From a Good Friend

Evolution of AFM

Growing up, sports were the focus of my life. I found my purpose in recess basketball games. My identity survived or came crashing down in accordance with the results of a neighborhood football game. There was no greater feeling then sitting in a baseball dugout with my best friends, spitting seeds and cheering on our teammates. There was no greater sense of accomplishment then winning a wrestling match over a childhood rival.

Sports created a simple world for me. I could understand it. I could work within its rules. I think this is why people of all ages sit in front of the television day in and day out and watch sports. There is a part of us that longs for life to make sense again. We long for purpose and an understanding of how to operate within such a purpose. Sports can offer this. But even though sporting events can mirror certain aspects of life, life asks us much bigger questions then can be found in the latest addition of Sports Illustrated, an ESPN highlight reel or through the atmosphere of a Monday night football game.

When I was younger I did not think about life’s biggest questions. I did not worry or ever cry out because of injustice. I never had regret. I was insulated.

As I grew older life became complicated. As a college wrestler athletics became a job. Life presented more questions then answers. My sense of purpose began to fade away.

After college I moved to San Diego and entered into a small theology program through Point Loma Nazarene University and tried to answer some of my questions. To pay the bills I became a certified personal trainer and a high school wrestling coach. All in all, my life revolved around training. I trained people’s bodies in my studio, I trained my wrestlers on how to win on the mat and I was getting spiritually trained in my theology program.

At first the three spheres of my life remained separate. I saw no real connection. However, I soon realized that spirituality encompasses every aspect of our lives. We live holistically. Nothing is secular. Everything is spiritual.

I then became excited about integrating spirituality into health and fitness. My sense of purpose came back. I started to feel alive again.

My excitement continued to grow as “spirituality” became a buzzword in mainstream America. Classes like Yoga and Tai Chi sprouted up everywhere as people began to realize that spirituality is integral to health and that our modern scientific culture was neglecting their spiritual needs.

I then heard about a conference in Las Vegas that dealt with the role of spirituality in health and fitness. The conference was put on by a reputable company whose goal was to inform the rest of the health and fitness community on how to integrate spirituality into their professions. So with the companionship of a good friend and fellow trainer, I packed up my bags and went to Vegas.

The conference was filled with smiling faces and charismatic speakers. Health was in the air. But a true sense of purpose and meaning was not. One speaker after another came forward and reproduced lines from watered down Hallmark cards while providing a relativistic view on life. I was about as inspired as a bachelor doing dishes alone on a Saturday night.

After one of the sessions I walked up to all the speakers who were sitting at a long table and asked them a simple question. “What do you mean when you say the word ‘spirituality?’” Silence was my first response. Which would have been better then what followed. After a long pause they all looked at each other and almost in unison said, “that is a really good question, we don’t have an answer.”

I was shocked. I had expected an answer that would move me, inspire me and potentially change the course of my life forever. But here I was at a conference on the role of spirituality in health yet not one of the keynote speakers knew what they meant when they said the word spirituality!

I left the conference extremely disappointed. Even though I liked the idea of integrating the body, mind and spirit into a holistic approach to training, I knew that spirituality encompassed much more than an avenue to looking good and having deep conversations at coffee shops. Spirituality is based on the living God’s interaction with the physical world and how we participate in that process. On the car ride home my mind raced with questions. The Absolute Fitness Mode is my answer to those questions.