Groovatude

This morning's session in the good ol' House of Mirth was my first solid set in over a week. You've heard about my dance with the dervish H3N2. She knocked me to the ground on day one and continued to pile insult upon injury for an entire week. The last few nights have been restful and today, as the volume of phlegm is on the wane, I actually felt as if I could ride like someone who actually knows how.

That is part one. Part two is adding what is known as groovatude (groove-a tude). Groovatude is a portmanteau of legendary diacritical proportions. It is comprised of a focused awareness of your ability to align the physical, the mental and the spiritual into one dynamic, flowing and joyous movement. It combines power, speed, presence, cadence, geometry and thankfulness into a vibrant dance in the celebration of the moment in time and space. It is satori, kamiwazza and trance down-mixed to the time signature of your soul. That is the groove part. The 'tude part is attitude. Because you have got to sell it. And in order to sell something this esoteric and precious, it has to be real. You can't talk about it. You have to  live it, be it, breathe it. Do it.

Putting those together is the goal. It is the present we gift to others by finding it inside ourselves first and then sharing by doing. It is not easy (and not for everyone) but after a little practice, gradually, one drill at a time, it starts to grow. And we feed it. Finding rhythm, sometimes syncopated, sometimes led by cow bell, sometimes as the beat of heart. And the groove happens. The river flows and otters dance. We let go. Magic happens.

Sometimes we get lost. Sometimes the magic doesn't work. Sometimes we get distracted.

But as long as we keep trying, keep coming back to practice, stay in the game, we stand a chance.

And that chance I will gladly take any day of the week.

For the benefit of those wanting the guide here is the drill we executed this morning (with full-on groovatude):

.30 seated
.30 standing
.30 seated push
.30 Standing GZSS*
.30 7/120 seated recovery.

Ascending from gears 11-20
* Groove Zone Sweet Spot

Two sets with a 9 min warm up is an hour.

Go ahead, try this at home.