Wholistic Fitness

Of Vegas and Laulya

“energy moves in waves.

waves move in patterns.

patterns move in rhythms.

a human being is all of those: energy,

waves, patterns, rhythms.

we

are

the

dance.”

– gabrielle roth

In yoga, there is a quality known as Laulya. It means �fickleness� and is considered a primary deterrent to success in yoga according to the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. There can be no success in anything without consistency.

Many fitness warriors and yogis stagnate in their Path because of laulya…they expect results without consistency, determination, and perseverance. It took me nearly a decade to do Padmasana or Full Lotus without harming my knees. I recall training 3 years specifically in order to pull off the first ascent of a single difficult rock climbing route. It took 14 years for me to reach my first World Championship.

Giving up is easy. Persevering is difficult. But the latter builds spiritual character, the former dilutes it. Laulya must be surmounted by cultivating its polar qualities; steadfastness and gumption.

The friends that Kathy has introduced me to since moving to LA certainly show no signs of laulya. Most of our inner circle are fitness professionals. We are accustomed to performing in front of people and giving our teaching full throttle, regardless of how we may feel.

For better or for worse, our well polished gumption carries over into our, uh, �vacations�…

This weekend was an example which i probably shouldn�t be telling you about…

Our group of friends made it back from Vegas late Sunday tired but still wired. Kathy and i logged 11 hours of dancing and only three of sleep over the weekend. Keeping up with my little Kathy and her friends is next to impossible.

On friday after getting kicked out of one club (no comment) and dancing all night at two others, our group invited four new found friends – two girls and two guys – up to our hotel suite and did…HP Yoga until dawn! It was great fun introducing our new friends to yoga, even if the sun was on the rise! I wish you could have seen the expressions of the two well coifed �macho� guys who had come on strong to the women in our group at the nightclub. You know the type; the puffy, steroid type that just stand around nightclubs looking big. They both just withered in functional strength shock as our girls did standing back flips, handstands, backbends, advanced yoga poses, and consecutive bouncing handsprings between the beds, still in their dancing clothes! I don�t know exactly what those guys were expecting to get into, but this wasn�t it! In our group, movement is always our primary drug of choice!

The next night, Kathy bounced up at 11:00 pm to start another full night of dancing…man, it was HARD getting out of that beautiful, luxurious bed when my body felt like one long, stiff chain of lactic acid molecules! I felt like it was day three of a Canadian winter mountaineering epic. But i couldn�t let Kathy get away with this…i may be forty, but i ain�t a wuss just yet. So, 4 clubs and another sunrise later, we finally returned to our room.

It�s hard to keep up with our group, i must say. But, as Kathy says, �You�re only young once…� If you�re gonna dance, then DANCE, by God! Don�t be fickle. Life is too short for laulya in any form!

Go for it fully, in whatever you do!

Work hard, play harder, recover hardest!

�

next entry we�ll return to more formal Practice with 6 Important Keys About Wholistic Fitness…and quotes and questions from you!

Namaste,

coach ilg