But What’s New?

Swam on Tuesday and couldn't sleep because of congestion and chalked it up to swimming. Went to Iyengar yoga on Wednesday and was just fine but, during the night, my mucus production ramped up. I have a cold -- a low-key one but still...

It has been so sweet having this time off. Got some stuff done (washing clothes, draining the lawn mower etc.) but still have lots of stuff to do but what's new?

On Thanksgiving Day, looked through the sales papers and it's so tempting to buy stuff that you don't need. My sound trainer mentioned that her family went a year without buying anything. They did make a one-item exception for birthdays though.

I did buy items related to the sound therapy training since they also had a Black Friday special and I'm also thinking about buying a sports bra from Enell since they are 30% off. Knew that Gingerzingi had mentioned Enell in her blog before so took a peek to get her opinion...

Took my mother to get eyeglasses today and they had a 20% discount. Wish I had known but, alas, my prescription has expired...

One of coworkers has been inviting me over to her place and since I had extra time, I went on Friday. Holy crap, she had all the Thanksgiving leftovers.

The Goal

Crystal Singing Handle Bowl Sweetness

Made it through the sound therapy training and it's interesting that "finishing" is a concern of mine lately.

On Friday, I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that I had pretty much made it through the training and that Saturday was for, the most part, a formality.

There are some things that I wish I had researched even further but, overall, I'm pleased with the training. Witnessed many classmates fall soundly asleep as we practiced different techniques. The goal was to relax the body and that's what happened the majority of the time. I'm excited to try the therapy on someone other than my classmates...

One woman said that returning to St. Louis was a double-edged sword because she knew that memories of her deceased parent would come flooding back but she said that it was also the first time that she had been able to laugh and relax.

I also felt a shift -- relaxation and empowerment. I've been worried about my mom and I still am but I don't feel gripped by fear.

We got loosey-goosey on day five and the trainer was like Don't make me get up on a chair but, as you can see by the expression on her face, she was joking. She said that we were a good group and, in other trainings, she's had to to get up on a chair from day one to redirect people's attention etc.

The trainer, Beth, usually has a co-teacher but she wasn't available so Beth brought her daughter along. I got a kick out of seeing her daughter grab a pillow and lie down on the floor before almost anyone else. Beth joked, "Now all I have to do is grab a singing bowl and she falls asleep."

I had classmates from Florida, Kansas, Texas and Wisconsin. I'm going to miss being in the sound cocoon with them.

One of my coworkers saw my posts about the sound training and she said that her sister told her that sound therapy is becoming very popular in Vietnam. When I asked her if she was interested, she said, "No, I don't have any stress. In my country it's very stressful; here, it's not." And I had almost forgotten that this coworker was held up at gunpoint in the middle of the day...

In the picture below, we're doing an experiment to see how the singing bowl vibrates.

Her Joy

Yes, I took precious PTO to take a sound therapy training and it has been worth it. For about two months now, I've been doing the work of two people. Over it...

On the first day of training, our sound trainer had me cracking up as she, matter-of-factly, asked us not to wear essential oils because, apparently, people who take sound therapy trainings, also like essential oils.

My fellow trainees include a hypnotist, massage therapists, a meditation teacher and yoga teachers. Our trainer is also a yoga teacher (500-hour).

On the first day, I just shook my head about how I get myself into such things but, as I told my fellow trainees, I'm trying to honor my interests.

Our days go something like this: debrief from the 50-minute sound session as giver and receiver; brief sound concert; discussion of new instrument; exploration of new technique; lunch, brief lecture and then hands-on training.

I'm not sure of the science behind it but the sound massage is just as relaxing as a hands-on massage...

For two days, I went to a lunch spot by CityGarden until someone invited me to lunch and I decided to expand my comfort zone and go with D. I will probably go with her again tomorrow because I'm getting such a kick out of her joy in eating meat. Her partner is a hardcore vegan so she doesn't usually eat meat around him. She is enjoying the hell out of her food and, as we eat, she decides, with great enthusiasm, on what she's going to have the next day...

I wish that the 'Fugee, who has absconded to Europe, was around so that I could practice sound therapy on her.

This Experiment of Mine

Near CityGarden, downtown STL

Jumped right from yoga teacher training into a sound therapy training. I've had my eye on the sound therapy training for months but when the day arrived, I felt like I had lost my mind.

As I prepared to exit the house, this story came on about the Navy's first female executive officer. The lines that grabbed my attention.

There are a lot of times in life when you are a little nervous or afraid to do something because you think you're going to fail. But so what???

One of my friends said that her friend wanted something to read in the mindful or self-help category. My eyes fell on, Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi which I read but am now curious to re-read now that I'm six months into yoga teacher training.

The author, Brian Leaf, uses a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson to start Chapter 2:

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. 

Took a bubble bath tonight as I'm feeling unsettled -- even with all of the sound therapy. Afterward, I made tea and continued reading Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World. This book was not assigned for yoga teacher training but Stacy, our trainer, thinks it's an important read so for those of us who want to we're able to swap an assignment. I chose the swap. 

Neither Are You...

Started writing this post on Halloween when I got super tickled by a classmate who showed up in a dinosaur costume and wore it during the whole class.

This weekend yoga teacher training happened. It was super interesting, demanding and disorienting, as usual, because I'm off my regular schedule — little exercise and no meal planning etc.

I managed to turn in all of my assignments that were due. I also started a required Iyengar yoga series this past week and I've made it to the Sunday Evening Meditation class for the past three weeks. I am really liking the meditation class.

On tap for this weekend's training session was Trauma-Informed Yoga and Social Justice -- two heavy topics.

Four black yoga teachers, who recently formed a group, came to lead us in a yoga practice and also talked to us about social justice. In their presentation, they used a quote from James Baldwin's essay,  Stranger in the Village, where he talked about no one in Switzerland having seen a Negro and the group likened it to the scarcity of Black people in some yoga studios.

Our other two speakers talked about being allies to marginalized communities. Loved this quote that they used in their presentation.

I am, in many ways, off my "game" -- lots of irons in the fire right now.