Training Your Body: Mind and Soul Edition

As all people know, you have to start with the basics and build from there. From Carbohydrates

and lipids to proteins and enzymes this chapter will cover what you need to know

Carbohydrates, as the one named Webster defines it, is any of various neutral compounds of carbon,

hydrogen, and oxygen (as sugars, starches, and celluloses) most of which are form by green plants and

which constitutes a major class of animal food.

Lipids a wide group of naturally occurring molecules such as fats, waxes, sterols and vitamins (A, D, E,

and K). Lipids are basically the building blocks that your body uses to build or repair part of your body

whenever you grow, work out, gain weight or attain some sort of flesh wound that causes bleeding.

When your character gets injured in a video game or when they level up and become strong is a great

example of how lipids would work in real life. Say you go to the gym and workout for 2 hours, your body

is breaking down fat lipids for energy while you are working out but increasing muscle size at the same

time.

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded

into a globular or fibrous form. Proteins are produced by your body using amino acids and your genetic

code. The genetic sequence that your body uses to

produce the needed proteins for your body is located

in the nucleus of your cells which is the core of every

cell.

These next few paragraphs are all about the

layers, cells and tissue, and no, not Kleenex tissues

that you may use after coming down with a cold if

your chi were low. You can think of cells and tissues

like the small army that binds hand in hand to make a

fearsome wall, thousands of cells pile up together in

order to form multiple types of tissue, Epithelial,

muscular, connective, and nervous. Each one

has a different function that upholds your body

and keeps it well and ready.

First we will discuss your epithelial. This

tissue outlines many different things within

your body including your esophagus and blood

cells. When lining your esophagus your

epithelial tissue secretes mucus in order to help

your throat swallow and digest foods easily.

However all cells and tissue in your body can

take damage just as you can when sparring

with a friend and will slowly be worn down. Not to fear though these cells are well abled warriors ready

to fight and fight again as they can repair themselves. Epithelial tissue repairs itself by the cells that

create the tissue continuously using mitosis in order to multiply and replace old and damaged cells.

The next tissue is the connective tissue, a very fibrous tissue made up by fibroblasts (worry not;

no blasting actually goes on here). Being found throughout the body connective tissue helps form the

very strong bones, tendons, and parts of muscles of your body. There are three types of connective

tissue (CT) Embryonic CT, Proper CT, and Special CT. The main functions that the connective does is

store energy, protect organs, provide structural framework and connects body tissue. Being composed

of cells and an extracellular matrix, connective tissue can easily repair itself by synthesizing specific

substances such as collagen and fibers.

Following connective tissue we have nervous tissue, like the others it is made from multiple

cells, however these cells are neurons. The main functions of nervous tissue surrounds the brain and

helps the messages inside get relayed to where they need to go. Neurons are a fair bit different than

many of the other cells though, they are not so easily repaired. Once gone neurons very rarely come

back, as such training your mind and being able to meditate help organize your neurons so that you can

better understand yourself and surroundings.

Muscle tissue is made up of many muscle cells that are connected and as you move any part of

your body from walking, working out, swinging a sword, breathing and even when your heart beats your

body is using its muscles to help you live. There are 3 types of muscle, smooth, skeletal, and cardiac. We

will spend an extensive explanation on

muscles as in order to master your body so

that you can better your soul; keeping your

muscles trained and strong is an important

factor.

Smooth muscles are the muscle

tissues found in your digestive system, blood

vessels, bladder, and airways. Smooth

muscle involuntary stretches itself and is

able to for long periods of time. For example

your intestines and stomach work all day

long and doesn’t stop working if you stop

noticing them.

Skeletal muscle is the kind of muscle

that most people think about when they

hear the word muscle. It the muscle that

allows you to move your arms and legs, head

and move in general. When people go

workout it is to either increase their skeletal

muscle mass or reduce fat that is on their body and weighing down their muscles much like how

negative feelings drag down your chi and make you feel miserable. Skeletal muscle works in pairs. As

one contracts the other relaxes. Like when you bend your elbow your bicep contracts, bending your

elbow as your triceps relax. Your skeletal muscles are voluntary meaning your nervous system must

send a signal to your skeletal muscle telling how to move itself. These are the muscles you will gain the

most control over, especially after extended sword practice.

Cardiac muscle is only found in your heart. Cardiac muscles have a very high endurance level

compared to skeletal. Because if it ever stopped working so would the rest of your entire body. Cardiac

muscles are only able to stretch in a limited way but contracts with a force similar to skeletal muscles.

The next few sections may confuse you slightly. You will probably wonder, what do any of these

digestion processes with keeping my mind and soul healthy and focused? Well what you may not all that

be aware of is the fact that your nervous system is constantly at work, sending messages to your brain

to the millions and millions of tendrils within you at a speed faster than that of any ninja or well-trained

samurai. As such, unless you have gone through extensive training the immediate moment your

stomach finds that it is hungry or if your body needs to take care of something your brain is alerted.

Though this is a good thing it can easily break ones concentration so it its best to see how the digestion

works and figure out the details to master the feeling of hunger. So let us begin.

Certain foods will provide your body will certain proteins and nutrients your body needs to

properly move and function. But first, you have to know how your body receives the proteins and

nutrients from the food that you eat. This process is known as digestion, and is carried out by your

digestive system. Digestion, in essence, first starts before you even take a bite of food. When you smell

food, your body sends the lightning fast signals to your salivary glands in your mouth and they produce

saliva. You know of that mouthwatering feeling? That’s exactly what is going on then. When you bite

down on your food your teeth start the first phase of mechanical digestion. Your teeth chop and slice

the food into pieces small enough to swallow, think of a chef quickly dicing and slicing through your

food. You have different types of teeth in your mouth that are each used for different types of food.

Your front teeth are called incisors and are used to shop up meat. Your canines come next and do

basically the same thing. In the back of your mouth you have pre-molars and molars. These are used to

smash and crush fruits and vegetables. While you are chewing your food, your saliva starts the chemical

digestion by chemically breaking down the food into a form that your body can absorb, the

carbohydrates formerly mentioned

Once you’ve broken your food down much like someone may chop down stacks of wood or

bricks, your hard plate in the top of your mouth and your tongue both push the food to the back of your

mouth and to your Pharynx. The Pharynx is sort of like a door that leads to either your esophagus or

your wind pipe. Normally the door stays open to your wind pipe so that you can breathe, but when you

swallow, it switches and opens the path to your esophagus and closes off your wind pipe so that food

goes down the right hole to its destiny of being digested. The esophagus is the tube or passageway to

the stomach from the mouth and the Pharynx. This part of your body is important as it leads the food or

water, with all the nutrients needed to keep your body active, to the stomach for further digestion. Also

certainly worth mentioning it helps move food along with muscle contractions called peristaltic

contractions. This is often the feeling you can feel when swallowing food or a refreshing green tea. It is

lined with mucus to protect the inner tissue from hot things or perhaps sharp pointed things; we do not

advise trying to swallow a sword or other sharp objects. The connection between the esophagus and the

stomach is called the cardiac sphincter which controls the passage into the stomach to just one

direction. Next is the stomach where chemical digestion continues on from the mouth, which is

essential to the digestion process. In the stomach, hydrochloric acid and powerful digestive enzymes

dissolve and break down food. The stomach, like the esophagus, is lined with mucus for protection from

the hydrochloric acid that rests in the stomach. After the chemical digestion in the stomach, the broken

down food moves to the small intestine for nutrient absorption which we will discuss now

The food goes into the intestines. The small and large intestines are the downright essentials for

the digestive system. After exiting the stomach food with all of their nutrients are put into the small

intestine where most of the

digestion occurs. The small

intestines is split into three parts

each with slightly different functions

for digestion, the first being the

duodenum. The duodenum is largely

responsible for breaking down foods

using enzymes, not to mention it

regulates the rate at which the

stomach empties itself through

different hormonal pathways.

Different chemicals are released

within the cells here that also allow

the liver, and gall bladder to release

bile. Moving from the duodenum,

food moves into the next part of the

small intestine, the jejunum. Within

the jejunum are small little things

called villi, these help increase the

surface area of tissue so more

nutrients can be absorbed from food

while going through this section, a

couple of the more important

transportations that go on here

include sugar fructose and amino

acids, small peptides, vitamins, and

glucose. Last but not least there is

the ileum. The ileum is the last and

final step as such there isn’t too much left for it to do so its main job is to absorb vitamins like B12 and

bile salts. After having traveled through the long extensive small intestine food winds up in the large

intestine. Considering all vital and important nutrients have already been taken in by the small intestine

so the large intestine really only takes out all the water from the remaining indigestible foods.

The rectum is a tube that starts at the end of the large intestine and ends at the anus. Usually

the rectum is empty due to stool being stored higher up within the colon. When the colon becomes full,

stool then passes through the rectum causing the feeling to move one’s bowels. This urge can usually be

controlled by older children and adults until they reach the restroom, while a baby or small children lack

the muscle control to hold it. The anus is the opening at the very end of the digestive system, in which

stool leaves the body. The anus is made up of layers of skin and part of the intestine. A muscle called the

“anal sphincter”, keeps the anal closed until it passes a stool. And thus, the process ends your body

revitalized and healthy from the many nutrients that have now been absorbed and stored in your cells.

After having read through the different things with in your body we hope you now have a better

understanding of just how your body works. This information should not be treaded lightly upon and

concise training should follow so that you can quickly form a habit of better controlling your body and

soul. Your body is constantly working its hardest to keep you alive through all the bad food and ill

minded actions you put it through but yet it still persists. If you wish to further your knowledge of your

body to become one with yourself please read on in Training your body: Meditation and Practice

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