The Waking
Posted: June 27, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: Arts, healing, Legacy Pilates and More, life, Literature, love, meditation, nebraska, Omaha, passion, pilates, Poems, Poetry, Prose, Reiki, Theodore Roethke, yoga 3 CommentsI wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.
We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.
Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me, so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.
This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.
Theodore Roethke, The Collected Poems
Notes:
I would like to share with you a special, inspiring event this coming Saturday at Legacy Pilates Yoga and More. Come join me as we rejuvenate our mind, body and spirit in good ‘ole Omaha, Nebraska! If you are interested in attending please leave a comment below and I will get you all the info you could ever want. Take care today and please be well!
Head Over Heels
Posted: June 19, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: biking, blogging, cycling, exercise, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, nebraska, Nirvana, Omaha, paleo, passion, pilates, running, whole foods, WOD, yoga 10 CommentsRules for Happiness: something to do, someone to love, something to hope for-
At the beginning of yesterdays post I conveniently dropped in your lap a rather unfamiliar word: Eudaimonia. Depending on who you ask and what phase the moon currently resides in, Eudaimonia is most often translated as happiness or genuine happiness. For our conversation here, let’s adopt the more precise translation: Human flourishing, the path to reaching a perfect life (nirvana, moksha).
Keeping in the spirit of this blog-o-thing, I will try to keep this pithy and digestible. If we were to talk about happiness, normally, we toss out phrases like: “happiness as a state of mind“, “contentment“, “joy“, “pleasure“, “love“… All of these terms are caused by external factors. We obsess over money, how highly book “educated” we are, the $2500 newest and greatest carbon fiber road bikes, we even think the lousy weather outside has a great influence on the happiness we experience, day in and day out, while in all actuality, they have little if nothing to do with happiness at all.
The problem Dear Reader with these hedonistic, deleterious perspectives we have conveniently adopted?!? The exact moment the stimulus is taken swiftly away, the “happiness” they brought, albeit briefly, will disappear in a flash.
Notes:
Authentic spirituality makes us torchbearers of an inner light, your inner light! Alive in humility, courage, action, joy and love, we grow in self-awareness when external factors are removed. Only then are we open to experience the fulfillment of life and our true purpose.
Just don’t take my bike, please … I beg of you. Happiness would evade me if you did …
No Pun Intended
Posted: May 21, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, crossfit, exercise, free range, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kettlebell, kindness, life, love, lululemon, lust, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nebraska, Omaha, paleo, passion, pilates, running, trail running, Walk, walking, whole foods, WOD, yoga, Yoga Rocks the Park 16 CommentsYou may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us. And the world will live as one-
I often feel like I’m cycling into a 40 knot headwind when it comes to writing about mindfulness, wellness and other stuff here on this blog-o-thing. From the yoga fashionistas who regard me incredulously when I say that “looking good” is a selfish goal to set in yoga class, to the pervasive but iniquitous message that we all just need to participate in more mud runs, be more extreme, elite, hardcore in order to live a healthier life, my increasingly strong belief that we are going about this all wrong is not a popular one to say the very least.
Every now and then I meet up with some kindred spirits during a walk or brisk bike ride, who confirm what we see every day, but choose to ignore: Despite being a society hopelessly obsessed with health, longevity, exercise and taking pictures of food, we are in fact unhealthy, unhappy and bereft of many of the simple joys of life as a direct result of our obsessions.
How about we abandon the idea of exercise as a virtuous counterbalance, absolve ourselves of the guilt that inevitably accompanies unfulfilled resolutions, tune out the constant exhortations to “get ripped”, lose weight and instead embrace the simple pleasure of putting one foot in front of the other, simply because we were born with the ability to do so and we too often don’t.
Let’s cut right to the heart of what’s wrong with our attitudes in regards to mindfulness and wellness. Despite the thousands we spend on failed gym memberships, seldom used exercise equipment and wearing the latest fashions to yoga class. We are tormented by self-loathing, guilt and doubt. We live in a world where our motivation to move is increasingly thwarted and sapped at every turn. The next time you stare out the gym window—you know the one, where everyone around you is trotting along on a dreadmill despite the fact that the sun is shining and it’s a beautiful day outside? Ask yourself: Why is going for a run, a bike ride or walk outside such an absurd idea?
Notes
Look to a simpler place for your satisfaction this morning. Hint: It’s not in the latest edition of Shape or the ever so popular Yoga Journal. What you find may surprise you …
If you see some random dude(s) doing a spot of yoga in a park this weekend? Wave hello and join us!
Give Me More Than the Life (I) See
Posted: May 10, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, cycling, family, fitness, free range, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, musings, natural, Omaha, pain, passion, running, Suffering, trail running, whole foods, WOD, yoga 4 CommentsIt is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think our present existence, as a dream-
I’ve arrived at a conclusion this morning, that one simple, mindful day out of the year, set aside for us to do what we’re ordinarily not very good at: Recognizing our own limitations and identifying needs for improvement. Is a good idea.
Today, Dear Reader? You get the unblemished truth …
My cycling club had a “wellness ride” last month (ish). I participated, and because we are open and honest here … I won’t hide the truth as to what my motivation for attending was: I wanted the free t-shirt that went along with it. Seriously, what better way to break from the normal weekend ride than to offer me a mediocre, hunter’s orange t-shirt for a paltry $35 participant fee?
You’d be amazed and nauseated if I told you this was some sort of mistake I had wandered into. The ride was tremendously windy. My body was not quite feeling up to the task of a 50 mile single speed ride starting at 7am on a Sunday. Sleep had been non-existent all week, work was more stressful than normal, I failed to have my sweet ride up on the car the night before. The morning of the ride was chaotic …
Looking back, I was willing to go to great lengths to refute the objective information my body and mind were presenting to me, simply because I ignored it. I pushed harder and harder during the last few miles, paid little attention to my knee aching, my shoulders and hips tightening up. The walk into the house later that evening was pure hell and having my son see me in such a poor condition left little doubt to the pain I had caused this Sunday in late March.
I (you) do the same very “thing“, every single weekend.
You could write, painfully every day for eternity talking about self-deception and how much it has to offer and take away. Self deception allows us to remain resilient stepping off the scale, having not lost 10 pounds this month. Self deception also allows us to recover quickly from failure. It gives us dudes the balls to say, I know I’m injured right now, my body is weak and stressed, but I want a t-shirt and beer tickets.
My keen ability to keep failing to assume responsibility for my actions, which affect many other lovely people around me, I never fully seize the opportunity for actual improvement, whatever that is. I refused to surrender to the reality unfolding around me and I became an insufferable asshole up until this morning (if you are doing the math at home: One whole month), who no one wants to be around or kiss when you get home from work.
Notes:
One day, maybe this morning? Grasp the importance and wisdom that arrives when we recognize the importance of seeing ourselves, for who we really are.
Be well friends and take care this weekend.
Prosa before Plantear
Posted: May 3, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: Apple Pie, blogging, exercise, fitness, free range, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, life, love, marathon, meditation, natural, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, Pie it forward, Poetry, Pose Running, Prose, running, Spirituality, trail running, walking, whole foods, WOD, yoga 9 CommentsThe young student sits with his head bent over his books, and his mind straying in youth’s dreamland; where prose is prowling on the desk and poetry hiding in the heart-
Never in a million years would I have envisioned that poetry and prose would be at the forefront of helping me heal: Knee surgery, back surgery, fractured neck, shattered orbital bone and too many other injuries to bore you with before the weekend begins. Although, injuries and rehabilitation are places where the human spirit is most vulnerable. It’s within these planes of vulnerability that literature and the arts have the greatest resonance.
Everyone reading today, is at some point touched ever so gently by an injury, either personally or through the experiences of a close friend or family member. None of us, NONE of us, are immune to the frailties and limitations of the human body. The burgeoning of the Inter-Webz, FaceTube and YouBook has shoved down our throat a wealth of information. However, the excessive amounts of “facts” at our disposal do not necessarily make it easier to cope with the fears and unknowns of illness, injury and loss. This, I believe, is where the Arts and Humanities fit in. *Long time readers have noticed the changes around here.*
When I started this blog over two years ago, I had no idea that my life would veer toward literature and the healing arts. Poetry, prose, the arts have reminded me that healing is a multi-dimensional process, being spiritually healthy is far more important to me now.
Notes:
The arts and the humanities are critical elements in our life, and I am truly grateful that they have a home here at CultFit, with you, and our friends. One last thing before you download another running-app … Click on over to the Poetry Foundation and consider downloading their Poetry App. Immerse yourself in new poetry after a cool down run or workout, maybe?
Pie in Omaha?!? Did someone say “Pie in Omaha?!?” Take care and have a beautiful weekend!
CultFit 