adult gymnastics and overcoming fear: it's part of the sport

Adult gymnastics fear is different than that of younger gymnasts because we've been afraid of things for much longer.  It's like baggage we accumulate through years of poor choices and bad relationships.  It takes longer and more work to get through it.  The coaches at adult camp get this and have the perfect balance between pushing us and being understanding of our quirks and fears.  I wish I knew how they did it.

In Buddhism, there is a term called "kosen rufu" which means "the ceaseless effort to enhance human dignity, to awaken all people to a sense of their limitless worth and potential."  It does not mean an end point and has been referred to as "the very pulse of living Buddhism in society."  This is what gymnastics is.  It is a goal-oriented sport and pushes its participants to keep reaching further.  Society sees it as a child's sport, but a gymnast is still a gymnast whether s/he is 8, 18, 38 or 88 (or beyond).  I believe that if you truly love something, you share it with everyone and find ways to make it grow.  Gymnastics is meant to be shared and experienced by anyone who has the desire to challenge themselves both mentally and physically.  I can't thank Tony, Gina and all the coaches enough for realizing the needs of adult gymnasts and creating this amazing camp experience for us.  I can't wait to see this camp grow into something even more amazing than it already is.