The Warrior's Body: Peak Conditioning, Personal Power, and the Path to Complete Freedom

Welcome to The Nagual Zone - I’m Anaam.

Today, I want to talk very briefly about the Toltec Warrior’s concern with peak physical conditioning. This topic is very underrated. I have seen and observed a lot of so-called apprentices and so-called naguals and shamans - especially Westerners who fancy themselves as such and the first thing I check is their physicality. 99% of the time, I can see that the body isn’t really a temple for these posturers.

A warrior is concerned very much with being in peak physical conditioning at all times. That doesn’t mean they become obsessed about it, because that is not being a warrior. But it does mean that they have arrived at a place of extreme impeccability about it within themselves. A warrior will do whatever it takes to cultivate the discipline - the eating habits, clean eating habits - everything must be geared towards the warrior’s ultimate goal, which is to attain complete freedom.

Think about a champion boxer. Think about Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson. Or think about an Olympic athlete, a swimmer or any of these people. They won’t be found by the chip shop eating fish and chips or some really bad biscuits and cheap meat.They are all careful to put high grade fuel into their body temples.

Remember that a warrior is not motivated by good morals or being an upstanding citizen of society - “I should not lie, I should not murder, it’s morally wrong” - no. There is a reason for every decision and every action a warrior takes, and the reason must ultimately add to the warrior’s quest for complete freedom. Everything we do must be efficient. It must become our lifestyle - the most efficient kind of lifestyle - to produce the least distractions and the most powerful current of energy, to produce a life of impeccability and personal freedom, which then leads to personal power, which is what we need to make the jump.

What is the jump? Another completely misunderstood concept. People just read these books by Carlos Castaneda and think they have got it, they know what he’s talking about. “Oh yes yes, I’m so intelligent” - not at all. There is a lot of delusion about it in an age of delusion, deceptions & illusions.

We pay a very high price for every bit of knowledge we are gifted with. Every inch of progress you make - make no mistake about it - you will have to pay for your soul in blood, sweat, and tears over and over again.

That is why I said in the previous video that if you are a genuine Toltec Warrior - a rare species - many claim and many are convinced they are on the warrior’s path. “Oh yes, I’ve been studying with this shaman and that shaman and this nagual and that nagual.” Good for you. The proof is in the pudding, and when our dear friend death taps us on the shoulder and says time to go, then we will see what quality your work has been. That is literally between you and death - that quality. Death will judge that quality.

Make sure you are aware that you need to do whatever it takes to develop a physique that works for you. Eat clean foods that help your body to make the most out of its existence here - this very brief existence. Don’t get caught up in petty greeds and petty sugar addiction and eating addiction, eating bad quality food, eating at times that don’t serve you, like really late at night before going to bed if you feel that it’s not good for you. For example, yesterday I ended up having a peanut butter healthy bar that I like to have just before going to bed because my body - my metabolism is very strong, very powerful, so my body burns fuel very quickly, and I like to have a little bit of snack to see me through the sleep time. I suffered with phlegm throughout the night - a lot of phlegm in the throat. So today I have decided to have fruit instead. I am going to have an apple, maybe an orange along with it. I do like to have a nice cup of milk or coconut milk before I go to bed, just something to keep me going.

Inform yourself. Experiment. There are different schools of thought, different approaches to becoming the best you can be in your body. Don’t underestimate this topic. Don’t underestimate this aspect of you - it really can make or break you. What the average man does is he focuses on bills and relationships - money, career, and relationships. He focuses on those first and his own body last. But as warriors, we flip that around. We come first. The upkeep of my body temple comes first. Relationships come second, and bills and all the other practicalities of living in life come third. We flip that around.

In my own journey, I have trained in martial arts - one of my great loves. I also like to train in self-defense, which is very different from martial arts. Martial arts is virtually useless. Self-defense has very practical applications for cleaning up your self-importance. I have extensive experience - deep experience - in yoga. I have extensive experience in Tai Chi and qigong. There was a time in my training when I would go at 3:00 AM to a beautiful bandstand in a huge park near where I lived, and I would go there and do Tai Chi, really just start getting into the energetic flow. I have done Tai Chi at all hours of the day. I have kicked around in gyms and lifted weights. By the way, stay away from gyms. Gyms - like hospitals - Western gyms and Western hospitals are two of the greatest killers of humanity. There is a lot of ignorance in these two places, more than you would think.

My tip is to make sure you eventually become a master of your body weight. Start with body weight exercises. Dand, baithak - these are two Indian exercises, very, very good for you. The wrestler’s bridge, as popularized by Matt Furey - his book Combat Conditioning is an amazing book. Start with that. Plan long term. You are in this for the long haul. You are in this never to quit. But the motivation must come from the right realization, the right insight within, that this is you being impeccable with yourself. It will be a hard journey, especially if you are beginning to realize now how important health is.

Health is one thing. Being in peak warrior physical condition is another. As a warrior, you need to be flexible, agile, strong, and as much a master of your body weight as you can be. I promise you, you will not regret making that invincible decision. Take your own time arriving at that decision, but once you make that decision, don’t look back, because there will be a thousand other things you will need to worry about.

I will leave you with this: the physicality of the warrior is a very, very important topic. Who knows what topic we will deal with tomorrow?

Take care and walk in freedom. See you again soon.