The Goddess of Destruction

May I introduce you to the Goddess of destruction, a personal friend of mine, KALI!

Isn't she a vision!

(I wish I could photoshop some kettlebells into her raging fists!)

The Goddess Kali is the fearful and ferocious form of the mother goddess. The mythology of Kali is a bit sinuous and controversial. I am hear to put the confusion to rest, as I am an authority on this misunderstood Deity. Ok so maybe not exactly an "authority" on this bad-ass mama but I dig her style and she inspires me and so I will do my best to tell her story, well one of her stories, without completely slaughtering it, I'll just dumb it up a 'lil. Speaking of slaughter...We are going to pick up in the middle of her story as it is my favorite part and the part relevant to this here blog. Kali is in battle with THE evil forces and she is blood thirsty. She is brutally annihilating demons mercilessly. Kali is so amped up and out of her mind that she gets a little carried away and destroys everything in her path. Her husband, the Lord Shiva himself, throws himself under her feet to try an attempt to stop her homicidal rampage. It works. Shocked, she suddenly stops and in astonishment sticks out her enormous tongue! AWESOME! Here are some traditional depictions of Kali:

You would never know it as first glance but this demon-slayin mamacita represents not just death and destruction but life and the most sacred and lasting of all love, the love of a mother and her child. Yes, she is blood splattered and adorned with skulls, disembodied arms and is pawing the detached head of one of her victims, but don't let this frighten you. What all this carnage actually represents is quite surprising and inspiring.
Her black complexion symbolizes her all-embracing and transcendental nature. Says the Mahanirvana Tantra: "Just as all colors disappear in black, so all names and forms disappear in her". Her nudity is primeval, fundamental, and transparent like nature and free from false consciousness. Kali's garland of fifty human heads stands for the fifty letters in the Sanskrit alphabet, and symbolizes infinite knowledge. Her girdle of severed human hands signifies work and liberation from the cycle of karma. Her red lolling tongue indicates her omnivorous nature — "her indiscriminate enjoyment of all the world's 'flavors'." Her sword is the destroyer of false consciousness! Her three eyes represent past, present, and future.

This is what I take away from the dynamic story of Kali: CONTRAST! How do we know light without the dark? How do we know triumph without defeat? She is known as the Great Mother Goddess of the Hindu tradition, she is the Source, the One that gives birth to all. She too has a chilling, dynamic power. With Kali comes some terrifying features we cannot choose to close our eyes to or be repelled by them. Kali may be frightening, insane at times but the other side of that is how beautifully nurturing she is. So, do you chose to turn your back on her cause she got a little carried away in her passion for slaying demons and miss out on all the other gifts she has to offer? Look at it from this perspective, those "demons" she destroys are actually said to be the delusions that separate us from the Divine and our own true self.

Sometimes I step into the box and my "demons" start in with their heckling: "Oh really coach, you are going to teach a muscle up when you can't even get the g.d. grip down let alone complete the movement!"  "Those child-bearing heaps of badonk-a-donk clinging mercilessly, relentlessly to your every curve must really inspire your athletes as they jiggle with every jump, sprint, swing and kip!" I could go on and on but I will spare you from the insanity of my insecurities. The good news is, I know how to silence those nasty demons! KALI! My battle cry! KALI! Every jiggly kip, swing, jump I do annihilates one of those demons. And in Kali fashion I go after it like a blood-thirsty goddess on a rampage. and afterwards, I get to walk over to my baby boys who love to watch their mama go after it and smother them in sweaty smooches. I am so blessed to have the opportunity to teach my son-shines just how powerful and strong a determined woman can be. I show them by attacking every wod I take on with as much fight as I can muster. Every wod in and out of the box! I show them by practicing not being ashamed or afraid of my own vulnerability. I show them through drenching them in love and admiration, the security and bullet-proof nurturing that only a mother, their mother can manifest. I show them by being true to who I am. It may not always be pretty, but sometimes it takes more grit and guts than deadlifting that @#$%&$*&*!#$%&!! 220 lbs that won't seem to budge, until one blessed day you feel your legs pushing the earth away from you and suddenly your hips lock into full extension and you cannot believe the sound that just erupted from you was produced by your pretty lipglossed mouth. Your grip, the grip that now feels like it can crush boulders, surrenders the heaviest load you have ever lifted to the black rubber below with a thundering BOOOOOM BOOooom Booom booom boom. Your athletes who became your coaches and cheerleaders in that 30 seconds of triumph applaud, hug, bones, congratulate and light a fire inside of themselves to go lift just five lbs more. These are the kind of people I surround my boys with, it is another way I show them limitless love.

 I invite you to step into the box with the same blood-lust Kali unleashed and eradicate those demons that hold you back from the glory you are capable of and step out of the box a warrioress who just freed herself from the debilitating grips of her own personal demons!

p.s. The light will always conquer the darkness!