Dirty Inspirations

There is a solid reason why no one has done an adventure like Expedition Bhutan. Because organizing it in total has been multi-dimensionally more arduous than the expedition itself will be! One of the reasons for the rigors in the planning process is highly admirable—the Bhutanese are very particular about how guests experience their country. One does not throw one’s backpack on, swoop into Bhutan on American Airlines and have your way with the geography at will. Each moment in Bhutan is scrutinized, planned, and overseen by the Bhutanese. This process helps keep the rif-raf out, while ensuring that each guest will have a memorable experience. For those of us to tend to like to ‘load and go’ this has been a unique process indeed.

So while we’ve continued to refine relations with the country, we’ve been moving rapidly through our own planning process right here in the US—as our departure is looming. The progress we’ve made as a collective team is nothing short of phenomenal. As a result we’ve generated an experience, we’ll be sharing with you all, that is deeply layered and that defines unique.

Our film team is in place (I’ll introduce them in total in another post), we have an almost full house of guests who will be joining us on the first leg of our journey—all intriguing and remarkable folks. We’re psyched to have Imogen Heap, who will be scoring music for our film,  joining us on our first trek as well. We are also supporting the first TEDxThimphu on November 14th, as an extension of our discussion on Happiness and part-way through our journey. Our route is (finally) approved and logistics are falling into place. Expedition Bhutan is slated for Nov. 4 – December 7th. Its ON and its HUGE!

The team is on fire, sprinting to our departure date, end of October, but I’ll be back at you soon with more intro’s and info.

Stay tuned!

Terri

Black China vegan chocolate love... oh yeah...

I was interviewed last week for a book that is being written about a big handful of athletes/artists/musicians/notable folks who are turning 50 this year. One of the obvious questions on the front end of what turned out to be a really fun interview was, “How are you feeling about turning 50?”

My response: “I’m psyched!”

I’m not psyched that our bodies change up when we reach 50 in a way that isn’t terribly useful for an athlete, nor that we have to consider reading glasses or that our memory tends to wane a bit now and then. My 50th year alone has been a doozy of crazy life challenges and its only June! (much more to share soon).

Buddhists believe that struggles placed in our life are our karma ripening from our past (or current) lives and if we embrace these times as perfect opportunities to learn and grow toward enlightenment…we’ll get there sooner. If this is in fact true then I suppose I should be thankful that so much has been tossed at me in a short period of time. Could I currently be on the fast track to nirvana ?

Since most folks seem to need to grandly highlight our 50th birthday as some sort of iconic milestone, I will appease these people by happily saying that I will indeed celebrate this one—deeply and wholly—while sleeping in the dirt in one of my favorite places on earth. Its been a phenomenal ride—a rich, full and satisfying 50 years, and as long as I keep breathing I don’t see that changing up too much.

I’ve been asked if Expedition Bhutan was created as a sort of 50th birthday present to myself. The answer is no. Its just an extension of my already adventurous life choices with a cultural flavor to it (and something that has been in the works for a few years). I believe that if you look back and can smile at what you see, and look forward to continuously create within your true passions—then you’ve chosen well. You then turn 50 and you’re psyched. So what has me really psyched are the people who have crossed my path, the places I’ve seen, the experiences—and the ones that are yet to be created. As David Kelly would say, its all about doing, “cool things in cool places with cool people.” Amen.

That ‘coolness’ can include an engaged conversation with a close friend while sipping wine, to a passing shared support with a stranger I’ll never see again while running across a desert, to finally succumbing to the beautiful struggle of losing a loved one. Being present to the opportunities in each can help us center our focus on our rich life being right in front of us—always. I definitely haven’t always done this well, but my continued efforts do allow me to celebrate ALL that has come before while being fueled to keep it all going strong and inspire others to do the same.

In that light I want to acknowledge YOU on my 50th birthday. All of you, for participating in 50 years of amazing. I would not be looking back in celebration, while looking forward yearning more—without being inspired by you.

Thank you!

xoxo

Terri

I wanted to check in with a quick update. With the royal wedding changing up our expedition dates a bit, the president of BOC reviewing our proposed route for approval, and continued conversations with film staff, we have been in a slight holding pattern with Expedition Bhutan prep. We’ve been quite busy in our holding pattern but, holding none the less.

One of the things I am continually an excellently reminded of is that not every nations culture embodies the blind, frenetic, passionate, results driven work habits—of Americans. So it is important for us to calmly wait—especially when respecting working relationships—when what we really want is to keep driving forward at our crazy pace. An excellent reminder.

That said, we are currently:

• Continuing to finalize our film team
• Working on changing up our website text to more finely tune our objectives as they have evolved (very exciting stuff)
• Continue to create partnerships with individuals and companies who are in alignment with what we are up to
• Waiting patiently for info from our contacts in Bhutan so we can forge ahead with plans
• Finalizing negotiations with BOC to partner with them in creating an event for them in Bhutan  in 2012

I would like to once again, thank this awesome team. What a bunch of talented, forward thinking people—I’m honored to be working with you all. We are indeed collectively creating an incredible, memorable experience and we haven’t even stepped foot in Bhutan yet!

Peruse our partner support page with options and details to support and join our Team in Bhutan. For more information on Expedition Bhutan to towww.expeditionbhutan.com and join us on Facebook.

Back at you soon!

Terri

Mindfulness is being attentive to and aware of the present moment. As westerners we may hear the word ‘mindfulness’ and conjure up images of candles or incense burning by chanting monks in maroon robes. Though mindfulness is the basis for the teaching of meditation in Buddhism it is not solely a religious concept but rather a means to a focused, aware and powerful mind in everything we do. Even the most learned Buddhist teacher will tell you that one need not study the dharma to realize the immense value gained from regular mindfulness practice.

Research has shown that training mindfulness can offer a variety of outcomes toward well being on many levels. In fact many practitioners of western psychology use mindfulness to aid in alleviating a variety of mental and physical disorders. And since concentration, laser focus and a clear mind are key components to peak athletic performances, sport psychologists regularly use a variety of methods to generate attentive focus for athletes—they just traditionally call it something besides mindfulness.

With consistent mindful training athletes can improve focus, heighten mental clarity and therefore improve efficiency and safety when we train and race. Mindfulness training helps us negotiate stress under pressure while increasing our ability to adapt to change—we can learn to respond rather than react. In all this we strengthen our confidence while generating a quiet, powerful mind.

Any elite endurance athlete will tell you that the ultimate satisfaction in their sport comes during that rare race or training session when the world drops away around them and the mental effort exude is nil. Some happen upon these experiences because they are aware enough, and they’ve put in just enough hours training or have spent just enough money on races that the odds are they’ll hit the jackpot at some point. But consistent satisfying experiences will come more easily if we train our minds to be present and focused. If we want to run faster we have to train our speed. If we want to run faster consistently while truly savoring each effort and experience—we have to train our mind.

My experiences as an athlete in this process have been memorable and life changing and as a coach and consultant I want you to experience them too! I

Meditation and yoga pavilion at Land of Medicine Buddha, Soquel, CA

consult with athletes regularly on their mental training processes and am over-the-top excited to be offering Mindful Running: Trail Running, Meditation and Yoga Retreat this September. Launch your running (and your mind!) with a unique retreat experience in the ultimate peaceful setting.

I’ll be chatting more on this topic on my blog so stay tuned. I’d love to hear about your experiences with mindful training, meditation or other techniques that have enhanced your racing experiences. Do share!

Back at you,

Terri

I’m super psyched to be supporting a few more trail experiences for you this year and I wanted to share!

Trail Races: Dirt Inspires Womens Trail Half Marathon is back on August 28th for its 3rd year running. With so many of you sharing your incredible experiences at this event we decided to expand the trail love a bit and offer another event – Dirt Inspires Womens Trail 4 & 8 Milers on May 22. This shorter event is designed as a lead in to the Half in August and will be staged in the stunning Big Basin State Park. For info on these events and more check out our site www.ditrailruns.com. Get Dirty and Get Inspired!

Trail Retreat: For quite a while I’ve conceptualized another weekend of trail nirvana—and it has finally come to fruition. Mindful Running: Trail Running, Meditation and Yoga Retreat is set for our lovely fall time and in a perfect location. This retreat will start Friday, 4:00 PM, September 16 and run through Sunday, 2:00 PM September 18, at Land of Medicine Buddha in Soquel, CA.

This is an opportunity to launch your running with a unique retreat experience in the ultimate peaceful setting. Stay at the retreat site for a complete experience!

We’ll combine mindful and guided meditation practices and yoga, and bring those practices to into our running, on some of the most pristine trails in Northern California. This retreat is designed to send your running (and your mind!) to the next level.

Though this retreat will take place at a Buddhist retreat center, this is NOT a Buddhist retreat. The location was chosen for its relaxing meditation and yoga spaces and remote running trails on a stunning property nestled in the coastal redwoods of Northern California—the perfect venue to create exciting breakthroughs in your running state-of-mind. For more information on this Trail Bliss option check out this link http://terrischneider.net/clinics/html/running.html

Expedition Bhutan: If you haven’t already check out our site for Expedition Bhutan – www.expeditionbhutan.com and join us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/expeditionbhutan – I’ll be offering regular updates on our planning process.

Thanks to all of you for sending well wishes after Gryphon’s passing. Your intensions have been hugely appreciated. Gryphon still hangs with me in the woods as I’ve been leaving his toys and ashes along the trail. Don’t be surprised if you catch a glimpse of him out there

Best,

Terri

A few weeks ago I gave a couple talks on a topic I call “Doing Amazing” to a young leadership group as well as at a fundraiser for SHARP – a non-profit raising money to help kids who can’t afford to get swimming lessons. The presentation is based on my ponderings over the years of who I think is amazing and what qualities might be considered amazing—in short, who are my heros in life.

In short, I don’t have heros as society defines hero, but I do admire the actions of many people—some famous, some just ordinary folks. What I’ve realized over the years is that amazing is happening around us every day—maybe even right in your own mirror.

In many ways our own lives are shaped and molded by our experiences. But doing amazing isn’t so much about what we’ve done, its about what we do with what we’ve done—how we interpret and act on our experiences. Whether we are Mother Theresa, John Muir, or you, if we make fruitful choices based on the stuff that happens to us we can do amazing in our lives—we can be our own heros.

I offered the folks in these recent audiences my 10 lessons or bits of wisdom on doing amazing. I thought it would be fun to share those with you this spring, this time of renewal (see below). I’d love to hear yours! What amazing stuff have you been up to? Do share. And please pass this along to anyone who might enjoy.

Here’s to your amazing self in 2010!

Terri

In Doing Amazing…

1)      Choose endeavors for which you have gut passion. Then expect that your passion will be challenged.

2)       Seek comfort in discomfort while fueling yourself with tenacity, endurance, strength and adaptability.

3)       Create a plan then adapt well as your plan changes up.

4)       Your naysayers, mistakes and failures are your best teachers.

5)       Take risks by stepping into the unknown, with manageable, calculated steps. Then step again, and again…

6)       Some of your greatest joys will come when you share your ‘Doing Amazing’ life with others. Share it well.

7)       Strive to be a ‘master’ at your craft by remaining ‘a beginner’.

8)       Let go of the outcome to achieve your best outcome.

9)       Take responsibility for your own perception of yourself and you will gain the elixir in life and sport…confidence.

10)   There are no absolutes or guarantees while Doing Amazing. That is part of what makes doing Doing Amazing so amazing.

You’re invited to an important benefit to raise scholorship money for children for summer camps and swimming lessons – THIS FRIDAY!

A Night of Inspiration: Mark Stone, Mike Bennett and I will be speaking to support this awesome cause. Come to get inspired and stay for the super cool slide show I’ll be putting out which will take you on a journey around the world a few times…(the pic is a sample

Friday, March 19, 7-9 PM, Simpkins Family Swim Center, 979 17th Ave, Santa Cruz

$20 suggested donation. See you there!