Wholistic Fitness

Getting a toe up against my competitors…I love New Mexico! My leg seems to press into Father Sky as i breathe into Eka Pada Setu Bandhasarvangasana during my pre-Race Day yoga session. oh, and yes, it took me the last 12 years of DEDICATED work to get even this measley toe spread. My Opening The Vents workout – available in our Pay Per PDF section of the WF Pro Shop – will help ANYONE get a better, more healthy foot and thus body. Remember, brittle toes/feet = brittle, dysfunctional organs which in turn equate to a pantheon of dis-eases and poor energy.

Yes, my old DL Subscribers will be happy to know that the Rama-Da that my little brother and i built and surprised my parents with is still standing beautiful beneath the mystical Sandia Peak in my parent’s backyard. Tibetan Prayer Flags, Yak Bone Mala, and Green Tara and Amitabha have anchored the spirit of the Rama-da. my parents LOVE it! so do i!

THIS DL WAS WRITTEN FROM RIO RANCHO, NEW MEXICO ON SATURDAY, JUNE 1st.
(Due To A Lack Of Internet Connection, I finally got it posted just now.)

On The Road Again…

Left last evening. Doko Oooslid, her oozingly familiar, svelte silhouette slides westward and falls prey to another brilliant Evening Bardo of Flagstaff twilight as I point Camy our gas stingy pony east.

With conscious discipline I keep the on-board XM Satellite Radio off. A WF Warrior must prioritize InnerAttainment over Entertainment as often as his or her conviction so deems. Thus, embarking upon my several hour drive, Camy becomes my ambulatory Zendo. Mula Bandha, Uddiyana, and some other Pranayams are the company I choose to keep as the long, open highways of my Beloved Southwest become my Trataka.
If it is one thing that WF teaches so steeply; it’s that our Workout is Everywhere. What the common man calls a ‘boring car drive,” the WF Warrior transforms into an incredible Practice toward developing Dharana; sustained concentration for eventual meditation and ultimately; Enlightenment. How BAAAD Do You Want It, Baby? Bad enough to keep the car silent on several hour car drives and turn your Attention within?

***
Within 3.25 hours, my meditative limbo is broken by my mountaineers Sixth Sense. Unseen on my left I can feel Tsidool (aka; Mt. Taylor). Her hulking half-bald summit hides behind a parade of moon flared cumulus. I’ve danced so many dances upon this Turquoise Mountain over the decades. Now, those memories become Kachina ignited puja as I drive past Her on yet another Mountain Yogi adventure. How priceless is it to life a life well lived?

Perhaps true wealth is naught more than the capacity to fire up endlessly linked smiles recollected from a cascade of sacred, sweat-filled memories? How does the old saying go? “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Take risks. Live life boldy, fearlessly, lovingly. See where it leads.

Were it not for the indelible Road Construction, I woulda busted 4-hours from Flag to Rio Rancho; my autobahn personal record. That type of driving performance is nothing but a training effect from a concentrated mind.

***
PreRace day dawns too quickly for my few hours of sleep. when I get the chance to come here to Rio Rancho, New Mexico my reunion with my cat, Spencer Sandis Smith and his older sister Bonnie Lu is very deep indeed. Today is prannically potent; my entire Being seems permeated with a relaxed, appreciation. A deeply shining day bounded without restraint. a late morning Early Morning Ritual (i KNOW you’ve been there!)transfixed me by offering a tangible, titillating difference in the Prana beneath Sandia Peak compared to the slightly more bold Prana which spills flamboyantly off Doko Ooslid. Minutes turned into an hour which then kept lingering.

Eventually, I swung my leg over Sudhamani and I took off on my go to Rio Rancho road bike Loop now engulfed by ever growing pandemonium of suburbias’ stretching without limit across my once desolate high mesa lands. 24.3 miles in an 1:14. That’s a 19.7 mph average on a hilly course with wind. New Mexico wind. Solo. Obviously, I am getting back some of the wattage in my cottage for my second race of the season tomorrow; The Sandia Crest HillClimb. However, would I have enough Endurance to sustain my available wattage?

Out on my ride I fall in love again and again with this sport of road cycling. Sprawling vistas spray with celestial veneer as I tap out 3 long intervals to open my lungs and legs up for tomorrows climbing battle. Something sounds askew within Sudamani’s bottom bracket.
On afternoon errands I run her into the best bicycle shop on the West Side of Albuquerque: High Desert Bicycles. My friend John ushers me past a standing line, and gets Jessie to work on my steed, “Steve’s gotta race tomorrow, do what it takes.” Now, i used to be able to get ‘under the velvet rope’ in LA Hollywood NightClubs. Screw that! THIS is the type of VIP Treatment that i REALLY dig! Thanks JOHN!

***
Late afternoon and my preRace prep includes the joy of being moved by the Inner Dance of vayus as I use the advantages of practicing asana and pranayma on the small patch of grass in my parent’s amazing refuge of a backyard. The advantages of being able to compress into Mother, grabbing gently tufts of grass to stabilize certain aspects of my postures, and breathing the heartbeats of Father Sky as I press my mind into my Practice.
Coming out of a variation of YogaNidra. Oh, it ain’t a pre-Race workout that most cyclists would choose,yet, it’s mine. And, it makes me happy. And, having seen for decades the bodies and dis-eases that sport specific athletes harbor, i am more than happy to remain focused on strength, suppleness, and overall balance of physique and function than to win a bunch of trophies in one sport yet sport a body that looks like Zumbac’s suit!

***
i use the intimacy of my Practice as a PreRace Ritual. Last year, I won this race in the 40+ category in a wire-to-wire effort (see DL Archives, June 2006). Such Prefontainesque bravado will NOT be demonstrated tomorrow. With a non-existent preseason, i am not strong enough this year. Tactical savvy must make up for my lack of fitness. Perhaps a false attack to draw out the stronger riders then attempt to draft a fast pack on the lower canyon climb before the ski hill. On the steeps is where I will have to hurt myself worse than last year. From 5,000′ to 10,000’+ in 26 miles. Sandia Hill Climb is a true climbers delight. If you get off on riding your bicycle up steep hills with switchbacks to the top of a huge mountain? Put this one on your Hit List!

I feel light. Serene. Contained. Joyous. At h(om)e.

***
Why Race? Let Me Count The Ways…

Tomorrow I am racing to support the family of my former Motorola teammate from down here; Bill McClain. Bill, who raced bikes with us for several years while doing a Battledance with Cancer, was an amazingly kind Father Warrior in whose name this Race is now named and race proceeds go to his family.

Tomorrow I am racing to strengthen my mental fibers. To push myself in the heat and up the steeps of this beautiful peak.

Tomorrow I am racing to be a better ilg.

Tomorow I am racing to be a better Teacher, trainer, coach,son, father to be, partner…essentially i race races like this to be a more skilfull yogi.

Tomorrow I race.

And tomorrow night? I will have yet another memory to give graceful glide to my smiles recollected from the sacred sweat of genuine effort played out with my Two-Wheeling Warrior Peers.

Long live the CHI of those who choose to DO THE DO!!!

Long live the Desire For The Upward Path!!!

Om so ti,
The mountain yogi