Owning (myself)
Posted: January 24, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, crossfit, cycling, exercise, family, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, perspective, pilates, running, Self Image, trail running, whole foods, WOD, writing, yoga 26 CommentsI feel an indescribable ecstasy and delirium in melting, as it were, into the system of being, in identifying myself with the whole of nature-
I found myself recently at a local bookstore standing and staring at the magazine headlines, once again, I became nauseated by all the headlines touting how easy it is to lose weight and get in shape – whatever this means?!?.
One cover of a cycling magazine I quite enjoy set me off: How To Lose weight for the upcoming cycling season. Top tips and how to guide inside!
Seriously, here’s my top tip(s) – ride your bike and smile, not necessarily in that order. It pains me to see how much pressure people are under to get in shape, skinny, whatever.
…
I believe that you will never, never achieve your “perfect self” until you learn to love yourself – belly fat, flabby arms, scars, prior injuries etc. Should I keep on going?
I believe we, I myself, must start with loving acceptance of ourselves, right now.
Here’s my proposed first headline on the cover of CultFit the Magazine:
Each one of us are perfect, cool beings who are weightless.
Daily Meditation:
Believe in your Perfect self – Love yourself – Be Gentle – Be You. Wanna know why?!? Because you already are …
Their Lonely Betters
Posted: January 23, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, Body Image, childhood, compassion, cycling, family, fitness, food, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, kindness, life, Life is Messy, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, Memories, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, opinion, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, Place, Poetry, recovery, rest, Romance, running, simplicity, trail running, Travel, W. H. Auden, yoga Leave a comment…
As I listened from a beach-chair in the shade
To all the noises that my garden made,
It seemed to me only proper that words
Should be withheld from vegetables and birds
A robin with no Christian name ran through
The Robin-Anthem which was all it knew,
And rustling flowers for some third party waited
To say which pairs, if any, should get mated.
Not one of them was capable of lying,
There was not one which knew that it was dying
Or could have with a rhythm or a rhyme
Assumed responsibility for time.
Let them leave language to their lonely betters
Who count some days and long for certain letters;
We, too, make noises when we laugh or weep:
Words are for those with promises to keep.
ashes to ashes
Posted: January 22, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, cycling, exercise, family, fitness, Forgiveness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, running, trail running, whole foods, WOD, yoga 4 CommentsA broken friendship that is mended through forgiveness can be even stronger than it once was-
Let’s change one little word in the above quote by Stephen Richards – A broken body that is mended through forgiveness can be even stronger than it once was …
Why do many well intended people flippantly object to the truth that we create our own reality?
When life goes “sideways” and our goals don’t materialize magically before our eyes, many people dig deep into their past to toss blame hither and yon: Damn yoga mat, piece of shit running shoes, mom and dad, that chic over there staring at me working on my “snatch” technique – whatever that is?!?
Why do we devote more of our energy, settling for what is, instead of recognizing what we can become?
Are we such socially awkward cowards, that we lack the courage to tell someone, ourselves even, they are responsible for creating the injured mess they now lament in? “Dude, you have had three knee surgeries in the last 18 months … Chill the f**k out for once and forgive yourself.”
Each one of us has the power to recognize and to create our own reality, including injuries and failures.
Forgiveness …
Daily Meditation:
Forgiveness … Is the root of Self Love.
Blowing the Dust (Off)
Posted: January 21, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Ahimsa, blogging, compassion, courage, crossfit, cycling, exercise, family, Feelings, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, Honor, hope, Intention, kindness, life, love, marathon, meditation, NFL, Omaha, pilates, running, Self-love, trail running, whole foods, WOD, yoga 14 CommentsIt is better to be alone than in bad company-
*The following post stems from a conversation I had this weekend with a close friend and mentor. Our discussion, wide-ranging as usual, started before yoga class this past Saturday morning. We both overheard a young couple talking about the tragic events at a X-Fit competition earlier in the week, five minutes before our class started … *
Why do we work out and consciously choose to abuse our bodies? Seriously, why do WE work out and choose to surround ourselves in an atmosphere that rewards, thrives on pain and punishment ? Why do we choose to persistently neglect and abuse our body, mind and spirit?
…
As I started to peel back the musty curtains hanging around my true self, my mind and heart finally (after 30+ years of abuse) awakened to the source of all the change and success I choose to ignore before. I stumbled upon a little known fact, that I simply choose to ignore for far too long:
We have to create Self Love.
It’s that simple folks, no yoga teacher in the world can do this for you, nor will competing in vain competitions. Your spouse may try to, and your friends may try even harder. No one can awaken you to loving yourself!
When did we stop honoring who we really? When did we stop honoring our feelings, and responding openly to these feelings? When did we forget that feelings are important signals to tune into? Even feelings of anger, pain and fear serve an important purpose of alerting us to the obstacles that may lie ahead on our path, if we keep neglecting the honest truth.
Believe me I know, it’s a tough choice each one of us has to make: Talking about our most vulnerable personal feelings or how sore and bad ass we feel after a killer yoga class – dude.
Daily Meditation:
After much thought, and a few sips of coffee, I have finally reached an understanding as to why I have limitations in my life …
I honor my body, mind and spirit.
*ahiṃsā*
(All) Knowing
Posted: January 17, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, Education, exercise, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hope, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, reading, running, the illusion of explanatory depth, trail running, Understanding, whole foods, writing, yoga 20 CommentsEverything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves-
Sometimes trying to understand what other people know and don’t know can be extremely challenging.
*I’m writing to the men reading today, because all of us do this*
Over the years we have developed a rather keen tendency to think we knew all along something, that we actually just learned two minutes ago talking with a friend. Is it fair to assume that you didn’t know that vintage Italian road bikes use 36 mm X 24 tpi threading for the bottom bracket?
One instance of not knowing exactly what one “knows” is the illusion of explanatory depth. This is the illusion that we can explain “something” deeper, with more clarity and depth, than we actually can. I’ll use myself as an example, because, I think much differently than most folks do …
As adults (used loosely), we are all-knowing, we know all, we can easily explain the intricacies of the world at a moments notice. Then when asked to do so by a friend? Our minds go blank and we instantly start looking for an answer on our iGadgets. Many are shocked when they realize they were mistaken about the depth(s) of their knowledge … “How dare you question me in more depth and detail?”
What am I getting at?
Daily Meditation:
Exploring the depths of a conversation can be truly magical when we switch off the I know this already parts of our inner dialog, and instead – Open up our hearts to listen and learn. This process is profound when attending a new yoga class, picking parts out for a vintage road bike and – A show of hands: Listening to the salesperson down at the local hardware store, the first time! Full disclosure – I have made three return trips once for not listening and “thinking” I knew the answer all along.
Be inspired and have a beautiful weekend!
CultFit 