People Of A Certain Type

Noticed a Qigong workshop being offered at a studio; it sounded interesting but I wondered if I really needed to go to every workshop that sparks my interest -- especially in the middle of a Saturday from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and on Easter Eve no less. 

I also get shy about going to unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people -- by myself. Deep down, though, I know that people who are seeking these type of workshops are people of a certain type. 

What sealed the deal is when the owner of the studio in question followed me, out of the blue, on my yoga Instagram account. For me, that was a sign that I should go.

When I looked at my visit history, I was surprised that the one and only time that I'd been to the studio was in Dec. of 2014 for a Winter Solstice celebration; it reminded me of something that Sharon Salzberg said in her recent talk with George Mumford about when she signs up for something on a website and scrolls down to her birth year -- she is gobsmacked that she needs to keep scrolling to get to the year like How did this age happen?

At any rate, the workshop was called Eliminating Worry with Spleen Qigong. About midway through participant introductions the facilitator, Valerie, said I haven't heard anybody mention worry. 

Worry is like a given, though, right?

Our first item on the agenda was a standing meditation and, I kid you not, Valerie starting talking about how if you were in China and went to the doctor, they'd prescribe bitter herbs and Qigong then she went on to say that we eat too much sugar and I felt like she was talking directly to me because I am out of control right now. 

You'll hear a lot of healers talk about stuck energy. My lower back has been talking to me for about three weeks now and after today's workshop, it felt better. Stuck energy?

Favorite line from the workshop:

"They're all energy systems and they (Yoga, Qigong, Reiki, Tai Chi) work."

The Third One

In recent dreams, I hear loud noises -- possibly gunshots and just maybe I'm not dreaming but I've also heard loud collisions in my dreams. According to Google, there's something called Exploding Head Syndrome. Okay...

Went climbing tonight and felt good about my outing and felt good about the last one. I've been mentally preparing myself for climbing and it has made a difference.

Took a salt bath and read more of Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight...

Earlier in the week, signed up for an event/conversation between Sharon Salzberg and George Mumford. At the time of the webinar, realized that I had to download an app so I aborted the mission but later on I got an email saying that the conversation would be available for viewing (today only) so I listened to it. Three things that stuck with me:

1). Nothing in life is a straight shot. Sharon Salzberg

2), A mistake is an event -- something that we can learn from; it's not an identification or badge. George Mumford

3). Everybody's life is so changeable. Sharon S.

The third one really sticks with me.

It's Okay

Chiquita, my cousin, inquired about my day and, at some point, I gave her a rundown of my exercise schedule.

"But when do you do yoga?," she asked.

Good question as I've been barely doing yoga and it's showing up in my body.

Soooo, what have I been doing?

Friday before last, went to see I, Tonya. Had not planned to go and see that movie but the 'Fugee and I were running out of movies to see at the $5 dollar movie theater. I, Tonya is a very good movie and I have to say that I really didn't pay much attention to the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan story but the movie was a lesson in looking beyond the surface.

This past Friday, I went to an international-themed trivia night even though I'm not a trivia aficionado and the first trivia night that I went to left me feeling like I'd been "left behind."

At any rate, I went to the trivia event because I work with contractors who I don't get to see often and one of them suggested that trivia night could be a way for us to get together.

I was nervous about looking "left behind" but I felt the fear and did it anyway. We had one "star" at our table but he had me cracking up when he said that geography was his round and that signaled the end of his participation but, of course, he couldn't stay on the sidelines.

When I saw the international cats round, all I could think was That's evil until the woman next to me was like "I love cats" and proceeded to name seven of of the ten cats in an impressive amount of time.

Overall, it felt like the people who hadn't been born in the states were the smartest but that's not true. The superstar of our table is American born. All of that to say that it seems like other countries have a more serious education system.

Surprisingly, I ended up knowing several answers that involved Japan. I knew one of the answers because I'd been invited to Gloria's house for a Japanese-themed dinner.

On a food note, the most popular items that someone brought were bread and cheese, LOL.

The round that had me cracking up the most was the eighth and final one.

Didn't go swimming tonight since the school that I swim at is on spring break. Went to Zumba again and was reminded of why I seldom try to make the 5:30 p.m. class. Combine rush hour with construction and it made for a hair-raising experience. By the end of class, I had forgotten the traffic nightmare until one of my fellow Zumba folks said she'd had the same issue and that she hates being late to class. Me too I said then told her that I kept telling myself You're going to be late; it's okay.

Today Is A Day

Reflecting on my latest accomplishments -- inspired by Thoughts of Dog.

4. Read for 15 minutes this morning.

b. Wore my essential oil bracelet and put lemon oil in to uplift my mood.

1. Remained open, flexible and shifted plans when Patti sent an email titled "user error."

9. Went for a walk.

2. Yoga'd.

2. Sent a thank you note.

d. Committed a random act of kindness.

7. Ate a piece of fruit after dinner.

gooooob morning. today is a day. to reflect upon. your latest accomplishments. here are mine:

4. big jump
b. zooms of the speedy variety
1. carried stick
9. borked away. evildoers
2. big leap (different than a jump}
2. ate a funny bug
d. spit out funny bug
7. loved everything

— Thoughts of Dog (@dog_feelings) March 11, 2018

Cover Up

Tried to see if there was something different that the 'Fugee and I could do on Fridays and saw that Wyclef Jean was slated to play with the St. Louis Symphony but the 'Fugee nixed that idea. I was also curious to see how Jean's mishandling of his charity had worked out. Of course, Jean wasn't the only one who mishandled funds. I'm still miffed at the Red Cross.

As I looked at events, the Missouri Botanical Garden's Orchid Show popped up. I had seen social media posts about the show then it slipped off my radar. The garden also wouldn't work for Friday because it closes at 5:00 p.m. so the 'Fugee and I ended up going to see The Post. It's amazing the freedoms that you take for granted; the movie made me remember how hard it was for women to get many rights.

Fast forward to Saturday. I saw a red circle on Instagram and read the direct message from one of the yoga teachers that I know who had left me a voicemail but I'm really bad about turning on my phone. She wanted to know if I was interested in going to the Orchid Show since she has a family and friends membership. Hadn't put the show in my time budget but it felt meant to be.

The three of us who ended up going all enjoy taking pictures so it made the outing even cooler. One of the women took the picture below of me. Sometimes I think about dyeing my hair to hide the gray but I think that one of the reasons that it looks odd is because so many people do choose to cover it up but I don't think that I even have time to indulge in this type of activity.

She Likes Flowers

The other event that I wanted to see this past weekend was Art in Bloom at the St. Louis Art Museum. I missed it last year. So, I cooked and ran errands and, at the last minute, thought that the 'Fugee might like to go. She likes flowers and she likes art, ta-dah! To my surprise, the 'Fugee agreed to go. We got to the art museum about 90 minutes before the show ended. We enjoyed ourselves.

When I told my aunt about my earlier Sunday activities, she said that she'd heard two women at Soulard Market talking about Art in Bloom; when they'd tried to go, it was too crowded. There was still a nice amount of people when we went but it wasn't bad and we were able to find decent parking.

Here are some of my favorites:

Red Ribbon Winner

Sheryl Timmermann's Representation of Standing Ardhanarisvara

Timmermann was around her floral art and talked about how she made the lotus flower out of anthurium flowers. She said a lot more but I don't remember much. She also had mala beads in her design too.

I'll have to read more about the story of the Ardhanarisvara and go to the art museum more often too.

The 'Fugee took this picture of me while I was checking out one of the floral installations. I like the installation as well as the picture.

As you can see, I don't fuss over my clothes. My top should be all the way down but whatever...

Colors

Paper towel after wiping my face after festival.

Had my eye on a couple of events this weekend and really  preferred one over the Holi Festival but Alison really wanted to go to Holi and she is busy on Sunday so I had a pep talk with myself about flexibility and went with Alison...

I squealed a little when a woman approached me and said Happy Holi while simultaneously smearing my cheek with color. She didn't scare me but I think that I have this thing about being "dirty."

Think there was also the sensation of having someone in my personal space and touching at the same time. Reminded me of one of Octavia Butler's books where the people greet each other by touching them on the throat, a sign of trust.

The kids were so cute. They also greeted us with Happy Holi and put colors on us.

The food at the festival was delicious and I totally want to make Mung Bean and Rice Pilaf and I'm still trying to find out the origins of the crispy rice that was kind of like dry cereal.

All in all, I think that Holi Festival is a wonderful way to celebrate the triumph of good over evil plus the coming of spring.

Someone dipping into a bag of color powder.

Went to the store after Holi Festival and ran into Joy. She says that since she opened the new studio, she is very content and has no desire to go to Jamaica right now. Yup, that's what "they" say -- you should build a life that you don't need a vacation from. Until then, I'm plotting my next vacation.

Unpacking

I'm back.

You never miss the beauty of Jamaica until you get back. Everything looks dull here. I miss how brightly the sun shines, the Caribbean Sea and the wide variety of fruit.

Kept thinking that I should have taken the rest of the week off but I'm also trying to watch my PTO days so I returned to work. As my aunt Debbie said You can do it (Thursday and Friday)...

On another note, I'm embarrassed to say that I did not know that there is a state of emergency in Jamaica. Found this out from one of the shop owners who bemoaned the fact that the lawbreakers were making it difficult for law-abiding citizens.

I do remember being on the yoga retreat and we kind of chuckled at being driven to a destination about five minutes away and our driver told us that it wasn't good to be walking on dark roads at night and that Negril is a different town in the p.m...

I unpacked my suitcase yesterday, an unprecedented occurrence. Normally, it takes me forever. Maybe it was because I packed so efficiently. There were only a few items that I didn't use. Think that I need to go on way more trips in order to hone my packing skills, yup.

I have also been unpacking my body. Went to yoga yesterday and got such a treat. One yogi also plays singing bowls and she gave me a brief primer and let me play her bowls. It was unbelievable how relaxing it was listening to the bowls for just a few minutes.

Went to yoga again today as I try to stay in the right frame of mind.