Showing posts with label Yoga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yoga. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Gather Your Strength


It was the first Saturday in January.

The yoga studio was very still. Sun was streaming in through the front window and we were a small group of three. One sweet teacher and two of her {favorite} beginners. There was warmth. A warmth that came not only from those sun beams, but the warmth of sangha.  A warmth created because we were a mutually supportive group of practitioners. Because we gave each other a sense of community and belonging. And of acceptance.

Midway through our time together, there was some rustling and chirping in the tree right outside the studio. Three bluebirds had come to join us. Perched only for a bit, they added energy, support and - yes - even a bit of magic - to our practice on that ordinary Saturday morning. As our spirits accepted this sweet serenade of encouragement, our confidence grew and our bodies found a wee bit more strength.

These past few days, as I've shared the sense of weakness and worry that seems to be accompanying me on our current house-hunting journey, many {many} bluebirds have flocked to the tree that's right outside the window of my heart. And I hear you rustling and singing to me - lending your support along the way. Each text, email, blog note, hug and phone call make a difference.

Thank you - to all of my bluebirds. You help me to gather my strength and rise up.



Joining Kathy for Song-ography
and linking to
Wednesdays Around the World


Monday, January 4, 2016

{Good Random Fun} Week 1

The Good 
Yoga is good.
A delight.
A long-time dream realized.
It feels so right to be carrying this new habit,
this new practice,
into the new year.

And is there anything quite as yummy as a new journal?
I love the clean slate/fresh start feel of that first page.

The Random
Zen and the Coloring Craze.
I'm trying it!
Love the colors. Need a pencil sharpener.
Feels a tad random to me.
Yet to totally see the point.
Which, I suppose might be the point? That there isn't one?
It does cross my mind that I'm not great at doing things that produce "nothing" ...
All the crafting I do, which I find enormously therapeutic,
turns into something. A card. A book..... a blog post.
So far, I'm enjoying this, and asking myself if NOT having a point is, in fact the point.
And WHY do I need to always be "producing" something...Hmmm....

The {should have been} Fun
It was NOT a good football weekend for me and my boys.
Saturday night we watched our Ducks drown in the second half of their bowl game.
At least we were together.
It was fun to be down town and hanging at the bar where my son works.
Would have been LOTS more fun had they won!
And don't even talk to me about the Patriots.
Really. Don't.
Too. Much. Stress.

Maybe I should have stuck to coloring?!?





Joining Tamar and Judith

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Tiny



"True life is lived when tiny changes occur."
Leo Tolstoy


As I settle into the mat beneath me, I hear a familiar voice encouraging me to choose an intention. "Let it come to you," she says. The room is quiet. We are ten ~ ten yoga newbies. In this moment, we are alone and we are together. We are weak and we are strong. We are scrambled after a long day, and we are letting go. We inhale. We exhale. Right hand over my heart. Left hand covering my belly.  Breathe. Deeply. Breathe. And with the next exhale I choose 'breathe' as my intention.

Slowly, gently we are led through the poses. Each shift brings new awareness. Some positions seem designed to soothe. Designed for me. Some poses feel unnatural, awkward. Each shift brings new awareness. With each shift, I listen to my breath. Must remember to breathe. Now I am standing. And this next shift is to one leg. I am wobbly. Finding my balance isn't easy. The young woman leading our practice stands like a pillar on her one leg. As I inhale I think, "I can't. Is everyone else in the room standing firm like that or wobbling like me? I better practice this at home to be better." And then I exhale. Breathe. Focus forward. Inhale again.

And as I exhale, I let go. I accept. I am here. I am doing this. I am breathing in. And wobbling on one leg. And next time doesn't matter. Stronger doesn't matter. This moment, this deep breath. This is me, right now. No self-judgement. No evaluation. Just breath and acceptance.

And with this shift, this tiny internal change, comes the whisper of new life.




Sharing today with Kim and Kat