Take a Peace Break

The sunshine is gone for a day or so now while rain returns. What a beautiful day yesterday -I actually sat out in the yard and felt the sun burning through my clothes! A promise of beautiful days to come. Jim is going back to Hilton Head this morning and I will be spending much of the day in Greenwood - yoga class at the Y this morning and annual physical shortly after noon. I woke early this morning and am enjoying the quiet for a few hours before the day's activities begin. Kim asked about the Abiquiu, NM monks' chanting CD - It is titled Gaudeamus (Let us Rejoice) - web site is www.christdesert.org. I purchased it at the Monks Store (Monks Store is actually the name of it) in Santa Fe and I'm pretty sure the store has a web site, too. Perhaps some others of you will also be interested.------Pod Sisters begin arriving Thursday - what a blessing our retreats are!!! Even though we teleconference monthly, still we need the gatherings to go deep - and we do! I'm afraid the labyrinth path will be muddy, but perhaps we'll walk it anyway. I hope each one of you finds at least a few moments of PEACE today. If nothing else, take some deep breaths occasionally.

Necessity Meditation

What a delightful day was yesterday! Took blankets from the Yogatorium to the laundromat and got them washed. Jim and I did a Rodney Yee yoga session together in the morning and then in the afternoon another session when Mary, a new student, came for her second session. What a joy it is to have new ones show up! It gives me a chance to spread the word of yoga and all its benefits to someone else. As a teacher, new students always inspire! Thanks to Martha for letting Mary know about our classes here. This afternoon at 3:00 we'll do another session of breathing work and a guided meditation - the walking one another time. It's strange how necessary meditation has become for me. Necessary may seem a strange desciptive word, but that's how I feel this morning. I began my morning listening to the monks in New Mexico chanting as I meditated here in the cottage. I turned on the heat in the Yogatorium a couple hours ago in anticipation of spending a lot of time there this morning. I just feel the necessity for more sitting and listening. Something good is going on, for sure. Always when I dedicate a day to going inward, a shift occurs. I'll certainly walk the labyrinth again (for the third day in succession) - since the weather is warmer, I'm eager to spend more time doing that. I can feel it in my bones - today is a winner! Thanks be to God!

Up and Down Days

The Great Blue Heron is back - and a couple days ago the belted kingfisher visited. And, I am back. Back to my usual self. Yesterday for some strange reason I was down. It doesn't happen often, but when it does I'm always surprised and analyzing and trying to figure out why. This morning I came to the conclusion that if we didn't have down days, how could we recognize up days? The plan is to have more up ones than down ones - and I certainly do! I think it's just a gentle reminder of how very fortunate I am to have so many up days! Contrast is what it's about. Pain and pleasure, good and bad, highs and lows. So much of the time I don't even think about such - it's good to be reminded and recognize how blessed I am to be up so much of my life! ----- Jim came yesterday to spend a few days and that's reason enough to be UP!

Filling My Well

Good morning! We are in for some beautiful weather - even 62 on Saturday and high 50s for the rest of the time for the next 5 days! Wow! The sunshine is so very welcome! It will be so nice to leave the heavy clothes behind and walk out the door! It had gotten habitual to put on coat, gloves, and hat just to go to the mailbox! Which reminds me, I haven't been to the mailbox yet this week! ----- Oh well, that's why I bought a big one. ----- Yesterday was a return to my sewing and crafting. Took a beautiful piece of material from Africa and attached it to some dark brown burlap then hung it all from the curtain rod in my bedroom - will do the other one for the second window today. Now that's the kind of thing that really fills my well! What fills your well? How often do you do it? When's the last time? Do you even know what fills your well?

My Day

Today is Wednesday, my day off. I do lead a yoga session this evening, but otherwise, this is my day to care for me. What does that mean? I haven't ever actually defined it in writing, but basically it means I concentrate on making myself feel cared for and loved by indulging in moment-by-moment activities as they pop into my mind - but with the overriding rule that it is exactly what I want to do at the moment. Today is not the day for "have-tos" or "shoulds." I make a strong effort to avoid those by putting them on a list for tomorrow. Yesterday in between doctor appointments and my yoga sessions in Greenwood I bought some new clothes (on sale end-of-winter stuff, of course) and will lift my spirits wearing them today. Also, I'll cook something special - maybe some roasted veggies, and get back to my writing, reading, and knitting. For right now, I'm just enjoying watching the ducks in the fog. I am learning to really enjoy the gray days. They seem like an invitation to stay inside and just be. I'll probably take a nap or two - I love my "after breakfast" naps. Somehow they seem so indulgent! And such fun - particularly on gray days. Right now time for my Ayurvedic Pitta tea - a gift from a friend I met at the Center for Spiritual Awareness. Have a beautiful day!

Ayurveda for Health

What a day yesterday! I've been having so much fun reading and studying and learning I finally forced myself to do the laundry. Turned out to be a good choice - the laundromat was warm - certainly no place else was! I'm really tired of being cold. I'm tired of putting on so many layers of clothes, of wearing wool socks, a wool cap, and gloves every time I walk out the door. But, of course, it is January. For once, I'm wishing the time would fly by to March! ----I've been studying a new book - Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy by Mukunda Stiles - in preparation for a teacher training period in March at Yogaville. My passion for yoga really turns on my interest in healthy bodies and minds and Ayurveda is an approach to health from thousands of years of experience in India. And, of course, has its own language, as all new studies do. It's a challenge but I'm beginning to get a little more comfortable with the word choices and even remembering the translation and definition of many of the Sanskrit terms used. I have vowed to never "go to school" again, but what I really mean is "I ain't working for any more grades." I'd be lost without something to study. In all honesty, I believe that my good health rests on my continuing study. And, I LOVE the fact that I can pick and choose, even on the same day, different topics! What I learned recently has me a bit more interested in increasing my intake of organic veggies and fruits. We'll see how that turns out.

Take Care of Me Day

Received my copy of Fried: Why You Burn Out and How to Revive a couple days ago and spent most of yesterday and last night reading it. Joan Borysenko, the author, is my spiritual mentor and the book is her No. 15. If you're an achiever, and who in this country isn't?, you'll find some helpful info here. Of course, I've been studying with Joan for 5 years or so and can never get enough! Her Minding the Body, Mending the Mind, I considered her best, but now this one seems equally helpful - especially for those who are overachievers. Fortunately, I've mostly gotten over that! Thanks be to God! I have finally learned to recognize quickly when I'm burning out and prevent it. How? I simply stop. But, then, I'm in the fortunate position of being able to do that since no one else is depending on me - except for my yoga students, of course, and they uplift me - never drag me down. And, I am being careful to avoid over-committing even to my yoga practice. How I wish Fried had been in my hands 20 or 30 years ago when I was constantly burning out. Bob used to say to me - "Go look in the mirror. Your eyes look like two holes burned in a blanket!" And I knew it was time to stop - but it wasn't easy then. One trick I'm using now is allotting Wednesdays to my day off to take care of me. I teach two yoga classes on Monday and two on Tuesday so by Wednesday, I need recovery time and I take it. I urge you to label one day your day to take care of you - even if you have to work. The simple act of setting your intention to "take care of me" will make a big difference no matter what you are doing that day.

Sand Bags

Hallelujah! The sun is already streaming through my window at my back as I gaze out over the Pond through the big window. We're in for nice weather for the foreseeable future (10 days) now! I've even washed my silk long underwear and it's gonna get a rest for a few days anyway. ----- Yesterday was fun. I spent much of the afternoon filling my new 10-lb sandbags for the Yogatorium. Three years ago I brought sand back from the beach to make luminarias for Christmas and never did. So, I baked it a bit (to make sure it was dry) and removed a few pieces of shell and filled the bags. Still have a couple more bags to fill today and then my reclined bound angle pose will be ready to go. Also received in the shipment some long straps which we needed. I know some of you have no idea what I'm talking about, so just know I'm having fun my way! Why don't you try having some fun today your way?

Meditation Power

Snow is gone - ready for the beach!

I have just learned something I must share. (I mentioned yesterday the power of sharing.) Vipassana meditation is what I have begun practicing (after many years of trying all kinds of practices) and I'm finding it very powerful. If you are interested, go to http://www.dhamma.org/ and click on Art of Living. Basically it is a method of watching your breath as you sit. But, I can't begin to explain its reasoning and method as well as the article does. All I can say is that this morning I sat for 52 minutes - my longest ever sit - at least 20 minutes longer - and time stopped while I was sitting. ---- The snow is gone. What a lovely week it was with it! Yoga sessions are back in full swing at the Yogatorium, the church, and the Family Y in Greenwood. I've been to the grocery store and stocked the pantry and the fridge. Got to the Post Office and mailed all the notes I wrote while inside so many days. We'll have highs in the 40s and even 50s this week. Back to normal. I hope you enjoyed the snow days as much as I did! I played with Picnik a bit and created a new head shot.

Snow melting, now rain

How could I miss writing two days? I was surprised when I realized I didn't write either Sunday or yesterday. They have been busy days. I got distracted by two things - one making a commitment to an editor for "Happy All By Myself" and all the emails that went back and forth about that - and two, designing a flyer to advertise the Sunday afternoon sessions at the Yogatorium. We had such a successful one last Sunday, I feel compelled to let others in on the secret! We are doing some breath work and a guided meditation - the first one a walking one, which was really interesting. With practice indoors now, we should be really ready for spring walks outdoors at the labyrinth. I'm also studying a lot - ayurvedic stuff and Patanjali's sutras in particular. My energy level seemed to be lower, so now concentrating also on eating well and all the other good things I do for my body - when I don't get distracted! I'm actually enjoying the weather now - the coldest is over, the snow is melting, but now we're in a rainy time - so still inside where it's OK to sit around and knit, read, and just BE. Nice yesterday to have six new students in the yoga class at the Family Y. Yoga is much more fun when I can share it with others. Actually, I guess most things are more fun when shared in some way. Be good to yourself!

Stillness of ice and snow

Tree Shadows on Snow

I just pulled the curtain aside and was astounded at the stillness. The Pond is frozen over again this morning. There is no, absolutely no movement outside my window. The ducks are still holed up under my porch floor, which extends out over the Pond. Actually, they may be under the house. Some kind of animal is under there. I hear him or her moving around occasionally. Quincy, Bob's bullterrier, used to go nuts trying to dig through the floor to get at an animal! For me, it's reassuring to know something has found shelter there. We tried to enclose the area three years ago with some pieces of plywood, but obviously there's a hole somewhere. The neighbor's cats are spending afternoons on my front stoop where the sun shines. Quincy used to love doing that, too. -----The respite from the rest of the world will end today. My Spiritual Sisters group meets this afternoon for our monthly gathering to share thoughts, do some yoga postures, and today, a meditation session. We are working our way through Insight Meditation workbook by Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein. It has been hard for me to get with it, but it is beginning to pay off - probably because I'm actually DOING it rather than just thinking about it.------The snow is still here covering much of the ground, but it is gradually receding and grass is beginning to show through. The cement walkways and stepping stones are clear and some of the road, but patches of ice still remain on it. I have thoroughly enjoyed this snow event. How blessed I am to have food, heat, and shelter as well as friends who check on me! Time to refill my tea cup.

Still inside

It was 18 degrees at 8:30 this morning. But, supposed to rise enough and have enough sunshine to melt more of the snow, particularly on the roads. I tried my first trip out to the road yesterday and decided not to try any further until today. And, maybe I'll just forget about it till tomorrow! I'm truly enjoying this break in ordinary life! Excitement is filling the air in my cottage. I've found an editor with whom I'm negotiating to work on "Happy All By Myself" manuscript. Networking truly pays off! Friend I made in yoga training in Santa Fe recommended her and I'm tickled with what I see so far. So, the next step is underway. Of course, I realize once she gets at the ms, my next real work will begin. First, to get my ego out of the way and DO what she suggests. Even if it means a total flip-flop. I am a firm believer in using professionals and taking their advice. I did enough editing myself as a forestry professor to know how valuable an editor can be! What fun it is to be holed up in my cottage writing! Thanks to each of you for encouraging me to keep at it. If I knew no one was reading these posts, it would be very hard to continue. Here are a couple more snow pictures.

Ice on the Pond

Sorry I skipped yesterday posting but it was a busy one with several meditation sessions and yoga postures, working on finding an editor for "Happy All By Myself", baking a blueberry pie, reading, spiritual direction session with Joan Borysenko, and all kinds of fun things like that. I even left the cottage to refill the bird feeders after the sun melted snow on my walkway and steps. (Hadn't been on the ground since Sunday - just on the porches to take photos.) I now have grackles, mourning doves, cardinals, and a couple others I don't recognize. The ducks are walking on the pond now - it's frozen over from shore to shore. It's 22 this morning and going down to 12 tonight! So, I'll go up to the cabin and leave the water dripping tonight. I have a heater running in the Yogatorium bathroom, so it should be OK but I'll make it a real expedition and go by there, too, just to be sure. I hate to mess up the snow with my footprints - love the morning sun shining through the trees and putting their shadows on the pure white snow!

Snow January 11 at the Pond

Common grackels empty the feeders

Angel Food Cake on the Birdbath

It's still here and so very beautiful. This morning I'm giving myself the treat of opening the curtains so I can sit here and see the winter wonderland. Yesterday I had trouble staying warm so kept them closed. Today I've got on plenty of clothes and turned the furnace thermostat up and arranged my two space heaters so that it's toasty. I'm set for the next few days of cold! What a break this is! So much of the world just stops that we do too, at least for a short while. Most of us can't stand it so we do stuff anyway. But, not the same stuff. After yesterday switching from one thing to another all day long doing stuff, today I hope to just be with it. I've already done two meditation sessions, one in my chair and one on the floor on the zabuton and zafu cushions (Thanks, Jim). Today, I intend to simply be with this beauty and be beautiful along with it. Already I'm a bit saddened thinking that it will be gone soon - even though it's not likely to melt completely for several days. My camera and I will enjoy watching the changes. I'm posting a few more. And I've begun an album on facebook.

Snow January 10 at The Pond

Do I have snow! You bet! 6 to 9 inches, they say. I haven't left my cottage yet but have some photos! Glad I got the bird feeders filled yesterday. Soup pot is on, hot chocolate coming up - I may even add a marshmallow! Remember, if you click on the photos they enlarge! Hope your time inside is fun. I brought my yoga mat from the Yogatorium so am doing my asanas in between watching news and knitting. Helps keep me warm!

Empty Cup

My Safe Haven

Well, here I am this morning practicing ahimsa (non-harming) toward myself! I didn't expect this so quickly! Yesterday was a very full day, as was the day before, and by mid-afternoon yesterday I realized I was on the brink of getting sick. So, today is a day off from everything I can avoid doing - except for the one hour of yoga practice this afternoon when I'll do breath work and meditation - both healing agents. -----The sun is shining brightly through my kitchen window signaling a beautiful Sunday - a quiet one meditating, reading, studying, staying warm - it's still in the twenties outside at 10:00 oclock - letting my body heal itself. It has been surprising to me over the last couple of years how often I have been able to avoid medicines by simply stopping doing and just being. On my new Kindle I'm reading a very helpful book (helpful to me, anyway) entitled "A Life of Being, Having and Doing Enough" by Wayne Muller. The key word is enough. Do we ever have enough? Even as I write this, I've finished a cup of pitta herbal tea and immediately thought, I need another. The cup is empty. I must fill it again. What's so wrong with an empty cup?

(The photo of the Yogatorium is from my cottage front stoop taken after the light snow last year. Stay tuned for one after the coming snow!)

Ahimsa - Non-harming

Wow! Here it is already January 7 and I feel like I'm just getting started with my thinking and planning my life for this new year. Perhaps by the end of January I'll at least have a pretty good idea how the first few months will go. It seems my mind is a lot more flexible than my body! One thing has risen in importance: The yogic ten points for living. I will be concentrating on one each month and the one for January is the first yama (abstinence) of non-violence (ahimsa). It might be more accurate to call it non-harming. To me, that puts a different slant on it. It is easy for me to try to avoid killing - even the bugs - as a way of instilling a strong sense of non-violence, but non-harming seems to me to broaden the principle and puts a whole new light on it. Can I really learn to avoid harming - people, animals, plants, all of nature, and especially - myself! Can I truly be kind and avoid harming EVERYONE and EVERYTHING? I doubt it. So, my plan is to rethink my days - even as I live them - and try to notice when I am harming. They say it only takes 30 days to form a new habit. We'll see. I may find myself still harming on February 1. Wish me luck!

Yogatorium Alert - New Approach

A day at home has given me a chance to rethink the use of the Yogatorium. I have decided to add some new classes. The Friday, Saturday and Sunday classes at 3:00 pm will be changed
(1)to help those who are not yet quite so flexible but still are ready to begin (Friday).
(2) Saturday will emphasize Supported Poses using props (chairs, bolsters, blankets, blocks and belts) at the wall and on the mat for all levels. These will assist current practitioners to move further into more challenging poses and will help beginners broaden their practice.
(3)Sunday will be devoted to Pranayama (breath work) and Guided Meditation and is open to everyone. No donation for Sunday sessions.
Friday and Saturday classes admission is by 5-session card ($20), as usual. And, as usual, your first session is free.
It is my hope this will encourage newcomers to begin to learn more about caring for their body, mind and spirit and broaden the understanding of current practitioners using the discipline of Hatha Yoga.

2011 - What now?

Back home and settling into the new year. I've missed writing the posts - hope some of you have also missed them. So many good things have happened - wonderful family time over Christmas holidays - home for two days and then off to NC to meet Pod Sister Sara to travel to Yogaville for 4-day silent retreat. What a beautiful experience it was! Yoga classes and meditation sessions and lectures - so much going on it was easy to just listen and be a part of it all. Luckily Sara and I were in separate buildings so the temptation to converse was minimal. Mealtimes were the hardest, but even that became almost habitual quickly. Next two nights with Jim and Anne and Bella in New Bern was a great way to come back into the ordinary world. Now, I will spend a few days solidifying my approach to life during this year. Rest assured, the blog posts will continue and my devotion to yoga and meditation practice will be even more pronounced. This path is so rewarding in so many ways it's difficult to express. Not only do I like myself more, but I like other people more too! Love is really what life is all about, I'm learning. And, I'm learning how to live more happily than I can express. I want to thank each one of you for giving me the inspiration to continue writing daily. I look forward to what might come out when I write the posts. I pray sometimes a message that is helpful to you shows up on the screen. For now, gratitude is my deepest awareness. Be well, be peaceful, and be HAPPY!