Boy at the Window
Posted: March 6, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, Buddhism, compassion, exercise, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, life, love, lululemon, marathon, Media, meditation, Mindfulness, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, Poetry, Prose, Richard Wilbur, running, trail running, walking, winter, yoga, youth Leave a comment…
Seeing the snowman standing all alone
In dusk and cold is more than he can bear.
The small boy weeps to hear the wind prepare
A night of gnashings and enormous moan.
His tearful sight can hardly reach to where
The pale-faced figure with bitumen eyes
Returns him such a god-forsaken stare
As outcast Adam gave to Paradise.
The man of snow is, nonetheless, content,
Having no wish to go inside and die.
Still, he is moved to see the youngster cry.
Though frozen water is his element,
He melts enough to drop from one soft eye
A trickle of the purest rain, a tear
For the child at the bright pane surrounded by
Such warmth, such light, such love, and so much fear.
Incident at Gate 7
Posted: March 3, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: balance, blogging, Buddhism, compassion, cycling, Equanimity, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, happiness, harmony, health, inspiration, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, passion, perspective, pilates, running, walking, WOD, writing, yoga, Zen 12 CommentsNever let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present-
Note: Over the course of the next few posts, I am going to try to write about – equanimity – Key word being try. Personally, writing and discussing equanimity is tricky and this is where I need your help! I implore you to share your thoughts and insights on this very “tricky” topic. Thank you for your help in advance!
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Equanimity is not about being a doormat to others, the world. Nor is equanimity suppressing your emotions, your true spirit. So, what the hell is it?!?
Personally, as defined by yours truly – Equanimity means maintaining mental calmness, composure, an evenness of temper, during stressful situations. There are, throughout my day, certain folks or situations that trigger within me a deep-rooted sense of anger. Which, makes it rather difficult for me to be the cool dude people often think I am? What stops me from choke slamming an ignorant driver? Lashing out verbally at a yoga instructor who leaves a tired class in high plank, only to lament how tired and sore he is? Saving the best example for last … Thinking you are having a pleasant conversation with someone, only to find out they were not listening, enamored with their gadget instead.
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I have found equanimity to be my most calming state of mind, especially when interacting with people who rub me the wrong way and push my “buttons“.
Daily Meditation:
If you want to make it through the day with an inner sense of grace and calm, equanimity is going to take you a lot farther than hostility. Let’s play around with the wording … If you want to make it through a challenging power yoga class? Allow equanimity to guide you, instead of being a chump, a whining chump who spews hate and hostility having to do a plank for two minutes.
Logged (On)
Posted: February 19, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, exercise, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, passion, perspective, recovery, running, trail running, walking, whole foods, yoga 15 CommentsI believe that truth has only one face: that of a violent contradiction-
Social Experiment: Arrive 5-10 minutes early to your next yoga class and simply look around the parking lot, take a moment to observe how many people are on their phones – doing whatever – instead of walking inside, setting up their mats and chatting with their fellow students. People can’t even use the restroom anymore without feeling the need to stay connected. A symphony of sounds, beeps and buzzes coming from the people around you … Who does #2 really work for?!?
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Last summer I asked myself, aloud, midway through a series of asanas at home one afternoon: Do you need to have your gadget on to feel connected? Can you truly practice mindfulness if you are constantly accessible to the rest of the world?
My intention during this time was to make “exercise” <– whatever that may be … A time to connect with myself, leaving the distractions and stress of my day behind. This so-called “tech curfew” quite literally took my breath away during a long, flowing summer ride and while practicing at home. Less time looking up poses to contort and twist myself into and more time being, me. Riding down hills now, head up, smiling, feeling the cool breeze racing past. I don’t need a computer cluttering up the bars to let me know how fast I am going.
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At first you may be uncomfortable with how naked you feel as you go about your everyday activities. Although, after the initial shock withers away, you will be pleasantly surprised as to how liberating it is … Not being connected.
Daily Meditation:
Make today a day worth remembering. Without having to chronicle your adventures on Vine …
Buckle (Down)
Posted: February 10, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Ability, blogging, compassion, cycling, exercise, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, kettlebell, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, Midwest, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, pilates, running, self, trail running, walking, whole foods, WOD, writing, yoga 11 CommentsPerhaps the less we have, the more we are required to brag-
Do you equate being active with being important? Ever write or say, “I matter” or “I ran a marathon in the morning, attended a fashionable yoga class at noon, and worked on my memories over a nice soy chai tea latte at Dumb Starbucks.”
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Constantly being busy had always been a good “thing” in my life. I used to define myself, boast and brag in a pecksniffian manner, in regards to being able to plow through the most strenuous workouts, cycling for hours on end and running marathons on a whim … My issue with the term busy – was that I took it too far. I didn’t know when or how to stop, take a break from grinding myself into the dirt, telling my friends “no” when it came to registering for an event.
For the longest time, I simply failed at finding balance in my life or I flat-out choose to ignore it – Who wants to talk about balance anyways?!?
Daily Meditation-
Recently, the cold Midwest weather called me to go for a brisk walk, instead of appearing busy – Yoga class, cycling, running around and writing. Going for a walk simply felt right. I didn’t have to show up somewhere to prove anything, to anyone.
Paciencia
Posted: February 3, 2014 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, cycling, exercise, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, NFL, Omaha, paleo, passion, Patience, perspective, pilates, running, Super Bowl, trail running, Waiting, walking, whole foods, yoga 21 CommentsPatience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is “timing” it waits on the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way-
Al diablo con la paciencia y la espera!
Everyday I am waiting for “something“… The old Toyota to warm up, the mind-body website to load, or my old bones awakening to the sounds of a new day.
Everything, everything that we do is about saving time! We see a picture of a skinny-flexy yoga chica in a pose and we instantly picture ourselves there. The truth is, whether we are looking at poses online or the person next to us in class … Hurrying through your yoga practice and more importantly – This thing called “life“, is quite debilitating.
Do you know what we find in patience? Love.
Daily Meditation:
The tricky bit is, and believe me this is tricky … How do I share with you, the “instant gratification” seekers of the world, to pause and listen, when we can’t even sit through a red light without complaining?!?
CultFit 