Back on the Mat

Aahh, Summer has arrived! I left work feeling a bit like a limp noodle, I managed to get to the couch and that was all she wrote! Having recovered a bit I am now planning my Summer schedule which includes a lot of yoga. I got a fantastic jump start at chantfeast which placed me back on the mat and wanting more. I rolled into chantfeast plopped down and and just stayed class after class. By the time I left I'd dropped a couple of toxic bricks and just floated on pure energy out the door.

One of the classes I took was a kundalini class. I have a DVD at home but have never actually taken a class. Somewhere between the gongs, chanting and breath work I got hooked. I got back and immediately took a class. Yep, I'm in! I found a studio and I'm hoping to explore a bit more. If all works out ( parking gods are you listening?) I'll bounce between my regular studio and this one. I've been getting back to a daily practice and I can't even begin to state the difference in my mood and general vitality. With my Dad's passing it's been a long and emotional journey and I seemed to have stored all my feelings in my hips. With each class I feel a release, sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes with a great whoosh, but always a feeling of having dropped something I didn't need to carry. I had a class in the late spring which opened up my hips with a great thunder, with it came the tears and a great relief as well. So here's to the summer, rediscovering my practice and beginning life again!
Hari Om and be well.

First Day Bliss

Summer afternoon

Summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.

Henry James

Dreaming of Summer

This is pretty much me by days end. I am sound asleep long before I hit the pillow. I'm nearing the end of all the things I need to do, but boy is this a tough one. Actually today is a big day and again next week is a big week for meeting deadlines. I have been able to make my obligations on time, perhaps not so much by organization but the sheer desire to have all this done and move on.... on to something less hectic and draining. Well perhaps... going through the summer itinerary it's pretty full already, but that's OK, it's a welcome release from this crazy hectic schedule. Tomorrow I'm taking a little break for part of the day and I'm going to Chantfest. A little yoga and chant inspiration to invigorate the soul and mind. I'm ready, bring on the Summer!

Summer makes a silence after spring.
Vita Sackville-West

The Morning Cup

I'm madly trying to complete all my work by the end of the month. Research papers. academic presentations, professional presentations, reports, meetings... it's leaves me feeling dizzy. Slowly this year, at the pace of a a very laid back snail, I have been stepping back and freeing up space in my life. It started by not adding more work, then stepping back from some of the things I do. Once I have completed by current obligations I will be moving in a new directions for the next 14 months. I think its going to take me a while just to decompress and breath and learn to be still again. At this point I find when I do have a little time to settle I'm restless and don't know what to do with myself, a little lost actually. I've been going at a condensed pace for far too long. It's time to stop, step into life,have a nice cup of chi and enjoy the view for a while.