ahiṃsā
Posted: November 4, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: ahiṃsā, Ahimsa, blogging, Buddhism, compassion, cycling, Dalai Lama, exercise, Facebook, fitness, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, Kent Keith, kindness, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Nonviolence, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, Religion and Spirituality, running, trail running, writing, yoga 17 CommentsPeople really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway-
I have perseverated on this blog post for weeks. There are at least 15 drafts of it. I can’t put my finger on why it’s been so hard for me to finish and click *publish*. In essence this is really a simple post:
I value kindness. …
Being kind functions as a mindfulness action for me personally, kindness after all is my daily meditation whilst enjoy an apple during a cool afternoon walk. If I can take but a tiny step away from the emotion(s) of the moment and see myself separate from the world spinning around me, only then in this tender moment, do I embrace the chance to act in my best interest, and not just reacting.
To be kind. To forgo the thrill of the harsh joke, making fun, judging and taking advantage of others, reveling in the ensuing laugh in favor of kindness.
Or maybe the reason I was reluctant to open my heart to you was because those of you who follow my blog or know me in real life, know how far short of kindness, I repeatedly trip and fall, daily. Kindness is as subtle as a leaf underfoot, so easily forgotten and trampled …
And I lack subtlety.
Daily Kindness Meditation:
To bring into your heart …
“If you can, help and serve others, but if you can’t at least don’t harm them; then in the end you will feel no regret.”
–Dalai Lama
Just(Keep)You
Posted: November 1, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: Bikram Yoga, Blah, blogging, compassion, cycling, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, happiness, health, hipster, hope, Intimate relationship, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, relationships, Religion and Spirituality, Romance, running, trail running, Vinyāsa, walking, writing, yoga, Yoga-nidra 16 CommentsThere is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable-
Blah – Blah – Blah: We need to love ourselves before we can love anyone or anything else. Where have you read these words before …
As much as we want to control our own destiny, the humbling truth is that sometimes the only way to learn self-love is by being loved-precisely in the places where we feel most tender. When this happens, we feel freedom, we are granted permission to love in a deeper sense.
There is no amount of positive self-talk that can replicate this experience. Too many times I witness caring people using will power as an excuse to fight through a yoga class. Intimacy and love will not be found here …
If our vulnerability is met with struggle or disinterest, feeling pressured into attending practice. Something brilliantly tender shrivels up and retracts within us, we often lament about ever sharing this part of ourselves again. When our authentic self fails to “work” on a yoga mat (or whatever), we create a false self which lets us feel safe and accepted, although at a significant cost.
Every time we face the choice to share our deeper self, we stand at a precipice. Often, it’s just too scary to take the first step forward …
Notes:
How do we free ourselves from the thrall of shame thrown on us, the ever pressing need to succumb to societal norms? The fear of being our true selves?
I wish I could tell you, I sincerely do. I do know that for whatever reason, you are here reading this drab post, and this means everything to me. Be well this weekend and please take care!
(la)tente
Posted: October 30, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: advice, Alternative, blogging, Buddhism, compassion, cycling, Energy Healing, exercise, fitness, free range, friends, friendship, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, relationship, running, Sexuality, trail running, writing, yoga, Zen 3 CommentsChange is one of the most vibrant elements we can use to create a different tomorrow-
When we change or let go of the negative “things” in our life? New, better and deeper connections rarely come rushing through the door …
The real dirty truth, our souls become bewildering quiet. Life starts to feel boring, discouraging and frustration seeps into every crevice of our being. It seems as though nothing is happening. However Dear Reader(s), this precious moment in our lives (which often seems to last far too long) is THE essential part during the process of change.
Something is indeed happening, we just can’t see it yet primarily do our impatience … Like a fluorescent light bulb which needs a period of dormancy as it gathers the needed energy to shine, deep changes are happening which haven’t yet manifested themselves. In my personal case, where I have ended an abusive relationship with myself (If you take pics of your sore knees or whatever after a race to post? You are in an abusive relationship with yourself), I (we) simply need time to heal.
Notes:
I often get asked why I seek out so much alone time, I simply answer with a smile: Healing and Centering. Be well this afternoon and please take care!
Kindness
Posted: October 28, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, cycling, fitness, friends, happiness, healing, health, karma, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, natural, Omaha, passion, pilates, running, simplicity, writing, yoga 5 CommentsI will survive: if the hell rejects me, there is always the paradise-
You’ve done it again. Woke up late, head swirling around like the foam on top of your favorite latte, which you won’t be able to enjoy this morning. The shower, still cold as you dash off to clear the newly formed frost on your car. Hair still wet and your wallet left inside on the counter … Learning of this whilst stuck in traffic of course. Here we find ourselves in a bad mood of epic proportions!
…
Take a moment to pause, loosen your grip on the steering wheel and set the gadget down next to you. Ask yourself in this precious moment, “What is my attitude toward myself right now? Am I relating to myself with judgment, with mindfulness, warmth, and respect?”
The way of healing begins with kindness.
The gesture of kindness may include saying “Yes” … “This is what’s happening right now, I can handle this.”
Notes:
Through practicing offering ourselves and others the gesture of kindness, we gradually discover that our response to life becomes increasingly spontaneous and natural. In time, we recognize it as the most authentic expression of who we really are. Who would have ever thought that being kind would be a “cool” thing to do?
Subtle Shift
Posted: October 25, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, cycling, Devaluation, Emotion, fitness, gluten free, hipster, hope, kettlebell, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, passion, perspective, pilates, recovery, running, trail running, whole foods, WOD, writing, yoga 6 CommentsMay what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children-
The slow march away from what we”perceive” as the most important “thing(s)” in our lives begins with a subtle shift of emotional meaning from the self to the world around us.
Can we be honest, vulnerable, with one another for a fleeting moment? We’ve all done what we are about to talk about. We’ve devalued ourselves and our dreams as “damaged, worthless” as an excuse to justify acting out at someone else in our lives. Have you ever run such a horrid race and spent the next week being an unbearable oaf to be around? Ever fall on your chin for the millionth time trying to find balance in vrschikasana, only to write a scathing blog post condemning hyper flexible individuals later in the evening, whilst rubbing your chin?
Damn it feels good lashing out at others, urinating over another persons kindness, rubbing their noses in our misery. However, this adrenalin rush we bathe ourselves in … Comes at enormous cost: It traps us in a permanent devalued state of being that greatly impairs our ability to create value in life. Let’s read this last sentence one more time together …
How can we possibly do well in our chosen endeavor(s), when we devalue the people close to us, due to our own failings? Doing so ignites a smoldering brush fire within all involved.
Notes:
If you feel that you’re traveling down a long and sad road, let’s name this road; “Pity Party Ave“, spewing your devalued self, your resentful conflict towards those standing around watching you pass by, ask yourself: Who is more likely to respect your feelings, the people you value and cherish or the loving people rubbing sh!t off their noses because of our actions?!?
What a lovely way to start the weekend, take care and please be well!
CultFit 