Misogi Challenge: A Misogi is more than a challenge—it’s a rite of passage. Rooted in ancient Japanese purification rituals, Misogi is about stripping away comfort, pushing beyond limits, and emerging transformed.
In its modern form, Misogi means undertaking a single, extreme challenge each year something so intense, and so demanding, that it redefines what you believe you’re capable of doing. Misogi is about transformation. Because real transformation happens at the edges of your limits.
Misogi Rules are straight forward. 1) Don’t die. Ensure safety all times 2) Make it hard. Misogi can involve any activity that pushes your physical limits, and it can be applied other areas as well.
I wrote this month’s article as a homage to the indomitable human spirit against all odds. This is a celebration of persistence, courage and tenacity and hopefully an inspiration for others who may be facing some obstacles (perhaps life threatening) in their lives.
Background: My dear friend Uno V whom I have known since 1970 had an infection when he was around 25 years of age. At that time (and even now) the doctors did (do) not know what caused it. Uno almost died and had to spend ten days in the ICU and a couple of months in a hospital. While in the ICU, doctors felt that he had less than a year to live. Uno was snatched from the jaws of death thanks to his mom and the rest of the family. Uno came out of his infection but lost about 60% of breathing capacity in his lungs and suffered muscle atrophy resulting in limited capacity of his upper body strength. In the following decades he cheated death couple of more times. Then about four years ago, while moving from Bay area to Cumming, Georgia, Uno decided to drive across the country. Due to a combination of factors, such as summer heat and high altitude, he fell ill in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and had to be immediately hospitalized and put in ICU due to low oxygen levels in his blood. Once again, he managed to survive. Throughout these recurring ordeals he never lost hope, equally importantly Pratima and Gautam never gave up during his ordeal in Albuquerque. Uno never lost the will to fight, and he kept winning the battle against the fate that dealt him the poor cards. Due to inexplicable reasons his lungs collapsed in December 2022 and yet again in August 2024. His oxygen levels fell to around 50%. To provide a context, anytime the oxygen level falls below 80%, it requires immediate hospitalization. This time the doctors decided to perform Pleurodesis procedure on him. Three months later, intrepid traveler that he is, he embarked on a back-to-back trip to India and New Zealand. Then a few months ago he contracted a lung infection on his way back from New Zealand that once again lowered his oxygen levels. It took him a couple of months to recover from this severe bout. Here is an individual that was given less than a year in 1983, and after 40+ years having cheated death at least five times, that I know of – if not more, is still here standing tall, and his struggle itself can be called a Misogi challenge – if you ask me.
Fast forward to April 2025. Jaya and I decided to visit Uno and his ever-supporting wife Pratima during the spring break holidays. There were scary moments during his post Pleurodesis surgery and lung infection when his oxygen levels would rise only when he exerted himself. So, we would call him continually and have long conversations with him. The trip was long overdue, especially for Jaya, and the hosts planned a slew of sightseeing trips in and around Cumming, Georgia.
One of the places Uno wanted to visit along with us was Stone Mountain, which has a stone carving of confederate leaders ( Stone Mountain – Wikipedia ). The hike is a rather short one covering only a mile, but the elevation gain is about 825 feet making the hike a rather strenuous one. For some reason, or Uno being Uno, he decided he wanted to hike to the summit rather than take the cable car. The typical time for the 1-mile hike is around 40 minutes for physically fit people. We four decided to climb and were mentally prepared for a 100+ minute hike. Our plan was to take it slow and take it easy, since Uno is still recovering from his surgery and lung infection. We reached the summit, huffing and puffing, in about 58 minutes. It was a moment of pride, and the sense of accomplishment was all around. Going from having less than 50% oxygen and being on oxygen cylinders and concentrators, to hiking a mile with 825 feet of elevation gain without respiratory assistance, is a tremendous victory, and it was indeed a Misogi challenge.
The next day we visited Tallulah Gorge Falls ( Tallulah Gorge – Wikipedia ) which required us to go down 1000 steps and climb them back and is a 1000 feet deep gorge. Not as difficult as the previous day, but this one is all steps. From their website, Tallulah Gorge State Park | Department of Natural Resources Division: “Not recommended for hikers younger than 10. The trail is very strenuous, including 1,000 stairs. Hikers must be in good physical condition.”
The view of the gorge and upper falls from a suspension bridge midway to the floor.
The floor of the gorge is 1000 feet below from where we started.
I am so proud of Uno, for his determination, tenacity and fighting will. Here is a human being that kept fighting for his life day in and day out for the last 45 years so much so that we took his struggle for granted. This is my way of acknowledging his fight and in awe of his indomitable spirit. This time Uno went beyond just getting healthy to become strong(er). We are told that his pulse oximeter is now showing a 98%+ consistently.
Uno’s contribution to Medical Profession: One of the things we used to joke about after his lately frequent visits to medical facilities is the incredulous reactions of the medical professionals, whether they are doctors, residents, and nurses. Most of the time they reacted as if they had seen a ghost when they took his vitals, a typical first thing to do so. The readings would be so far off the charts that they would look at those readings in stunned disbelief. How can one be alive with such vitals? Uno would mention in jest that his recovery in Albuquerque was delayed because the hospital would send different groups of residents to check his vitals to the extent that his sleep was disturbed more than his care demanded.
Epilog: I found the following advice and the quote below very much in line with the theme of this article. It was from a photography webinar by Joel Grimes. We all need help sometime in our life. We all need a dose of encouragement. We all need someone on our side to lift us up and not bring us down, worse yet tear us down. We can’t often do it alone.
I leave you with this quote which I hope gives you strength and courage to meet whatever challenges life throws at you. “It is 100% possible for you to achieve something beyond what you ever thought possible.”
