Why You Need a Fitness Dojo

A dojo is traditionally thought of as a place where people learn Karate or Judo. In truth, the term dojo refers to any place or space where people can train and better themselves. When I learned Taiko drumming I went to a Taiko dojo. If I wanted to learn how to meditate I would go to a meditation dojo and so on. A fitness dojo is a little different from a gym. It's a place where everything about the space and your time in that space is dedicated towards enhancing your abilities in the art of fitness. These days we tend to treat exercise like we treat our food - it's cheap, hastily put together, and consumed amid distractions.

Exercise should be treated like fine dining, where you put the brakes on all other areas of life so you can fully savor and focus on the experience at hand. Sadly, I don't see many gyms that are built for this. In the dojo there are no cell phones, no news radio and no sitcoms on the TV. It's a place where you lose yourself and find yourself at the same time. There are no rules for what a dojo must be as far as resources. It could be a local basketball court, a squat rack in the basement or a quiet corner of your home with a yoga mat and soft music playing on the stereo. My dojos include Mt. Mansfield, the local playground and anyplace I can carve up snow on my skis. Regardless of what it is and where it is, everyone should have a sanctuary where their training is the number one priority and for a short while, everything else is a far off distant number two. So this weekend identify your fitness dojo(s). Know them for the special, sacred and transforming places they are. Respect them, appreciate them and above all, use them regularly. If you must, find one or build one, and once you have it, treat it like the special space it is. After all, it's where some of you're greatest personal transformations will happen. Be fit and live free, Matt Schifferle

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