Compare
Posted: December 31, 2013 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, cycling, exercise, family, free range, freshly pressed, friends, happiness, health, holidays, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, New Year, New Year's, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, running, sports, Thought, trail running, walking, What the Hell, whole foods, WOD, writing, yoga 13 CommentsMy beerdrunk soul is sadder than all the dead christmas trees of the world-
A former hockey coach once pulled me aside during practice to tell me, “Don’t beat yourself up comparing your abilities to the other players. There will always be players better than you, and worse than you. The most important “thing” is to ask yourself right now: “Am I improving?”
What the hell did that coach just tell me? Seriously old dude, I’m 19, in peak physical shape, my sh!t don’t stink and I’m playing the best hockey of my life …
Fast forward 19 years, and what my caring coach so passionately shared with me – Not comparing myself to “others” is often easier said than done. Open up your heart and eyes this morning and take notice of how we are constantly being bombarded by advertisements preying on our insecurities: You have been a bum all year, You are fat and out of shape, You ate one too many eggnog cheesecake(s) within the past week. Our addiction to social media feeds our jealousy by creating the illusion that other people are living happier, more fulfilling lives than our own.
On this, the most vulnerable day of the year (for many caring people). I implore you to stop comparing yourself to others, and instead compare yourself to the person you were one year ago – right now. Are you happier, more confident and peaceful?
Daily Meditation:
Getting in tune with our true wishes, our deepest wishes that lie underneath our insecurities and envy? Is hard work, and it’s certainly not cool to boast about on FaceTube. What the hell am I trying to say? Setting an intention this New year … Is pretty damn cool!
Love (Light)
Posted: December 6, 2013 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, Breathing, Buddhism, compassion, cycling, fitness, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, homophily, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, Practices, recovery, Religion and Spirituality, running, trail running, walking, whole foods, writing, yoga 10 CommentsModeration in all things, especially moderation-
We know meditation is good for our souls. Or do we …
Each and every day, we have 24 precious hours available to us to meditate, and yet … We consciously choose to divert our attention elsewhere … Oh look! A dove!
A quick show of hands: Did you post something on FaceTube today? Binge watching House of Cards while at work? Stand in queue for ten minutes waiting for a latte? Drive to work and park as close as you could to the entrance? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, as I certainly did, then we did have some time today …
Dear Readers(s), you are not alone. I struggled for the longest time to establish and maintain a consistent meditation practice. Despite its simplicity, meditation practice is actually hard work, paying attention and being mindful and all.
All kidding aside, meditation is an incredibly important skill to develop. Yup, a skill – Like folding clothes and picking out the best bottle of $5 wine, a skill that takes time to develop.
Daily Meditation:
Even one minute spent meditating is more than none. Be sure to double-check my math … Have a brilliant weekend my friends and please take care!
(In)tention
Posted: December 4, 2013 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: blogging, coffee, compassion, freshly pressed, friends, friendship, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, inspiration, Intention, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, Mary Anne Radmacher, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, reading, Religion and Spirituality, rest, running, Society, walking, whole foods, writing, yoga, Zen 8 CommentsLive with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen Hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is-
What is the one word that is often most overused and the least understood practicing yoga – anything? Intention.
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Setting an intention is a mentality that demands, demands that we live in a way that prompts an “As if…” approach to living. Rather than the convenient “What if…” approach to living.
Being mindful, centers on being in the moment, putting aside attachments to past Read the rest of this entry »
nəməste
Posted: November 13, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: Buddhism, compassion, crossfit, Divinity, free range, freshly pressed, gluten free, god, Greeting, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, Middle East, motivation, musings, Namaste, natural, nature, Omaha, Pakistan, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, running, Sanskrit, walking, whole foods, writing, yoga 21 CommentsMankind’s biggest blunder, ignorance. Mankind’s second, infallible-
Chances are at the end of yoga practice, you awkwardly have heard fellow yogis use the word “nəməste“ with their hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointed upwards. Usually nəməste is associated with eastern religious traditions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. Loosely translated from Sanskrit nəməste means: “The God in me recognizes the God in you” or “The Divinity within me perceives and adores the Divinity within you.”
The more I think about it and reflect on this greeting, the more I think its pretty cool. Just imagine if we were to interact with other(s) during the course of the day by basically stating that I honor, recognize and appreciate the divine within you? How could you not treat those around you ethically and with loving kindness?
…
I often lament about my time spent in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan. As-salam alaykum (Muslim) carries great weight in my heart as a greeting of “peace be upon you.” Back in ‘Murica though, greetings such as Hi, Hello, How’s it going, Sup Bro and so forth are frivolous. These wasted greetings really don’t communicate much, they are not dense with meaning and purpose. A friendly greeting of any kind and one of peace is certainly fine. Although, I have come to be especially fond of the nəməste greeting, given what the word actually means. nəməste offers a more enriching and important message to me.
Maybe we all should embrace nəməste regardless of our spiritual, religious tradition or what part of the world we are in?
Daily Meditation:
Doing the right thing for ourselves and others means finding a way to see the sacred, the divine, within all. May nəməste serve as a constant reminder to do this. If you witness sacredness in some cool folks today? Chances are then you are likely to treat them with compassion, care, and respect …
नमस्ते
Better (Off)
Posted: November 5, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, fitness, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, health, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, perspective, pilates, Rumi, running, trail running, Vinyāsa, walking, whole foods, writing, yoga 14 CommentsYour task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find
all the barriers within yourself
that you have built against it–
In the pedantic game of tennis “love” is a score of zero. Implying that when we’re in love the score is even, our hearts are content and all is well in life. However, how often do we keep a competitive score in our relationships with those who love us, the person next to us in yoga class, running a race … Who can find the best parking spot this holiday season?
Instead of comparing myself constantly and competing against others I challenged myself to compare “me” in this moment, to the person I was one year ago. Am I kinder, happier, more confident and peaceful? If not, I take a deep breath to explore what has caused me to lose focus, and how I might learn moving forward.
I’ve found that by trying to keep the score zero in my life, trying being a key word … By giving generous doses of gratitude, making caring gestures to other(s) daily, witnessing the passion and abundance growing around each one of us? Is an inspiring “thing“.
Daily Love Meditation:
Keep a loving score today. Count how many times you utter something loving and positive …
CultFit 