Grandmothering

I'm home from Atlanta. Here are photos of my two grandsons of Luke and Susan. Jack(11) is all dressed for school at Saint Francis in Atlanta, Sam (almost 9) is home sick on the couch with Gus. Walker (Tate and Wendy's son) was 12 Sunday - Goodness, maybe 13?) I'm awful about keeping birthdays clear in my head. I'll find a photo of him tomorrow. Didn't get one this weekend. He was busy playing tennis, etc. and I didn't have my camera with me. Grandmothering is a blessing! I'm always so grateful when I get asked to stay with the kids!

Family Thoughts

From Atlanta. Been with Sam and Jack since Friday. Parents coming back this afternoon. It is amazing how much I've forgotten about young boys! I'm suffering from the same problem I had with my sons at this age - offering options rather than giving clear directions - orders, really. I just don't make a very good sargeant. Ordering is not my style. Suggesting is - which doesn't work with young boys, of course. Of course, in my defense, I'm rarely with them more than a couple days and each time I have forgotten what I learned the time before. True, when I watch the parents, I see things I did differently, but I don't tell them. The one thing I know about raising children - it seems that no matter how much we do wrong, they grow up into lovely people anyway - perhaps in spite of us - and perhaps they are only lovely in a mother's eyes. But, lovely they are - both my sons. In my moments of reflection, I know nothing is more valuable than family, absolutely nothing. Thanks be to God! Mine is blessed with good health.

Sitting or Smoking?

Yesterday was truly full but I did take time to do some light reading and resting. After yoga class last evening, I met with Jan who is my new personal trainer at Wellness Works. We had a great meeting of the minds and she will design a strength training program for me so I can begin perhaps even tonight? If not, for sure as soon as I return from Atlanta next week. Many times in the past I have done strength training, but not lately. So, I'm eager to get back to it. Along with my yoga practice, the strength training will go a long way toward increasing my joy in life. I have finally gotten the picture - joy comes from feeling good. Feeling good comes from moving my body. I read somewhere recently a study showed that sitting was worse than smoking when it comes to heart disease. Regardless of the validity of the study, could have been very small and not statistically valid. . .still, it is food for thought.

Becoming Specialists in Living

This morning I read something that really spoke to me: Where we were specialists in spending, we are becoming specialists in living. This appeared in an editorial in Ladies Home Journal magazine in October of 1932. History does repeat itself, doesn't it? I believe that once again there are many of us now who are becoming specialists in living. What a remarkable thing it is! For me, it is absolutely astounding how much living there is to be done and how exciting each day has become for me - never knowing quite what to expect and so often finding wonderful happenings occurring I could never have predicted or expected. For example, just yesterday a young woman in my yoga class at the Y came up afterwards and surprised me by saying she had recently returned from India where she had not been able to enjoy as many yoga sessions as she would have liked and found my class, her first visit, very much to her liking. There she stood smiling and full of praise and approval which made me very grateful for my teachers who led me to the style of yoga I now teach. It is as close to "classical" Hatha Yoga as I know how to get. I would like to think one finds similar teaching even today in India. Perhaps one day I'll get there and see for myself. Or, perhaps I'll revisit Yogaville in Virginia for another bit of such training. But, for today, I'm a Happiness Specialist who might one day graduate to Living Specialist!

Checking in

Sorry I've neglected the blog. Life has been too full. But wonderful. Had a great all day Yoga Retreat on Saturday with a beautiful day in the Yogatorium - with the doors open listening to the rain all day long. You had to be there to know the joy~ Next one coming up in March or early April. I'm still trying to catch up with myself so this is short, but I promise a more rewarding post tomorrow or Wednesday, for sure....By the way, Ray, the daffodils are coming up - what a delightful discovery each one is!

Spreading the Yoga Word

Great time this morning talking to about thirty Golden Kiwanis men in Greenwood. Love having a chance to tell people about yoga. Hope to see some of them in my classes. Now it's on to preparing for the ten retreatants who will be here on Saturday for a day of yoga. We always have a wonderful time together and I expect this one to be the best so far! It's always fun to have some people who don't know each other and that will be the case this time. By the time Saturday wine and cheese roll around, the ten will be bonded. Hope to hold many more of these retreats as time goes by. If you are not scheduled to be at this one, make sure you get your name to me as interested in the next and I'll start looking at a time for it.
One of the major reasons I built the Yogatorium, was to have retreat space, and so we do!
Namaste.

Yoga - This is IT!

Here's another reading I hope will help you all understand what yoga is all about. The essence of yoga....is to be easeful in body, peaceful in mind, and useful in life. The aim of yoga is to make the body healthy and the mind tranquil and pure. With a pure mind and a healthy body, you become a useful instrument for God. From Satchidananda's Golden Present. .... I will be sharing this with many often. It is by far the best description I have seen - at least it describes perfectly my reasons for practicing yoga - maybe not yours.