Yoga, Dogs, and Chocolate

Little things becoming bigger!

2012-01-28T05:10:00.000-08:00

It's been a non stop treadmill trying to get as much as completed possible as I transition from my current daily schedule to a new life. I have written numerous posts about time, commitment and balance and hence the challenge. When I began this little personal chapter, it was about finding sustainable balance and increasing the quality of my life by modifying work commitments. Once I put the first steps in place the blurry vision to "feel better about my life" began to come into focus and it took a slightly different form. Once I made the initial commitment to put myself before my fears, opportunities began to announce themselves and continue on a fairly regular basis. I now have little seedlings placed in very different, untried and extremely exciting areas. Some may never sprout, but others are coming up already. I have a few more weeks to go before transition is final! In the meantime, every table in the house is filled with stacks and stacks of file folders, dishes overflowing in the sink and baskets of dirty clothes in every room. By making this decision I am not only taking care of myself but but loving those I care for most in my life. This is a process and an unfolding, its about self dignity and respect.
Be strong, be fearless and shine on!

Sunday In The Winter

2012-01-08T05:09:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you just have to be patient and wait for the water to boil!

We all have the extraordinary coded within us, waiting to be released.
Jean Houston

Goodbye 2011

2011-12-31T05:30:00.000-08:00

Well here we all stand testament to completion of another year. This has been a momentous year for me on a personal level. I've struggled with every change that's occurred this year. Principle people in my life, who I see as a rock or anchor have left. My dad was the first to go and I'm still trying to adjust. I miss him every day, I still feel lost. Then there was a wave of retirements in my work life and those that moved on to do other things. I feel quite alone not seeing these folks in my everyday hustle and bustle. I came across a quote that pretty much sums it up, " Love your job, but never fall in love with your company because you never know when it stops loving you...." In the midst of all this leaving and never coming back and adjusting to new and really unpleasant changes, I have been blessed with a solid group of people who love me and have held my hand and told me over and over again that, "It is OK, just stand up, It's time to have courage."

In February I make the first of what I believe will be a succession of changes that I must have faith are for the better, but I am struggling, and continue to vacillate between apprehension and anticipation. A long time ago I watched a biographical movie about Robert Crumb. At that period, while filming, he was relocating from San Francisco to a small village in the south of France. At one point he is looking at his nearly empty house right before the move and states, " The die is caste, there's no turning back now." Oh I understand!

Yesterday I took a lovely evening kundalini class. Kundalini class always ends with this song. So I leave you till 2012 with this sweet message.

May the long time sun
shine upon you,
All love surround you,
and the pure light within you
Guide your way on.

Happy Holidays

2011-12-23T04:52:00.000-08:00

In your light
In your light I learn how to love.
In your beauty, how to make poems.
You dance inside my chest,
where no one sees you,
but sometimes I do,
and that sight becomes this art.
Rumi

Good cheer and love to all.
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti

Stepping Stones

2011-12-11T04:14:00.001-08:00

Sometimes in life in order to get where you want to go you have to take just one step at a time only. If you try to skip a few steps along the way you might not be successful in reaching your goal or making your destination. That's where I am at this moment, one step at a time. I've passed the point of impatience. I've reached indifference. I know I'm on the right path and I'm not turning around. There are no more obstacles in my way, or I should say, I don't view anything as an obstacle at this point. With each step I find more peace and I'm able to let go. Yeah, its all good!
Wishing everyone non attachment and sweet surrender in your pursuits.

2011-12-04T06:12:00.000-08:00

All nature has a feeling

All nature has a feeling: woods, fields, brooks

Are life eternal: and in silence they
Speak happiness beyond the reach of books;
There's nothing mortal in them; their decay
Is the green life of change; to pass away
And come again in blooms revivified.
Its birth was heaven, eternal it its stay,
And with the sun and moon shall still abide
Beneath their day and night and heaven wide.

John Clare

Believe and Do Your Best To Breath!

2011-11-27T05:34:00.000-08:00

As my life fills with clarity and change I know its important to realize everything is going to be ok. I'm making such fundamental changes in my foundation that I find myself living in a strange place in my head. I vacillate between between knowing it will work out and fearing something will get in the way, preventing me from making the change that needs to happen for me to move on. I find I'm holding my breath a lot these days. I have been working toward a doctorate for many years. Juggling full time work and a doctorate program is challenging, frustrating, slow going and so so exhausting. It's time to complete my program and that means a huge shift in my day to day living. I'm ready to begin so that I can reach completion. I'm ready to begin, to end and to move on. I just have to be patient a while longer. Patience and optimism needed daily in my life these days.

It's All Ok

2011-11-22T02:00:00.000-08:00

I don't have all the answers or everything figured out for what lays ahead of me, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, but if I don't make a change in my life nothing is going to improve. Sometimes its a change in attitude, sometimes action is needed. This upcoming change is certainly more than attitude. I'm taking a big leap and I'm jumping off the treadmill. November and December are all about getting ready and then I suppose however ready I am, I am. I facilitate between pep talks and fear. I know its time to do this. In order to turn the corner and move on I have to, and I've put it off long enough. I realized that if I tried to figure it all out, it was never going to happen. Actually once I made the decision it has become a lot easier to make choices and follow through. I know I'm making the right decision. If I don't do this I'll be perennially stuck. There's an untapped resource inside of me and if I don't make the leap its going to stay stuck forever. I just have to realize that it's going to be slow going in the beginning and that's ok, that's ok......

Shanti, good spirits and feelings of well being to all, happy holidays.

Time and Healing

2011-11-20T07:50:00.000-08:00

Well I went down hard. I'm not exactly standing tall yet but I am feeling a bit better. I'm going to need to take it easy for a while. Rest and care is needed.

As I stated in an earlier post the universe is insisting I listen and then take action. I think that's a little of what this latest run down feeling was about, slowing down long enough to face the facts. Scary as it is, I did, and my schedule will change radically after the Christmas break. I feel I'm reclaiming my life, leaving old outdated modes behind and letting go some very very self destructive patterns. I'm looking forward to the freedom and opening a new chapter in my life.

In the past few years my creativity has been replaced by exhaustion and feelings of well being are a dwindling concept. When able to choose, why this? I'm grateful for what I was given and an overflowing amount of knowledge and skill I gained in the process, but I'm also incredibly grateful to leave it behind and move on. It's time, endings can be good too.

Run Down

2011-11-12T04:07:00.000-08:00

I'm a bit run down. This season has been filled with too many things to do in too short a period of time. I've been routinely double and at times triple booked for months now. I knew I just had to make it up the last big hill and things would slow down to a reasonable rate, if I could just make it a bit longer I wouldn't have to run so hard on the treadmill.

In the back of my mind I have been a little concerned. I have been feeling so run down without respite for so long I feel I'm really pushing the envelope. Cold and flu season has been viscous this Autumn and increasingly more and more folks I come into contact with have been sick. One day about a week ago literally every one I came across was sneezing, sniffling, coughing and looked like they should be in bed, not out and about in the world. Added to this I got a flu shot in September and I had a bad reaction which is only now beginning to dissipate.

Knowing I need to do something to help myself, I have taken some steps which may or may not be helpful as I am starting to feel a little wane myself. When overexposed by too many germs I have found Echinacea Goldenseal is an excellent remedy to stave off whatever might be coming. Use a moderate dose if you feel sickness “coming on.” For an average weight adult, use 1 dropperful 3 times per day. Pump up the vitamin C, but be careful with fruity drinks, many contain large amounts of sugar. Sugar is hell on the immune system. I personally think Halloween jump starts the cold and flu season. Of course yoga is always beneficial, but beware if something is hiding in your system asana can facilitate the germs journey out of your system which means after a bit of yoga you may feel worse not better. Your getting the junk out of your trunk so to speak, but it can be disheartening to try to do something to make you feel better and end of feeling worse. Last but never least and always the hardest to put into practice, rest. My sixth grade teacher, really a not very nice lady who I do not look back on fondly, did have one piece of brilliant advice. If you are sick stay in bed till you feel well, then stay in bed one more day. So many of us cut our healing period short only to find were sick all over again. Giving the body time to heal dramatically shortens the amount of time you feel listless and dull. If we don't give ourselves enough time, the body will heal, but the immune system is weakened, which means the next snuffly sneezing person you come across will bring you right back into a cold.

If your not feeling well, be good to yourself, love yourself up and take some time to feel better.

Peace, love and good rest everyone.

Strong Storm

2011-10-30T04:48:00.000-07:00

An early snow storm plowed through the northeast corridor this weekend. I'm slightly annoyed and mildly pleased at the same time. I have been working non stop since September with no time for the things that really matter to me. I have finally finished all that needed to be done for other people and I can now resume having my own life. I have a few very important projects I begrudgingly placed on hold which I can now complete. Today I am finally able to sit down and work on my own projects. I should be able to finish what I need by Thanksgiving which truly will feel like a blessing and bring a happy feeling in my heart to say the least. I can't begin the next chapter in my life till these pieces are completed. The universe has been sending me some tough lessons. I am really struggling with self empowerment, respecting the value of my time and understanding the importance of taking time for myself. It's all about the choices I make, in the end its up to me. It doesn't matter who is around me giving me hardship and struggle I have a choice. There's a strong storm in my heart which probably matches what's happening outside my door.
Peace to everyone.........

Time to Slow Down

2011-10-16T05:05:00.000-07:00

Autumn has come with all it's glorious colors and subtle reminders it's time to slow down and prepare the body and mind for a colder climate. Diet, sleeping practices and yoga shift into a new, slower more mindful gear, or at least they should. Unfortunately for many of us, the Autumn signifies a time when projects and routines gear up again. Kids need to be reluctantly shuffled out the door, deadlines begin to loom large and holidays start to hit us immediately. It's hard to slow down when the schedule continues to fill with more and more obligations as the weeks go by. The older I get the more responsibilities I have and the more I'm asked to do both personally and professionally. Finding a balance isn't easy and keeping a balanced routine can be near impossible. I may have discovered what works for me, but it can be hard to fuse what others need of me and what I feel I need to do to stay balanced. The Autumn is a time of great and beautiful change but also draining and can cause daily agitation. Here are a few things to consider which may help make the transition a bit smoother:

Autumn is predominantly a cool, dry, windy season. This applies to the weather and our internal physical state. This is a good time to apply lotions and oils to the skin.

Autumn is a time when we are especially vulnerable to feeling tight, dry, and rough. Insomnia and joint pain are also common at this time. Include warm herbal teas and try to decrease your caffeine intake. Try yerba maté to give yourself a little lift throughout the day without the adrenal burn from caffeinated coffee.

It is common to feel ungrounded, spacey, fidgety or unable to focus.

A yoga practice should include a lot of sitting poses, slow sun salutations, legs up against the wall ( inversion) and spinal twist to calm the system.

According to ayurvedic medicine, apples help draw heat out of the body. Heat accumulates over the Summer and can cause digestive distress in the winter season. The pectin in apples also helps to clean and heal digestive mucosa. Eat as many apples as you like in any form you find desirable.

Try to get to bed a little earlier.

Practice slow nostril breathing through the right nose to help increase the immune system.

For more information and ideas please read Autumn Prescription.

Be well and try not to be too hard on yourself during this change

There's Something Happening Here

2011-10-09T17:21:00.001-07:00

Today my mother and I journeyed to our cities own demonstration in solidarity of Occupy Wall Street. My mother a flower child from the 60's and me stuck somewhere in the middle traveled down to give our support. There were many people and the feeling was one of overall peace, justice, and solidarity. There have been many demands and there are a few I can't agree with but the majority I must say, I stand right beside my fellow citizens. This was a peaceful and organized demonstration which excluded no one. All ages, all circumstances, all welcome and all have a voice. The organizers and the majority of the population were from the millennial generation. I am so taken and so proud of this generation. I feel a stirring, perhaps this will grow into something more. I saw many, many signs, a few were indications of something bigger taking form; taxi drivers are in the 99%! nurses are in the 99%! The largest health care workers union in our state is openly supporting the movement and supplied the medical tent, The Unitarian committee set up a tent for vespers, support and a place to pray and mediate. There is definitely something happening, the movement has grown to 25 cities since its inception sometime in July 2011. Is this our Arab Spring, American Autumn?

Something Stirring

2011-10-07T03:12:00.000-07:00

Is a new generation waking up and coming of age? I hope so, this country needs it's youth to wake us from our lethargy. I hope this is really happening. When a generation wakes up its usually widely looked over during the initial blink, then with time quite impossible to avert. Called on the carpet for bad behavior, generations before have changed social patterns for the better time and time again. I hope it's happening again!

HELLO? Are you Listening to me!

2011-10-04T17:11:00.000-07:00

The universe is having a rather loud little chat with me. Time again for BIG, BIG change. OK, inhale, exhale and embrace. I'm ready, nervous but also excited and READY. Almost time to go, quite soon..... quite soon.
Peace and good feelings to everyone!

Wonderful Workshop

2011-09-25T12:37:00.001-07:00

Just a quick shout out to say Dharma Mittra was absolutely amazing. I came out feeling completely renewed in many wonderful ways which I'll write about later. No internet access for a while and no desire to spend time in Starbucks ( bless their hearts for having free wifi though!) so for now; be well, practice, practice, practice, and we'll talk soon!
Jai

Autumn

2011-09-21T03:38:00.000-07:00

But now in September the garden has cooled, and with it my possessiveness. The sun warms my back instead of beating on my head ... The harvest has dwindled, and I have grown apart from the intense midsummer relationship that brought it on.

Robert Finch

Calm in the Storm

2011-09-10T03:59:00.000-07:00

September is a difficult month for many reasons. Each year at this time I reflect back to that terrible day now a decade ago. This year it seems the barrage of photos, sound recordings and TV images pouring in at a rate that I hadn't previously remembered is really stirring up a lot of emotion and it's very upsetting. There are so many things to take note of. I would personally like to remind people at this time of all the selfless military personal who have placed themselves in harms way to serve and protect us. Personal belief in military action is inconsequential when we reflect on the lives of these military personal. Every one of them is quite meaningful to someone else. Somebody is walking on eggshells today hoping and praying their loved one comes home soon, safe and sound and in one piece.

PTSD as well as other mental health issues are a direct result of being deployed, and a major problem for American veterans. According to the VA, as many as 20% of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have PTSD; 10% of Gulf War vets and 30% of Vietnam vets are diagnosed with the disorder. I believe those numbers are low. We in the yoga community can do a lot to help our fellow citizens. Yoga and meditations are proving valuable medicine in the treatment of PTSD. Please check out The Veterans Yoga Project to see how you can participate and offer a little healing and calm to some veterans in your area.

Diving In

2011-09-04T04:11:00.000-07:00

September is here, time to dive into a new schedule and a fresh outlook. Back to work and a whole different list of things to do. I have to sit down today with a nice hot cup of joe and try to make a fall schedule. There are many changes, some I am looking forward to and others, which give me cause for reservation. I went into this Summer slowly, with no real energy and a sagging outlook. Both my body and mind needed a break. I was too rung out from last year, just burnt toast really. I spent much of the summer trying to collect my energy into one synchronized stream. There was no way this was going to all happen over one Summer, too much to emotionally sort out. I didn't fair as well as I had hoped, although I do feel more energized and less scattered. I'm going to take this season one day at a time and for the sake of survival I'm going to go slowly. I have found in the last few years that when things are piling up and there seems no end in sight, going slowly not only preserves energy, but helps considerably in getting things done on the first try and on time. I'm also pulled out a few tools from my yoga chest to help me along, Experience Yoga Nidra which has helped me calm down in the past, and something new I picked up at Kripalu which may be helpful as well, Chakra breathing mediation by Layne Redmond.

Wishing everyone a peaceful and calm transition into Autumn.
Jai Bhagwan

The 5th season

2011-08-30T03:33:00.000-07:00

Late summer is known as the fifth season in Chinese medicine. The fifth season begins the third week of August and ends with the Autumn Equinox. During this period the body is transitioning from warmer to cooler climates. This considered a still period of the year and all living things are encouraged to enjoy the abundance of food and mild climate, brought on by summer. This is an excellent time of the year to practice poses which address the lung and large intestine meridian. This meridian is associated with taking in and letting go. Emotions associates with this area are reactions to major life changes, holding on to negative or charged feeling states, or and uncontrollable release of emotion.

On a lighter side, its hard for a lot of us to let go of the sweetness of summer for coming colder months and increased workload and obligation. According to Chinese medicine the pranayama should be practiced between 3 am and 5 am and yoga for the large intestine between 5 am and 7 am. I'm thinking this isn't really going to happen for just about everybody. If you have a home practice and you can do pranayama and a few poses in the morning that would be best. If you take class at a studio, ask your yoga teacher to include a few breath exercises and incorporate the yogasana into the sequence. Practice with intention for maximum results.

Asana for the lung and large Intestine

Janthara Parivartanasana

Cobra

Bridge

Reverse prayer

Cow face

Pranayama with chest, arm and shoulder openers

Be well, be happy and know that you are perfect always,
Jai Bhagwan!

International Karma Yoga Day

2011-08-27T04:46:00.000-07:00

When I was in the ashram in India we were required to participate in Karma yoga. For those of you who may be unsure, Karma yoga is based on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. There are four paths to realization and enlightenment, karma yoga requires doing something for others. "Krishna explains that work done without selfish expectations purifies one's mind and gradually makes an individual fit to see the value of reason. " To put it another way, a little mitzvah now and again (a good deed) is good for the soul.

Karma yoga was hands down my favorite yoga. You signed up for a task in the morning and completed it later in the afternoon. A lot of the activities in the Ashram were done in silence, but karma yoga was a highly social time with lots of chit chat and kibitzing. It always left me feeling very satisfied and happy. My favorite job was clipping the hedges around Shiva (see above). I would clip, clip, clip and Shiva and I would chat it up. We had never been formally introduced before and we got to know each other a little. By the end of my stay I really think we both grew rather fond of one other. Before I left the ashram a bird flew in my hut and dropped an amulet of Shiva by my bedside, then flew away. Very powerful moment in my life.

September 11, 2012 is International Karma Yoga Day. This is an initiative designed to bring together all yoga schools and practitioners around the world for one day of service a year. This year’s motto for International Karma Yoga Day is “Keeping Yoga Real!”.

Here's what you can expect:

• One day of inclusive, totally free yoga all around the world.

• A gathering of the entire yoga community to learn, share and truly make friends with each other.

• An enriching of modern Yoga through the recognition of Karma Yoga.

• Participants are asked to think of and commit to positive action in their communities and the greater global village. Each participant makes a pledge for at least one volunteer act in the following year.

Yoga communities across the globe are participating. For example; my community is providing a day long yoga festival with classes, music and healing sessions from 9am to 8pm on the waterfront. This is a free event open to all.

Please join us in a day of celebration, compassion, and commitment to community! Feel free to check out the facebook page for information in your area.

Wishing everyone much shanti and love.

100%

2011-08-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

(Crystal Waters)

Wigstock has been on my movie cue for ages. As labor day in the U.S. approaches I thought this might be a ideal time take to in this fun documentary. Wigstock was an annual outdoor festival that took place each year on labor day in New York City. Adjust your wig, don some high healed stilettos and head on down to the East Village for a day of fabulous fun, karmic love, and universal peace, plus a lot of music thrown in for smashing good time! This annual drag event was a celebration of life and individuality for a generation that truly took the free to be you and me statement to heart. But then again I'm biased, I love men that love women and this event is certainly an omage to all women! Sadly the event ended around 2005 after a good decade and half stint. I really don't know why it's no longer here, but as the event grew larger and larger each year I think the organizers may have had a hard time finding venues.The above video is Crystal Waters preforming 100%. It completely rocks and makes you want to get up and shake your booty. Just a little heads up, this is defiantly for adults only.

Let's all have a seat for a moment.

2011-08-23T03:27:00.000-07:00

(Rina Yoga)

Dandasana (staff pose) is an important foundation posture which is commonly over looked and rarely considered in most yoga classes. Staff pose is a basic seated pose from which all the others originate, it assists in strengthening all major core muscles, improves posture, and increases stamina. This is an excellent asana to practice if you have sciatica.

The Benefits of Staff Pose:

Helps improve posture
Strengthens back muscles
Lengthens and stretches the spine
May help to relieve complications related to the reproductive organs
Stretches shoulders and chest
Nourishes your body’s resistance to back and hip injuries
Helps to calm brain cells
May improve functionality of the digestive organs
Creates body awareness
Helps improve alignment of body
Provides a mild stretch for hamstrings

How to assume to posture:

Sit with your legs together and stretched out in front of you. Use a folded blanket under the sits bones if needed. Place your hands next to the hips on the floor.
Feet are flexed. Press your sits bones into the floor and a little to the back, to help you sit straight, your spine lengthens, the lower back arches a little forward towards your belly.
Open your chest
Check that your shoulders are over the hips and your ears in line with the shoulders.
Stay in this position between the 5-15 breaths,

Memories from the Past

2011-08-22T04:31:00.001-07:00

Trees I Love.

This tree holds a very special memory for me. One sunny and pleasant August day five years ago I sat under that tree with my YTT batch while Devarshi Steven Hartman taught us about the Bhagavad- Gita. An amazing memory, which I hold dear to my heart. This weekend while visiting a friend in the area I decided to stop in on the way home. I hadn't been back since I graduated. Just as I remember, Kripalu was bustling with activity. Yoga, mediation, art, song, chant, people coming and going and deeply involved or not at all. It's a wonderful place to get lost and find yourself.

The energy and consciousness of the divine
saturate the entire field of mind and matter.
Don't cling to limited forms and beliefs ….
Learn to investigate the truth directly.
See for yourself the nature of the world.
by Dadaji (Swami Kripalu's teacher)

Dharma Mittra

2011-08-15T04:30:00.001-07:00

Dharma Mittra

I regularly enjoy Chicago writer Cara Jepsen's blog, No Sleep Till Mysore. Cara writes about her life as a yoga teacher, writer and dedicated student of Dharma Mittra. Sri Dharma Mittra is a yoga teacher, and a student of Sri Swami Kailashanda. He is best known for creating the Master Yoga Chart of 908 Postures. He has been teaching since 1967, and is director of the Dharma Yoga Center in New York City. He teaches Ashtanga Vinyasa and Karma yoga.

I often sees photos of him in headstand on rocks, pavement and other hard surfaces. He looks serine and quite enjoying himself. Although I have no interest in taking a headstand on a rock, he does seem a fascinating and dynamic teacher. When I discovered he'll be teaching a Hatha class in my neck of the woods I decided now is the opportunity to see for myself why so many are dedicated to his teaching. If your around In September come join me, I'll be here.

Jai bhagwan, peace and happy headstands everyone!

The Barnacle

2011-08-13T15:15:00.001-07:00

Going up North means going back not only physically, but emotionally to a place I used to dwell long, long ago. Usually this is pleasant and I am able to tap into the good things and express these feelings and notions of past life in my present day. This is why I was so surprised to find I had tapped a wellspring of unresolved anger and pain I thought I had resolved lifetimes ago.

On a rather overcast day without much going on we decided to walk the dogs in a lovely area along the rocky coast. As we were walking I pointed toward a road, "Lets walk this way, I spent a summer working for some people down this road. It's quite nice, I'll show you." We shouldn't have done it, there were signs everywhere stating it was private and no trespassing. There had always been signs, although I hadn't remembered quite so many. I had meandered down this path before, its pleasant with quiet fields, an ocean and a lovely view. I had worked for people on this road, I have always been respectful, I didn't think anything of it when we turned down the road with dogs bounding ahead of us.

Mercury is retrograde in Virgo and I have my moon in Virgo. I should have known. When Mercury is retrograde "circumstances are thrust upon us, rather than matters we have consciously decided to implement or resolve. In particular, unresolved issues from the past tend to rear their heads and demand to be dealt with."(http://www.astrologycom.com/mercret.html) I was walking headlong into my unresolved emotional past. As I reflect, I realize I must have been ready to remove a barnacle from my emotional psyche I previously avoided or was unable to confront and release. The first house we passed had a dog with a severe bark. Some people came to the porch and asked who I was and why I was there. Slightly unfriendly, but I was cheeful with an open heart and explained my travels. I was allowed to pass. Shortly after a much older woman, crone like, burst out to present herself in a noxious contemptuous tone. The message was loud and clear, "you down there, we are not pleased with your presence, you don't belong!" On the exterior I was friendly, slightly confused and well mannered. On the inside I felt small and demoralized. There I was feeling like an idiot in front of a woman who looked like an elderly model for Lacoste clothing photo from the 80's.

And there it was.... no more swimming politely around this barnacle. I stumbled on back to our car and hobbled in, shattered. Fuck! I thought I dealt with this shit long ago. Evidently not, If I had I wouldn't have traveled down that path. Today in class I felt strong enough to cry a bit, release some toxins and spend some time in Camel. Open my heart to the universe and let go of the shadow.

It's not about me, it's not about my life and it's not about how I choose to live, love and accept people, thank God, the universe and the Great Mother!

Home

2011-08-05T04:02:00.000-07:00

I'll be a away for a while. Heading up North to meet family and friends. Were going to give my father a proper send off. His birthday is Monday, so Monday it will be. A deep love of the planet and an ardent environmentalist, this is a most fitting send off for an extraordinary man.

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,
And Eternity in an hour.

William Blake

I am a Yoga Teacher, uh... I guess.

2011-08-04T03:34:00.000-07:00

I did my first yoga teacher training five years ago at Kripalu. We were a large group and did our training on site at their beautiful campus. I had a bit of yoga under my belt and was ready to go deeper. The day I graduated one of my teachers gave personal words of wisdom to each of us. She told me "just go out there and teach." That seemed like a good idea. I taught my friends, my mum, and anyone who wanted a class. I got reviewed, critiqued and given suggestions by people I loved and trusted, then we had wine and cheese and kibitzed. I was ready to go deeper into teaching, but not in a studio. I didn't feel ready, and it didn't feel right. My evolution into teaching has been slow, unique and and it's not what pops into the mind when most people think of teaching yoga. Linda's Yoga Journey has a fantastic post on the subject of yoga teachers, yoga training programs and the influx of new teachers pouring out into the universe daily.

There are so many programs and it does seem every studio is now offering a teacher training program. It feels like there's some pressure out there these days to get into a teacher training program. So many students are entering these programs with unrealistic goals and expectations. I do become concerned when I run across someone who has lost their job and decided their next career will be teaching. It's really hard to sustain a living teaching yoga full time, work can be sporadic and the money is no good.

I do have a teaching practice. My practice is private and specific. I teach, give in-services on specific areas of yoga which relate to my profession and do some lecturing and research. I found a place to contribute, its my dharma and I embrace it. I would be frustrated, sad, and probably had the house foreclosed had I attempted to abandon what I have for full time teaching. Intention with clarity is essential. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, or can't happen, it's just a lot harder than it looks, and it will evolve quite differently for everyone.

A lot of people attack the sea, I make love to it.

2011-08-02T06:13:00.000-07:00

(Celine Cousteau)

Late one summer when I was a little girl I went to a store that would have been something like a CVS today. We were buying supplies for the school year. I was told to select folders and left in the aisle to peruse cartoon characters and depictions of action figures. I was always a slow, methodical child and as I carefully examined each pink princess and the like, shaking my head no and placing it back, my eye flickered on something wonderful. I picked up a folder with a photograph of fish swimming in a very blue ocean. Written somewhere was the name Jacques Cousteau, I immediately knew this was exactly what I wanted. I ended up keeping those school folders and using them over and over again until they were finally tatters. Years later I was in Paris when he died. I was rushing through the Metro when I saw a newspaper posting his death. 'No! Please don't go, No." Perhaps because I have always lived by the ocean, perhaps because I am a water child, or perhaps there is no explanation, but there is something about this man and his work which have always resonated with me. His work lives on in his children, grandchildren and countless others. What a marvelous man.

When one man, for whatever reason,
has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life,
he has no right to keep it to himself.
Jacques Cousteau

Sweet August

2011-08-01T05:31:00.000-07:00

Fairest of the months!
Ripe summer's queen
The hey-day of the year
With robes that gleam with sunny sheen
Sweet August doth appear.
R. Combe Miller

Yoga Festivals

2011-07-31T03:51:00.001-07:00

This weekend I attended BlissFest at the Baba Siri Chand Ashram. Once again I dropped my mat down and just stayed for the experience. Whoever came to teach, I was there to take it in. Yoga festival's are new to me and one of the aspects I am really enjoying is the opportunity to try things I have never tried before and discover new yoga teachers. One teacher led us through the 5 rhythms. I assumed this was another name for the 5 Tibetans, but it's quite something else.

"5Rhythms is a movement meditation practice devised by Gabrielle Roth in the 1960s. It draws from many indigenous and world traditions using tenets of shamanistic, ecstatic, mystical and eastern philosophy. It also draws from Gestalt, the human potential movement and transpersonal psychology. Fundamental to the practice is the idea that everything is energy, and moves in waves, patterns and rhythms. Roth describes the practice as a soul journey, and says that by moving the body, releasing the heart, and freeing the mind, one can connect to the essence of the soul, the source of inspiration in which an individual has unlimited possibility and potential." ( wikipedia)

The website is great! Check it out here.

BlissFest

2011-07-27T05:07:00.000-07:00

Saturday the Baba Siri Chand Kundalini Ashram is having their second annual yoga and music festival, BlissFest. How can you say no to something called BlissFest! I don't know any of the teachers or performers but I really don't mind what I'm really looking forward to is having a visit and checking out the ashram. Guru Ram Das Ashram, founded in 1969 is a large and active community based on Sikh principles. People come to the Ashram to study and practice the teachings of Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan, experience life in a spiritual community, or create a private retreat and get rest and relaxation in a country location.

As it turns out I will be unable to have a stay in the Sivananda Ashram in upstate New York. That will have to wait for another time. Perhaps a weekend retreat in the Fall. I'm OK with not being able to attend, I am just so grateful to have the opportunity to expand my practice and come back to center. Each day I feel stronger, healthier and calmer. I have made some radical lifestyle changes which will affect how I conduct business throughout the year.

Wishing everyone peace love and bliss!

Lovely Summer Days

2011-07-26T04:24:00.000-07:00

The dandelions and buttercups gild all the lawn:
the drowsy bee stumbles among the clover tops,
and summer sweetens all to me.
James Russell Lowell

Seavasana

2011-07-25T04:19:00.000-07:00

(Yoga on the Beach)

It's been sizzling hot on the east coast. Things have cooled off considerably but the best option we had was to pack up and head for cooler climates. That we did, having a long and fabulous weekend by the ocean. I have talked about my favorite beach side teachers before, Nancy and Don. This weekend Nancy offered Seavasana. Students could choose to float in the ocean at the end of class or stay on the deck for the final relaxation. Water child that I am I came to the next class in my bathing suit fully prepared for an aquatic experience. At the end of class a group of us walked out and floated along while our teacher gave adjustments. As she gently gave subtle adjustments I could instantly feel where my body was holding tension. The release was powerful! I felt the ocean literally pulling the stress out of my upper back! When complete we left the ocean in a blissful state and floated back to the deck for the final om mantra. If your in a position to safely have a bit of a float in the ocean, or a pond or river this experience is not to be missed.
Namaste everyone, shanti shanti shant, peace peace peace.

Little Lady, Big Voice, Bad Bad Girl

2011-07-24T04:20:00.000-07:00

I was really rooting for Amy Winehouse. This woman, a hot mess and a complete fuck up, was inspiring. I knew in my heart, healthy, she would blow the doors off anything I had seen before. I was just waiting for the day healthy would start and recovery would begin. Turns out holding my breath wouldn't have been a good idea. I don't think this was a drug overdose. When sever alcoholics go through withdrawals the results can be life threatening. Too little, too late.

When I first discovered her music she was cancelling tours due to alcoholism. I read something that said as long as we have known Amy Winehouse she's been a train wreck, so on some level no one expected her to actually go over the edge, this just seemed her status quo. Perhaps, and perhaps that's why I'm so shocked she died. The Tablet has an excellent article by Dvora Meyers. There's some good insight into Winehouses' drive and innate character that help give understanding to her possible comfort level about what I think most of us would consider disaster incidents rather than decisions. I loved her music and played it often in my yoga classes. Sultry, sexy and without apology this little tiny bee hived whiff was a complete force of nature. I'm sorry it went down like this, I think at this point we all are very very sorry. Good luck in your journey, you will be missed. I wish you peace, real love and good mental health in the next round.

Beach Day

2011-07-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.

Jacques Cousteau

Summer Afternoon

2011-07-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

One of my absolute favorite places to spend time is Walden pond. I like to float along and think about Thoreau's thoughts on life, liberty and nature. Today I brought Walden with me and selected the ponds as my reading meditation. Splendid indeed!

A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature.
It is Earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.
Walden, Henry David Thoreau

Zippy the Great.

2011-07-16T05:32:00.000-07:00

Summer is a great season to enjoy all manner of reading material. Life beckons to be enjoyed in the sunshine, with a comfortable chair and a big floppy hat. Pursuing the library stacks one day I ventured to find a funny little book called, A Girl Named Zippy, Growing Up Small in Moorland, Indiana, by Haven Kimmel This woman is a brilliant writer and this is an amazing read . Zippy is a memoir about growing up in the Midwest in the 60's and 70's. This women has a voice so vivid and rich that it steps right off the page and the character stays with you long after you've put the book down. I devoured this book and hungrily searched for more. Luckily I didn't have to look far as I found she wrote a sequel, She Got off the Couch and Other Heroic Acts from Moorland, Indiana. Incredibly, this book was even more enjoyable. In her continuation memoir, her mother goes back to college, earns a degree and begins a career. It's a book as much about feminism in the 1970's and a generation of woman coming into their own, as it is a recollection of memories from childhood. Completely satisfying yet left me longing to read more this woman has wrote. Luckily she's written several novels. I see a Haven Kimmel reading festival in my future.

Wow, good stuff, Go Zip!

Book Review

2011-07-15T04:28:00.000-07:00

I read My Life in 23 Yoga Poses by Claire Dederer this past spring. It seemed the book de jour for the yoga community and although interested I was also a bit hesitant, I just couldn't quite place why. Dederer explores her passions; yoga, marriage and motherhood. She captures a feeling state that is personal, generational and universal. I understand why so many felt a connection with the subject matter, but yet something was missing for me. It was the joy of yoga, the release, restoration and expression of life force. I felt a small wave of unresolved depression running through the story and I found it unsettling and from a psychoanalytic point of view a bit unnerving. Throughout the book I felt she was trying to let go but couldn't. This seemed a defense mechanism she inherited from her parents who had left each other years ago but never divorced. By the end of the book Dederer had found some resolution from her childhood and peace in her present roles as mother, wife with a professional career. I'm glad she got on the mat but I think it may be time to climb on the couch as well. Well written but strangely unfulfilling.

Hip Release

2011-07-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

My left hip is ever on my mind as it remains stiff and slow to recover. I am fully into my practice these days and truly feeling better than I have in a long, long time. Although I'm feeling much relief in the hip area I am no where near full ease or range of motion. Not a day goes by that I am not reminded in some pursuit or another that my hip is STIFF.

This was my year of living dangerously, at least as far as my hips were concerned. Since our residential move out of the city, my commute to work has doubled, weekends were spent in the car, driving back and fourth between my parents house and mine. Most evenings for the better part of the year I've been writing reports or papers. I managed a small home practice and a gentle class once a week but with too much going on emotionally and a sudden lack of general daily movement my hips just froze. After my dad died and I was back home my left hip turned into an immovable brick. I knew I was in trouble when we arrived home and it hurt to get out of the car. All my emotions, lack of motion, inability to make this situation turn into something better, family stress, all placed itself solidly in my left hip like a frozen brick of discomfort.

Techniques and Prescription for Hip Restoration:

Acupuncture:
Acupuncture can relieve some of the distress, relax the area and increase chi and blood flow which assists to open up the area for healing both physical and emotional.

Chiropractor:
When the hip area is a problem the skeletal system will be out of alignment. A few appointments with your local chiropractor can assist in helping the healing progress although it is unlikely the chiropractor will be able to totally alleviate the problem. Some areas where your chiropractor can help:

Reduce inflammation
Improving movement of the joint
Relaxing painful muscle spasm
Strengthening weakened muscles
Active Release Techniques for scarring

Yoga:
Yoga is truly my best medicine. A daily practice with a mindful approach using gentle asana and letting go has helped tremendously. The following are a few poses which open the hips, but as a word of caution, if your hips are truly feeling tight modify, modify modify!

Cobbler's Pose - Baddha Konasana
Blissful Baby-Ananda Balasana
Head to Knee Pose - Janu SirsasanaSeated
Extended Side Angle Pose - Utthita Parsvakonasana
Wide Legged Straddle - Upavistha Konasana
Goddess Pose-Namaskarasana
Pigeon Pose - Eka Pada Rajakapotasana

Emotional:
Many massage therapists and yoga practitioners believe fascia holds memory and emotion. The hips are considered a huge and sensitive area of emotional holding. The hips are related to the second chakra, svadisthana. This chakra is concerned with our sexual and creative energies. Svadhistana's element is water (tears, sweat, blood, urine).

Meditate on water; imagine drinking it, bathing in it, floating on it, standing in the rain, and returning the the womb.

Back bending positions such as cobra and upward facing dog and side bends, such as standing crescent moon and triangle are stimulating for the second chakra

Pranayama: Dirga and Kapalabhati

Mudra: Yoni

Mantra: Vam

Bandha: Uddiyana Bandha

Wishing everyone good health and loose hips.

Piss off you bully!

2011-07-07T07:08:00.000-07:00

The other day I dropped the mat down on a yin class taught by Nancy Curran. If you ever have a chance to take either her class or Don's please don't hesitate. These two instructors are innately connected to healing the heart chalkra. It only takes one class to understand and begin to feel recuperation and repair of the third chalkra. It's powerful and humbling. When I take their classes I relearn how to allow joy in my body and I find the courage to confront whats blocking my ability to feel bliss, comfort and and mental ease.

As we made our way through the class I am working on releasing areas of tension and letting go. I have a great bulk of tight stress throughout my body, so I'm pretty busy scanning, breathing and releasing. I'm rather deep in, when my mind steps in with mental list of what I need to do today, tomorrow and through the weekend.

I confront my list making mind: "What are you doing here? You need to clear out!"
The mind's reply;" If you don't review what you need to do you will never remember it all. What you should do is repeat the list two or three times and then when you finish class go home immediately and write it down on your to do list."
Me: "You need to get out... now."
My mind: " You need to get organized."
Me: "Jeesh! you are relentless, what I need is a rest from you."
My mind: " You need to prioritize what you need to do. I don't think you will be able to finish everything by Monday morning."
Me: " I'm not looking to finish everything, I'm looking to have a goddamn vacation and I want you to shut the fuck up!"
small silence.....
My mind: "wow! did you believe that email?! be supportive write back. maybe you should discuss this with someone. I mean really the nerve and insensitivity of someone to say these kinds of things to your mother during such time of emotional trauma and change. Oh, almost forgot! don't forget you need a manicure."
Me: "PISS OFF!"

And so it went for an hour and twenty minutes of an hour and a half class. I got about 2 minutes at the start of class and about eight minutes at the end because I finally just passed out from fatigue. Mind you, this is Yin, a passive, peaceful class where people lay down with blankets in relaxing poses.

There's some work to do here, no doubt about it.
Hoping your joy and bliss are coming easier,
peace and harmony everyone,
Miss.S.

Summer Jazz

2011-07-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

Sizzling hot day, blue sky, slight wind, dry and hot, with goodness all around the rim. Content dogs and humans, buzzed happy on Summer sun and feeling loved and well. Nothing like a little Anita O'Day to make it a completely perfect afternoon. This is clip from the Newport Folk Festival 1964, nobody does Sweet Georgia Brown this good. She really was a genius. There's an interesting back story to the whole clip and the people in it. The women lived a fast life, embraced her art, made no excuses and kept it in full throttle till the end. (As a little side note and a clue to her complex personality, she'd been riding the white horse all day before getting on stage.) I think in this case it doesn't really matter what she choose to do her genius was going to always shine through 100% every time. I think she'd had many lifetimes of doing this and it was old hat, old fabulous hat! Enjoy the clip.

Happy Birthday!

2011-07-04T05:33:00.000-07:00

The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Emma Lazarus (1883)

End of an era

2011-07-03T12:18:00.000-07:00

This is my mat, Mr. Cushy, actually its the bottom mat. The top mat is dark green with a drawing of bamboo's on it that my best friend gave me for my birthday one year. For a long time my cushy mint green mat was my main mat until it started to become slightly grubby, that's when it became a cushion. This was years ago, before I became a yoga teacher. My mat and I have had some powerful experiences and we've created many lasting memories. We went through yoga teacher training, traveled to several countries and had some pretty strong experiences which have included (on more than one occasion) me in a puddle of tears clutching the sides for comfort. I have rarely been without Mr. Cushy. He sits in the back of the car and I never leave home without him. The only big yoga occasion we did not have together was when I did teacher training in India. I thought he might be destroyed and have to be thrown away. Instead, I bought an orange cushy mat which I gave to a most excellent colleague when I left India. The orange mat was OK, but there was no comparison. I was happy to be back on my mint green mat again. Well..... truth be told Mr. Cushy's best days are behind him. He is perennially dirty, kind of stinky, probably a little moldy too. I know its time for that sad walk to the recycle bin, but it's hard to say goodbye. I remember finding this little gem at T.J. Maxx. This was the thickest mat I had ever found (still is to this day) and I couldn't believe my luck. Really! No one wants a generic, slightly ugly, mint green mat, Wow! I immediately clasped my arms around the box and that was it, kind of a love at first sight story. I have looked for other mats but they just don't feel right to me. Now it's just time to say goodbye, well not today exactly but really soon, which to be honest kind of hurts a little. I could talk about none attachment and mat etiquette which would include sage advice about why you should never step on any on another person's mat... but I won't, its not about that. Its about a a proper send off for a great little mat that served me superbly. Friday is recycle day and soon we'll part so I'll just say goodbye Mr. Cushy and thank you, you've been fantastic.

Back on the Mat

2011-06-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-21T03:14:00.000-07:00

Summer afternoon

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

Henry James

Dreaming of Summer

2011-06-17T03:28:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-04T03:10:00.000-07:00

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.

Get my Soul Free

2011-05-27T16:07:00.000-07:00

Yep...this is about where I'm at, or more to the point where I'd like to be. I'm way on overload, packed to the hilt and wondering how I'm going to it all done. I've been on overload all year and I'm so wound up It's hard to believe I'll ever come back down to earth. That's part of the puzzle for me. Coming back to a place where I can enjoy a little of what these folks are doing.... relaxation and renewal. I want to let mother earth absorb me in her embrace and just let go, but at the moment there's so much to do and too many deadlines. This week was too filled, too much of a black hole and I'm twirling and swarming around ungrounded. I am thinking of my father, missing him, feeling lost. As a water child it's easy for me to find simile to my emotional states and water. In the beginning it was like wearing weights and walking on the floor of an Olympic size swimming pool, now its a swirling ring in an ocean and I'm in the middle of it just whirling without end. I whirl and whirl and every now and then I realize I'm spinning in a great foam of confusion and reality hits me, but then I whirl some more with papers, meetings, presentations, classes, a car repair, dinner, needs of loved ones, dinner to be made, bills to be paid, spinning, spinning, spinning.

I need to get back to "the farm." Perhaps that's why I have elected to go to Sivananda's Ashram in upstate New York this Summer. Yoga, meditation and contemplation. I need to let my inner soul child, mother earth, cosmic mother unloose and run wild in a field for a little bit. That side of me needs to be allowed to come out, she's been indoors for a little far to long.
Woodstock
I came upon a child of god
He was walking along the road
And I asked him, where are you going
And this he told me
I'm going on down to yasgurs farm
I'm going to join in a rock n roll band
I'm going to camp out on the land
I'm going to try an get my soul free
We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden

Then can I walk beside you
I have come here to lose the smog
And I feel to be a cog in something turning
Well maybe it is just the time of year
Or maybe its the time of man
I don't know who l am
But you know life is for learning
We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden

By the time we got to woodstock
We were half a million strong
And everywhere there was song and celebration
And I dreamed I saw the bombers
Riding shotgun in the sky
And they were turning into butterflies
Above our nation
We are stardust
Billion year old carbon
We are golden
Caught in the devils bargain
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden
Joni Mitchell

Remembering to Breath

2011-05-17T04:19:00.000-07:00

Ah Yes, It's that time of year again.

Birthday wishes for the complex at heart

2011-05-11T03:46:00.000-07:00

Happy 117th Martha, you rock.

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening,

that is translated through you into action,

and because there is only one of you in all time,

this expression is unique.
Martha Graham

May Day at Last!

2011-05-01T15:26:00.001-07:00

The month of May was come, when every lusty heart beginneth to blossom, and to bring forth fruit; for like as herbs and trees bring forth fruit and flourish in May, in likewise every lusty heart that is in any manner a lover, springeth and flourisheth in lusty deeds. For it giveth unto all lovers courage, that lusty month of May.

Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur

Yiddish Yoga

2011-04-30T12:21:00.000-07:00

Yiddish Yoga by Lisa Grunberger was completely fantastic! Seventy year old Ruthie finds herself a new widow, heartbroken, trying to handle her loss and continue without her husband Harry by her side. Her granddaughter gives her a nice little mitvah, of a years worth of yoga classes. ("I think it will help you grieve, bubby") This is the last thing on the planet Ruthie wants, needs or ever thought of doing. Somewhat guilted into going and not wanting to offend her granddaughter, she dons an old blue and white Addidas velour sweatsuit her husband always thought was a sexy little number and heads out. She lands in Sammy's gentle yoga class and slowly she confronts her grief, comes into the present, out of the past and in between discovers her toes, her abilities and lotus position. A small read it can be finished in one sitting, but you'll want to come back to it again and again. Perfect, just perfect!

Stretch

2011-04-30T11:45:00.000-07:00

Stretch by Neal Pollack was an enjoyable read. Pollack stumbles off the couch and into a yoga class at his local gym. Shortly thereafter he and his family relocate from Austin,Texas to L.A. The yoga scene in glitter town is dense with hipsters, the beautiful and the latest fad. He eventually finds the right place to settle in and begins to deepen his explorations, evolving and changing along the way. As a writer he covers yoga journal conferences, yoga festivals and discovers the enlightened and bizarre. Pollack storms out of a jivumukti class in New York, participates in a 24 hour yoga- a -thon and finds himself on retreat in Asia, all while looking for his, "best self". Pollacks "best" made an appearance in his late teens and he would like to reestablish the essence of that person with the adult he has become. The incredibly satisfying experiences the reader is given is the opportunity to view Pollack evolving into someone less cynical and a bit softer. My gut tells me he is probably a genuinely nice guy, but here we understand his longtime public image of a snarky, ironic, jaded representative of his generation has become self toxic. There's somebody else there internally, and he's looking to reconnect with his long lost "best." The reader is given the opportunity to view; slowly, continually and realistically his evolution through his yoga practice, and in the process we see him come to a place more habitable within his own psyche. Stretch is a funny, enjoyable read and we all have a bit of Neal Pollack in all of us, so it's easy to root him on.

Happy Earth Day

2011-04-22T03:56:00.000-07:00

So will I build my altar in the fields,
And the blue sky my fretted dome shall be,
And the sweet fragrance that the wild flower yields
Shall be the incense I will yield to thee.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Having Some Faith in Life

2011-04-17T05:36:00.000-07:00

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

Alan Watts

Sprouting Up

2011-04-08T03:36:00.001-07:00

The moment we moved I started planning a garden. The first thing I did was buy loads of bulbs. This was back in the fall. We immediately planted as many bulbs as we could stuff into the ground. The bulbs are doing nicely and by the end of the month I think we may actually have a lovely splash of color! In the meantime Winter came, harsh, unforgiving with much personal sorrow and defeat. Occasionally I would have few minutes to sit and day dream. My mind would drift to a summer garden. What would I grow in my own garden? Where would I plant the garden? How big should it be? How much sun did I need? How to keep the dogs out and on and on. The last time I had my own garden was decades ago. My best friend showed me how to do it and we got something up and running which was really nice. I remember getting a lot of red cayenne peppers, but not much else, or perhaps I don't remember anything else. This is not a lot to go on, but I made a mental note to add cayenne peppers to my garden, after all I once had success with them once and I like peppers. I finally selected half a dozen vegetables, two herbs and one fruit. I collected my seed packages, soil and decided to begin by planting indoors. I read that this was a good thing to do. So now my little starter seeds are little sprouts, which I eagerly examine each day. The promise of spring in full fruition and the beginning of something new. It feels wonderful.

First Day of Spring!

2011-03-20T08:53:00.000-07:00

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.

Bern Williams

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

(Lismore, Irleand )

An Irish Toast
"May we be alive at this same time again."
Irish: Go mbeirimíd beo ar an am seo arís

Women's History Month

2011-03-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

"I am prepared to sacrifice every so-called privilege I possess in order to have a few rights."
Inez Milholland, 1909

March is here and that means it’s time to celebrate the incredible women who have shaped our lives and made the everyday experience a better place for all. This year the NEHP theme is, Our History is Our Strength. “This theme pays tribute to the millions of women who have taken action to help create a better world for the times in which they lived, as well as for future generations. In keeping with this years theme I would like to review the life and work of Inez Milholland (Boissevain) an American suffrage, early feminist and activist for the disenfranchised.

Known as the poster or face for the suffrage movement she is best known for donning a white hose, draped in a long white flowing cape, leading a major demonstration right down the center of Pennsylvania Avenue to secure the women’s right to vote. “On Monday, March 3, 1913, lawyer Inez Milholland Boissevain, clad in a white cape and riding a white horse, led the great women's suffrage parade down Pennsylvania Avenue in the nation's capital. Behind her stretched a long procession, including nine bands, four mounted brigades, three heralds, more than 20 floats and more than 5,000 marchers. Women from countries that had enfranchised women held the place of honor in the first section of the procession. Then came the "pioneers" who had struggled for so many decades to secure women's right to vote. The next sections celebrated working women, who were grouped by occupation and wore appropriate garb -- nurses in uniform, woman farmers, homemakers, woman doctors and pharmacists, actresses, librarians -- Harriet Hifton of the Library of Congress's Copyright Division led the librarians' contingent -- and college women in academic gowns. Next came the state delegations and, finally, the separate section for male supporters of woman suffrage. According to the official program of the suffrage procession, all had come from around the country "to march in a spirit of protest against the present political organization of society, from which women are excluded.” (Harvey S, Library of Congress)

Involved in a great many projects Milholland worked tirelessly not only for women but all Americans marginalized by circumstance and place. A charismatic speaker she was said to electrify crowds. By 1916 she was a popular figurehead and speaker for the National American Woman Suffrage Association. While giving a speech in Los Angeles, Inez Milholland collapsed was hospitalized and died 10 weeks later from pernicious anemia. Her death sent shock waves through the movement and she became a martyr for the cause. Alice Paul organized Milholland's memorial service, which was held in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol building on Christmas Day, 1916.

Iron Jawed Angels, a movie released to critical acclaim is a portrayal of Millholland and the suffrage struggle.

So shine on sisters, shine on!

Mud Season Blues

2011-03-06T06:04:00.000-08:00

Mud Season in all its glory

Mud season is not a good time. In my estimation the only good part of mud season is the fact it's short lived and when it over the weather is glorious. Coming off a long hard winter this grimy pre-spring period does not inspire flights of fancy and a free spirit. Personally, my energy is low, I'm missing my father, and slogging through this crap is just another daily reminder of how grey my mood. I know its time to switch up my yoga routine and include some asana that provides an extra release of endorphins.

Endorphins are "feel good" chemicals that are known to be released during physical activity.
There are three different types of endorphins produced within the body, two of which are distributed throughout the central nervous system and one that is found within the pituitary gland. Practicing yoga can diversify your brain chemistry. Some yoga positions in particular are sufficient in stimulating the pituitary gland to release endorphins and to reduce the level of cortisol (the stress hormone) and help relieve the blues.

Inverted poses are an excellent little pick me up, emotionally, they guide the energy of the pelvis toward the heart center, enabling self-exploration and inner growth. Physically, they stimulate the immune and endocrine systems, thereby invigorating and nourishing the brain and the organs.

The following is a series of inverted poses with the exception of bridge. These should give a little boost if your feeling stuck in the mud mentally and physically. Stay in each pose for about 30 seconds, then rest in shivansana before trying the next one. I would like to add a small but important note here. If you are not familiar with headstand, have weakness in the neck or shoulders, do not include headstand in your regular practice, or need a spot to safely assume the asana DO NOT attempt headstand.

Yoga sequence to increase endorphins and banish the blues

shoulder stand (sarvangasana)

Plow ( Halaasna)
Bridge (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)

Fish ( Matasyasana)

Headstand ( sirshasana)
Be well, smile a little, and let the sun shine in.

Miss. S

The Promise of Spring

2011-02-27T06:47:00.000-08:00

We started my fathers services with this song. It's beautiful and completely perfect. I tried to embed a lovely version I found on you tube but was not so successful. If you would like to hear it sung scroll down one post. Please excuse the awkwardness of this, I wasn't able to get this all

on one post for some reason.

This is My Song

This is my song, Oh God of all the nations,
A song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
Here are my hopes, my dreams, my sacred shrine.
But other hearts in other lands are beating,
With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean,
And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine.
But other lands have sunlight too and clover,
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
Oh hear my song, oh God of all the nations,
A song of peace for their land and for mine.
May truth and freedom come to every nation;
may peace abound where strife has raged so long;
that each may seek to love and build together,
a world united, righting every wrong;
a world united in its love for freedom,
proclaiming peace together in one song.

Soltis This is My Song by Sibelius

2011-02-27T06:45:00.000-08:00

Pranayama

2011-02-22T03:51:00.000-08:00

( Nadi Shuddhi)

I'm not breathing, exhausted when I go to sleep, I wake up several times throughout the night or jolt up from a bad dream. I go through my day exhausted ad listless but if I lay down my eyes are wide awake. I'm not grounded at all. When I get back from my father's services I need to place myself on a schedule and stick to it..... until I don't need to anymore. A strict schedule during times of emotional crisis is personally very healing. I write down my activities and obligations and place everything into a strict and very simple schedule. It helps anchor me, and right now I really need that .

As I have blogged about earlier I had been spending some regular time on the mat in my own personal practice. I need to get back on the mat and include some breath exercises. One of my favorites and personally most beneficial is nadi shuddi. Nadi shuddhi pranayama or nadi shodhana is an alternating nostril breathing exercise. Benefits of alternate nostril breathing are plentiful:
•Cleanses and tones the entire nervous system.
•Relieves symptoms of disorders of the respiratory tract
•Reduces stress
•Enhances a feeling of calm.
•Makes Practitioner feel more energetic because of improved oxygenation
•Increases rate of metabolism thus aiding weight loss.
How to:
Sit i a comfortable position. Let your chin tip slightly downward, eyes closed. Use the thumb, and fifth finger (small finger) of your right hand. The three middle fingers can tuck into your hand. Use your thumb to close off the right nostril, as you breath into the left. Initially start off the inhalation to the count of two, three, four or five. Should you experience dizziness, reduce the count. As soon as you reach the top of the inhalation, immediately close the left nostril with your pinky finger, removing your thumb from the right nostril at the same time, and begin a slow, rhythmic, effortless exhalation through this nostril. Do this to the count of two, three, four or five. Inhale through the right nostril to the count. Close the right nostril with your right thumb. Exhale through the left nostril.

The Journey

2011-02-19T04:35:00.000-08:00

My Dad died last week. I've been walking around in a daze. I really adored my father. He's gone off on a journey somewhere to have another lifetime, see new wonderful sights and have new insights on the cosmos and this incredible universe. May the road rise up to meet you Dad, take Cisco with you, he's an excellent travel companion and say hello from time to time.

Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there... I do not sleep.
I am the thousand winds that blow...
I am the diamond glints on snow...
I am the sunlight on ripened grain...
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you waken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of gentle birds in circling flight...
I am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry—
I am not there... I did not die...

Peace and love

2011-02-06T12:22:00.000-08:00

It's the perfect season for it.

Here's our version of a snow man.

Snow Buddha.... peaceful, happy, content.

Hunched Over

2011-02-06T04:43:00.000-08:00

( from spamagazine.com)

Winter has been brutal this year, cold, snowy, and icy. As a reaction many of us are experiencing a hunched over lifestyle. Hunched over looking down cautiously when we walk through the icy streets or climbing over snow mounds, hunched over to stay warm, drive our cars, use the computer, or shovel the copious amounts of snow that have accumulated. Many of us are spending an endless and detrimental amount of time with our shoulders rotated inward in a protective response against the elements. The result of this much internal rotation in the upper extremity are tight shoulders, sunken chest, stiff neck and a rounded upper back. This is bound to set up for an injury somewhere down the road. I highly recommend incorporating the following into your yoga practice as a counter response.

First I would like to share a lovely restorative sequence for opening up the shoulder area I found in spa magazine when looking for a sample picture for shoulder stretch. Do check it out, it's really quite good. (Who knew!)

I would like to recommend incorporating the following into your winter schedule:

Yoga

Shoulder stretch on the wall

Stand next to a flat wall with your feet hip-width apart.
Place the left hand on the wall, fingers pointing up. elbow bent.
Face the right side of the room.
Gently extend the arm behind you.
Hold this position, breathing naturally, for 20 to 30 seconds.
Turn to the wall slide the hand back to the midline of the body. repeat with the right hand.

childs pose ( balasana)

Kneel on the floor
Separate knees hips distance apart
Exhale and place your forehead on the floor arms extended in front of you
Breath
Stay anywhere from 30 seconds to few minutes

props: If your knees give you discomfort place blanket or towel under your knees. Sometimes woman feel a little suffocated in this position. If this happens place a block or pillow under your forehead.

Shoulder and neck stretch against the wall

Kneel down in front of a wall. If this bothers your knees, kneel on a folded blanket or towel. Spread your knees wider than hips-distance apart.
Extend your arms overhead and place your forearms on the wall.
Allow gravity to pull your torso toward the floor. It's OK if your head rests on the wall as well. If you're not feeling this in your shoulders and neck, inch your knees further away from the wall.
Breathe deeply for 30 seconds and then release.

Ayurvedic Remedies

I would like to introduce Roger Hutchinson from Peoria, Illinois. He runs an organic grocery market and has a great blog; both called Naturally Yours. The following are taken from Roger's recommendations for frozen shoulder.

In Chinese herbal medicine, range of motion falls under the cold category. You might consider using a liver and kidney tonic that removes cold and dampness.
For pain relief, white willow bark, scullcap, hops, and valerian are recommended. You can take them in teas.
There are herbal pain ointments that may be useful in relieving the grinding aches and lightning stabs of pain associated with frozen shoulder. Deep slow contemplative breathing exercises can stabilize the energy flow and bring peacefulness to the shoulder.
Silica helps tissues retain moisture. Herbs with high silica content can be beneficial for restoring elasticity to connective tissue. Horsetail tea and angelica (but not for diabetics, as it raises blood sugar levels) have provided help for sufferers.
Foods high in silica are alfalfa sprouts, beets, brown rice, bell peppers, soybeans, leafy green vegetables, root vegetables, cooked dried beans and peas, and whole grain breads and cereals.
To reduce inflammation, you can try turmeric (a major component of curry and yellow mustard), ginger, and bromelain (pineapple enzyme).

Emotional relief

I know I'm fast reaching the end of my limit and I'm not alone. It's winter, it's not the time to pick up an energetic activity that you may think will lift your spirits. Right now it wont, but it may cause an injury or insult to the psyche. Hold off a little bit on rediscovering extreme down hill skiing and winter treks up mountains in the snow. Here's some ideas that will pick you up and keep you injury free.

Get a massage
Get a couple of acupuncture treatments to increase the chi in your system
Go to the library, get a book, take in a lecture
Visit a museum
Take a cooking class.
Find out what constellations are in the sky in your area and do a little star gazing
Plan your garden
Check in on the elderly in your neighborhood. It's a long, cold icy winter. You really could be a sight for sore eyes.

Namaste everyone.

Home coming

2011-02-04T14:53:00.000-08:00

This has been a winter of snow storms. Storm after storm with little relief in sight. The farmers almanac proclaims more on the horizon with no end in sight till early March. Traveling by car has been long and arduous with many hours spent in computer traffic, travel traffic and storm traffic. Oh dear, the winter doldrums have set in as well. I've been asking myself lately, "Where has my life drive gone?" Packed up and moved to a warmer climate I fear. What's a girl to do? This winter it's been all about getting out on my cross country skis. Once home it's an easy step out the door and into the snow. I've skied more this winter than I have have in years and it's been a welcome homecoming. I used to ski regularly but alas adult obligation and an urban lifestyle promptly fixed that for quite some time. Fortunately our home is now steps away from a great after work ski moment and I am now able to give my long lost cross country ski's a bit of much deserved attention. I don't go out for very long, just long enough to feel good. My yoga practice is like that as well. I have no desire once home to commute back in and look for a parking space. I spend more time on the mat in my own home these days. Its nice, and I'm building a little momentum. A small practice in the morning and/or one in the evening. I certainly can build my own sequence, but these days I'd rather follow someone else. At the moment I'm totally enamoured by A.M. P.M. yoga with Rodney Yee and Patricia Walden. It's a lovely sequence. One for the morning and one for the evening, each 20 minutes. It's beginner sequences and very accessible. For me it's about breath and stretch and remembering what made yoga a significant part of my life. Doesn't have to be long, or complicated, or adventurous, coming back to home base is ultimately important right now.

Feeling my home roots and the fire in my heart. My Dad is not feeling well and whether I'm ready or not, transitions are coming. Trips up North are essential right now. So many emotions, coming home, nothing complicated, just be there.

Wishing everyone much much love and may your home fires burn warm and bright.

Winter

2011-01-29T05:06:00.000-08:00

The northeast has been overloaded with snow storm after snow storm. I think were all feeling up to our eyeballs in it. I'm trudging along much likes these deer, just trying to keep my head above water and make a little headway. One step forward two steps back. Patience needed in all pursuits these days.

In the bleak midwinter Frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, Snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter, Long ago.
Christina Rossetti

Tunnel Vision

2011-01-16T04:43:00.000-08:00

National Museum Liverpool

I haven't been around too much. 2011 has been filled without much head space for extras. Like this young man it's all about getting my work done. Sometimes there's a lot to do, but once you get the initiative and organization the checklist can get ticked off at a pretty fast rate. Other times the responsibility can be communal and through a collective effort things get completed. That's not the case this time around. The responsibility lies solely on my shoulders and nothing can be accomplished in a quick manner and everything has a deadline. This means I need the stamina to keep going till its completed. Unfortunately, unexpected things keep popping up and taking time away from my already too shabby schedule. I become overwhelmed and shut down and then nothing gets down. I've come to the conclusion to get beyond this I need to adjust my head space and have a little tunnel vision. So for now its head down, eyes focused and hope for the best!

Wishing everyone a fruitful and productive January!

Planet Love

2010-12-31T06:08:00.000-08:00

Time for the traditional midnight hug, but lets not forget about giving a little love to the world the rest of the year as well. Cheers and good will to everyone!

A Year In Review

2010-12-29T05:35:00.000-08:00

I haven't been writing much lately. I think my mind has taken a hiatus to absorb all that transpired this year. I'm in a very different place - quite literally- than when I started back in January. This week a powerful storm blew in leaving a large white blanket of snow and a sense that the peaceful quiet of winter has settled in. Myself, I'm ready to settle in for a long winters rest. It's a good metaphor for the year. With each storm something blew away not needed any longer and left me freed up to live a fuller life. My yoga practice has changed radically, I can't really say where it is at the moment, where it will go, or what direction I'll follow. I'm just going with the restorative flow and allowing what happens to happen. My practice is part home, part studio and quite small. I appreciate my moments on the mat, but I don't feel pressured to squeeze the life out of it. I just let it unfold, even it that means a half hour in savansana, that's where it is right now and that the right place to be. My doctorate, a constant source of stress and exhaustion is a work in progress. Again no conclusions, I need to accept and breath through it and have faith, even though I can't see the forest from the trees at the moment. The biggest conclusion was knowing it was time to move out of an urban area and into our own home. So much work had been done over the course of our time in the condo. The list of people working in there was endless, but I don't think it was in vain. Eventually I'll sell it, in the meantime there is is, a monument to a chapter complete. I'm thankful everyday I had the opportunity, and endlessly thankful I don't live there anymore. Ironically, I struggle less with feeling over obligated although my daily commute has doubled, perhaps I'm just getting better at that one. I was reading Linda's Yoga Journey and she mentioned this was a year of endings but not ones filled with trauma, just things completed. I thought yeah, wow, that's it, and that's actually a really good thing. Thanks for sharing Linda, its just what I needed, perfect.

Wishing everyone good endings and sweet beginnings.

Feeling State

2010-12-12T07:56:00.000-08:00

The slow passion
to that deliberate progress
Thom Gunn

coffee breath

2010-12-08T03:21:00.000-08:00

It's all about staying organized and the coffee of course! This has been an intense little period with big, big payoffs. I just completed a training that I've been involved in for most of the 2010 year. This month we met for our last session and completion felt wonderful. I also looked forward to seeing the people I've gotten used to spending time with from this training. I will miss not seeing them but I don't feel there is a loss here, but a gain. I've met some wonderful people and my profession is so small that we essentially know each other, so you never loose touch with people. I have final exam papers due this week and then I get some time to take long walks with the dogs, develop a home practice, take some yoga classes at the lovely new studio I have discovered and put the coffee down and have some long deep breaths instead.

Wishing everyone good wishes and smooth sailing!

Feeling the rush

2010-12-05T04:44:00.000-08:00

The Busy Life
'Live life one day at a time.' L.G.H.
In the midst of a busy life a call yells out,
The beauty of the wild a beacon to a restless heart,
But amidst this busy life there's comfort
In the mind, and a constant thought of doubt
Secures the feet aground, the sound of waves ashore
That mingles with the breeze of dawn,
Tha sun lazily rising from the East, its rays reflects
The beauty a calm morning does bring,
The eyes that's closed can see the imaginings
Of minds that love the peace the wild does bring,
A walk by the shore, the bare feet touches the sand
Reminds the heart the beauty of life in the wilds,
Nature - sea and land - a balance to a restless busy mind
In constant thought of life in need of a balanced busy life.
'From the cubicle of my imaginings'
Jona PoloRamirez

Spin, Dreydl, Spin

2010-12-04T04:00:00.000-08:00

We are spinning our own fates, good or evil, and never to be undone. Every smallest stroke of virtue or of vice leaves its never-so-little scar.
William James

Ah baby, it's cold outside!

2010-11-28T06:03:00.000-08:00

It's getting cold out there and as the weather changes I can feel the transition happening in my body as well. I'm going a bit slower, drinking hot liquids and sleeping more. The end of November-particularly in areas with a pronounced four seasons - is an excellent time to make a seasonal shift in eating, lifestyle and yoga. Here are some suggestions and ideas to make the transitions a little smoother and more comfortable.

Foods

Shift from cold, raw foods such as salads and smoothies to foods that warm the body; soups, stews and roasted root vegetables. Incorporate pungent foods and herbs in your diet. herbs includes ginger, garlic, black pepper, crushed red pepper, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, horseradish, and rosemary. Pungent foods include turnips, broccoli, daikon, celery, kohlrabi, mustard greens, kale, and green cabbage. I also like Dave Winston's ginseng soup when your under the weather

Pungent foods produce the following benefits necessary for good health in the winter:

Increases warmth and stimulates the body
Stimulate circulation of blood and energy
Keep the lungs clear and open
Dries phlegm mucous, and congestion
Balances fluids
Improve sluggish liver function
Relieves some types of arthritis

Yoga
Practice pranayama breathing once a day. I suggest three part durga breath, kapalabhati, and Surya Bhedana (Right Nostril Breathing) " Seventy percent of the body’s wastes are processed through the breath. Most people get one-quarter to one-fifth of the amount of oxygen the lungs were designed to hold. That’s a major deficit for cells that are trying desperately to process food, release toxins and provide energy for all your body’s needs. Without enough oxygen your cells are suffocating, can’t process food properly, are filled with sludge and toxins, and you run out of energy."

Keep your muscles warm, wear extra layers.
Start you practice with Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutations). This will help you keep warm, flexible and increase your energy as well as keep your body stretched and nimble.
Stretch that spine with with both feet apart, hands above your head
Practice standing Yoga poses such as Trikonasana (Triangle Pose), Tadasana (Mountain Pose), Utthita Trikonasana (Reversed Triangle Pose)
sitting poses such as Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend)
inverted postures like Viparita Karani (Legs Up the Wall, Inverted Pose), prone poses such as Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose), Chakrasana (Wheel Pose), Dhanurasana (Bow Pose) and Shalabhasana (Locust Pose).

Lifestyle

Conserve your energy to preserve good health. Slow down and get more rest. The body renews and restores when it's at rest and living creatures need more sleep during transitions, so extra time napping , going to bed earlier or sleeping later will help increase your bodies immune system, creating a stronger system to fight cold and flu season. So, curl up with a good book, sit by the fire sipping something hot and don't forget to dress warmly.

Old endings and new beginnings

2010-11-27T05:34:00.001-08:00

One of the areas in yoga I really love is chanting mantras and singing. My yoga teacher trainings emphasized this aspect and we always had a lot of chanting in all our classes. Unfortunately this has not carried over to the extent I would like in my own teachings or classes I have taken since teacher training. I'm a little shy about leading a mantra and the main studio where I had practiced would only om in the beginning of class and namaste at the end. There was never any other chanting or separate breath exercises in the class itself. The studio I am now practicing in has chanting, mantras, prayers, music, pranayama and philosophy. I love it, it's perfect!

I truly feel, I as well as every other living creatures great and small, are on a personal journey of evolution. We need different things at different times and if we are presented with everything all at once we become overwhelmed and reject everything. The studio I practiced for many years was great for me at the time. I feel it was there to introduce one area of yoga which turned out to be a great influence and greatly assisted my own evolution as a yoga teacher. This studio, which could fall into focusing on the physical only, get a little too body beautiful and a bit too youthful at times had a quirky little restorative class taught by a teacher, that without knowing gave me a great big cosmic push on my path. Once I had migrated restorative into my own teachings and that teacher left to do other things, I found my interest in taking class at that particular studio diminish completely. I think it was a great journey and in the end I just wasn't supposed to be there anymore.

To my former studio I have feelings of love and gratitude. Thank you for everything, I really enjoyed my time, I got so much out of so many wonderful teachers. I learned a tremendous amount and I am so very grateful. So...... thank you for everything, good bye, and take care of yourself.

I'd like to be under the sea, in an octopus's garden in the shade.

2010-11-20T03:48:00.000-08:00

Jason deCaires Taylor has created a stunning collection of art. His work is a unique and brilliant expression of art and the environment. Taylor carves cement stone figures, submerges them into the sea where he then arranges the figures in different scenes of surreal and everyday life. Eventually the pieces themselves become an artificial reef. His underwater art is not only contributing to the aesthetic quality of life but incredibly helpful from an ecological point of view.

The following is a description taken from his site

"Oceans teem with microscopic organisms that are constantly drifting down towards the sea bed, attaching to and colonising on the way any hard secure surface, such as rock outcrops, and thereby creating the basis of a natural reef. Coral reefs attract an array of marine life (such as colourful fish, turtles, sea urchins, sponges, and sharks) and also provide enclosed spaces for sea creatures to breed or take refuge. "

"Only about 10 – 15% of the sea bed has a solid enough substratum to allow reefs to form naturally. In order to increase the number of reefs in these areas artificial reefs have recently been created from materials that are durable, secure and environmentally sensitive. These reefs appear to have been successful in that they have attracted coral growth which, in turn, can support an entire marine ecosystem. "
"One of the greatest benefits of artificial reefs is that they have lifted the pressure off natural reefs which, over the past few decades, have been over-fished and over-visited. By diverting attention to artificial reefs, natural reefs have now been given a greater chance to repair and to regenerate."

To be further amazed by his incredible work click here

Bringing it on home

2010-11-19T04:02:00.000-08:00

beautythatmoves.typepad.com

Now that were getting moved in and settled I feel the need to submerge into my practice. I have been eyeing a few studios which I am genuinely interested in trying out, but each time I schedule in a little time for a visit my heart just kind of sinks. I'm just not motivated to seek out something new right now and I defiantly have no intention of going back to the old. At this time I would just rather be practicing on my own. A serious prerequisites when we were looking at homes was a place where we could build a designated space just for a practice. Not a room which is also a bedroom or an office or storage area or a partial place where you could roll out a mat, but a complete space which is only for practice. This house being perfect in just the right ways has such a space. At the moment we have all our art lined up against the walls and its a but crowded and chaotic, but it will either be hung or stored away by the end of the weekend leaving the space free and clear for its intended use It's time to rediscover my home practice and let things roll out in a solitary manner for a while. Restorative work is calling me these days, so its time to get out the blocks, straps and blankets and just begin.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Until then, Namaste

Moving Along

2010-11-16T04:06:00.000-08:00

Just a quick drop in. I am feeling much, much better I was completely down for the count. Between work, classes, moving and getting sick there hasn't been any time to write in my little blog. I'm hoping I can regain some consistency now that things are settling in. I'm fairly unpacked, work and classes just keep trucking along as usual and I've regained health, which is fabulous! I love my new house and I'm looking forward to an entirely new exploration in my yoga practice. It's a new life and I embrace this change with happiness and clarity knowing I'm moving in the right direction. I have taken a little hiatus from my yoga practice which was a very good idea. I needed some time to gather my thoughts and heal. It's been a a few months now and I'm ready to return, but on entirely different ground. I have a lot to say about it, but another time. In the meantime I wish everyone peace, rest and deep meditations........

My Soul and Body

2010-11-06T05:45:00.000-07:00

It the midst of boxes and chaos and moving I got really sick. I have not been this sick in years. Mostly what I want to do is sleep, have some hot herbal tea ,and chicken broth. Today is a landmark day as I feel a little better which means being up for a bout 45 minutes before I am totally blown out with exhaustion. Sorry, I'm not very interesting these days and not too much fun. Just wanted to check in and say I'm still here just a bit under the weather at the moment.

This recipe was taken from the Chef Maven November 30, 2008
http://thechefmaven.com/2008/11/30/best-chicken-soup-recipe-for-colds-and-flu/

Chicken Soup
The cooking process is rather simple, you will be adding the ingredients along with the chicken and water and allowing it all to boil then simmer for at least 90 minutes until the chicken is done. Then removing the chicken allowing it to cool so that you can remove the meat from the bones. Then cooking your noodles separately if you want to add them to your soup, then adding the last of the reserved veggies to your soup and returning the now-deboned chicken along with the noodles to the soup and serving it up to you and your family.

Ingredients:
One large Soup Pot
chicken pieces – I used three leg quarters (legs and thighs)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 stalks celery – diced (reserve one stalk)
2 jalapenos – diced (or more)
2 medium sized onions – diced
3 large carrots – diced (reserve one carrot)
2+ teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1 teaspoon+ red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons of FRESH rosemary, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
4-6 whole ‘cloves’ of allspice
2 large bay leaves – fresh or dried
6-8 cups of water
2 tablespoons of ‘better than bouillon’ chicken flavored paste (optional)
4 stalks of scallions – diced and added at the end.
2 cups dried noodles (optional & cooked separately near the end)
chopped fresh parsley or cilantro added at end or to the bowls when serving.
Directions:

Gather your ingredients and place your large stock pot on your stove or even use your slow cooker.
Add olive oil to your stock pot (if you are using your slow cooker omit this step and simply add your ingredients to the slow cooker starting with the vegetables first, then add the chicken, then the water and turn it on)
Remember to reserve one celery stalk, one carrot and all the scallions – you will be adding those last to the soup pot once your chicken has cooked and you have removed the meat from the bones and replaced it back into the soup – this keeps them slightly crunchy and adds color)
Add diced onions, celery and carrots to the mix and turn the heat under pot.
Allow the vegetables to sweat for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While vegetables are cooking, remove skin off chicken and separate legs from thighs.
Add chicken to pot, add all remaining ingredients: garlic, spices, salt and pepper, jalapenos, etc. (except for one carrot, one celery stalk, scallions)
Add water to pot enough to bring the water level to about one inch from the top.
Allow to come to a boil, then lower heat and allow the soup to simmer for at least 90 minutes.
Scoop out chicken. Let cool slightly so it is easier to remove meat from bones.
While noodles are cooking (see next step) and chicken is cooling, add the reserved diced carrot, celery and scallions to the soup.
When removing meat from the chicken bones, I like to keep the chicken in chunks.
Cook noodles separately and when done drain and rinse noodles before adding to soup.
Serve up in bowls to feed your cold and starve your fever!

Thank you Chef Mavan I will be using your recipe today,

to everyone else, namaste and good health.

Moving Day!

2010-10-24T03:39:00.000-07:00

I'm delighted to report we started moving into our new home this weekend. I am completely ready and on board with this and elated a new chapter has finally begun. It's sweet chaos at the moment, but it feels right. By this time next week we will be completely moved out and into our new home, and by the following week this place will be ready to rent. I have no bitter feelings, it's just time to go. I knew when I bought this place it would never be home. It was my first place and I learned a lot and I'm grateful for that. I accomplished a lot while I was here as well and many happy things happened as a few personal tragic ones. I'm at peace with my decision, it was what it was supposed to be, and I got out of it all I could. So I leave feeling good and solid with my only sadness that Cisco can not come with us, he would have loved the new house.

I went to yoga class yesterday for the first time in weeks. It was nice to be sharing time with others, and I badly needed the practice, but once again, I'm over it. I can tell I've mentally left that studio as well. My interests have expanded to include other areas of practice. I had the opportunity to learn from some dynamic teachers. The instruction and some of the practice made a permanent stamp on my own teaching and I am forever thankful but it's time to move on. I have some studios and teachers to explore once we're moved in and unpacked a bit. I'm really excited and open to all the new opportunities and discoveries just ahead. Its a great feeling.Non attachment, so hard but it can be so good!

I'll leave you with a nice poem about home and hearth and internal love and warmth and hugs, kisses and all that good stuff! Have a fabulous day everyone.

A Home Song

I read within a poet's book
A word that starred the page:
"Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage!"

Yes, that is true; and something more
You'll find, where'er you roam,
That marble floors and gilded walls
Can never make a home.

But every house where Love abides,
And Friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home-sweet-home:
For there the heart can rest.

Henry Van Dyke

Not your typical girl

2010-10-23T03:56:00.000-07:00

17 January 1962 – 20 October 2010

Ari Up aka Madussa (born Arianna Forster), passed away Wednesday from what her stepfather John Lyndon described as a "serous illness." I'm so sad to say after a long battle with cancer this passionate creative force of nature decided it was time to go. A natural feminist with a strong message and a belief in the validity of her work, she was instrumental in shaping an attitude that women can be strong, sexy, powerful, individual and creative. Even young girls in the post punk eighties who weren't aware of the Slits were influenced by her style. A generation came of age as many female musicians unabashedly crashed the male dominated punk scene and made their own original and unique statement. American music journalist Lester Bangs described Ari Up, “In all sorts of rags and a fishnet shawl, high footing around the dance floor like some mix of spider and strutting ostrich.”

Her initial journey started when she was 14 as a founding member of the Slits, a mainly all female punk band. This seemed a natural choice as her mother was promoting bands in the music industry. She was deeply influenced by the music around her which quite literally floated in and out of her day to day life. Ari's mother took her daughter to see the sex pistols in London . A big night for everyone as it turned out, Ari met a founding band mate there and formed a band shortly after, her mother eventually married the singer. The slits were together from 1976 to the early eighties. The music was deeply influenced by her love of reggae, a style which she would later fully explore in the dancehall scene in Jamaica, London and Flatbush New York. Her initial work with the slits can best be described as dub music. This genre consists predominantly of instrumental remixes of existing recordings and is achieved by significantly manipulating and reshaping the recordings, usually by removing the vocals from an existing music piece, emphasizing the drum and bass. The Slits had catchy tunes which were pop fun with a Jamaican feel.

After her time with the Slits, she traveled extensively living in Belize, Indonesia, and finally settled permanently in Kingston Jamaica. In 2005, Ari Up reformed The Slits, and in 2006 released the EP Revenge of the Killer Slits. “The only burden of the Slits is that we were ahead of our time, we're pretty much the same. We're not very much tamed. Nobody was able to tame us over the years. So you'd be surprised. We're just revolutionary because that's just what we are.”

Dedicated to her art, soulful and true to her vision she believed in her herself. She had a profound respect for woman everywhere and no tolerance for misogynistic men which I'm sure were in no short supply in the world she lived grew up in. She was also a naturalist and holistic. She paved the way for people like Isa Chandra Moskowitz and organizations like Food not Bombs to exist under the premise of being punk rock, healthy living, and for the greater good all at the same time. You were never a typical girl, quite the opposite, uncharacteristic and completely unique. Thank you for your honesty you were very brave in this lifetime. Peace and love to you on your journey.

Dreaming of Full Moons

2010-10-20T02:56:00.000-07:00

Full Moon and Little Frieda
A cool small evening shrunk to a dog bark and the clank of a bucket –
And you listening.
A spider’s web, tense for the dew’s touch.
A pail lifted, still and brimming – mirror
To tempt a first star to a tremor.
Cows are going home in the lane there, looping the hedges with their warm wreaths of breath –
A dark river of blood, many boulders,
Balancing unspilled milk.
"Moon!” you cry suddenly, “Moon! Moon!”
The moon has stepped back like an artist gazing amazed at a work
That points at him amazed.

Ted Hughes, from Wodwo (1967)

Boxes and Lobsters

2010-10-15T03:37:00.000-07:00

This is where it's at these days. The goal is to be completely packed in the next five days. It has been my experience that "completely packed" usually means 85% of what you have is actually packed, when you think 98.5% is stuffed into boxes and ready to roll. Its a funny little phenomena. As I'm packing I see how much stuff has accumulated over the years and I am struck by it. I think this is in part because I do not view myself as a materialistic person and in part because I can't actually recall where a lot of it came from. As I said, I consider myself fairly free from materialistic entrapment but really that's probably just a pretty little fantasy in my head. For example; isn't it time to throw away five years of yoga journal magazines that have been stored down in the my basement for who knows how long, or how about all the books I've read that now just sit on my bookshelf collecting dust, or the purses neatly lined up in the closet that haven't been used in a decade, and why do I keep dragging my undergraduate statistics book with me wherever I go? Seriously, why am I holding on to these things? It's time to take a shaky hand and start piling stuff into a big black trash bag headed toward the recycle bin or donation to Goodwill. I think this is the week to tackle that little demon. Yeah that's right, that's me in the hoodie running up those stairs, fearless!

In the meantime tonights the annual lobster bake C and I have every year. This is a downright feel good evening where we give thanks and celebrate the harvest in our own deeply unique way associated with our environment and spiritual beliefs. Taking time to give thanks and to this beautiful planet for the abundance and love she gives us in selfless abandon. Oh yeah, rock on.....

A little fun for Friday

2010-10-08T16:44:00.000-07:00

I hear you and I am listening!

2010-10-07T03:10:00.001-07:00

Yep, we did it. I did not expect this to happen immediately, but it did. We found the perfect home, in the perfect place, and it all came together instantly. This is 48 hours after making an affirmative decision to shut the fuck up and let the universe take a turn. Ironically it's much closer to a yoga center I have been very interested in exploring but haven't been able to since I moved to this part of the city. So for now its all boxes, and packing tape and calls to arrange things that need to be done......... Oh yeah, I am feeling it, and it feels FINE.

Wishing everyone a happy, strong and beautiful day.

Understanding

2010-10-04T03:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a series of nasty incidents which culminated at the end of the weekend with me walking out of my favorite yoga class. All were big messages and none could be ignored. When you've outgrown something its just not going to fit any longer and you can't make it, period. Each incident involved something very personal and close to home, where I walk my dogs, where I live, where take my yoga classes. No ignoring these places. OK I get it, we've outgrown it. The other piece is knowing your listening and the universe is responding when everything starts to come together instantly. OK, lets do it.

Wishing everyone a peaceful day.

October Forecast

2010-10-03T05:50:00.001-07:00

A warm October,
A cold February.
When leaves fall early,
Fall and Winter will be mild;
When leaves fall late,
Winter will be severe.
Squirrels gathering nuts in a flurry,
Will cause snow to gather in a hurry.
Much rain in October,
Much wind in December.

Full Moon in October without frost,
No frost 'till November's Full Moon.
( weather lore for the month of October)

Something Peaceful

2010-09-30T16:59:00.000-07:00

Come on Everybody Get Happy.......

2010-09-30T03:18:00.000-07:00

"The happiest people spend 30% less time parked in front of the tube, according to a University of Maryland study that analyzed 34 years of data from more than 45,000 Americans. They’re more likely to spend time socializing, reading, or attending religious services—habits that are linked to better moods and health. "

Too Much

2010-09-27T03:19:00.000-07:00

Life has been an unpleasant blur which isn't going to let up until the last weekend in October. There will be one or two bright spots like the annual family clam bake C and I have every year which is completely wonderful and something to look forward to, but for the most part the stuff going on right now is unpleasant. This is a blur of too much coming at me at one once. Its been the worst start to the year I have ever had, the worst start professionally, and I have never had so much personally and professionally at one time either. I am not only exhausted but find I'm rather depressed. Its a rough ride and I feel an instinctual urge to protect myself. It's at these times when I am very quiet and inward about my actions and words that I always notice how few boundaries some people have and I will go out of my way to stay away as these people make me miserably uncomfortable. So many people with so few boundaries, narcissistic personalities who just suck the life out of every living thing. Yeah, this is tough, no two ways about it. Miserable, miserable time.............

Peace Day

2010-09-21T03:26:00.000-07:00

The International Day of Peace, also known as the World Peace Day, occurs annually on September 21. It is dedicated to peace, or specifically the absence of war, such as might be occasioned by a temporary ceasefire in a combat zone. It is observed by many nations, political groups, military groups, and peoples. The first year this holiday was celebrated was 1981.

To inaugurate the day, the "Peace Bell" is rung at UN Headquarters. The bell is cast from coins donated by children from all continents. It was given as a gift by the Diet of Japan, and is referred to as "a reminder of the human cost of war." The inscription on its side reads: "Long live absolute world peace."

Dance in the Fells

2010-09-18T03:46:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday while we were having a walk in the woods we ran across a group of dancers having a rehearsal. It was pleasing and calming. We made our excuses to stop and watch a while as others did as well. We all just stood and gazed while these lovely ladies silently swept through the trees. To add to the delight they had the most wonderful props. A little wooden table and a chair in the forest with some writings from the Fells. My favorite was the Voice of a Tree in The Middlesex Fells written by Rosewell Lawrence and published by the Appalachian Mountain club in 1883. There was also a book on ornithology and some old binoculars.

October 9, 2010 from 1-6pm there will be several free performances throughout the Middlesex Fells. These pieces will include music, trees, dancers and dogs. You can find information on times, places and directions at The Friends of the Middlesex Fells Reservation or Two Roads performance projects.

How ideal, a walk in the woods on a lovely autumn days with musicians, dance and dogs. Sounds perfect!

September Day

2010-09-16T04:01:00.001-07:00

The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August,

and here and there a yellow leaf
shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a beauty

who has seen one season too many.
Oliver Wendell Holmes

Hakini Mudra

2010-09-12T04:58:00.000-07:00

September is here and with it comes a flurry of conversation and activity often precluded by the statement, "let me get my schedule book." School, work, meetings, projects to be completed, schedules to be kept, work to be submitted, papers to be found and filed and holiday planning can make this time of year taxing on the brain and generally overwhelming. Many of us had a hot steamy summer with some down time to rest and recharge before heading into the Autumn. Our brains now need to find space for new schedules, deadlines, facts, and other details small and large. A nice mudra to combat the barrage of mental activity coming your way is hakini mudra.

The hakini or hakim mudra can be practiced at any time. This mudra is practiced when you would like to remember something, generate an inspirational or novel idea, or just want to increase your general memory strength for longer periods of concentration.

You can practice this mudra either sitting or standing but it is best to face west. Place your fingertips together, direct your eyes upward, place the tip of your tongue on your gums while inhaling, and let the tongue fall again while exhaling, then take a deep breath. Include this mudra in your practice or preform individually. Practice 15 minutes a day either at one time or several times a day.

It has been determined that the finger position of this mudra promotes the cooperation between the right and left brain hemispheres. It opens access to the right hemisphere, where memory is stored, and improves respiration which increases oxygen to the brain and aids in mental efficiency.

On a side note it is suggested you don't cross you feet when doing mental work.

Wishing everyone pleasant, well organized days :)

Peace

2010-09-11T03:44:00.001-07:00

We are all together
Like knitting
If we will accept each other
And be open to each other
And believe in each other
We will understand
That we are all a beautiful combination
Equal and different
If we want, we can
We are all a great combination
Of human beings
Anonymous

Sweet Dreams

2010-09-10T03:03:00.001-07:00

Can't quite put my finger on it but I think its a combination of a few things, mostly stuff going on in my head, but it's been a good long time between a solid nights sleep. I'm having a hard time falling asleep, staying asleep and wake up far too early. Intervention is needed before I have a mini crash. Swimming is always helpful for me and it looks like I'll be headed to the pool but my immediate solution is a little viparita karani.

Viparita karani or feet up against the wall position has profound restorative effects on the body. If your feeling a real need to rejuvenate and come back to balance its good to devote a practice to this one pose. A daily practice would be 20-30 minutes. As a general rule its not recommended a person should exceed this amount of time in this inverted position.

This position leads to an increase in blood flow to your upper body as well as to your brain which is very useful to maintain your blood pressure and calm your nervous system. It has numerous other benefits as well but for now that's what I'm aiming for a little calm and relaxation to get me to sleep at night.

Here's to a new year

2010-09-08T05:15:00.000-07:00

Have the best year possible,

Love and peace to all.

Shana Tova