October 12, 2002
A Weekend Flower...For My Students...
So much change this weekend as PowerHouse Gym is relocating. Change is good for yogis...it keeps our Practice fresh. Whenever change enters my life, I always think of the lotus flower for inspiration.
When I worked at the Ark Bookstore in Santa Fe, a common question about all the Buddhist statues was, "Excuse me sir, why is this Buddha standing on a flower?"
"Well," I'd begin, "that flower is a lotus...and all sorts of Eastern deities can be found standing, sitting, lying, dancing, and even having..., well, you know what...upon the lotus."
"But WHY a lotus?" the new age tourist would ask hurridly, as if in a rush to get Enlightened through their purchase.
"The lotus flower often symbolizes spiritual warriorism because it blooms into beauty from mud and floats on water yet remains dry. Similarly, spiritual athletes should practice their inner work while remaining immersed in the outer world. With lotus like tenacity, we should embrace a passionate yet non-attached devotion to life just as the lotus pushes upward through dark, thick muck to embrace sunshine and blossom into a most gorgeous flower. The lotus teaches a nonjudgmental acceptance of the muck we grew up in, a cleansing within the waters of our life, and an elegant strength from the growth experience."
May your Practice shine with lotus like beauty and may rich personal insight bloom within the treasure of your workouts...
Namaste!
- Coach Ilg