Wholistic Fitness

Namaste Noble Warriors!

i ain’t big on birthdays.

yogis are trained in the flow

not aberration

of life.

besides,

we “age” in so many ways;

physiologically,

psychologically,

spiritually,

egoically,

athletically,

pranically,

emotionally,

karmically…

it seems to me,

that chronological aging

is least significant of all

birthdays, if celebrated with drama in younger years

creates a senseless and often agonizing anxiety

in later years

our society’s over-identification with youth

causes suffering

and why so few of us

can age with dignity and grace and fearlessness.

to a yogi

it is resistance and clinging to the past

which is ugly

not wrinkles

the leaf falls from the tree when mature

– after it has grown fully into itself –

we do not spray paint browning leaves green

nor glue them back onto the stem

we enjoy their falling into the next stage

why not learn the same for ourselves?

so it is,

on my 41st birthday

i have a wish…

for you:

be not attached to years passing

whittle away instead

at the immensity of each moment

and live deeply, wonder-full-y, and endlessly.

so it is also,

that i have a birthday gift…

for you:

a poem written by a Canadian student…

“For Coach’s Birthday

THERE IS A GRACE

There is a grace in the apparent fragility

Time passing, age adding, death coming

Persistence, dedication over time, cycles

Fragility becomes strength

A thin water channel becomes a canyon

An undersea flower-like animal transforms in a resistant crystal

Wavering, falling leafs add a layer of earth

Argiles, slates, the most common rocks, the most abundant ones

have been mud, have been lively shifting sea bottoms, that now

just now, as hard as they are, are returning to mud, weathered

Endless cycles, between strength and softness

Back and forth, equilibrium always delicate

always in a state of grace, in a state of faith

What’s next? More strength? More fragility? One leads to the other

For fragile encourages the growth of strength

For strong teaches that to last, suppleness is necessity

What’s next? Certainly not hardness and weakness

for both become washed away, eroded, transformed

toward their pure essence

of strength and flexibility

Passing through ages

always keeping the same essential identity

under many shapes, exploring many forms

Your Faithful Student,

A.M.P.”

May your day ring with blessings and abundance from within your Practice…

i bow to you,

your “one-foot-in-the-grave” coach