Tag: yoga

Five True Things… About Life??

barbell on the floor
Photo by Leon Ardho on Pexels.com

My previous post was about five true things that I have learned over the years about yoga. They were hard won epiphanies, you’ll have to trust me on that.

I have been reading a book by a fitness expert named Tom Venuto. Imagine my surprise to find this passage:

However, everyone can improve their fitness and physique above and beyond where it is today. Your goal should be to achieve your personal best while avoiding comparisons to others who have different genetics than you

— Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto, page 31

Imagine my surprise to see what amounts to two of the true things I know about yoga, back to back, applied to general fitness! Could all of them apply to general fitness? Let’s see….

  1. You can be more fit that you are today? Yes!
  2. The fitness activity you dislike most is probably the one you need to work on the most right now? Seems very likely!
  3. Admire but don’t compare yourselves to others? Absolutely!
  4. Fitness as a practice rather than a performance? For those of us who are not professional athletes, unquestionably.
  5. You have an intention when you do a fitness activity whether you call it that or not? I am willing to believe it. Maybe that’s why people who approach their workout with the attitude of “let’s get this over with” don’t get the same results as people who approach it as “I am doing this activity to meet that goal.”

I do not know if there are more truths out there for me to learn. Nor do I know if these five truths have application in the greater world. But I hope you can accept these truths as things you can learn from.

Five True Things About Yoga

This is my Yoga Buddy

Over the years that I’ve been practicing yoga, I have had the honor of learning five true things. The first three were slow to come, and the last two were learned in the last year.

  1. You can learn to do any pose better than you can right now. Always. Even something as simple as Tadasana.
  2. The pose you hate most is probably the pose you need most right now. This does not apply if the pose puts any strain whatsoever on the neck or actively causes pain, of course,
  3. It’s okay to admire and find beauty in someone else’s practice, but it’s never okay to compare yourself to them. They have their own practice, their own strengths and weaknesses, which are different from yours.
  4. It’s a practice, not a performance. You are — or should be — doing this for you and not for anybody else.
  5. Everyone sets an intention — what they want out of that day’s practice — whether they are aware of it or state it as an intention, or not! Sure you can say “I just want to stretch today.” Guess what? That’s an intention! “I’m not interested in any woo, I’m just here for the physical benefits.” Also an intention!

Someday maybe I will learn more true things. But for this moment, it is enough.

The funny thing is that I very recently learned something about these truths. I will share that in my next post.

Sorry for the break

I’ve been in a seminar all week and haven’t really had much to say worth posting. Hopefully next week will be back to normal.

In Closing: looks like a great way to drown; doesn’t everyone need one; wealth gap; “you people“; is the media going to let them get away with an outright lie?; an odd proposal with interesting connotations (Zoolander Zoolander Zoolander); and you don’t normally find something this cute in a wrecking yard.

R.I.P. MCA

Today we have the sad news that Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch — also known as MCA* — has passed away. Although it is widely known that he was battling cancer, there is no word yet on whether he in fact died of cancer.

Since he was a Buddhist, it is perhaps more appropriate to say that I hope he made it to enlightenment this time around. Peace.

Not to hijack this event, but I would like to point out that this was a man who could afford the best treatment for his illnesses. If his insurance company said “you can’t do that,” he could say “Visa/MasterCard is my secondary insurance and they will cover it!”

Seriously, do everything you can to make sure you have cancer screenings.

In Closing: a judge uses common sense; free online yoga classes; there’s jobs in Walker County; Vogue bans “too skinny” models — well, underage too skinny models (wake me when size 8 is normal).

 

* Make a note, you are unlikely to see me link TMZ again any time soon. Tell you children about this day! Ok, maybe not.