Yogi am I

When people hear I do yoga twice a week (I'd do more but the schedule does not provide for that), they think a number of thoughts and as much as I do not believe anyone should feel obligated to explain the motivations behind their practice I am going to. Yoga is humbling, freeing and altogether for me a way to release tensions I hold against myself and say internally thank you and sorry and I love you all at the same time to myself. I'm thankful you bend, you move more or less freely, I am thankful for my health. I am sorry I make you do things you don't like, like wearing those shoes, sitting like that, eating that food, going without a constant intake of water and clear liquids. I love you, I am okay with you, with that little tummy part that pudges out when I'm bent over, or those toes that won't always behave, because you're me, I'm you and we're created as a being in it's entirety to be whole, free and at peace with the world and myself. There is a freedom in coming into that space and acknowledging all those parts, coming to love all the parts I fight with, all the parts I lament, and all those parts I should love more.

There was a poem read during shavasana tonight that I found interesting:

Lost

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you,
If you leave it you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.

~ David Wagoner ~

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/angelrays/2094861208/

Studying

Seriously I am... the ACSM recommends that we should as part of our daily fitness and overall wellness engage in stretching - up to two times a day for some of us depending on the overall tightness. So I'm going to give you guys your recommendation in a yoga modified format. Why? Well these can be combined together and with breathing provides you with a good wake up or wind down routine. The numbers correlate the the ACSM's list numbers if anyone wants to check up on me.

2. Calve/6. Downward Dog - well wait a moment that's a yoga position - that it is. Now prior to downward dog - since you should not just throw yourself into it. Cat stretches are a good lower back stretch and allow you to work towards completing 1 - and warming up your body.

Cat stretches - get on all fours with hands below your body - in line with your shoulders, and knees hip with apart - this is your hip bone, not your fleshy hips. Inhale through your nose, let your pelvis lower, and your head/upper body raise. Exhale, through the nose again, contracting your throat so that there is an audible noise. Curl yourself under, by arching your back/lifting your pelvis and lowering your head - if you can turn your gaze to your belly button, repeat 10 times.

From this position, you can move your hands forward and dig your toes into the mat, and lift your behind. Make sure your arms and legs are aligned within the body frame as above, fingers and toes receive equal pressure, bend knees push/lift behind up and then straighten legs - not locked. Advanced - heels touch the ground, and gaze is up at the belly button again. If your heels don't touch, then rock gently - in that one leg bends while the other heel moves closer to the ground, switch sides, then return to downward dog, traditional. Once held for 5 breaths - that's a full inhale and exhale. Step your legs forward, or in advanced jump through. Hold yourself in the forward bend position, lifting yourself slowly. Forward bend - hamstrings - feet should be hip width apart, and inhale then on the exhale lower your torso - the whole thing, and fold forward, do not lock your knees, hold gently to your ankles or toes - to hold on to your toes, curl your index and middle finger under the big toes and place your thumb on top.

From downward dog
4. Quad - You can stretch your hips and quad in one go, bring one leg forward bending it at the knee and bringing it across and your lower your body - in the end your should have one leg knee out with foot across in front of you and the other straight behind you. Watch the alignment of the straight leg foot. Inhale, then exhale, lean forward, now depending on the tightness, you can stop there or you can in full pose have your arms out flat in front of you on the ground. Once held for 5 breaths, lift yourself up, and place the hand on the side with the bent leg on the ground, and then take the heel of the straight leg in your other hand - you may need a strap for this one depending on your flexibility.

The rest of the stretches can be done on the ground.

3. Groin - First in staff - which is legs out in front of you sitting up on your sit bones, then pull your feet towards you, bring the bottoms together - the closer you can get the better - hands on the feet. Advanced variations - forward bend, with hands over or under legs, or if you so desire - with a bolster behind you lengthwise lean back letting your arms rest at your sides - this can be furthered without the bolster and your arms above your head, with your index and thumb around your right wrist forming an eight with your body.

5. Spinal - simplest is to sit cross legged - or lotus if so inclined - and place on hand across your body on the opposite knee the other hand on the ground to the side and back of you and inhale then exhale and turn your torso - not your head, watching your shoulders - don't lift them.

7. Upper body - options abound - but one good shoulder one, is back in cat pose - thread the needle as it is said - place one arm through the space behind the other. Your shoulder lowers to the ground, rest your head down. You'll feel a stretch across your back.

8. Standing side - Hand to heart (?) is a good option, or a modification of warrior - this one I've posted a picture for.

Check out Yogeek - not only is this where the picture is from she shows the Asana's and variations for those interested

Plow Me Over

I've been craving yoga, so much that I reclaimed my mat from my mother - but yet it remains in our closet - see the issue is I don't have enough space to do it in our place - in that it's either tile or the hardwood in our rooms - mine is too small and doing yoga in Leaha's space is an odd concept - tomorrow evening I may stop by the gym and make use of their room - or I'll just have to find a way to do some salutations tonight in the hallway. I was going to go to Starbucks and read, but I think I'm going to take these last moments - have a shower, and crawl into bed with Rushdie and some Calm tea.
Note, for those curious - the pose above is plow, the full pose is seen to the right. This is one of my favorite poses it's also one of those you shouldn't be doing if you haven't done yoga before given the risk of injury.

Protest

Leaha just informed me that my non-blogging status does not accurately infer anything other than I'm busy. While I am, being busy has never and will never stand between me and my blogs, it does however do a good job in altering the quality and content. I haven't been blogging because I want you to comment, damn it! I know that's a huge threat, but you know these posts have involved big topics and I want your feedback- am I high maintenance? should I teach yoga? And even if you're daring you can even argue in defense of a certain someone and a gender in general for all their general nondescript reasons for bailing on something when we can see through the attempt at opacity. So why am I continuing to type if I'm protesting? Good question, it has to do with the incessant office music that is leading me to self destruction, QMFM is cruel and unusual punishment - cheesy, sappy soft rock/pathetic pop is enough to make a bitter borderline romantic go crazy - like rip out my ears crazy - ew, Paula Abdul is on...

If you're actually worried I am going to stop blogging, don't worry I've got the determination of 3 year old - limited at best. But please, comment... please. I'm not above bribery you know - name your price - a dozen ginger cookies that Leaha claims are better than Starbucks for 3 good comments is fair, want something better? Pecan pie? Joel - are you wanting pecan pie? Cheryl - cupcakes - yummy tiramisu cupcakes?

Channeling again... but please read below

So I would love you to read the blog below first and comment - I have switched my comment features to allow for anonymous comments for you lurkers without blogger accounts, but I figured I should let you all know where the late night thinking has been channeled into... yes all those sleepless hours of the last month or so. So this past year has been the shits for various reasons and yet I know that there is something in the works, because I do have to accept all* of the parts of God regardless of how I feel about it. I wouldn't say that it has developed character - maybe a good bitter streak and the kind of person who can in the most unfortunate way rip a strip off someone. Qualities I don't think I should be honing. Regardless, things I've been looking at - I can ditch this whole sordid mess of a degree - get my post baccalaureate degree for Gerontology and say the hell with the rest of it. Not the best idea but an option - since having a Kinesiology minor is more or less a stepping stone to more schooling and the same for Microbiology, not good on their own. So I could stop SFU in December and go into working for Dr. Stuart until September - during which time I can get myself out of the debt I am in with the bank and then in September who knows. September - one year from now - a lot can change in a year in the world around me, so this is a very LOOSE plan. Okay so the issue is - Ashtanga yoga is the practice form I would love to teach - it's not offered in Vancouver - Kundalini and Hatha are offered. Ashtanga is offered in Victoria or Calgary - so basically I have to go to Calgary - the land of beef and babies, ew. I don't know - the school in Victoria comes with good certification and is only $2ooo plus living expenses for the intensive course.

So why am I considering this seriously where before I would have laughed it off, it came to me while baking ginger snap cookies this morning (see above) - Cheryl's been on my case to go to the Vegetarian/Vegan cooking school on the E.Coast - now it's the same cost as medical school - $80,000+ and while I would love to spend my life cooking for others - because cooking leads me to writing and yoga leads me back to a place of peace and creativity - it would be a perfect circle - I'm just not sure I could do it as a living - like a business - but like a B&B or something - maybe. A part of me feels it's a selfish life, I know it would be subsistence and simple and holistic all things I need and want but I'm not sure I deserve - you know? The issue is I haven't figured out if I'm running from or to something... and well seriously adding these components on to my life is going to further solidify an independent way of life - tattooed vegan yoga instructors are not welcome in the Christian community that I've found...



*I feel like this has to be posted in light of the previous statement.

Coffee and Sugar make the World All Better...

Or so I'm going to believe for now. The clinic is in the middle of a move right now and with my own dodge the box game going on at home (not successfully either I tripped over one in my haze at 5:50 this morning) - things feel horribly out of sorts right now. I'm going to be working most of the weekend - which is money in the end so I guess I'm fine with that. As a whole though I've been really exhausted this week and as such my culinary prowess has taken a hit too - thank goodness for Yves it can pick up the slack on the protein side of things. I just want to take the kind of break that does something for you - not the kind of break I get when they can't schedule me in to work anywhere. There's this yoga retreat I've been eyeing in Costa Rica - but I want someone to come with me... anyone interested in an eco-sensitive, vegetarian, yoga vacation? I know it's not Vegas... Maybe it's just the overall feeling of stress - it's moving stress, and work stress and general money stress - payments etc - thankfully SFU doesn't care if you pay your tuition on time or not, and I've paid off all but my loan and a small portion of my VISA but still right - a part of me would love to have an 8-4 M-F Specialist job that pays me for my experience, guarantees no crazy walk ins, 2 hour waits and all the other routine issues that come with the Clinic.

Shannon's leaving us today - no more laser clinic here - and in the process of finding a quote for her card I found this great quote from Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, who's a Death and Dying researcher - I have her famous book on the topic.

"Learn to get in touch with silence within yourself, and know that everything in this life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from."