As a basic discipline, I recommend three things. The first is regular physical exercise. The importance of this cannot be overstressed. Unfortunately, it's one of the hardest things to get people to do. The Craft tends to attract mental and spiritual types rather than brawny athletes. But magic and psychic work require tremendous vitality -- literally, the energy of the raith, of the Younger Self. That vitality is replenished and renewed by physical activity -- much as the motion of an automobile's wheels turns the generator, which recharges the batteries. Too much mental and spiritual work that is not balanced by physical exercise drains our etheric batteries.
She goes on to say that yoga, while nice, tends to be more of a spiritual discipline, and that cardio (jogging, swimming, cycling, etc) better serves this purpose. The other two things she recommends as basic disciplines are daily relaxation practice (I'll have a post about this another time) and keeping a BoS -- but as a diary of your magical life, not necessarily in the recipe book sense that it's usually used.
To her point regarding daily fitness, I do find that when I'm physically stagnant for long periods of time, it's harder to get where I need to be for ritual work. During these times, I tend to feel that what I'm trying to accomplish is just out of reach, but for all my efforts I just can't get there. Sure, I can do basic work, but the energized OOMPH just isn't there. For a long while I chalked it up to depression (which plays a part, sure), but on the days that I would come home after a long hike or a good climb, things would just click. Fitness as a basic discipline for craftwork ties in nicely with my other fitness related goals, and I'm interested in seeing if/how it improves those days when I'm just not feeling it.
I had a great climb last night and an excellent run this morning, so here's to day two of regular daily fitness.
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