Wholistic Fitness

SHAMA; One of 6 Gatekeepers of Liberation

Intense, regular Cardio training has been integrated into the seamless body/mind/spirit integrity of my Wholistic Fitness� Path since 1982. I say, Never trust a Teacher of Yoga that tells you ‘not to run’ or ‘don’t do strength training’! Yoga is not about pushing things away just so your ‘asana’ practice looks pretty! That is what the genuine Ancient Masters would have shot down as, bullshit! Wanna know how many Verses of the Yoga Sutra are concerned with asana poses? TWO! Only TWO! Our hindrances and karma will not be overcome by twisting ourselves into contortions, and for many North Americans, those fancy postures can easily damage our joint beds, limiting our abilities to run, dance, and be capable and durable! The Ancient Enlightened Masters knew damn well the spiritual value of ardous Himalayan trekking and chopping wood, carrying water! So should today’s yogins! Wholistic Fitness� uses physiological cross training to make sure we push nothing away! Becoming versatile in our fitness efforts brings us right smack up against the 6 Qualities of Mind that must be recognized and cultivated to attain Awakening, and perhaps, Enlightenment in this lifetime.

***
From Dama to Shama
In a recent DL, i taught you about Pratyhara or dama; the self-restraint, the self-mastery, the control over your senses which was likened to horses pulling a chariot. If we cannot control our senses (the horses) the driver of the chariot, and any passengers, are in supreme danger being at the whim of the powerful horses. Our Outer Directed Society loves, cherishes, ADORES to keep us chained and addicted to Sense Satisfaction; gotta have the new cell phone! ohhhh! the New Lexus is out! oh BOY! Gotta have that! You mean, if i extend myself and get THIS PRETTY HOUSE, i get a lower mortgage rate? OOOOH!!! gotta have THAT! And…the beat goes on…

Today, i would like to attempt yet another seemingly impossible feat; to turn you away from the charms of the Outer World and once again, seduce you toward a favorite Spiritual Workshop of mine which is also a mandatory part of Self Cultivation; “Shama”. No, not “Shamu” the enslaved whale in SeaWorld, i said, Shama.

It means; tranquility of mind…no matter what.

In the WF Path, i use Cardio Training, including doing Intervals regularly, as an instrumental part of a Student’s WF Training to enhance Shama. Why?

For, it is in the effort required to consistently get out and do Cardio, that many obstacles of mind immediately seem to cause a mental ruckus. Rationalizations and excuses start flying around like ponies let out of a stall on a spring morning. It is in this egoic chaos that the yogin must pounce upon a perfect opportunity to produce “shama” or mental quiescence.

In the untrained and spiritually immature mental environment of a poorly coached athlete or yogin, the individual is caught like a frantic gnat in the intricately strong cobweb of Duality; “It’s too cold out,” “i have to work,” “my body hurts too much,” “i don’t want to have to get all my shit together,”… we all know the Dance…we all know it too well. Particularly after a decade or so of doing Cardio…after the novelty, the weight loss, the progress and compliments and race results taper off. This tapering off of external results is a Divine Design to force the yogin inward.

* Ananda went Snowshoeing with me yesterday. Her body, previously internally damaged by a famous, yet deeply ignorant ‘certified teacher of yoga’ several years ago, was full of pain. She felt depressed and battled many inner demons as she began what probably felt like a forced march up the steep ski slopes. Knowing all about doing Cardio with searing pain in my body, i re-Minded her that we will always have our share of ‘flat’ ‘colorless’ and pain-filled cardio workouts. We must endure them to see the Spiritual Opportunity inherent within them; in other words, use physically painful or flat workouts to venture within and cultivate Shama. Thus, using mantra and pranayama, Ananda flipped the Consciousness Switch on her workout, released into the beauty and miraculous majesty of the day, and ended up having a fantastically powerful inner workout while racking up karmic points in the face of a mundane, painful physical workout. I bow to High Performance Yogini, Ananda! You too, can play “Shama Judo” with your Cardio Workouts!”

***
DISAPPOINTMENT AND TRANQUILITY; NOT A SPIRITUALLY SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP
The yogin whom, having accepted a wise Teacher, recognizes this egoic pandemonium of ‘Monkey Mind,” which jumps to the forefront of our consciousness just about every damn time it is time to Practice. He or she is thus trained to keep their spiritual eye focused on the target of Abhyasa (constancy of Practice).

Learn to compose yourself.

Rather than expecting the external world to produce magic, such as using headphones to “motivate” you to train, just take all the hard knocks of life in spiritual stride. I had to do this when i broke my back. Essentially i said to myself when i could not move the left side of my body; “Okay ilg, this broken back is my karma and i will take it in spiritual stride and see where it takes my Highest Self.” Where it took me has resulted in such a fantastically Higher Place then i feel regular sponsored athletics would have taken me.

You see, Oh Noble Fitness Warriors, the real Podium lies inside. Expecting things to be perfect leads only to disappointment. The non-Practioner sadly keeps accumulating things in the attempt to grasp for happiness in a world of ever changing circumstances, yet remains spiritually untrained at their moment of death. The Warrior Yogin, on the other hand, has learned Shama; mental tranquility by not being spiritually influenced by external cirmcumstances. The well-taught Warrior learns that disappointment and tranquility cannot co-exist; it is not a spiritually symbiotic relationship. Therefore, Oh Noble Fitness Warrior, extract yourself from the to and fro nature of society’s charms and stresses via the stability of simply Trusting in the Path, Working The Path, and taking Divine Joy in the Fruits of the Path.

Summary:
The WF yogin learns to achieve tranquility of mind (‘Shama’) by accepting the daily opportunity of Cardio Training since Cardio quickly and consistently brings our ego up against rationalizations, duality, and excuses. The Bhagavad Gita mentions that developing Shama is the very essence of a yogin’s Practice.

May this DL be of Benefit to Your Practice
and thus All Beings Everywhere
Realize The Importance of Awakening…

namaste,
your humble mountain yogi beneath the Sacred Peak