sholomar

Everything in moderation. Everyone has different life goals. There's nothing wrong with a gaming marathon if you have achieved your goals. Life is really a mind-trick. Being happy is a matter of perception and mindset combined with what your genetics wants you to do because of evolutionary drives. Thoughts create reality... haven't you seen Joe Dispenza's TV series called Rewired? If you are happy with your life, doing what you do, letting other people tell you that what you are doing is "bad" or "wrong" us utterly pointless. Do what you love, do what makes you happy. Let God be the judge. "Judgment is mine, sayeth the lord." Only you know if you are truly happy, or if there is an emptiness inside from what you do. I plan to be first in line to get a Geforce 4080 and pop it until my Intel 12600K system.

I would avoid it. It encourages an "us vs them" mentality. Plus from an ego perspective I disagree with a lot of the progressive leaning posters here including Leo himself. For example, I don't see republicans like Desantis as this grand threat. I see the woke wing of the democrat party to be at least as equal of a threat, and generally tend to lean anti-authoritarian in general. I find the left can't often see their own authoritarianism, and both sides have their authoritarian tendencies. Basically at this point in my journey debating politics is pointless. You won't change people's minds and it just causes internal conflict and cultivates negative emotional states by both sides. I'd rather focus on what we all have in common versus what we don't have in common, and try to maintain a live and let live mentality and treat others like I'd like to be treated. I don't want to fall into this trap of hating republicans and seeing them as evil. On the same note, I don't want to fall into the trap of seeing the woke left as evil either. They are just people. They've both gone through their own hardships, been culturalized by their own dogma to believe what they do. I find politics is more like a horseshoe... the extreme left and right have more in common with each other than anyone in the middle, the so called "moderates" and "normal people." Unhappy people tend to gravitate towards more extreme political philosophies. Happy people just want to be left alone to live their lives. To the unhappy people this is unacceptable. We could debate the reason they are unhappy forever, and try to blame it on various things we think we can fix... fair enough. Checks and balances to keep power from concentrating are the best way to keep human nature in check. Doesn't matter of it's Putin, Xi, Soros, Desantis, Trump, Kim Jong-Un, Klaus Schwab, The World Bank, or whoever.. when power gets concentrated into the hands of the few, problems occur. It doesn't matter how enlightened you think your world view is, nobody should have unchecked authority to dictate to people, or to buy political influence. If the person you don't like wins the election, or the court makes a decision you do not like, tough shit. Deal with it. Learn to see from their perspective, try to see why they think the way they do, and try to extend an olive branch of understanding instead of ridiculing and trying to "cancel" them. One thing I love about the United States... state's rights. If you live in a state that doesn't share your worldview, move to a different one. What I disagree with is using the Federal government to try to force policy on states whether it happens to be about guns, drug use, abortion, or whatever the case may be. Maximum state's rights can allow us to all get along, instead of trying to force our worldview on each other in a one size fits all fashion, and both sides do it. Bottom line, you will NEVER please everyone. It's simply impossible to do so. You can achieve policy that produces the most happiness and prosperity for the majority.

I find obsessing over breathing patterns to be a trap. When one is sufficiently relaxed, in a state of open focus, present moment awareness, with more dominant alpha brainwave activity, breathing will naturally deepen on it's own. It's fine to use as a tool to focus, but don't obsess over it.

For me social media is a trap... it doesn't actually relax me, it keeps my nervous system overstimulated. Most articles you find on the topic talk about children, but it applies to adults also. https://www.newworldlibrary.com/ArticleDetails/tabid/230/ArticleID/339/Default.aspx I've banned myself from the city-data and godlikeproductions forums for now, trying to cut wasteful idle screen time. I'd say the healthiest thing would be to replace screen time with time that is spent being mindful, present moment focused, or in a state of what is called "open focus" ... this will relax the nervous system, decrease stress levels, eliminate cheap and easy sources of dopamine, and make it easier to start healthy habits. It will cultivate an alpha brainwave state which makes new learning and self improvement easier. As far as new habits go, what matters more than how much time you spend doing them is that you do them every day. They always say when learning piano or guitar you are better off spending 15-30 minutes every day practicing rather than 4 hours a day, twice a week. It has to do with how the brain adopts new behaviors. Start out with 5 minutes of your new habit every day, and increase until you are at the level you want. For a new behavior to become automatic, do it every day. There are exceptions to this rule, such as with weight lifting. For me the dopamine withdraw process was helpful to find new activities I enjoyed... when stuck on screens, fapping, video games, food, drugs, and other "easy" dopamine sources the body will be less driven to want to expand and grow, and will also tend to suffer from brain fog and zombie mode, feeling lazy and unmotivated. Not masturbating for me is key. Find more eudominic hobbies and less hedonic hobbies, like in Leo's happiness spectrum video.

Honesty you want to know what happens? I'll tell you. Chuckle. It's just the total truth. The forum gets totally taken over by anti-jew and incel posters... they sit around criticizing Israel and Women all day long. They strive to have some puritan utopia that only exists in their heads as they swallow their right wing conspiracy theories. I consider myself a political moderate though most here would consider me conservative, and I can see the right's paranoia just like I see the lefts (the woke) and this is unmoderated political forums after a while. These types of posters are one trick ponies and it's all they ever talk about. They enjoy their echo chambers where they sit all day long in a circle jerk reinforcing one another's viewpoints.

I would recommend books and youtube videos by Joe Dispenza... basically personal development types have narrowed the process down to first relaxing into that alpha brainwave state using open focus meditation and mindfulness techniques, then using a combination of visualization and positive thinking to rewire a new state of being into one's limbic brain while allowing the old state of being to "atrophy" like not using a muscle. There's also books like atomic habits. It all comes down to routines and making healthy habits automatic through a process of rewiring the brain and creating new habits. This is like withdrawing from a drug you have become addicted too over decades... it involves discomfort. It involves cravings. It involves backsliding and trying again. Gradually you get better and better. https://effectiviology.com/the-stages-of-learning-how-you-slowly-become-more-competent-at-new-skills/ Being able to mindfully sit with cravings is the first step towards self mastery. Once you become proficient at doing this you can literally learn any new skill.

You are the sum of your genetics, your soul's past life experiences, your cultural upbringing, your parents, and the laws of physics which allowed reality in this particular simulation to manifest in the manner in which is has. You have free will, and yet at the same time you don't. You make of this dream whatever mindset you decide to hold. Take responsibility for your thoughts, perspective, habits, and mindset, and seek to make the best version of yourself. Don't play the victim and place all the problems for your life out there on some boogeyman. Good dreaming! One thing I like to do is see people who push my buttons as an opportunity for growth. I ask myself why they push my buttons and what it is about my programming that causes me to get annoyed, angry or whatever... along with trying to be more present moment focused and not living on the past or catastrophizing about some future outcome.

The best thing to have is plenty of checks and balances to keep human nature in check. It's human nature that is the problem, and unlike some here I don't believe that voting for leftist candidates will solve all the world's problems, due to human nature. There's plenty of examples of socialism ending up in disaster with dictators carting away anyone who doesn't comply to camps, and things of that sort. Look at modern day China's covid zero policies... Making sure power and wealth do not concentrate, that too much policy isn't implemented from the hands of too few individuals, no matter how good their intentions seem to be... for example the WHO or CDC trying to override our constitution and implement covid mandates that bypass our checks and balances. The person who said the road to hell is paved with good intentions is right. I don't trust human nature, so checks and balances are good. No authoritarians. No dictators. Plenty of choice. You will never please everyone, and you will never be able to save everyone, no matter how hard you try. The best we can do is come up with a system of government that works for most, and maybe have different forms of government for people with differing beliefs. This is why I love the US... state's rights being such a large part of the makeup of the country governors can decide to issue executive orders nullifying the federal government, and to me that's powerful. Someone who is left leaning can move to CA, someone who is right leaning can move to Florida or Tennessee or wherever, and each can be happy. No dictators trying to implement one size fits all policy on unwilling populace. Bottom line, if you want the entire planet to assimilate into your collective mindset, you are part of the problem. You have unrealistic expectations. Live and let live, within reason.

People are fooled into thinking they can eat unlimited amounts of so-called "natural sugar" from things like dates by a lot of plant based promoters and this thinking is flawed... sugars are molecules of glucose and fructose and whether they come from HFCS, maple syrup, honey, or beet sugar, if you over eat any of these sugars you will suffer the same health problems in the end. Excessive consumption of fructose containing items should be avoided because it goes through a similar metabolic process as alcohol where it's processed by the liver. A lot of people who overeat fructose end up with NAFLD, skinny fat, and get these little pregnant beer gut looks. I saw it once badly in a road biker... he was on a 100 mile ride and otherwise skinny but looked pregnant. I never saw anything like it. It's because of excess alcohol/fructose. All sugars are generally 40-60% fructose with the exception of agave which is 80-90% fructose. Starches in the other hand metabolize directly into glucose are are taken in by cells. They are quite a bit more healthy especially if you are not overweight... even simple starches like white bread/rice in moderation. One thing a lot of people consume they think is healthy is pasteurized fruit juices like Orange juice... not healthy, fructose bomb with a little vitamin C added.

It's nothing super complicated... just avoid processed high carb, high fat items... cut out things like these: Pizza, cookies, hot pockets, pie, chips, crackers, cereal, cookies, donuts, pop tarts, cake, soda, candy bars (dark chocolate is fine,) ice cream, white bread, french fries, fried chicken, fast food... Eat things like: Meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts, legumes, cultured milk products (kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese), fish Also calories in, calories out is important. If you overeat too much of anything you will get fat. Get your antioxidants from things like berries, coffee, dark beers, chocolate, cinnamon and other spices, dark wines, and certain fruits like Apples. Avoid excessive sun exposure. Don't go tanning thinking it will make you look more sexy because when you get older you will have more facial wrinkles, dark spots, and other side effects that come with excessive oxidation the UVA and UVB rays cause.

Great post. I should add that nofap works because it helps to cultivate self mastery. It's not because of any minerals lost in the semen or anything, it's because like Leo's episode on addiction talks about.. if you are able to sit there with a craving and just observe it mindfully, and not let it control you and not give into the craving, it's a very powerful habit when cultivated. Sex is the strongest drive humans have besides hard drugs when it comes to the dopamine response in the brain, so it's going to be one of the strongest cravings to practice this with. For men it's imperative to cultivate self mastery to be the top of the food chain in desirability and personal growth. A weak man who goes through life giving into hedonistic cravings (fapping, pot, video games day in day out) is not something that personally I find appealing. I've gone through my hedonistic phase. I'm done with that. Learning, growing, eudimonic activities, are what really drive me now going forward. It's one reason I took up musical theory. It's good to have a new habit to replace the old habit to prevent falling back into the old habit.

The best thing to enhance the subconscious memory recall is to practice mindfulness and stress reduction. I've been studying musical theory as a hobby to get away from video games and forums and when trying to recall notes on the grand staff and memorize key signatures it becomes futile if I'm sleep deprived or otherwise stressed out. Cultivating the parasympathetic response, those alpha brain waves, is key. I've found the work of Joe Dispenza useful lately... how to reprogram the limbic response, self mastery, habit forming, using "open focus" as a means of cultivating relaxation... Aside from the mental work, fish oil should work best for memory... salmon, trout, canned mackerel and/or herring. Honestly, the vast majority of health problems people around the world face are not diet related (aside from over-consumption of calories leading to obesity) they are stress related. We over-think too much in many cultures... use our left brains too much... we try to exert too much control over the circumstances in our lives... people need to learn to relax, let go a bit, ride the waves, roll with the punches... it takes a lot of energy to build up all these barriers to try to keep oneself safe...

Whatever a person can do to make themselves self sufficient I applaud them for. If a woman is for example making money selling farts in a jar to desperate men for money, I'm all for that. They are providing a service that someone is purchasing. Great! Similarly I enjoy watching Rust streamers.. they have 5000 hours of experience playing that video game and managed to monetize their efforts. Excellent! Side gigs are great. Being able to support oneself without having to work for someone else and be subject to corporate slavery is great, but some people do have to be corporate slaves. I am a corporate slave, but am good at my job and paid well to do it. What I don't support is entitlement mentality... the idea people should get paid to merely exist without contributing to society. I really should get over that hangup or I'll find myself reincarnating as someone who is depending on handouts. It's part of the reason I'm back here. I want to give up my city-data addiction once and for all. I want to be around people who can expand my perspective a bit.

My main issue with green is that on the one hand this is a forum focused on personal development, and on another hand many of these same stage greens want to have lifetime entitlements for people and try to save everyone. I'm of the opinion you should teach people to fish, and not give them fish, and that we reward bad behavior in society these days. The american left encourage people to "live in the moment" and do whatever one "feels" like and then rewards bad behavior with handouts. I believe in operant/pavlonian conditioning where good (responsible) behavior should be rewarded and things like equity, lifetime welfare, entitlements, bailouts, etc. do the opposite of help to grow a person, they keep them in a state of perpetual victim-hood and give them an entitlement mentality. They don't learn their lesson and by getting bailed out are encouraged to repeat said behavior. You can't save everyone. We can't take in every refugee, feed every starving person, for no other reason than they will breed like rabbits and in a generation we will have to feed three times as many. People need to be taught to be self sufficient and independent. This can be done while still maintaining a community mindset. I just don't support giving people free stuff for nothing for long periods of time. It doesn't help them grow in any way, and burdens the people who are working and paying for these people who don't contribute. Neither political party is worthy of my support in 2022, but I can't vote democrat in their current state. I don't understand for example not giving violent criminals high bails, and the increasing violence they are allowed to get away with in large cities, much less the promotion of prepubescents changing their genders, among other questionable social policy. Basically it's our species that is the problem. Like I've said on city-data I don't have much respect for any of the leadership in any nation right now that the blinders are off to human nature. I see corruption... everywhere. I see people who want to tell each other what to do and have no tolerance for differences. I see increased authoritarian mindset among politicians. I see late stage capitalism making people soft to evolutionary nature.. life is hard, it's not meant to be easy, and people aren't supposed to be coddled. Coddling people doesn't help them grow. I guess I see what I want to see.

People are tired of the identity politics, this obsession with race, critical race theory, pushing transgenderism on children who haven't even reached puberty, cancel culture, the mask mandates, especially in schools, and the list goes on. Also this soft on crime mentality where violent offenders are given low bails... why? https://www.belling.com/april-5-results-a-smashing-victory-for-grass-roots-conservatism-in-southeast-wisconsin/ This and many other things related to this are why a red wave is coming. I'm not a huge fan of republicans, but the left is off their rockers lately. They haven't even hidden this fact and gone moderate during this election cycle... they seem to be as extreme as ever with what they are peddling.

My grandmother was an atheist when she had her near death experience. She was told it was not her time, she had 4 children to raise (my mother and aunts, uncle) I remain skeptical but with an open mind. I've read the journey of souls series of books. I mean if you believe in universal consciousness, oneness, non duality, and don't just believe that a trip with DMT is due to chemical reactions in the brain, it's not a logical next step to then believe in the soul and the concept of reincarnation. Why would a DMT trip be any more valid as far as the truths you would acquire?

I listen to mark belling, a conservative radio talk show host out of Milwaukee. It's the only mainstream news I get. He's more common sense than a lot of them...he got his vaccine and booster and believes in vaccine choice and has always said that "rationalization is the second strongest human drive" ...when I heard Leo bring up rationalizing in recent videos I always think of that quote. I need, I must, get access to all sides of the story so I can find my own truth. I don't want my truth spoon fed to me. I bring him up here because his show, for his market, gets good ratings. (1130 WISN MILWAUKEE MARKET)...it can be streamed on iheart so I wouldn't be able to listen otherwise, living in south Dakota. https://www.talkers.com/category/ratings-takeaways/

My take... Women much more than men often have a desire to "sow their oats" ...that is to say they want to experience the world, have sex with fun bad boys, travel overseas, and get all that "fun" out of their system. For many when they get married too young they feel like they missed out on all that. With modern culture pushing this "experience everything" mentality the temptation will be so great for them not to be able to resist that craving...it's genetic. Best to accept our genetic nature and not try to date a woman for marriage in a western culture if she is too young unless you are absolutely sure she won't develop a midlife crisis like this as she ages. Men can be guilty of this as well but generally speaking men don't need as much social stimulation as women do. Men are content once they have their wife and kids to own a home, work their job, raise their kids, drink their beer, watch their football. Simple and boring, as it should be. I'm working on this myself as I continue to grow and improve... Attracting a mid 20's to early 30's woman who can be a stay at home mom and give me 2 or three kids, all within a year of each other in age so they can socialize and mature at a similar rate. . With all the psychological insights I've acquired I know they will turn out great...and if they don't I'll love them all the same.

There's a lot wrong with the democrat party here that people aren't seeing because they choose not to see it. I'm still in the process of taking space lizards advice. I don't pine over the state of the world like who I dub the "Reddit lefties" who want to keep society masked up for the next 100 years or the righties afraid a vaccine will give them a heart attack or AIDS...I just find the whole game quite stimulating...watching human nature play itself out in the global political arena fascinates me... I'm much more stimulated by intelligent persuits than mindless work gossip about fishing and hunting which is all people in my area like to discuss. Im much more interested in watching the game play out than the outcome of the game, though my one core belief is anti authoritarian in nature, the title I use on the city data forums under this name... More checks and balances to keep human nature in check. No one individual or group of people should have too much power over another...it doesn't matter how good their intentions or how right they think their world view is (like the spiral dynamics greenies that frequent this place. I'm still trying to break my political forum addiction...pointless waste of time...I spent 5 hours yesterday on musical theory, 90 minutes of those practicing guitar. Baby steps... I want to make this forum the only one I visit in time, though I will never be as left leaning as many here.

To a degree this issue exists because sex has been so stigmatized by religions over the generations. What if sex was seen as a gesture of affection akin to just being playful and wasn't culturalized in such a manner as something that was only done by consenting adults? There's an example of our closest related DNA ancestor called a Bonobo that does just this. https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/casual-sex-play-common-among-bonobos You actually do find it in most animal species. Puppies will start to dry hump and most mammal species begin to procreate at puberty, and puberty for humans is around age 12. If you look back at most past cultures their girls were marrying or having kids at age 12-14...like 99% of cultures. I'm not sure what to do about it in 2021 I just understand the science and to a degree some of the psychology behind it. I think too many people are quick to throw the word pedophile around. I'll admit as a man I find 14-15 year old girls attractive...of course I don't do anything about it because I find adult women equally attractive and don't need to risk decades in prison and the associated social stigma. In general I avoid children that are not mine these days because of this obsession people have that someone is going to abduct them. We definitely need to do something about trafficking and abducting women of any age for use in sex rings...the people who abduct women or use fear tactics to keep them virtual slaves need to be in my opinion executed with a knife blade to the throat in a public setting.

It's not too late, but you have to want to change your self destructive habits and this change will bring lots of discomfort. In a stressed out state impulse control is much harder... Our limbic brains will take us through a rollercoaster of cravings and emotions. You have to take the initiative...nobody is going to do it for you. Leo's video on addictions and his video on dealing with strong negative emotions are useful. You have to learn to sit with the craving or emotion mindfully, without letting it control you. Find an apartment. Buy a nice wardrobe. Work on your people skills. Brush up on your ability to draft a resume. Give up the pot and alcohol. Clean up your diet. Start going pullups. MAINTAIN A CONSISTENT SLEEP SCHEDULE. If you do get a job, show up on time every day, no excuses for how you "feel" ...one thing about the nervous system is only exposure therapy and proper mindset will heal it. You don't want to get stuck in a rumination cycle, where you let how you feel dictate how you think in a vicious cycle. I noticed a number of people on this forum do that. They also like to project...they think that if such and such out there in the world was different, suddenly they would be happy. They use what they perceive as the state of the world as an excuse to pine in misery and not take responsibility for their lives. That's not how it works. It's their toxic internal mindset that poisons their well being, not anything going on out there in the world. This article could come in handy. https://www.woujo.com/blog/2020/12/29/woujos-guide-to-anxiety-and-depression There are plenty of jobs in Iowa and South Dakota. I live in eastern South Dakota. I make over $30/hour working at 3M. You shouldn't have problems finding a job regardless of work history. There is a 3M plant in Knoxville IA...all 3Ms pay above average for factory work. Make sure it pays semi decently...don't take anything under $14ish dollars an hour. You could also consider a trade like electrician, or going into nursing. Travel nurses make big bucks. This job market right now is literally one of the best in a long time for people looking to switch careers. There are labor shortages everywhere. You are only 24...you are just a baby! Plenty of time! I myself am taking up guitar playing and studying musical theory as a healthy habit at an older age than you to replace mindless screen time. Cultivate healthy habits... Read the book atomic habits. Small improvements each day lead to exponential gains down the road. Keep in mind the hardest part of a new habit is the first few weeks....the first few days, and backsliding...see Leo's video on backsliding. If you can persist despite your emotions and cravings screaming out in defiance, eventually those feelings will subside and a sense of overwhelming pride of accomplishment will take their place. Good luck.

I use an Oral B electric and floss daily and I have gotten glowing remarks from the dentist ever since, both from a plaque perspective and doing that test of gum integrity where you get numbers like, 1,2,2,3,1 for the gum pockets between teeth. A lot of it will be genetics and gut bacteria composition through...you might just have a good microbiome that supports healthy teeth you may not need to brush as much. Low carb eaters in theory wouldn't need to brush as much. The worst offenders for plaque buildup for me are bananas. In general I wouldn't recommend not brushing and flossing to most people. Pro tip...use a toothpaste with stannous fluoride...it's superior to sodium fluoride. It would help to not be an anti fluoride conspiracy theorist either. It really does help strengthen enamel...the science is as clear as CO2 causing global warming. You can always consume extra iodine to compensate. Im general I like to be green but my one guilty pleasure is using plackers twin line flossers...those plastic disposable flossers with 2 pieces of floss in them. With them the flossing habit is so much smoother.

I think spiral dynamics is being used to stroke the egos of many here (and in progressive society) into thinking their philosophy is the end all, be all of moral superiority and this can be used to justify authoritarian like control over the populace "for their own good" which I disagree with. Trying to thwart our evolutionary nature and suppress the laws of nature such as natural selection actually hinders growth in the long run. On the other hand Leo made a good point in a another post equating rich people to cancer cells...you can't allow really powerful people to have totally unchecked levels of wealth and influence either. It's a balancing act. Out here in rural South Dakota a few families tend to control entire towns and it can become a toxic atmosphere that stifles growth. Ill give credit for Leo criticizing China in his latest video on truth but I see way too many people on the left in modern America trying to "cancel culture" so called conservative or traditional beliefs and I don't believe this idea of "community responsibility" should be used to turn society into a borg collective where everyone must believe the stage greenies because they are so superior. They are not. We need to learn to tolerate our differences. I don't see the left as so much more superior to the right...I think they are both nuts. They both hold their cultlike belief systems that they spend lots of effort to emotionally defend. Sorry but there are clearly some unhappy, emotionally damaged people here who think making the entire planet assimilate to their belief system would solve all the world's problems. It would not. Basically I'm for heavy checks and balances and shaking up the snow globe with relative frequency...never allowing any one group of people to exert too much control over another.

It could be LPR, or silent reflux. Stress will cause the stomach to reflux. People who lead stressful lives or are wired from a young age to have a more sympathetic dominant nervous system can suffer from all sorts of chronic health problems such as reflux, gastropsresis, "chronic Lyme," IBS, fibromyalgia, etc...these are all diseases of the autonomic nervous system in many cases, caused by psychological stress. Loss of appetite is a symptom of stress related conditions also. The fix is rewiring yourself to be parasympathetic while at rest. This can be done by quitting screens and other bad habits like drugs/alcohol, mindful or open focus meditation, laughter/ social connections, deep breathing, proper sleep schedule and carcadian rhythm, and pursing eudonia instead of hedonism. You need to really relax during your downtime...screens are not necessarily relaxing they can stimulate the nervous system (video games, violent TV content) It can take some time for the change to happen....weeks to months of changing habits entirely for hours per day.... A lot of people who have hair trigger emotional responses like Antonio Brown of Tampa Bay, modern day incels, and in general anyone who feels insecure, angry, jealous, etc. in life have some level of sympathetic dominance. This really only totally goes away when someone becomes totally accepting of what is in their lives. Easier said than done. I might direct some people here to this article... https://www.woujo.com/blog/2020/12/29/woujos-guide-to-anxiety-and-depression

Here's my daily Alexa stretching routine.... I start with "pilates piriformis stretch" 90 seconds per leg. I then do a "Combined Psoas & Quadriceps Stretch" 90 seconds each leg. I then do a hamstring stretch where I lay on floor and place one leg at a time on an open doorframe bending the knee to make sure I'm stretching the hamstring and not the sciatic nerve. 2.5 minutes per leg. I then stand up and do standard calf stretches a minute per leg. After that I do arm circles, a combined 2 minutes of going forward and backwards, combining small circles and big ones. I then do 45 seconds of chest flies. After that it's 45 seconds of "the funky chicken" I then do 45 seconds of wrist stretches. I then go into child's pose for 2 minutes. After 1 minute I will give my shoulders a stretch by moving my arms to each side while in the pose. I might add more but for now this is my daily static/ballistic stretch regimen. This regimen was sourced from various sources including the ballistic stretches done where I work, p90x "stretch x" and research done on sciatica and the best stretches for back health. Aggressive p90x programs can be counterproductive. Sometimes less is more when it comes to working out. Work out smarter not harder.