Wholistic Fitness

i picture you beside me, breathing, snowshoeing up sunlit slopes of white velvet
punctuated by beacons of a November dying…Gramma Grass – like of all who are in various stages of decay – still reach toward Grandfather Sun’s warm embrace; these simple grasses might as well be Glacier Lillies to ilg…

after two weeks of snowshoe training here at Ski Hesperus,  my tracks – both old and new – appear to ilg as Tibetan Prayer Banners;

for each one was made with the Sacred Mantra as background to my heaving cardio efforts…

…though snowshoe hill repeats through steep, uphill powder ski runs are huge efforts, what
grabs my heart in the m(om)ent and keeps me tethered gleefully to this intense sport are the multitude of natural miracles which lay around around beside me like a pantheon of gracious, fragile deities seducing me h(om)e again, and again, and…

…and endlessly again….juxtaposition of age old moss and fresh snow just arrived…the Bardo’s never stop…
some of us live like moss; seemingly a long time…or the the rocks, even longer…some of us?  our karmic work this time around is shorter…perhaps even a few days or months such as a fruit fly, or a patch of snow on a south-facing slope…

to dance upon this water element,
to soar down these negative-ionic waterfall slopes can not do less than simply and quickly peel my inner child toward waves of laughter and joy
unspoiled…

…some sections of my uphill choices steer me toward steep rocks so ilg can enjoy the
rare music of snowshoe cleats tap dancing up solar panel of rich sandstone…what chi-ld would NOT want to
play like this in such healthy, full-bodied, and naturally wealthy ways?

at the old summit chairlift shed, this old sign is an Uppa Guru to ilg…reMinding me again to use this workout,
and every occasion to ‘unload’ worries, tensions, and doubts.  snow does not worry…

mountain ranges – near and far – do no worrying…

Dewachen does not worry…
Sister Sky does not worry…even when clouds and storms arrive…

so why should i?

so maybe, when ilg arrives home?  ilg just sees another dance arising…
why stop snowshoeing just because the snowshoes are off?
why not use the Flotation Principle of Snowshoeing as a spiritual teaching and
get the Lesson that maybe, just maybe, we don’t need to sink into our worries and chaotic mental clutter,
maybe we can just Float above the perceived drama in our lives and see It All as a well-purposed Divine Dance?

so i try it out;  i don’t leave my snowshoeing efforts at Hesperus,

i’m gonna bring them right Here Now…
into this Daddy/Dewa Dance,  a Dance which brings forth a precious, if unscripted and unrehearsed, pas de deux…
this Dance – much to mommy’s chagrin – happens to today, take place on top of our roof.
i have Dewa tethered in her ski harness.  She is Rudolph, i am Yogi Santa…HO, HO,HO!  we fly from the North Pole to Durango for some high altitude training in the high peaks,  and now, are on recon for Christmas Eve deliveries in Durango.  we DEFINITELY need to make sure we have Dewa’s casa scoped out, for she has been a very, very Go(o)d girl!

…However, just to make SURE!   we drop the Rudolph/Santa gig and get down to serious business,
like chalking out an optimal landing strip and preferred Parking for Yogi Santa’s Sleigh and Reindeer…with
arrows pointing to the chimney hole, just in case a fatigued Santa gets confused…

…our flare up for Christmas…
our h(om)e, sweet h(om)e dressed up, all brilliant and bright
for the funnest season of all in ilg’s book;
the Grace of Cold Weather and Pure Snow…

May your Wholistic Fitness® effort remain as Noble as Yogi Santa’s Misison;
to bring Joy and restore Faith
in chi-ldren of all ages…

and whatever you do,
don’t stop snowshoeing through the wild and precious snows of your life…

Ho, Ho, Ho!!!