Fantastic Friday!

I love having every other Friday off!

I love my Friday morning yoga class. That goes for caffeine afterwards. We talk, we support, we laugh, we cry, we eat and we drink. Sometimes we shop, too.

Today I got home at quarter to four. What great conversation! Great food!

Today I rocked bakasana. ROCKED it like never before. As in, I held it for more than a breath, more than once! Who knew that all this practicing would actually pay off?!

And then I came home and had a lovely nap in front of the fire on the couch with Nermal. Life is sweet and full. It's all good. =D

What my yoga practice has taught me this week...

1. Practice really does make perfect! Not that I didn't know this already, but sometimes you forget. I did lots of hip openers this week, culminating in padmasana (lotus) pose today. Ardha padmasana (half lotus) is where it's at currently, but padmasana is there, waiting patiently in the sidelines for me to practice, practice, practice. And one day, my right foot will slide up over my left shin and rest in my left hip crease. It's *this* close!
2. Yoga keeps me young. It keeps you young too. I've been spending a lot of time with my 83 year old grandmother lately (not necessarily by choice, more on that later) and I see how she struggles to move. There is no suppleness in her spine. No breath awareness. No body awareness. An inability to get down on hands and knees, let alone get up again. Good thing she has a 'help, I've fallen and can't get up' button. I shudder at the thought of not being able to come to my mat, sit with intention and then push back into child's pose before that sweet transition into down dog. Ahhh, the first dog of the day...yet another reason to keep the mat rolled out and in plain sight. I don't mind getting old (I like to think I'm getting smarter with each passing year), but I want to be old and able to move!
3. The ultimate aim of my practice is to know myself better, right? Right. And my ultimate purpose is to serve, right? Right. Seems the Universe has thrown me another way to serve and it's not necessarily what I was looking for. But just like in an asana, we set the physical boundary first and then expand out from our heart. So that's what I've done with my grandmother. I've set my boundary: I will attend necessary medical appointments with her. I am the only family member who has knowledge of (a) medical terminology and (b) the medical system. But that is all. I can do that. But I won't give her two of my days off and a morning before work in a two week period. I will NOT shop with her (remind me to tell you the lazy-boy shopping story one day--well, on second thought, that's what made me have to set that boundary in the first place. Suffice it to say it was not an enjoyable experience and I will inherit the UGLIEST lazy-boy glider rocker known to man.) She has 4 grown children, 8 other grandchildren and 2 great-grandkids that are old enough to drive. So it doesn't have to be me that does everything. I can do some, but not all. I will do some, but not all. So yeah, my service has expanded and I've been working to keep my heart light and tongue soft and remember my higher purpose. This is also my yoga practice.
4. Saying goodbye...today was Slush Cup. The end of ski season. =( And I was home, nursing this nasty cold virus. So I got on my mat and remembered all the great times I had in the mountains this winter. Smiled softly. And let it go. And now it is spring...the promise of something new. Sweet. Lilacs almost blooming, the scent of freshly mowed grass, and the warmth of the sun on my face as I sit on my patio and drink in the birth of a new season. Mojito, anyone?

Why?

I've made the list 100 times.

I know all the reasons why it's important for me to lose the 20 pounds I've re-gained.

But you know what my biggest motivator is right now?
 
Nope, it's got nothing to do with me being single.

Or healthier.

Or my ability to run faster.

Give up?

I'll tell you: I want to get my hips ass up over my head and kick up easily into handstand!

Whatever the reason that's motivating me, I don't care. It's keeping me focused. Focused on what fuels my body. Focused on my practice. Focused on my core: my physical, mental and spiritual core.

And now, my mat beckons. It's been laid out in my living room all month (thanks to Amy's 30-day challenge). I don't roll it up every day, because then it's easy to just not practice.

But like my autographed copy of my teacher, Darren's, book, Yoga Resource, it reminds me: Please practice! Please practice!



So I practice. I practice L-stand at the wall. I practice rooting from the base of my heart, down my arms and into my hands that are pressed firmly into the earth. I practice kicking up (betchya my downstairs neighbour loves that! Bet they want me to lose those 20 pounds, too =D ). I practice floating. Practice is the operative word here.

And with practice, I strengthen my physical core. My mental core strengthens. And most importantly, I strengthen my spiritual core.

Please practice! Please practice!

What an inspirational quote!

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.A passage from Theodore Roosevelt’s “Citizenship in a Republic” April 23, 1910

I've been making a lot of lists lately.

• To-Do
• I will change the kitchen light bulb eventually, but the combination of 10 foot ceilings, living alone and a fear of heights is a bit of a challenge.
• Weightloss 
• diligently tracking what I put in my mouth
• drinking 3L of water/day
• limit eating out (I'm an amazing cook, I love doing it, but hate cleaning up the aftermath in the kitchen. Still, I can prepare amazing, good, real food cheaper and healthier than anything I can eat in a restaurant.)
• Exercise 
• walking for 30 minutes a day--not for fitness per se, but rather mental health. And walking to and from work doesn't count.
• Skiing!! Ski season isn't over yet!
• physio exercises 
• Yoga 
• I'm a member of an online 30-day challenge group. May's challenge: core. Today was plank and navasana (boat). Tomorrow I'm floating with Noah Maze on Yogaglo. I can't wait!
•  resume my personal practice. Why is it always the first thing to go?

 And that's where I am right now. Crossing things off my lists, and striving to do my best with enthusiasm. Life's too short to do otherwise!


_/|\_

"When you love your work that much-& many teachers do-the only way to get out of trouble is to go deeper in."- Parker Palmer, The Courage to Teach

I love my Monday night class. I teach yoga to in-patients of the Eating Disorders Program at my local hospital. We spent a lot of time talking about the meaning of yoga (both in a big picture and personal way) in my Immersions and Teacher Trainings. Boiled down, this is what resonates with me:

-It's all about service. My job on this great Mother Earth is to serve.

-It's about getting to know yourself better. This is why I come to mat, day after day. Because each day, I learn something new. Sometimes it's profound. Sometimes it's not. And that's ok, as long as I keep learning.

 So, back to Monday nights. It's not about the asana. It's about tapping into that part of yourself that you've always been a little bit afraid of. You're not sure why, but it makes you uncomfortable. And then we just sit and breathe and follow our breath in, then out, connecting with the metronome that's in each one of us. The breath that guides us through our practice--it tells us when we're trying too hard (not breathing) and it tells us when we've got it (we move gracefully on each inhale and exhale and feel the pulsation deep within). The breath that is the greatest meditation teacher.

 Yeah, we move a little bit, but mostly it's about reconnecting with our breath, our bodies and our spirit. About feeling better about ourselves and our place in this world.

 And I do it because I get so much more from their practice than they'll ever know. My heart bursts when I see them relax and let their guards down. When they move their bodies in a way that helps them connect to themselves. And when their bodies, mind and spirit all align, and they know themselves better.

 If I can give them just one or two tools to put in their tool-box for when they leave the hospital, then I've done my job. So that when life gets in their way, they have yoga to turn to to help them through, rather than reverting to old, destructive behaviours.  My job is to serve. And I will gladly continue for as long as they'll let me (although I did win major brownie points tonight for holding the practice outside in the sunshine!)

 Namaste _/|\_

2012-004-21 Part Deux

Sorry, there is no photographic evidence of the amazing spring skiing.

I hooked up with my buddy, Dan, as soon as I got off the gondola. We did an easy blue run off Angel and then went down to Divide (the sun was shining and that's just what you do)! There was no new snow, so the groomers had been out in full force. The World Cup downhill was great (and fast!) and Gold Ecstasy was not hard and scrape-y for once.

Went back to the village--Dan brought his fat powder skis for me to try out. They're longer and heavier than anything I've ever skied on, but we did a few runs on them just so I could get a feel for them.

Back on my own skis, we mosied over to Wawa for some fun. Birdcage bump practice and then it was time for lunch.

After a yummy bowl of beef pho, we headed back to Wawa to try some harder stuff. Paris basin and Waterfall were a piece of cake (and the snow had softened up during lunch so conditions were PERFECT) so we went to Goat's Eye.

We did the top of Cleavage and then the chutes of Ewe First and Mother In Law.  This was my do one thing a day that scares you--I had to go in for a rest and a chocolate milk after this one! We went back up and did Upper Afterburner, cut across to Freefall (holy shit, moguls as tall as me and they didn't look that big from the chair lift!) then across to Gladerunner (which was the icy mogul'd run Jim and I wound up on last week, but was groomed and lovely yesterday!). It was definitely one of the best runs of the day ('cept the bumps, I did OK on 'em, but they're not my favourite). My legs were screaming at me, so our next run was the easiest of all Goat's Eye runs, Sunshine Coast. It's also my favourite =)

We swooshed down without stopping, then headed up to the village in the Gondola. Back up Angel, down Boundry Bowl (I kicked it's ass!) and over to Divide again. Bye Bye Bowl wasn't nearly as nice as it was last Sunday, but my legs decreed that they'd had enough by the time we got back down to the village. Grabbed our stuff and down to the base in the Gondola. Dan took my poles to whack off an inch or so. Had an apres ski drink in the lounge and hopped on the bus home.

The best part of the day? There was hardly anybody else there! Not a lift line in sight and had many runs to ourselves. You can't beat sunshine, great snow (the base is still ~250 cm), no people, live music and great company! Can't wait till next weekend!

I've skied 24 days at Sunshine, 2 in Whitefish and 1 at Lake Louise. With my season's pass, each of my days at Sunshine has cost $33 instead of $83. If I ski three days next weekend, I bring that down to $29.62/day. I'm getting next year's pass before the end of May, so if I ski the same number of days next year (27) it'll cost me $25/day. Can't beat that!

Now, I'm going to go for a walk and loosen up the muscles in my legs and then I've got to get to work. For once, I've got an early shift on a Sunday!

2012-04-21

And still skiing! No new snow overnight, but it should be an excellent day of spring skiing!