…we pick up our story the day before the…
…a good 15 years has passed since i last attempted this race as a soloist…
last night; my Mt. Taylor special ski’s were waxed and the climbing skins attached…
this morning;
12″ more of fresh pow has hit the Snowbowl, just 17 minutes from my front door…
…not today…
for Tsidool – The Turquoise Mountain – is tugging at me…
my transition bags – sequentially packed for 4 different sports and 6 different transitions – are packed into the ambulatory womb of Bala…
i do my best to find Divine Purpose behind anything into which i put my energy. anything worth doing to me is like an internal overhaul. my dad used to tell me, “For Christ Sakes, if you’re gonna do something, then do it right.” that’s what i have tried to do as a personal fitness trainer.
and, as a yogi.
and, as a warrior athlete.
my intent is to be a trustworthy, devoted, and efficient disciple (lover of Discipline) of God. i have no special gifts. all i have to rely upon is Perseverance. thankfully, according to the Sacred Yogic Scriptures, that’s all any aspirant needs; endurance. perseverance. the strength of my sadhana (spiritual practice) has brought my average being to incredible outer and inner sights, yet an awareness of the Presence of an inner monitoring, a Covering, grows deeper each day. i am absolutely hooked on the spiritual journey. why, with each Early Morning Ritual…with each disciplined, “no,” to unneeded but desired forms of sensual entertainment or attachments be it food, family, society, or frolic of some sort…i feel sushumna engage, apana rise, and my sadhana is turning quickly into samadhi.
most athletes – even the ones who call themselves Endurance Athletes – seem unable to hang with very basic spiritual training. most just talk about carbon wheelsets or some fuggin’ YouTube download. it’s a crying shame i tell you, that we have sooo many beautiful athletes gracing this Plane(t), yet so many are just over-identified with the body and can’t flip their consciousness switch enough to see that their sport is their yoga…so integrate them!
whenever i attempt something big…like Mt. Taylor or climbing a rock cliff without rope or take on Fatherhood at age 45;
big vibratory shifts – paradigm shifts – take place. that’s why we must Toe The Start Line; it ramps up our Causal Sheath; vibrating us to where all the world is sacred.
time to go go: the Mountain is calling me…
after my Early Morning Ritual, i drew my Animal Medicine Cards (Sams) for my Mt. Taylor Pilgrimage;
left-hand (yin) card:
Ant
right-hand (yang) card:
Blank Shield.
in padmasana, i sat in my zendo; staring, smiling at my draw.
Ant teaches us Patience:
Oh tiny Ant…
Your patience grows,
like the sands of time.Can i learn to be like you?
Or is it too sublime?
Ant came into my spread not just as a reMinder to myself to be patient during my race tomorrow…
after all, i was a much younger, far less battle-wearied warrior when i last soloed this thing.
Ant was also reMinding me to Trust Tsidool…allow myself to ease into Her mountain spirit and let
that nourish me; when we Trust in our Teachers, Teachers like Tsidool, we will allWays receive that which we need.
Whether we understand the Gift or not, does not matter to the sadhaka.
Ant works for the Whole…for the go(o)d of the Whole.
So Trust, ilg, that the go(o)d of the Whole is working for you!
the Blank Shield card?…aahhhhh ha ha ha!!!!!
i cannot share that particular Great Truth with you!
the mountain calls…she is in my every cell it seems; i need to go…
Patience!
my final Duty;
the good-bye to my family; my first as a new daddy…
into my arm i swing my Beloved Dewa…
with my other arm, i take hold of my Beloved Ananda…
we put on “our clan song” and together, we three humble warriors
dance a goodbye-and-good luck dance to daddy…
and the tears roll off my cheek as i hold eyes with Ananda and squeeze my Dewa…
the eyes of my ladies are to me symbols of luminosity…
a radiance of sattwa to which this feeble yogi so inspires.
i’ve not felt such Vibrations before…
seems like just getting to the Start Line
will be my podium already…
yet the Sacred Mountain calls powerfully and i must go…
i pick up an Angel Card as i tearfully leave my Clan.
the card reads:
“PATIENCE”
the snow beneath my feet feels go(o)d.
i feel fit.
i feel like Buddha leaving the Palace; leaving His wife and children; leaving It All
to embark into a Great Perhaps…
repeating God’s name in the form of my Mantra, i climb into Bala and leave Doko Oosliid for
another Sacred Mountain; Tsidool. my aerobic rosary will be my Mantra tomorrow and my
perspiration will be my prayers. the overcoming of doubt and the searing samskaric pain of my
lower back and hip? that will be my purifying pilgrimage.
driving toward Tsidool; snow.
some say that they train ‘uncoventionally’ for ultras like Mt. Taylor or other endurance races, however,
most endurance athletes still – when it comes right down to it – they are still just pasting big endurance training volumes.
Unconventional Training? how about having your monthly yoga and meditation hours far outnumber your
Cardio hours in your training?
Unconventional Training? how about having your daily caloric intake be in negative ratios to daily caloric expenditure?
2 hours into my drive; still snowing.
i aim to be one of the first to check in. i like getting there early before the duct tape runs out and the marker tips get blunted. though passing up all the INDIAN TURQUOISE JEWELRY along this famous old Route 66 revamp, is rather difficult.
Turquoise indeed.
at mile 211, i got my first sight of Tsidool the skies had cleared. She was resplendent; Her summit cap slanted in the sun, set against a mottled, gun-metal sky. Brother Raven flew like a arrow into the foreground; one of my two Animal Totems, as if to herald the auspicious m(om)ent.
by 4:00 pm, i had used my Wolf Medicine wisely; within five hours of leaving my Clan all my gear was checked in and i was hot tubbin’ at the Comfort Inn…memories of last year’s Overall Pair Championship and new Course Record drifting through my mind in welcome wafts.
tomorrow is Race Day. my body will be broken, yet my spirit elevated.
inner overhauling.
baking my samskara’s…those unnoticed mental impressions which train thoughts into conditions…every honest yogi – if she or he dares to call themselves such – must do the same inner overhauling;
we must bake our samskaras,
we must be severe with ourself and awaken the inner power.
then, our Souls may shine like
the
Turquoise Mountain
which
endlessly
calls.
The body will not become fragrant without continence;
The inner guru will not appear without meditation hours which
exceed physical training hours.
Am i giving you strength-giving ideas?
Collect your inner power and look within for the burning flame;
then,
apply yourself diligently.
like your feeble teacher will tomorrow.
unafraid and yearning to bow before
the Sacred Mountain.
toe the Start Line, yogi.
and Awaken!
do not let society or family or infirmity conquer you.
not this lifetime.
not this lifetime.
These teachings are the "Rasas" or "sap" of Wholistic Fitness. You’ll find insights to ponder, student chi to keep your own chi topped off, and plenty of proven training techniques to test on your own body, mind, and spirit! Also, you’ll find my very popular Race Reports, and news of our Sangha’s (community’s) latest transpersonal fitness adventures!