The Vacation

Once there was a man who filmed his vacation.
He went flying down the river in his boat
with his video camera to his eye, making
a moving picture of the moving river
upon which his sleek boat moved swiftly
toward the end of his vacation. He showed
his vacation to his camera, which pictured it,
preserving it forever: the river, the trees,
the sky, the light, the bow of his rushing boat
behind which he stood with his camera
preserving his vacation even as he was having it
so that after he had had it he would still
have it. It would be there. With a flick
of a switch, there it would be. But he
would not be in it. He would never be in it.

Wendell Berry

CultFit River


Espac(I)o

We are not supposed to all be the same, feel the same, think the same, and believe the same. The key to continued expansion of our Universe lies in diversity, not in conformity and coercion. Conventionality is the death of creation-

As kind, passionate human beings, our curious minds, when unclouded and unburdened, can create limitless ideas to change the world. However, to engage in such inspiring thoughts, we must first clear some space between our ears to do so.

Meditation is a powerful, yet simple tool to remove blocked energies in our minds. It requires letting go of that which no longer serves us. But first, we have to identify what those “things” are.

In my case, it was trail running and racing, competing to win. My body and my family suffered greatly over the last three years due to my attention being elsewhere. As many of you know, running can be easy enough to start and enjoy, although to maintain conditioning, to be in the best possible position to win takes a great effort. After many years, I finally let go of running-competing that had meant so much to me, once upon a time, my own personal fairy tale. My weary body had limped across one too many finish lines, leaving a hole in my heart where self-love and compassion could have resided.

To fill the void left by turning away from what I thought I loved, I entertained feelings of remorse, regret and apology, as if I owed those around me something better than what I had to give them through boasting about a podium finish  

Yet the strangest “thing” occurred recently. I shed a single tear of farewell, then set about cleaning up other space(s) in my world that had experienced equal neglect: my beautiful and cool son, my bikes that needed more attention than a glancing stare walking past them in the garage, my $$$ yoga mat rolled up neatly in the living room. Having experienced the delightful levity of a space.

Notes:

I’m starting to take my dreams seriously, clearing space so that they have room to grow. Be well today, and please take care.

CultFit Dawn

 


Serenity Now

If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your own path-

For most of us, running/cycling/working out (_______ Insert anything here) is a very personal space.  Some would say sacred?!?  This sacred space tends to be more personal than our homes, work and personal lives because we choose not to share this space with others.

When we start to unravel after having a bad weekend, the first place we are likely to show up at is back in our personal space.

One item we want to quickly highlight here is not necessarily showing discipline (going to the gym day in and day out) … It’s about paying attention. It’s about not getting distracted by the eventualities of life and the “things” that come up each and every day, but, rather:  Staying mindful of the messages we receive and remaining proactive in our relationship with them.

The Plan-

The Workout-

Our retreat to the basics …

10 Perfect Pull Ups
20 Hard Style KB Swings
30m Bear Crawl/Crab Walk (15m out and 15m back)

20 Minutes sound OK to you?!?

Notes:

The mindful peeps remain clear about all “things” … All of the time, or at least we try to right?!?  This is reflected in the environment we choose to surround us, it’s about discipline.  Going to our sacred space to nourish our bodies and to find balance in our minds.  It’s in this space where we find the discipline of loving, not the discipline of punishment.

If CultFit is a sacred place for you?!?  You really need to get out more … Be well today and ENJOY!!!


Tarde de Actualización

Many a trip continues long after movement in time and space have ceased-

The best part of CultFit is YOU and today is a classic example of this!  Fitness can occur at anytime…There is just happened again!  Our post earlier today talked about watching the Transit Of Venus over the next few days.  Dozens of emails have poured in asking how to watch it (this is awesome)!!!

Here is one the best and SAFEST  methods peeps:

SLOOH SpaceCamera

These dudes are obsessed with space just like you are with Pinterest!  Check em out!?!


Friday 16 March 2012

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes-

Have you ever witnessed something that makes you stop right in your tracks and watch in awe?  Something truly amazing, something you have probably never seen before?  We had one of these moments last night and we would like to share it with you this morning…Honestly stop whatever is occupying you at this moment and let yourself be amazed for eight minutes!

We had originally planned to beat some topic to death today…let this video sink in for a moment, life is truly amazing!!!

Earlier in the week we spoke about (albeit briefly) Changing the Definition of Fitness.  Fitness can be anything you like, so if wandered over here and made it this far?  Change fitness to…pixie dust if you like.

It truly is important to note that we are forever changing, right now as an example; you just changed.  Each and every time you beat yourself up for going through the same old thing again chances are the experience is more nuanced this time around, hopefully with more insight then you had before.  This new experience is always changing…Each and every pico second of the day.

What do we expect you to take away each time this happens?  Please take note that there are days when you may not want to exercise, eat right, go train, whatever . This is not the end of the world and we know for a fact that you will get out and exercise again!  This is what we like to call Changing the Definition of Fitness and getting back to your true self, back to your goals, and back to another opportunity to  redefine them in a more nuanced and personal manner.

The Plan-

Perspective:  Either this is the best news in the world or the worst?  Where do you stand?!? LINK

The Workout-

Pulled from our “Have a smile on your face” series here at CultFit HQ:

We have written ad nauseam about performing or engaging in a program that you thoroughly enjoy.  If you feel inclined go back and re-read all 290 or so posts that point this out.  So on that note:

Not for time…

One Hour Swimming rinse off and followed by:

Deep meditative yoga…you know where we stand on yoga so this is not the crap you do down at YogaMed or film yourself in the living room in tight Lululemon attire to post on MeTube later…

15 Minutes of Leg Drains and 15 Minutes of Inversions

Notes:

Life is more important than just working out.  Watching your kids play, witnessing a magical moment in life…It’s moments like these where we need to step back and ENJOY who we are and where we are.  Have a great weekend watching the Australian GP and be sure to cheer for CultFit Racing Team member: Lewis Hamilton!  Be safe and ENJOY!!!