The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Woke up early, wondered why the TV wasn't responding to the remote and why my iPod wasn't updating. I finally connected the dots -- no electricity. The only noise in the house came from my iPod alarm, a chime signaling that my daily yoga quote had arrived and the unconscious flipping of switches that produced nothing.

I feel like I'm always learning lessons and the lack of electricity was definitely a lesson in preparing ahead of time. Luckily, I usually get clothes that don't require a lot of maintenance. But what to eat? I went to an independent coffee shop and got a breakfast sammie and coffee then headed to work. Still missed my oatmeal with banana and mango...

Hit the climbing gym yesterday and when I spotted Cindy, I felt the corners of my mouth lift and the smile spread. I was happy to see her. Didn't know that she was coming and she probably didn't think that I was coming either since I had emailed our group that I didn't know if I would swing my kettlebell or swing from ropes...

I was belaying when Cindy got ready to leave and, being the good belayer that I am, I slightly turned to kiss her and instead of cheeks, we ended up lip to lip and now I have that I Kissed A Girl...Katy Perry song in my head. Tim* -- no disrespect intended.

Went to yoga and Jen had the line of the night during corpse pose: Allow yourself the mental and physical gift of letting go. She also said pertinent things about corpse pose vs. savasana and the act of renewal that comes every time you step on the mat.

As I drove home I realized, again, how much I adore earth salutations. I really need to take time to do them at home. The electricity finally came on around 9 p.m. and, coolest of all, my fish pulled through...


*Cindy's fiancee

When The Student Is Ready

Having worked my abs yesterday, it made perfect sense that we did ab-related postures during yoga class; that's just the way my life works.

It took me a while to settle down too but I totally enjoyed the lion pose. We did the Mountain pose modification with tongues hanging out like Michael Jordan when we roared.



During corpse pose, the instructor talked about feeling the benefits of yoga and how we were in the perfect position for relaxation. Yeah, I ruminated on that comment and plan to get in the perfect position often.

After yoga, I went with my friend Lori to get baked falafel. As we enjoyed our dinner, we got chatted up by a yoga teacher (Michael) who was reading the Anatomy of Hatha Yoga. I may or may not go to one of his Hatha classes and he may or may not go rock climbing with me.

I swung by Whole Paycheck after dinner looking for spelt flour and I honestly didn't know there were so many flours: coconut, amaranth, soy and arrowroot...

I also needed tahini but left the $8.00 + jar of organic tahini on the shelf. I know an international store where I can get it for much less.



Line of the night by way of Michael from his yoga teacher:

Americans like to work out -- not work in.

CSI: Yoga and The Space Between Your Eyebrows

Had a substitute teacher for yoga. She (Kate) left the lights up on the left side of the room and someone asked if they could be turned off.

It's hard to be me, Kate said then asked the closest student to come up to where she stood.

I'm trying to talk. I'm trying to observe...

We found a solution. The blinds were opened and enough light entered the room so that lights could be turned off much to the relief of Opal who was next to me. Kate also played music for us even though she thinks that people should be able to relax without outside stimulation.

Regarding solutions, Kate asked if anyone was bothered by anything because she was pretty good with fixing stuff including menstrual cramps etc.

I quickly realized what Kate meant about the difficulties she faced once I saw how much she interacted. The class felt like laughing yoga too because Kate had me cracking up a lot especially when we hugged our knees to our chest; she said this position was the wind one but it was all in the way she said it...

Kate had us start in corpse pose with our heads toward the center of the room. For the next fifteen minutes, it was litany time. At first, I thought hush but then I got on board and a smile spread across my face time after time:

Relax your mind.

Relax your crown.

Relax your forehead.

Relax your eyebrows.

Relax the space between your eyebrows.

Relax your nose.

Relax your lips.

Relax your chin.

Relax your heart center.

Relax your navel center.

Relax your arms.

Relax your hands.

Relax your wrists.

Relax your fingertips.

Relax your spine.

Relax your buttocks.

Relax your legs.

Relax your ankles.

Relax the top of your feet.

Relax the bottom of your feet.

In between spurts of instructions to relax, Kate tells us about carbon dioxide, oxygen being carried to cells, breathing diaphragmatically plus in three parts of our chest and, later, how muscle grips bone. This chatter, of course, is what made me think of Crime Scene Investigation. She also tells us to breathe in one continuous flow from the tips of our toes to the crown of our heads. Somewhere along the way, I leave the jerky breathing behind and I leave the tension behind as we make a fist and raise our arm one to two inches off the floor then flop it down. Repeat with other hand and legs...

After we do the root lock and a crocodile pose, I take off my glasses and even my earrings get in the way.

We come back to this part of the program:

Relax your mind.

Relax your crown.

Relax your forehead.

Relax your eyebrows.

Relax the space between your eyebrows.

Relax your nose.

Relax your lips.

Relax your chin.

Relax your heart center.

Relax your navel center.

Relax your arms.

Relax your hands.

Relax your wrists.

Relax your fingertips.

Relax your spine.

Relax your buttocks.

Relax your legs.

Relax your ankles.

Relax the top of your feet.

Relax the bottom of your feet.

Kate is telling us to feel the love and compassion for ourselves and to feel the love and compassion for others and she reminds us that we have the power to tap into this relaxed state at any time.

It was so odd during Kate's relaxation litany, I kept thinking of her as a guide and it made me think of a line in the 23rd Psalms -- thou art with me.