The Year That Was

In February went to Montego Bay with my mother and aunt. The most memorable moment was picking up a passenger on several walks who showed me the real Jamaica.

In between February and May, my mother didn't feel well and I wondered if I should sign up for yoga teacher training -- (YTT) originally slated to start in March but ended up starting in June. I take the plunge -- never imagining that I will make it past month three.

My aunt Debbie wishes that we would have waited until her spring break to go to Jamaica and I promise that I will go on a trip with her so when she asks me if I would like to go to Las Vegas in July, I agree. My cousin, Chiquita, also joins us. I enjoy the trip and am in awe of the Valley of Fire.

Somewhere along the way, I get fascinated by singing bowls. I'm sure the fascination has a lot to do with the sound meditations that I went to. Unbelievably, I sign up for a sound therapy training.

It's kind of funny. One of my sound sisters, mentioned collecting yet another certificate in a long line of certificates and I realize that I have a few certificates:

1). Healing Touch, Level 1

2). Sound Therapy Training

Right now, I am in love with sound therapy.

For lunch today, went to Hello Juice and Smoothie with a fellow yogi and got the Match Hemp bowl with peppermint, banana and cacao. Next up, was a  4:30 p.m. yoga class. Knew that it was going to be more intense than I like but I wanted to meet a YTT goal.

Chiquita had me cracking up because she thought that there wouldn't be very many people at the New Year's Eve yoga class. I assured her that yogis like to reflect and set intentions. The class was, of course, packed -- to the point that the teacher had to adjust the heat which still didn't work because there was so much energy in the room; we totally fogged up the windows. As expected, the class was intense but fun. We also had a DJ. It was a perfect way to pay homage to New Year's Eve.

Rainy Day Session

Abandoned Bird Cage on a Bench at Work*

Last Thursday one of my coworkers asked me to deliver a Secret Santa gift. You like to walk, she said. It's kind of funny that I have a reputation, with one of the youngins, for walking.

The annual holiday work party was on Friday and it was ridiculous how I was looking forward to stepping away from my desk just a few hours earlier than usual. Won a Starbucks gift card and it's so weird; I've won gift cards the last two years and sensed that I would win something again this year...

Went to a 5:00 p.m. yoga class on Friday and everyone wanted to do something gentle. Stopped at home to eat then went to give a sound massage. It was a very cool p.m., rainy day session and the first of four sound massages that I had scheduled this past weekend. I've seen the sessions referred to as sonic massages and I like that description.

For the last three sessions, no one knew what to expect and they were all surprised that the bowls would be placed on their bodies. I was thrilled that, at some point, all three newbies fell asleep. Made some rookie mistakes but, thankfully, they weren't intrusive ones.

Enjoyed the meaningful conversations after the sessions too and it was super cool to see the relaxed look on people's faces afterwards while chatting with them. Also feel like I learned something from every session and that sound therapy is making me even more mindful. Something that I'll be adding is a little centering exercise at the beginning of each session. Forgot to do that yesterday but it's definitely something that I want to incorporate.

My main soundtrack for the weekend was The Best of Tuck and Patti as I drove around to sessions and while doing errands. Managed to get a few chores done. Also went to Zumba on Saturday and for a short walk on Sunday. It was an exhilarating and humbling weekend. 

*The bird cage made me think of Paul Laurence Dunbar's Sympathy poem.

Receptive

There was a very intense incident that occurred at yoga teacher training which I'm not at liberty to discuss. It left many of us shaken and confused but was a powerful lesson in people not being perfect and that sometimes people just have "a moment."

Went to the bathroom and noticed that someone had put a postcard in there and I had an idea of who it was and she said that her way of dealing with anxiety etc., is by trying to put some positivity into the world.

During training weekends, we have a lot of props so I had a yoga bench of sorts built up and when I looked underneath my bolster, there was the sweetest card... The positivity ambassador had struck again...

Did my third Pro Bono sound session. The client was very receptive to sound therapy and told me that she found the session relaxing and was going to bed right away after I left. The next day I asked her how she'd slept and she said that she slept so soundly that she overslept...

Love seeing my bowls underneath my table.

To Be More Mindful

Did my first post-training sound massage with a friend who has been to a sound meditation, gets regular Ashiatsu massage and has cats. In addition to my friend, I was definitely interested to see how the cats would respond.

Made a checklist of everything to take but forgot to use everything. Also made a blooper right at the start when I grabbed a bowl and extinguished the sing. We had a laugh and I continued. If nothing else, it was a reminder to be more mindful.

When I struck the first big bowl, my friend's cats' eyes bulged out. Two of them stayed around and one got up on the table during the final minutes of the massage. They were very curious about the bowls but I guess curiosity is a cat thing. They were all super excited about the table too and stretched out on it. One used the table as a launching pad to get to the Christmas tree area. Most importantly, my friend said that she felt relaxed, enjoyed the sound massage and her cats took major naps afterwards.

Cat Approved

Spot the cat...