Desert Wind(s)
Posted: August 5, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, pain, passion, Patience, perspective, pilates, running, Suffering, trail running, whole foods, WOD, yoga 4 CommentsRivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day-
What does patience mean to you personally in regards to mindfulness and living an authentic life?
Patience: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, difficulty and annoyance without getting angry or upset.
What are we to think after reading this definition of patience I pulled from a dusty dictionary? You may be asking: “Will I encounter delay, difficulty, or annoyance in my life?” All of us share a universal answer: (we) can’t recall a single day in our lives when at least one of “three” –delay, difficulty and annoyance … Didn’t make an appearance.
Throughout the years, my reaction to the presence of any one of the three was to get “angry” a little “upset” and completely “ticked off.” Then early one winter morning I realized that my normal response served only to make an already unpleasant situation, worse, much worse. Thus began my journey to making a conscious effort to respond to “delay, difficulty and annoyance” differently than I had done before. On the worst days? The best I could do was to simply “tolerate” their presence in my life. Although with practice, just like riding a bike and doing the yoga thing, I was better able to “accept” them kindly, with a smile and as an inevitable part of daily life.
When we start to weave tolerance and acceptance into delay, difficulty and annoyance … We sit up straight and start to notice a few things. Firstly, patience is a gentle way of treating ourselves with compassion. Keep in mind Dear Reader: Compassion is the act of reaching out to those who are suffering … Including ourselves.
Secondly, I noticed that being patient gave me a feeling of calmness that makes it infinitely easier to ride life’s ups and downs without being tossed about aimlessly. Seeing the correlation between patience and enhanced self-compassion and awareness convinced me of the value of practicing patience.
Notes:
I suffer deeply when I stray from the path of patience, lack of patience is a stress response to whatever is going wrong in my life. Stress firmly grips both my mind and my body … Cultivating patience is my way of taking care of myself, which is the heart of self-compassion. the calm acceptance of life as it is, right now in this precious moment
Now how does one share to the world, the hyper obsessed runners and fitness aficionados that the idea of suffering and stress from punishing our bodies is NOT taking care of ourselves?
Heat (the) Pot
Posted: August 2, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, community, exercise, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, humor, kettlebell, kindness, life, love, lululemon, lust, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, Omaha, paleo, passion, perfection, Place, running, trail running, whole foods, WOD, writing, yoga 16 CommentsIf people reach perfection they vanish, you know-
Many folks who wander around these parts consider themselves perfectionist and they also consider perfectionism to be one of their most valuable attribute (a close runner-up is their charming smile). As a perfectionist you are likely to obsess over bringing attention to detail: Your yoga mat and running shoes have to match your outfit. A keen eye on organization and following a well intended plan, as well as a clear sense of how all of the pieces of the “big picture” relate to each other.
It seems that having good intentions (wanting to excel no matter the discipline) and working hard would result in our meeting a desired outcome(s). However, as we well know, this doesn’t happen as often as we think it should. In fact, you might be frustrated by the fact that your perfectionism pays off in keeping your socks organized and your Prius meticulously clean but backfires horrendously during your adho mukha svanasana.
Why is this so?
Even more confusing and frustrating is when we use our perfectionism in one instance and it works great, but then we use the exact same strategy in another situation? It doesn’t work in the least. Quick example: Obsessing about making mistakes can make you detail-oriented and a key asset in your work place. Or obsessing about making mistakes can make you fail miserably during yoga class and during your next “big” event.
Notes:
I decided not too long ago that I wanted to better understand when and under what circumstances perfectionism worked and when it backfired. Race preparation and event planning – A touch of perfectionism helps, a lot! Enjoying yoga class and a nice flowing trail run? Not so much. I’ve also seen people (myself included) literally kill themselves in the pursuit of the perfect mile, split time and perfect rep … Totally not worth it!
Bring Wine
Posted: August 1, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, exercise, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, happiness, health, hipster, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, motivation, musings, Mystic, natural, nature, Omaha, passion, perspective, Poetry, Prose, Rumi, running, simplicity, whole foods, wine, yoga 6 Comments… For I am suffering crop sickness from the vintage;
God has seized me, and I am thus held fast.
By love’s soul, bring me a cup of wine that is the envy of the
sun, for I care aught but love.
Bring that which if I were to call it “soul” would be a shame,
for the reason that I am pained in the head because of the soul.
Bring that whose name is not contained in this mouth, through
which the fissures of my speech split asunder.
Bring that which, when it is not present, I am stupid and ig-
norant, but when I am with it, I am the king of the subtle and
crafty ones.
Bring that which, the moment it is void of my head, I become
black and dark, you might say I am of the infidels.
Bring that which delivers out of this “bring” and “do not
bring”; bring quickly, and repel me not, saying, “Whence shall
I bring it?”
Bring, and deliver the roof of the heavens through the long
night from my abundant smoke and lamentations.
Bring that which after my death, even out of my dust, will
restore me to speech and thanksgiving even as Najjar.
Bring me wine, for I am guardian of wine like a goblet, for
whatever has gone into my stomach I deliver back completely.
Najjar said, “After my death would that my people might be
open-eyed to the ecstasy within me.
“They would not regard my bones and blood; in spirit I ama
mighty king, even though in body I am vile.
“What a ladder I, the Carpenter, have chiseled! My going has
reached the roof of the seventh heaven.
“I journeyed like the Messiah, my ass remained below; I do
no grieve for my ass, nor am I asslike of ears.
“Do not like Eblis see in Adam only water and clay; see that
behind the clay are my hundred thousand rose bowers.”
Shams-e Tabrizi rose up from this flesh saying, “ I am the
sun. Bring up my head from this mire.
“Err not, when I enter the mire once more, for I am at rest,
and am ashamed of this veil.
“Every morning I will rise up, despite the blind; for the sake
of the blind I will not cease to rise and set.”
Notes:
This coming Saturday join me at the Omaha Healing Arts Center for a “Rumi Celebration”– An Invitation to Universal Love and Knowledge. If you would like to learn more please visit the OM Center Website.
Be well today!
Heart (it) Races
Posted: July 31, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, happiness, health, hipster, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, running, whole foods, WOD, yoga 9 CommentsIf you’re reading this … Congratulations, you’re alive. If that’s not something to smile about, then I don’t know what is-
Magazines, movies, television shows and just about every romance novel teach us to follow our deepest attractions if we want to find true love in our lives. As you may have discovered by now, reading Shape magazine to get fit works about as well as an off the strip gambling parlor. We all share many types of attractions, and every attraction beckons us into an entirely different direction and future.
The direct path to exploring a healthy life lies in only following what I believe are our “activities of inspiration.” These attractions draw us to “things” that are gentle and available; Nature is my best example as well as people who inspire us simply by who they are. Engaging in activities that diminish our sense of self rarely change, even with love, commitment and lots of sweat and hard work. We don’t need the roller coaster of negative attractions to grow! We can grow through inspiration instead.
The decision to only follow our “activities of inspiration,” is a life changer. The whole tenor of how you look at yourself, fitness and health changes. Even if you haven’t found the one activity you enjoy the most, you feel a sense of wholeness; a sense that you’re moving closer to finding what you truly love.
Notes:
I encourage you to make a commitment to yourself, in this present moment, in your jammies … Be bold, different and choose only attractions of inspiration. Each one of us has the power to change our life and our future with kindness and a commitment to ourselves.
Sing a Simple Song
Posted: July 30, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, exercise, family, fitness, freshly pressed, friends, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, nature, Omaha, passion, whole foods, WOD, yoga 4 CommentsThe words ‘I Love You’ kill, and resurrect millions, in less than a second-
Chances are many of us have endless “should(s)” that occupy our lives; things we want to change in order to make our lives better. Passion can shed a new light on these “should(s)“.
Passion offers us insight(s) about our behavior that touch us most deeply. Passion calls to us, often in our most undefended moments, and its call carries a sense of urgency and truth that we feel deep inside. If we can pick out the core elements from the cacophony of life’s demands, and if we give these elements the priority they deserve? Our lives will shift into a completely new direction.
Notes:
The journey to finding what we love is more akin to a treasure hunt than a straight path. When we listen and follow the message we’ve discovered, intimately, passionately? We are then led onto another path, another treasure … What we discovery may very surprise and delight us, there’s only one way to find out!
Thank you for your continued support of CultFit. Take care this evening and be well!
CultFit 