Beyul Training

In Tibetan folklore, a beyul is a sacred or hidden land. It is believed that by reaching a beyul, you will receive spirtual enlightenment or spiritual clarity. My introduction to this term came when I read The Heart of the World: A Journey to the Last Sacred Place.

What I took from the book, and from the term itself, is that many times man’s obsession with an end state, or set of conditions that defines success, inevitably leaves us unfilled. A man can achieve all the goals they desire, but if they do not appreciate the process in which it takes to get there, they will have filled their life with displeasure and pain. If we focus on the journey and the merits that it can bring, than you will intrinsically motivate yourself and no end state will define success for you.

What would you rather have, a passion and a desire to be healthy, or a motivation that drives you that is not your own? Take a house mother that wants to get in better shape. In the first scenario she crash diets to fit into that dress. She may achieve the goal or she may not, but even if she does, what has she really gained? Most likely, she will gain the weight right back, and will find little motivation within herself to continue to do more work. Or, what if we take the same house mother, and teach her to enjoy the challenges of training everyday? We do this by showing individuals tangible results that they can see almost daily. Many times when we are focused on the future we do not see what is happening at the present moment. By taking an athlete and making them aware of all the wonderful accomplishments they are achieving NOW, they start to thrive. They want to push a little harder to get a little better, to see those results. They want to eat a little healthier to perform and feel better. The drive is coming from THEM, the drive is not coming from an end state or external source.

I believe that no matter what you do in life, you should appreciate the “Journey”. The “Journey” may not be easy, and when it is challenging, that is when it is necessary to have the internal motivation to persevere. An individual that is self motivated will not give up when they face an unexpected challenge, but an individual that relies on external motivation will fall flat.

When you train with me or when I train on my own, success is not measured by specific achievements- success is measured by the attitude, perseverance, and behaviors of the athlete. When all of these become aligned, success will ultimately be found.