Curt

(Long post is long. Mental post mortem of the workshop. If anyone is on the fence about attending one, hopefully this kicks them in the right direction). Up until yesterday, Arthur was just this guy I had seen in a video. DDP was just a 2 dimensional creature on my big TV screen, and occasionally in emails and tweets, who said stuff. Dave Orth was just this guy I knew on here, and occasionally interacted with on FB. And several other people, as well, who were just electrons on a screen, chat words that appear then scroll off into the distance. With trepidation, fear, and not a small amount of excitement, I signed up for the workshop a month ago. And yesterday in the wee small hours, got up and rolled for MD. Halfway there, my GPS (which has KITTs voice), said “Curtis. Are you sure you want to go through with this?” and I said ‘No, actually, I’m not”. I was running late, I was going to be the big idiot wandering into class when it’s already in session, etc . So, I get there, walk in the front door, and Christina An looks up from the counter and goes ‘Hi Curt!” (I had never met this woman in my life). Apparently the kilt was a dead giveaway. And I was not the only one still arriving, so PHEW.. one hurdle down. I found my way with all my junk to the main room, and it was HUGE. And full of people. Found a spot as far as possible from what appeared to be the center of the room, and set my stuff up. Brenda (Page) appears and asks how I am, if this spot is okay, or if I’d rather be up front closer (NO NO NO!), and welcomes me. Apparently, they were waiting for the elevated platform DDP uses to arrive, and people were getting changed, filling water bottles, wandering around, and chatting. From somewhere nearby I hear this very familiar, barking laugh. And there he is. Sneakers, sweatshirt, tablet in his hand, DDP making his way through the room, being certain to talk to everyone, ask their name, shake their hand, ask how they are doing with the program, their goals, etc. Not some case of the guy appears, does his thing, dissapears. Nope, he got personal with, and looked into the eyes of every single person in the room. Then the stage got set up. (which was a comical endeavor in it’s own right), and the “show’ started. History, stories, DDP’s real name, Tony Robbins likes Fbombs (So does DDP for future reference), eating, retreat, perseverance, sweat, side effects of the program, ADD, etc. With these tools he wove an experience that connected deeply with me. Now don’t get me wrong, I was sold on the program and it’s benefits before I ever walked in the door. I had watched the LL90 video, watched every video and interview I could find over the years, etc. Bt as I said, they had all been 2 dimensional electronic representations. or paper. Loud, brash, scripted, and crafted for mass appeal. This, however, this was different. This was Page, quiet, unassuming, direct. Standing right in front of you, looking in your eyes, and actually _Caring_ about you. I don’t imagine the P90X creators do that. The workout itself was the most intense set of DDP stuff I’ve ever done. After watching a demonstration by Arthur (off the cuff for a guy standing next to me who asked about engagement), where he took his HR to triple what it was and back down in a matter of about a minute and a half, engagement, which hasn’t really been an issue for me suddenly became no issue at all. Having DDP, David Orth, Brenda, Arthur, wandering about during the workout, correcting and helping people when they saw errors, made me much more conscious of my form, Seeing that DDP takes the mods in the workouts too, not just the filmed ones, relieved any shame I had about using knees for the last pushup.. after all, I’d been above my zone (mildly above) for almost 50 minutes straight at that point, I EARNED a mod or two, Son. Christina popping over in the middle to find out how I felt and what I thought of it. Brenda stopping over to ask my real name, then friending me on FB. Meeting and chatting with people and being able to be the guy who said “Yeah, this beat my chronic low back pain with a chair, and tossed it out of the ring. I’m pain free there now”. Being able to help the gal who was set up next to me, who didn’t know DDP from a hole in the ground, and had no idea what DDPYoga was, and thought she signed up for a regular yoga workshop (heh), with positions and translations of Broga names was awesome. (She said she’s getting the app and starting the program as she had to leave early due to schedules and the workshop running late). All in all, if you can find a workshop (or get to the PC for a class), it is absolutely worth it. I can’t speak for everyone, but for me, it provided that interface between my brain going “Mebbe I can do this after all” and the tools provided by the program, which once combined to form MegaDDPYogaZord are an unstoppable machine. Thanks DDP, Thanks Brenda, Dave, Christina, Vicky, and every single other person there, who had the curiousity, guts, and drive to show up, put in the sweat and the hollering and the work, to contribute the energy and brotherhood that made it so fantastic.