Wholistic Fitness

a night-long vinyasa of linked Friday night sirens awakens me too early…my nadic system is burdened by the ever-accumulating particulate and subtle toxins of the Valley. i feel the arousal of the schmuck in my pranayama practices. alongside this energetic lethargy however, is the Great Vibe of this Pueblo Grande….

as i glide up Magnolia, across Lankershim, and make the once-familiar turn onto Tujunga, a gob of Joy sticks in my heart. in minutes i’ll be teaching to a packed cave of my faithful, loyal HP Yoga warriors and warrrioresses. amazingly, these most Noble Sadhus of the Big City all-ways turn out in droves when i come here to teach once a year. as i unlock the Studio like i did for years, it is uncommonly quiet. “Oh no…” i think…”Oh no…”

Yoga Teachers teach because we love what we do. and you, our students, make what we do so much fun to do. all Group Exercise Leaders however, share a common flaw; we suffer from low self-esteem. we Teach because we want your approval. you prove to us, our worth as valuable Human Beings upon Mother Earth. Our worst nightmare, which is a chronic one regardless of decades spent Teaching, is that no one shows up to our class. You’ve been there perhaps; you throw a big party, talk it up, and…only echos in the big, rented room.

My class was not advertised, though i sent the Studio all the PR materials and emailed my LA Sangha…twice. From that email, i received a few “Sorry Coach, can’t make it,” responses and a few “Unsubscribe me,” emails.

It’s a tough nut to crack in Kali Yuga; making a living by doing go(o)d through Sweat-Based Service.

Thank God for Student Steve Mackel, perhaps my most loyal of the loyal LA Warriors who gets WF and me like the way an Eagle gets the sky…he just Gets It. He lives the Work, loves the Work, and allways, allways, allways does what it takes to not only make it to my class, he brings in tow with him the most beautiful army of Dharma Warriors i’ve ever seen. Were it not for my Beloved Mackel, my big LA appearance would have fallen flat and empty. However, with this one Fine Warrior and his handful of devotees? We share SUCH an amazingly loving, sweaty, dharma-saturated nivrana in Studio City…

***

back down Tujunga to Magnolia and Lankershim…the gob of Joy in my Visshuda Chakra has blossomed. it’s not about quanity of a Teacher’s students which matter…it’s the quality. Buddha only had three true followers before His Enlightenment (then, of course, suddenly He became the Hit of the Era as all those who once dissed Him suddenly reversed their fickle attitude and clammered for a spot beneath His Radiance Light). Jesus had seven. i’ve never prayed to God for many Students. I’ve prayed only for the Sincere Ones. The Ones with enough gumption and Love for how High i attempt to Teach from that they’ll love me for my lack of skill, lack of tact, and hopefully; lack of cosmetic dermatology as i grow older. my mom taught me one thing, “Steve, just do good in the world and be honest.” i have mom. tapping my fingers in a yoga studio in LA, waiting for just one student to walk in to take my humble class after all these decades however, is a true test of my own sincerity to Serve…especially as i attempt to provide for a Partner and a Tibetan Goddess of 7 months…

***

LA can be the most loneliest of places. the closest i’ve come to depression is when i moved here, holed up in a rented bedroom of a chic Westwood condo, and knew nobody and worse, suddenly got hit in the Soul by the fact that people here did not care about the quality of what i attempt to bring to Personal Training. this City runs on illusion. to make money, i’d model and go for commercials…something that i had already done in the past. if a casting call calls for a ‘rock climber’ however, the fact that i had over 75 First Ascents and was at the leading edge of the sport for nearly ten years and could climb circles around the admittingly drop dead beautiful male models that pulled in Porsches next to my Geo Metro at the casting studios did not matter. tough years, those. tough life this. when i come here and now drive these streets, smell this perfumed air…knowing that i overcame so many Dragons here; it’s a special type of Kundalini-Empowerment that i know will jump start my Bardo Navigation when that time comes…

***

Twas a good thing my best friend in this City…someone i have introduced to you in DL and in TBT…Steve Marlowe answered his phone on Saturday night;
“Hello?”
“STEEEEEEVIE!!!!!!!! OH STEEEEEEVIE!” i moan into the phone (impersonating the scene from Deliverance, ” WHY STEEEVIE???? WHY????!!?!”
“Steeeevie!” he answers back…
“”Hey, thanks a LOT for coming to my yoga class today you mofo!” i said sarcasm seeping from each word.
“OH SHIT!!!!!!!!!” when Marlowe realized he had forgotten my class it hit him hard…he really, really, really loves my class and is one of the few that still relies on my TBT yoga programs as his sole solo practice which have elevated him out of chronic pain and has made him fast and smooth on the bicycle…

of course i did not make him feel bad about missing my once-a-year appearance in LA…

hey,
LA and her Tribe are very, very busy.

i know.

by Direct Experience.

we’ll make it all go(o)d tomorrow as we press prestige into our pedals as we go for a club ride upon the well-scripted streets of this Valley.

may your Practice be strong and sincere today…

love from LA,
ec

There’s no easy way to do what must be done this week. You must take account of a particular ‘hard fact’ and act accordingly. If you try to ignore it, events will oblige you to sit up and take notice. Bad news? Not really. You face a difficult decision that is likely to involve compromise or temporary hardship. But no matter how you try to sweeten or soften it, the move is one you have long needed to make. Be honourable, courageous, wise, firm yet moderate.