that you are a thief, but it will fill the hole where guilt
took place before. You are what you are, recognize the truth.
If you react strongly towards this practice, then you need to develop
humility and open your mind. Smoothen your heart and accept all
that you can possibly be. Expand the limits of your perception of
self. The stronger you react to a truth about yourself, the deeper
you are in bullshitting yourself away from truth. You cannot be
complete while you flee emotions deep with yourself. You cannot
go further without accepting the truth that you are everything.
- 156 -
After you finish one step of the process, take time to remember that
you are honest, kind, charitable, happy, young, relaxed, and joyful.
If you find it difficult to accept your positive truth after this
exercise, you are playing a game of "victim" (O, poor you). Be
humble and accept your virtuous beauty, without transforming this
acceptance into vanity.
Anger plays a big part in our reactions towards other people, our
environment, and our own life. As we awaken the energies of
power within our body, and as we unveil the hidden abilities of our
subconscious mind, we will be more tempted to become angry.
Therefore, it is important to understand anger and to master it.
Master your anger and you will be able develop yourself quicker.
- 158 -
Anger is a fire that rises into your body, to give you the moral and
physical power to defend yourself in case of attack. In the polarity
of Joy, it is a power that can feed your energy bodies to manifest
into exterior effects. It will give you more strength, more speed, and
faster reactions. It will enhance your occult practices. Anger will
most likely overwhelm you and bring upon yourself your own
defeat, causing you more pain.
Contract your abdomen and relax it. Give further attention to the
moment your abdominal muscles release themselves in the
relaxation part. Notice how your body does it. The same way you
can relax your abdominal muscles, you will now relax your anger. It
will still be there, it will still be painful, but it will stop being active.
Relax your “anger muscle”. Relax the tension within you. Do not
try to become comfortable, because in this moment, you can’t be
comfortable. Just relax, sit by the lava river, and contemplate the
anger volcano erupting, without doing anything. Breathe deeply and
calmly. On the outside, make like if nothing was happening, in the
inside, know that it is happening and contemplate it.
- 159 -
By mastering this technique, you will be able to master the anger
within, and the power will be able to rise within you even more. It
will push some more anger and joy. Express your joy aloud, anyway
you wish, with respect for others. But you know what to do with
anger. Calmly, peacefully relax it.
Some people try to do this technique, but the only thing they do is
build up more and more anger within them, refraining its
expression and causing themselves damage on the physical and
nervous level. If you feel a buildup inside you, you are not relaxing
the anger, but only containing it. You should let it out without
hurting anyone including yourself, without breaking anything. Do
not keep it inside. You will know when you are successfully
contemplating the volcano. There won’t be anymore pressure
inside, even if there will be conflict and pain, and you will feel the
energy available from anger without the destructive aspect attached
to it.
The virtues of compassion and humility will help you master the
technique, and you will be able to raise your power level even more.
If you fail just once in this technique, you cannot pretend to be a
master, since you cannot even master yourself. Do not discourage
yourself, all masters were not born with complete control of their
emotions. The real war comes from within, the real power comes
from within, and the real Joy comes from within.
- 160 -
Resolving a problem
As long as you keep the false thoughts that “I can’t forgive him” or
“it’s his fault, not mine”, you are fleeing your inner power. A
powerful master is one who can choose to forgive if he wishes to,
even the most outrageous offences. This virtue is called Justice and
reflects goodness of heart. It does not mean the other had the right
to oppress you, but it means that you are powerful enough to be in
charge of the situation, and that you have faith that all will be
- 161 -
resolved according to the Divine Justice. Faith is also a virtue to
develop. Know, deep within, that all will be fine.
Many times, we would like to confront any and all injustice we see
around us, but that would only be pride, as virtue is not intended to
make you lose your wife or husband, your job, or even your life. Be
grateful for what you have, make sure to protect it, but be humble
enough to kneel before the events of life, and think twice before
you act, even when you feel you are accompanied by Justice and
Strength. In some cases, should you be developing the virtue of
Charity and Faith?
When you see fit to discuss a problem, do it with peace and all
parties should give a chance to each other to express their own
point of view. If a war is at hand, calculate if the possible casualties
are worth the fight. It is rare that Divine Truth will agree to any
kind of war, but it will always encourage the application of Justice.
- 163 -
- 164 -
The Spirit of a Knight
Normal Breathing:
Normal Breathing is very different from the automatic breathing
cycle that keeps you alive when you are not thinking about
breathing. The reason is simple: no one really breathes correctly
without thinking about it. Most people take in only 11 ml of oxygen
per minute, far below the minimum oxygen your body needs to be
healthy. A Normal Breath is a healthy breath.
- 165 -
An inhalation should fill your lungs almost completely without
straining your abdomen or diaphragm. The breath should naturally
fill your abdomen, without raising your upper torso. A deep breath
should not even make your upper ribs move. Place your hand over
your heart, where your ribs connect to your sternum, between your
solar plexus and your throat. Take a deep breath and feel to see if
your ribs are moving. If they do, you are filling your upper lungs
too much, and not enough air is getting to the bottom of your
lungs. Although it is impossible to keep your rib cage totally
immobile (which is not the objective) it should move as little as
possible without requiring too much effort.
When you exhale, let your abdomen rest until the air doesn’t come
out naturally anymore, and then pull your abdomen in slightly
without force. It won’t completely empty your lungs. If your ribs
are moving inward or downward too much, it means you had to lift
them upward when you inhaled, or that you filled the upper part of
your lungs too much.
- 166 -
Breath in Breath out
Abdomen out Abdomen normal
Upper chest normal Upper chest normal
- 167 -
To learn this for yourself, try filling your lungs completely (without
hurting yourself), while keeping your rib cage as immobile as
possible. Then, hold the air in for 10 seconds and breathe out
completely, holding your breath out for 10 seconds. Let all your
muscles relax and allow your body to breathe without influencing it,
while you think about the difference between these two ways of
breathing. Now, take in a Normal Breath, filling your lungs down to
your abdomen with only a slight effort. Hold the air in for 3
seconds, and then let it out without any other effort than a slight
pulling inward of your abdomen at the end of exhalation.
- 168 -
Reversed Breathing
To clearly understand the principles of Reversed Breathing, you
must first practice accurate Normal Breathing. It is important to
keep your rib cage almost motionless while doing the Reversed
Breathing. You should also understand the principles of Jin, Qi and
Shen in order for this practice to be effective.
To clarify this for you, forget about the Normal Breathing method
for a moment and let yourself breathe instinctively. Imagine
yourself in a situation where you are very alert, perhaps needing to
defend yourself, thus requiring that you are ready for immediate
action. While closing your fists, take in a quick, deep breath without
thinking. Most people will notice that the abdomen automatically
pulls in when you are breathing in, and it pushes out slightly when
you exhale. Experiment a bit with this breathing.
- 169 -
Breath method, the breath should be drawn in as smoothly as the
Normal Breath unless stated otherwise.
- 170 -
Radial Qi Gathering method
Before you do anything that utilizes Qi, you must have Qi reserves
to work with. Working without reserves of Qi will deplete your own
life force, which should be avoided at all cost. Gathering Qi is quite
simple, and you can do it just about anywhere and anytime as long
as you aren’t doing something that requires concentration. For
example, don’t do this when you’re in a moving car. When you
gather Qi, you and everyone around you will get a little bit more
prone to lose their concentration. For example, everyone could get
sleepy, or hyper, or feel strange sensations in their body, especially
if they are not used to feeling Qi. Moreover, you will need to be
able to use your concentration for the visualizations that are
necessary to successfully gather, store, and move Qi. The energy
that you envision is real and it will follow your concentration. As
you visualize it traveling with your breath down to the area below
your navel, the Qi will be moved to your Dan-tian. When you
visualize compressing it in your Dan-tian, this too will actually
occur. You may use the pictures as a guide, and you will find it
useful to think of the energy you are moving as a white cloud which
flows like a stream wherever you direct it.
- 171 -
Storing Qi in your Dan-tian
To reify this for you, place you palms on your Dan-tian, which is
just below your navel (fig. 1). Men should have their left palm
inside, touching their Dan-tian, with their right palm over their left.
Women should have their right palm inside, with their left palm
over their right. If you are standing, bend your knees slightly. If you
are sitting, try to keep your spine straight, and do not cross your
legs.
- 172 -
Active Gathering
Stand up, take a few Normal Breaths and relax. Slightly bend your
knees and begin.
As you breathe in, imagine a white light coming from above you,
which enters through the top of your head rather like a white wind,
descending in a continuous flow to your Dan-tian. Please refer to
(fig. 2) below. You may use this figure as guide for your
visualizations. As you breathe out, the energy remains in your lower
abdomen and becomes a ball of light. Take nine relaxed breaths,
absorbing Qi (the white light) from the area above your head. You
may find that you tighten the muscles of your abdomen and arms
when you try this for the first time. That is a normal reflex. Practice
using just your will to draw the energy down, while keeping your
muscles relaxed.
Fig. 2
- 173 -
In the next exercise, you will draw energy into both hands, through
the trunk of your body, and down into the Dan tian. You will
inhale, and draw energy in through both hands simultaneously. To
do this, extend your arms out to your sides, with your palms facing
away from you; absorb the energy through the middle of your
palms, drawing the energy through your arms, the trunk of your
body, and down into your Dan-tian. Repeat this sequence, (inhale
and draw the energy down to the Dan-tian) nine times. Relax your
body and make this entire process as effortless as possible.
Next you will repeat this process with both of your feet, drawing
the wind-like energy up into the soles of your feet, and up through
your legs, directing the flow to your Dan-tian. When you have the
energy centered in your Dan-tian, visualize the white energy ball
growing stronger and stronger with each of the nine breaths.
Once you’ve taken nine breaths, while drawing the energy into your
Dan-tian through each of the 5 centers, (filling your abdomen from
the area above your head, and from both of your hands and feet),
you will proceed to draw energy through all 5 centers at the same
time, using all five entry points simultaneously, and filling your
Dan-tian with nine breaths of energy. (fig. 3)
Finish this exercise by placing your palms over your Dan-tian and
taking a few Normal Breaths. This will help to store the energy you
have gathered.
- 174 -
Fig.3
- 175 -
Feeling the Flow of Qi
In the same way that we have learned to draw energy into the
Dan-tian by concentrating on our breathing and visualizing the
bioelectric energy as it follows our breath into our Solar Plexus, we
can also concentrate on our breathing and direct the bioelectricity in
other ways. For example, we can make this energy flow through our
body simply by desiring it to do so. When we wish to lift an arm, we
don’t need to know how the blood flows in the veins and the how
the neural energy stimulates the ADP of the muscle fibers to make
them contract… all we need to do is “will it” and the arm lifts. A
baby can lift its arm as well as a scientist. It only has to desire to do
so.
- 177 -
A step by step approach is necessary to develop your mental ability
to control Qi in your body. As you acquire the necessary knowledge
and experience in the art of directing this energy flow, you will be
able to feel the effect of your training and understand the different
applications of Qi-Gong more quickly and more completely.
Take a few natural breaths. Put your right palm over your left arm
without touching it, maintaining at least a distance of one inch. You
will now use the Reversed Breathing technique. As you breathe in
and contract your abdomen a bit, fill your right hand with Qi by
imagining that your hand is filled with white light/wind. As you
breathe out, let your abdomen relax, visualize the Qi emanating
from your right hand to the surface of your left arm. Use your
will/desire as well as your imagination to achieve this effect. Move
your right hand over the skin surface as you begin to notice a light
sensation emanating directly from your right hand.
- 178 -
Qi can trigger sensations of heat, cold, a windy sensation, a tickling,
or nothing at all when you are first trying this. After taking a few
breaths, and using your palm to emanate the Qi, try to emanate Qi
by pointing with your fingers. To do this, keep your right arm
straight and point the fingers of your left hand at your right arm,
moving your left hand over the fingers of your right arm and up to
the elbow, then very slowly back and forth while you continue
Reversed Breathing and the visualization. Eventually, you will feel
the Qi flowing.
- 179 -
Small and Grand Circulation
There are two main passageways of Qi, and these run down the
middle of the front of your body and up the middle of your back.
The channel in front is called the “Conception Vessel”, and the one
in the back, along the spine, is called the “Governing Vessel”.
Small Circulation
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Begin your inhalation, and visualize white Qi emanating from your
inner Dan-tian. As you contract your abdomen, visualize the Qi
moving down into your Conception Vessel (#1). The Qi keeps
flowing gently down and under your groin as you contract your
sexual organs and your perineum (#2). The Qi flows back into the
coccyx and up as you contract the cheeks of your buttocks. (#3)
Next you complete the inhalation as the
Qi moves into your spine at the level of
your inner Dan-tian (#4). As you breathe
out, letting go of your abdomen, the Qi
moves back in your inner Dan-tian (#5).
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Grand Circulation
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Perform nine circulations at a time, then
relax. Always do these exercises slowly
and comfortably.
Fig.7
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Implication
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this exchange. The exchange must be fair and balanced. You must
never destroy your life to acquire occult knowledge, but you surely
will not acquire any knowledge of great value without some kind of
effort and sacrifice.
You will develop great power only when you feel within yourself
that you value and cherish this sacred knowledge, and when you
behave in ways that will protect this knowledge. We call this attitude
the “Sense of the Sacred”. This “Sense of the Sacred” is a required
prerequisite to the achievement of the greatest power in any occult
system.
Gather your determination, and then do it. If you practice only five
minutes per day, everyday, you will get results.
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Karma and Dharma
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Dharma is also a tool for learning and personal evolution.
Assuming you did not steal, murder or lie in another lifetime, your
Higher Self may still decide to experiment a bit, perhaps in order to
better understand life as a human being. To facilitate that
understanding, your Higher Self may create trials and events in your
life, so that the desired learning can take place. There is usually less
suffering in the lessons of Dharma than in the lessons of Karma;
sometimes there is no suffering at all.
Even though you are seeking personal evolution, you may have
suffered some trial or injustice that seems unbearable to you. When
this is the case you may wish to call upon the Great Justice of the
Universe to manifest itself in your life and the lives of those directly
around you. We are not talking about invoking simple human
justice here; rather we refer to calling on the Divine Justice that sets
experiences in place so that our Karma will be resolved, in order to
free the soul of its burden. If you believe you have suffered injustice
at the hands of another, you can call upon the Great Justice to set
things right. Then, the Great Justice will cause the occurrence of
events that will definitely force your aggressor into a lesson, to help
him relieve his soul of its Karmic burden.
On the outside, the “target” will probably seem to suffer, and the
events will appear to lead to the correction of the situation so that
you receive the justice you feel you were denied. It might even ruin
his/her life. In truth, these events are set up in a way that is
designed to relieve both of you of the Karma that probably binds
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you together, and this correction might even ruin your own life. If
the (named) aggressor is in the right, and it is you that is in the
wrong, then get ready to experience an unpleasant major lesson,
while the smiling face of your innocent companion mocks you.
In time, you will learn how to call upon the Great Justice to
manifest itself, without negative repercussions, but don’t do this
technique until you are comfortable in your heart, since it will bring
up old memories and it will manifest events that may cause you to
suffer, if you have not first developed enough compassion, and the
ability to see your life from a higher perspective.
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Some mudras are designed to stimulate their beneficial effects in
your physical body, while others are designed to affect your
Spiritual bodies. Effects of the physical mudras range from
rebuilding your bones and cartilage, to healing your kidneys, to
clearing your mind, to helping you to get up more quickly in the
morning. Spiritual mudras have a broad range of elevating effects
that can enhance your psychic abilities, help you forgive, reduce
anger, raise your energy level, etc. In fact, there are hundreds of
different mudras. From these you may create all the effects you
could possibly wish for, but it is recommended that you learn them
one at a time.
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Prana Mudra
This mudra stimulates the base Chakra, the channels of energies in
the legs, and the minor Chakras in the middle of the feet. This
mudra is called “Mudra of Life”. It elevates the energy level,
reduces fatigue, and clears your eyesight. It will enhance your
determination and self trust. It is also used in conjunction with
treatments for eye disorders.
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Food, Air and Energy Mudras
The Food, Air and Energy Mudras are utilized to improve the
assimilation of the food and fuels you consume. When the strain of
assimilating the food you eat is markedly reduced, your health will
naturally be enhanced. Moreover, your energy level will soar. This
mudra is designed to help you process food, absorb the nutrients
from that food, and then to eliminate the waste products more
efficiently. The Food, Air and Energy Mudras offer all of these
benefits, and they will also help you to resolve digestive problems.
Assimilation Mudra
With the left hand, link your
thumb, middle and ring
fingers. This will link the
circulation of energy with the
assimilation/elimination
process of all your bodies
(physical and Spiritual). With
your right hand, link your thumb, index and middle finger, which
will enhance the assimilation process at all levels. Breathe for two to
five minutes, keeping your hands in this position. Relax and empty
your mind.
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Elimination Mudra
Keep your left hand in the
same position as the previous
mudra, so you stay in touch
with the flow of energy from
the assimilation process just
established.
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Martial arts
Few things in life hold as many powerful lessons as the martial arts.
They allow us to develop physically, mentally, and spiritually all at
the same time. Initially, one may not appreciate this, however, with
training over several years, you'll begin to gain a better
understanding of what I mean.
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Time goes on, and your mind develops, as you gain discipline by
holding stances, by sparring, by repeatedly refining your technique
until it is effortless and powerful, and then refining some more.
You will begin to relieve more stress in your life through your
training. You will gain a sense of focus as you repeatedly try to
correct bad habits, try to pick up every little detail. Every move
either makes you better or worse, so you must have awareness, be
alive, alert, awake.
The greatest thing about martial arts, they'll teach you a million
things. Most of them are not about fighting.
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The Mystic Knighthood in Detail
The Decree
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OR…
Humility
in service to Strength
in service to Justice
in service to Compassion
I am a Mystic Knight of the Crowned Heart
Print the sigil and use it as a talisman. Speak the Mystic Knighthood
decree and gaze upon the sigil for a few minutes. This will assist you
in attaining the heroic ideal you wish to attain, and it will also
strengthen the bond you have with the unconscious collective
thoughts of the Mystic Knighthood of the Crowned Heart. If you
wish, you can also use it to pray for the development of all
members of the Knighthood, or use it to invoke the spiritual
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support of the Knighthood when you need it. Specialized Knights
receive advanced techniques to nourish the egregor/collective-
unconscious of the Knighthood, and use its power to amplify their
work.
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Sigil of the Mystic Knight
Use the sigil to meditate and contemplate the decree.
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Logo of the Knighthood
Use the logo when it is shown to the public or used
for the knighthood activities.
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The Mystic Knight's Meditation
You should print the Sigil (not logo) of the Mystic Knight on a
white sheet or poster. It is available on the website. Place the poster
on a wall, at a height where its center is a bit above your eye level,
so that you gaze upwards just a bit while you are seated for
meditation. Sit comfortably, either on a chair or on a pillow on the
floor, at a distance where the important details of the Sigil appear
clearly. Keep your back straight without effort. Simply try not to
bend your back forward too much.
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Each time you do this meditation, you will repeat the name of one
virtue for the duration of the entire meditation. The virtue will
change once per meditation, one after the other, covering 5
meditations in a row. We suggest you have one meditation per day
for 5 days, then change technique or rest for 2 days. Yet, you can
meditate twice a day if you wish. Your meditation should last
between 5 and 45 minutes each (20 minutes is good). Use your
imagination to fill an area of your body with a set pattern of colors.
Keep a special focus on this specific part of the body.
1st
Humility
Forehead and brain
Glowing blue + golden sparkling
2nd
Strength
Solar plexus
Glowing red + golden sparkling
3rd
Justice
Throat and shoulder band
Glowing blue + golden sparkling
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4th
Compassion
Heart
Glowing blue + far blue radiance
5th
Truth
Entire body and above the head
Glowing white + far white radiance
Start by placing your eye focus on the Sigil for a few minutes while
doing a natural, relaxed, conscious breathing. Clear your mind
progressively, without shocking your mind.
Then, let your eye focus become a gentle gaze while you relax even
more. At this point, start repeating the daily name of a virtue, once
every 5-6 seconds. Use the name of the virtue as a mantra.
After yet another few minutes (2-3), close your eyes and focus on
the corresponding area in your body, and visualize it glowing with
its corresponding color. For example, on the second meditation of
this series, mentally repeat the word “Strength” while visualizing
your solar plexus glowing with red light, with golden sparkles. Keep
this visualization as long as you can.
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When you wish to stop your meditation, slowly open your eyes and
gaze at the Sigil again. Softly declare the Decree once, and gaze for
30 seconds. Then, get up and have your body move. If you can, try
to feel the energy in your body.
This meditation series can be done a few times when you join the
Knighthood. It strengthens the principles we teach and it prepares
your physical and energy body for more intense meditations of the
Mystic Knight, that will be presented later on, if you decide to
progress along with the Mystic Knighthood.
Strength meditation: Once your solar plexus filled with the red light,
let it expand up and down, as to fill your entire body. Add the
sparkling golden light. Repeat the mantra “Strength”. Try to remain
present in your body, in consciousness, while the strength comes
from a higher spiritual plane. Don’t try to understand the process as
much as living its experience.
Justice meditation: Once your throat is filled with blue light, let it
expand to fill your body. Add the sparkling golden light. Repeat the
mantra “Justice”.
Compassion meditation: Fill your heart with the blue radiating light.
Then let it fill your body. See the blue light radiate a bit from your
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body. Mantra and attitude, same as the other apprentice meditation
upgrade.
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The Mystic Knight's Ritual
for Protection and Spiritual Support
First, print out a copy of the Mystic Knight Sigil, found on the
website. You will use it as a focus image. The effect of this ritual
will be more efficient if you also did the introductive meditation
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process above. Do this ritual each time you need a burst of
protection or spiritual support. It will remain active for a while after
the practice itself, and in time, will become a permanent effect.
Before you start the process, you are asked to choose for yourself a
symbolic name as a Mystic Knight, made out of 2 names like a first
and last name, that will represent you in action. It should not be
your Knighthood username unless it really represents you as a
Knight of Strength and Justice. It should not be your true spiritual
name, but a symbolic name made out of qualifications you aspire to.
For example, François Lépine’s Mystic Knight name is Geburah
Tzedek, which means Strength-Justice in Hebrew. Your name could
sound like Lightning Sword, Dominion Vajra, Humble Rock, Shield
of Valor,… anyway you wish to personalize your way of
representing Strength and Justice. Yet, you should not use a name
like Mamothhead Bonecrusher, since bone crushing is not the
application of Justice, but anger. Select a name suited for you, as a
Mystic Knight.
The Ritual
Sit comfortable, and set the Sigil image so that you can gaze upon it
while looking just a bit higher than your eye level. Breathe deeply
and relaxed for 2 minutes, while you gaze on the Sigil itself. On the
Sigil, there are 2 blank spots below the heart, left and right. On the
lower-left blank spot, visualize your first and last name, so that you
can gain compassion and strength in this process. In the lower-right
blank spot, visualize your symbolic Mystic Knight name, which is
the combined effect of Strength and Justice, the name under which
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you actively participate in the process of Protection, Rectification
and Support.
Self-Defining
Close your eyes and visualize yourself as the Mystic Knight you are,
sitting in the same posture you currently have. You are seated on
the Sigil itself; everything else is pitch black darkness. See the Sigil
drawn on the floor, around 2 meters in diameter, with the
humility/upper part behind you, and the strength/lower part in
front of you, thus the justice part on your left and the compassion
part on your right. You are sitting over the crowned heart of Truth,
and your base chakra is pulsing in the middle of the heart. On each
of your breaths in, your left shield (or bracers) glows. On each of
your breaths out, your right sword (or two-handed sword) flames
up higher. The Sigil glows a bit, and its central heart is shining red.
Breathe and visualize for a few minutes. Go over each aspect of this
visualization, one by one, so that you don’t forget any aspect. For
one breathe, remember there is Humility behind you. On another
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breath, there is Strength before you. Justice on your left,
Compassion on your right, and you are seated on a crowed heart.
The crown of Truth aligns with your coccyx and spine, and your
base chakra is in the center of the heart. Your human appellation is
on your front-right corner, while your Mystic Knight name is in
your front-left corner. Behind you is the declaration that you are a
Mystic Knight, and that you have a Crowned Heart. After reviewing
each of these aspects, let the image become a whole, without
concerning yourself if you will miss out bits of it afterwards. The
more you will do this ritual, the more the full image will remain
complete, self-sustaining itself.
The Summon
Now that you have strengthened yourself as a Mystic Knight, You
will create the spiritual bond with other members of the
Knighthood. In your spiritual visualization, stand up in a relaxed
manner. Your breath keeps the alternating glowing of your shield
and flame waves of your sword. Utter in your mind, in a silent yet
decided attitude: “Knights of the Mystic Knighthood of the Crowed
Heart, I Summon your presence”. Immediately, see appearing in the
distant dark, blurry images of other Knights of many shapes, forms
and colors, each standing in their own Sigil manifestation. Do not
pay attention to their exact symbols or names. Keep your full
attention to your own Sigil and Mystic Knight presence. Breathe
now knowing you are not alone. This part of the ritual summons
the energetic presence of the egeregor/collective-unconsciousness
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of each other Mystic Knight of our Knighthood, at the level of
which it is sustained; hence the different levels of clarity and
blurriness since not all Knights are actively sustaining their aura at
the same time. Sometimes, you might see shining white light stream
descending on another Knight. This is the next part of the ritual.
The Joining
The next process is done in about 30 seconds, and nourished for
about 5 minutes. At the next step, uphold your shield and sword
more firmly while you utter mentally in a powerful attitude: “Under
One Truth” and visualize a powerful stream of white glowing light
descending at you, entering your head, but the stream is much larger
than your head and it enters the whole of your body, yet it radiates
even larger, filling all the area inside your sigil with a white glowing
aura. Immediately keep on uttering “We Serve!” while a stream of
white light comes out of your general Sigil/White aura, at the level
of your torso, and beams towards another knight, who will receive
it. At the same time, from a random direction, coming from another
knight receiving the white light from above, a stream of while light
strikes you and nourishes your own aura even more, letting another
stream project out of your Sigil/Aura to another knight, that
continues to another knight, to yet another knight, as you feel
another stream come from somewhere else, throwing out yet
another from yours,… in a continuous manner until all the Knights
you see are receiving a stream of white light from above, and all are
linked together in this collective white web of glowing light of
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Truth. Nourish this visualization for about 5 minutes. You are
collaborating and receiving the spiritual protection and support of
the entire Knighthood, while you are also contributing to it
yourself. The energies exchanged this way are only the white light of
truth that comes from above each Knight. Your own life force and
personal energies belong to yourself, and it is so for every other
Knight.
It is normal that most Knights you see close to you are those who
resemble your own self-definition as a Mystic Knight. As you
progress in the knighthood, you will get to see various images of
Knights, Samuraï, Ninjas, Sorcerers, Priests, Monks, men and
women, that you did not notice before. Some are the projection of
your imagination, and some are real perception of other members,
but all link to a real Mystic Knight.
The Binding
Keep your entire body relaxed but tighten your hands, both physical
and visualized, like you are holding your spiritual tools. You will
now use your willpower to bring this energy in your physical reality.
With a strong intention, bring both your visualized and physical
hands upwards and breathe in strongly. Open your eyes while,
looking down at the floor, you bring your hands down close to your
body, tighten the whole of your body, and breathe out a strong
“Hhhhahahahahahahahahah!!!”. In a single out breath, you tighten
your belly, legs, arms, shoulders, face and willpower, bringing all the
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spiritual and mental energies in your physical reality. Your mind is
still in the meditative state, but your eyes are opened to your
physical environment while you mentally uphold the visualization.
The next breath in keeps the body high with energy, and breathe
out while spreading your arms wide, releasing all the energy around
you, releasing the muscles, letting the energies flow freely. The flow
of white light is continuous, your aura radiates, you may feel the
windy flow of light in your body and around you.
The first breath brings the spiritual energies in your physical body,
the second one opens the doors to let the flow outwards. It is a
process done only once per ritual, to connect the dimensions
together, then the flow can continue on its own for a while. Breathe
strongly a few times and relax. Pay attention to the energy you may
feel. Speak aloud if you can, whispering if you must, or simply move
your lips without sound, but you speak physically a declaration of
yourself as a Mystic Knight, describing yourself and your intentions.
It should be an improvised calling that sounds something like "I
hold up the sword of compassion, transmuting all pain with
forgiveness; I uphold the shield of justice, reflecting all evil;
Humility supports my back; Strength is a my feet; I am a Mystic
Knight, and I declare myself as such in Truth, to serve, for the good
of all mankind".
The Salutation
Close your eyes again and relax completely. See the visualization in
a self-sustained manner, and don’t put any more energy into it. The
final salutation is not a request, but a blessing bestowed on all other
Knights. Mentally salute the other Knights in a manner that suits
you, calling a general blessing to every other Knight. Relax and let
yourself dwell in meditation as long as you wish.
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Drink water and eat a little something, if you can, right after the
ritual.
You are invited to post your Mystic Knight name and the
description (or drawing) of your Mystic Knight form in the
member's forum, on the website.
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Hierarchy and advancement
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Knighthood cannot provide sufficient training on-line, and martial
arts are best learned directly from a competent master. Your martial
art certification or fee invoice will serve as proof for your evaluation
of this aspect. Yet, it is not required to be a martial arts expert to
become a member of our knighthood and to progress. You only
need to practice at your rhythm.
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an adept. Your title of Knight could be suspended if you act in ways
that are totally against The Code.
There are special titles given to those who develop more than one
competence:
Master * 3 specializations
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* The title "Master" refers to one's own self-mastery, and does not
entitle one to any authority towards others. The Knighthood's
authority is reserved to the Head Knights and Head Priests, and this
authority is limited to the management of the Knighthood's
operations. We are all free people.
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New members must pay their lifetime membership fee (10$) to the
presiding Knight, who will pass it on to the Mystic Knighthood in
totality. The advancement fees will be separated between the
presiding Knight (for his teaching and evaluation) and the Mystic
Knighthood (for management and certification).
All members, of every level, must be allowed direct contact with the
Knighthood thru its website, if they so desire. Members do not
belong to the Knights, and a teacher-student relationship must be
built on trust. We are all free people, studying together for the
benefit of everyone.
You can see a list of active lodges and study groups on the website.
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Terms and Conditions
Legal Implications
Your country's laws always come in priority to the knighthood's
Code. The Code is a suggested behavior, and although mandatory
to progress further within the knighthood, your country's laws will
always have to pass in front of our Code.
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Nowadays, it is not an absolute requirement to participate in intense
physical training in order to progress within the knighthood. Many
other aspects can be worked on: mental, spiritual, and social. As
long as you are doing your best, we will consider your physical
limitations while evaluating your advancement requests.
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A Mystic Knight
with a Crowned Heart
Practical Guide for Spiritual Warriors
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