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This entire site started ⓒ August 5, 2010 to present day, and all photographs and text herein, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted by the visual artist and photographer, Muriel Zimmer. No part of this site, or any of the content contained herein, may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without express permission of the copyright holder(s).

Monday, January 31, 2011

Day 180 January 31, 2011

You know it's cold when your dog signals to you to start heading for home when you've just hit the halfway point of your normal dog walk route.

You know it's cold when your hands start to feel like they are on fire because you were silly enough to take off your Arctic quality mittens three times to take photographs of the chisel effect of wind on snow.

You know it's cold when you feel claustrophobic inside your own skin and you only venture as far as the porch all day in an attempt to avoid the wintry blasts, a sure sign that cabin fever approaches.

You know it's cold when you look at the calendar and see that there are two more solid months of winter left in Nova Scotia.

You know it's cold when you dream of diving into turquoise waters somewhere very tropical.

You know it's ... always going to be something, isn't it?

Cuba

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Day 179 January 30, 2011

Are you compassionate towards yourself?  If you have a bout of depression or self doubt, can you accept that?  Is it a natural result of the way you react to certain pressures in your life?  What about illness, can you look kindly upon yourself when you are ill?  Or do you expect yourself to be in top health, on the top of your game and in great cheer constantly?

I can tell when someone else is putting on a front, when they act one way but really feel another way.  Yes, we can all put on a good front sometimes, just to get through a part of our life that is really challenging.  But it's really best when we face how we really feel and act accordingly.

Compassion is not just something you feel for others.  Act with compassion towards yourself.  If you're having a difficult day, give yourself a break.  Be understanding.  Lighten up and try to find something that makes you feel grateful.  This will help you transition to a more contented mood.

Namaste.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Day 178 January 29, 2011



Part of the learning process of yoga asana is learning to become humble.  You do your best every day.  That is sufficient.  Perfection is not necessary.

Sounds like good advice for the rest of what makes up life too, doesn't it?

Hold on though, sometimes it's a bumpy ride.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Day 176 January 27, 2011


colourful blueberries



Today is filled with sleet and wet snow.  There is no visible horizon line; you cannot distinguish the sky from the ground.  The ground and air are an opaque gray white, like fine rice paper.  As I shoveled the wet snow on my front steps this morning I saw a bluish cast to the deep pile of snow that accumulated on the shovel.  The shrubs and trees have their own unique variations on the colour dark green.  The weeping willow’s branches are burnt umber yellow against the reddish birch twigs nearby. 

There are very few cars on the road that borders the front of this property.  For this I am grateful.  I like the feeling of quiet that brings.  Of course, I love my car and what it enables me to do, to travel easily in this countryside setting.  Just every once in a while though, it’s refreshing to not see the cars, not get in the car, not go anywhere, just be contented with where you already are.

Contented.  That sounds good, doesn’t it?  Let’s aim for that today.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Day 175 January 26, 2011

colourful fig

The snow sparkled like diamonds this afternoon.  It made my walk cheerful.

Last night I helped myself fall asleep by designing art work.  Once I let my creative brain have a free reign in this way, it helps me relax and then I drift off peacefully.  Who would have thought that art would make anyone fall asleep peacefully?   The relaxation response.

My sketchbook proved to be an interesting read today too.  I found fault with some of my sketches.  I am my own worst critic.  In this one area of my life my self criticism is a positive influence.  I can destroy the really poor efforts and celebrate what appears to be successful.  Oh yes, bravery is required.  To show your artwork that is.  Thick skin helps too, so that you can continue to work even after you hear your own, or others' criticisms.

Yeah for bravery and thick skin.  Yeah for art :)

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Day 174 January 25, 2011



Ready.  Are we ever ready?  There are the common sayings, "I'm ready for anything", or "I'm as ready as I'll ever be".  But are we really ready?

Perhaps we have those common sayings because we really are such creatures of habit it is a joke to think that we are capable of change.  Yet, scientists now realize that we are more capable of change than they thought, especially when it comes to our brains.  In the great book of essays, compiled in The Brain that Changes Itself, by Dr. Norman Doidge we learn that the brain is not hard wired. It is certainly capable of change.

The practice of yoga demands that you move in ways that are challenging and sometimes this new movement is so challenging a student will try just one class and never return; they are unwilling to change their known sense of themselves at that point, in this new way.  Perhaps this is a more common occurrence in the Iyengar method?  I'm not sure.  Even if you stick with it your sense of 'normal' is challenged in every class.  Once you begin seated poses where you bend forward and quietly limit your vision to your own body and perhaps the floor you sit upon, you are challenged once again, to look within yourself and what do you see?  Usually your own problems.

At this point another flock of students leaves the class never to return, for once confronted with their own problems which they currently cannot face, they prefer to walk away than attempt to face them.

You cannot force someone to be ready for things.  They must come to things in their own time.  And Iyengar yoga is not for everyone.  It's just that when it does work for you and you see what a profound change it has had in your own life, you tend to become a bit of a missionary.  You are excited to share your experience in the hopes that others will also gain the joy you have gained from its challenging methodologies.

But wait a minute.  We all have our own path.  Perhaps just sharing that, the knowledge that some of us have found our path is what the joy is all about?  We know what to do with our time on the planet.  Yes, that is part of it.  I remember my twenties.  I was confused a lot, depressed at times too.  Unsure of myself.  Now I'm not.  I'm actually contented.  Do you believe it?

I hope that you find some contentment today.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Day 173 January 24, 2011

Yoga is becoming really popular.  There are more people in North America doing yoga than there are in India, the birth place of yoga.  There are many, many different styles or methods of yoga.  I have my own preference, B.K.S. Iyengar's approach.  He will be the first person to agree that yoga is yoga.  It all has the same intent, even though the approaches vary.

My brother in law Mike just sent me an article from the New York Times about rebel yoga and more specifically, information on a NYC yoga studio called Strala Yoga run by Tara Stiles, an ex model.  Of course her approach is down to earth and she isn't interested in what she calls the religious side of yoga.  She just wants the health benefits.  She is a popular teacher, but some yoga devotees don't agree with her style, what they call her "selling out", using yoga as just another form of exercise and as a way to make money.

So you see, a few of humanity's basic issues are revealed here; we need to make an income and we need to take care of our bodies, or honour them.  Ms. Stiles also receives some flak for her clothing choices at times.  What I see though is how she reaches people who otherwise would never dream of going to a yoga studio.  She uses social media, you tube, etc. to reach people.  I applaud her for doing that.

I can also understand how she just wants the health benefits from yoga and the rest of it doesn't interest her.  That really resonated with me for I was just the same way when I started.  I stuck with yoga when I was incredibly stressed out and when I'd forgotten how to relax and have fun.  The immediate feedback and the relaxation response I gained from attending yoga classes was what kept me coming.  I didn't have time to read about yoga, or ponder its philosophical or spiritual aspects, I only had time to do it.  My job kept me much too busy for anything else.  And so I did the asanas and they hooked me.

Whatever way you get involved in yoga isn't important.  A yoga teacher and close friend of mine, James Traverse, tried to explain it to me once by saying, "I don't do yoga, yoga does me."  The physical work of yoga is very important to many North Americans for we work way too hard at our jobs which leaves us no time to take care of ourselves.  We eat too much and we eat the wrong foods.  We sleep too little.  We self medicate ourselves with coffee in the morning and alcohol at night.  That is why the physical aspects of the yoga asanas are so direct in their impact.

Practicing on the mat gets you to pay attention to the here and now.  There are times when I've felt like I was run over by a truck after the midway point of a yoga intensive (a weekend of 10 hours of yoga).  I was so sore from trying my best on the mat.  The senior teachers really know how to make you work deeply and your body will be sore, but you will want to go back for more.   It's true sometimes that the people who could benefit the most from the self reflection that comes from steady practice are the ones who often drop out of the classes first.  They just aren't ready.

Enough though, that is a discussion for another day.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Day 172 January 23, 2011

Ten more things that will help you today:

1. Nine or ten glasses of water or other liquids
2. Talking to someone you really like
3. Writing to someone you really like
4. Laughing at your reflection in the mirror
5. Patting a dog or cat, or looking into the eyes of a non-human animal
6. Stretching
7. Listening to the quiet
8. Preparing and eating good food
9. Sleeping as much as you need to so that you wake up refreshed
10. Oh, I almost forgot, laughing out loud

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Day 171 January 22, 2011




Ten things that will help you today.

1. Laugh out loud.
2. Laugh out loud.
3. Laugh out loud.
4. Laugh out loud.
5. Laugh out loud.
6. Laugh out loud.
7. Laugh out loud.
8. Laugh out loud.
9. Laugh out loud.
10.  Oh, I almost forgot, laugh out loud.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Day 170 January 21, 2011



Perhaps today hasn't been a great day for you.  That can happen.  It may have even been terrible.  That can happen too.

For just a moment, think of the weather.  There will be a calm day, a windy day, a horrific stormy day, a rainy day, and then another calm day.  As children of this planet we are like the weather.  Our lives have highs and lows, and days in the middle where we are calm and can revel in that feeling.  Days where the  calm that surrounds us feels impenetrable.  Calmness can go on forever until calmness is our normal and we don't understand why everyone else is so stressed out.

But then the day comes when a calamity hits and we think, oh yes, I remember this now; or, this problem doesn't just happen to other people, of course it happens to me also.  Tragedy.  Sadness.  We look back at our calmness as something from another world.  From another's life, certainly not from ours.

The weather.  Cycles.  Patterns.  Expansion.  Contraction.  If we learn to see the patterns it helps us through the difficult times.  Our crying is more spontaneous and we don't hold onto it.  It happens and then stops.  We let ourselves feel it and then breathe it out and let the calmness come trickling back.

Look at the weather and see yourself.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Day 169 January 20, 2011

I was brushing the snow off of my car today before I left for town.  Something caught my eye up above.  I looked up and automatically took a sharp inhalation of cold air, for there high above me and soon flying directly over me was one of my favourite birds, a great blue heron.  Such a stretched out, silent, long legged bird.  So graceful.  It looked to its left as it passed overhead, then returned to look straight ahead, much as I love to look at the scenery while I'm driving on a country road, turning to my left and my right and then returning to the 'eyes on the road'.

You don't see this bird very often and when you do it's almost magical.

I hope you felt some magic in your day today :)

Great Blue Herons 

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Day 168 January 19, 2011

a small stream
runs
down the edge
of the road

water again
not ice
or snow

january
thaw

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Day 167 January 18, 2011

Reading on the sofa.  One of my favourite sports.  The book seems to be talking just to me when I am completely relaxed, reclining, relishing every word on the page.  I am no longer a reader.  I live the book.  Transported to the author's reality, happy to leave my own personal reality behind for a while.

Movies transport us too, mainly because of our love of a good story.  We try on someone else's skin for a while.  Their story helps us write our own story.  Like this story that follows...

Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved to play outdoors.  She ended up living in the countryside in a quiet setting so that she could play outdoors often.  She loved how the seasons changed dramatically.  Every morning she awakened to the possibilities of the new day.  Her bedroom curtain held aside, she gazed in wonder at what the world looked like on this new day.


She also loved to read and make art.  And she loved to move.  She had to move or she got really, really restless.  It used to be swimming and running when she was younger but as she grew older it was something called Iyengar yoga that called to her.  Her mate also loved to move to this Iyengar yoga 'dance'.  


One year a friend and she decided to share a bit of their life stories with others through a cool technique called a blog.  So every day she and her friend wrote to their unseen readers.  Every day they posted images to illustrate their concepts and feelings.  And every day it helped them and they hoped that it also helped others.


the end



Monday, January 17, 2011

Day 166 January 17, 2011

Brunswick St. mural  Halifax, N.S.






Yes, it will be summer again.  Not tomorrow.  But soon.  Enjoy the weather.  Wherever you may be, in the desert, at the ocean, in the city, in the country, on an iceberg, in the greenhouse, on board a ship, driving a tractor, typing at a desk, swabbing the floor, planting a field, hosing off a vehicle, flipping burgers, helping someone get better in hospital, being the person getting help in hospital, digging a ditch, writing a paper, preparing for your next lecture, writing a book, getting over a cold, resting on your yoga mat, painting a painting, throwing a pot, making a sculpture, blowing your nose, tucking a baby into bed, looking up from your book in the library, cooking a meal, resting your head after a long day, pulling off the road finally, ... wherever you are, whatever you are doing, enjoy the weather, daybreak, sunset, midday, dusk, enjoy this day and make it count.  Be real.  Be good to yourself.  Be.








Sunday, January 16, 2011

Day 165 January 16, 2011

Today I feel flat like a plate.  It's been a beautiful day, with sun and puffy white snow accentuating tree branches.  Staggering around this morning though I couldn't see much that was pretty.  It's only because my night last night was strange.  Every once in a while I cannot sleep.  So at 11pm, 12am, 1am, 2am and 4am I read the clock and got up.   I just couldn't stay in bed awake any longer.   Fortunately I did sleep a bit between 4am and 8:45am.

Wobbly morning, and it's turning into a wobbly early evening.

Sleep.  Funny how the lack of it affects us.  You can carry on, but it's just not a normal feeling day.  God bless us all for carrying on, even on our weird days.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Day 164 January 15, 2011

Do you like animals?  I mean other than human animals?  I do.  I guess I like some animals more than others, but still, I feel an intuitive respect for all animals.

As you can see from the look on my face in this photo of me at age two, I look pretty pleased with myself.  I see an inward focused smile as I experience sitting on a horse for the first time.

I hope you all experience something today that brings an inward focused smile to your own face.  Lighten up and enjoy this ride we call life, whether you are sitting on a bench, lying on a beach, walking through a forest, hustling off to work, whatever,  try to enjoy it.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Day 163 January 14, 2011

Today I want to quote Clifton Murray, one of the talented Canadian Tenors.  All four of these tenors appear to be warm hearted men; just listen to them sing and you’ll agree.  In a recent article I read about the tenors Clifton Murray is quoted as saying, “my mom has always put those less fortunate ahead of herself”.  

Day 163  Dusk after a winter storm
Murray grew up in Port McNeil, B.C. and his home was often a haven for those less fortunate than him.  Murray continues and says, “My neighbour had schizophrenia and ended up living on the streets…but she had an incredible talent for writing poetry.  I remember sitting in her [government-funded] home, stacked high with garbage because she was a hoarder, as she read the most beautiful poems, and I realized never to look down on someone because they’re suffering - everyone has a talent to give.”

Yes, we all have a talent to give.  It is our job to find our talent and then give it to the world.  I applaud Murray’s obvious compassion for his neighbour.  Let us all be such good neighbours.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Day 162 January 13, 2011

Just returned from walking the doggies nearly out to the river and back, on snowshoes.  Now I know I have hips.  We got lots of snow yesterday.  The first wildlife I encountered on my walk was a gorgeous white and gray hawk that alighted on a tree a mere 60 feet away from me.  I think the hawk was saying hello as it looked right at me.

There were also two eagles on a tree by the river's edge, but just as I was looking forward to getting closer to them and watching them fly off I noticed three coyotes on the opposite shore of the river.  This made me turn back.  They were at a distance but coyotes can no longer be trusted in my neighborhood.  Their reputation has diminished due to their attacks on pets and on an unsuspecting young person last year, in another part of the province.  The young woman did not survive the attack.  So now I wear a whistle and a small can of bear mace when I walk the dogs and I keep a look out for coyotes.  Fortunately, the dykelands where I walk the dogs are vast and nearly flat so you can see things at a great distance.

Having said that, coyotes are beautiful animals.  I just want them to stay away from me and my pets.  This red tailed hawk was perched in a tree near home one day so I pulled over to watch it.  Then it flew right past me.  This is one of the things I treasure in my life.  Nature.  It inspires me.  I bet it inspires you too!  Perhaps you prefer your contacts with nature in parks, or in films or in books.  But I bet you still are in awe of it and its changes, its beauty.  Yes, keep that awe.  It reminds us of how to look at our world through the eyes of a child.  In wonder.


red tailed hawk



Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Day 161 January 12, 2011

It was a good day to practice; I followed the practice from the Yoga Journal 21 day challenge and then did a few other asanas as well.  I read about the YJ teachers involved in this online work and then read about standards for certification as an introductory Iyengar yoga teacher.  Guidelines of how to teach, how to demonstrate, how to make adjustments, and the syllabus of poses you are expected to know in order to become certified.  A lot of work.

How did your work go today?  Are you making time for yourself?  I know.  I know.  It is hard when you have your mother, your brother, your husband, your children, your aunt, your friends, your dog, your cat, your neighbour, your father, your new acquaintances, and your home all to take care of, plus work, plus feed yourself, plus wear okay clothes, plus shop for tomorrow, plus travel time…….etc. etc. etc.

So, as you travel, gaze inwards, that is if you aren’t driving a car but rather are commuting on public transportation.  As you care for another, realize that the roles here could easily be reversed, so care for the person with as much love, kindness and understanding that you would want to feel if you were the person receiving the care.

And as you begin to unwind after your day, breathe into yourself, thank yourself for all the goodness you spread today.  Feed yourself with food that truly nourishes you.  Celebrate being you, if only for a brief time. 

And most importantly, make time to laugh out loud.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Day 160 January 11, 2011

Day 160 detail from 'double SS fish vase'  porcelain
Details.  Sometimes life is all about the details.  What was it John Lennon used to say?  That life was what happened while we were busy making other plans?

Yes, we make plans.  They either work out or they don't.

This year I am helping to plan a family wedding.  Last year someone very close to me in my family was very ill.  Last year was all about hospitals, treatments, surgery, recovery, and rest.  This year is about a wedding and yoga and art.

You just never know, do you?  Life is quite the journey.  Buckle up.  Enjoy the ride.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Day 159 January 10, 2011




Embrace the View  white sculpture clay tiles




  
Sometimes we need help and we don't even know it.  But when the help shows up we recognize that it was needed. 


Help showed up for me today and I was so grateful that it did.  A friend at yoga, Diane M. who teaches yoga and is an English professor, told me that she read this blog and that it inspired her.  Wow!  Knowing that this was one of my reasons for blogging didn’t mean it would automatically happen, so it was certainly a gift to hear that this blogging journey was meaningful to someone other than just me.  I felt a real lift in my psyche.

We all need feedback, some of us need it more than others.  I am the kind of person who can work away on my own and surface every once in a while to come up for air.  When I do come up for air it is a great relief to discover that I am not alone.  Someone understands me.

What kind of person are you?  Do you thrive on positive feedback?  Can you accept a compliment?  Or do you prefer to work quietly and remain anonymous, never needing to learn if your work is valued?  Perhaps you are a mix of these two variations?  Part of our journey on the planet is to become self-aware.   Yoga and art help me learn self-awareness.  What helps you?










Sunday, January 9, 2011

Day 158 January 9, 2011


Just as a mosaic is made up of different pieces and yet forms one picture, so too our lives are comprised of many varied experiences that all make up just one life.  Perhaps you are happy with some of your life’s experiences, perhaps you regret others.  No matter.  Try to see these more painful areas with the light of compassion.  Sometimes it is much easier to show compassion towards others than towards your own self.  One thing that art making and yoga share in common is that they offer you a way to learn about yourself; this can lead you to feel compassion both for yourself and others. 

On today’s walk with David and the doggies the world was extremely white.  The sky and  ground were white, and only the black dogs, the dark clothing we wore and the native plants showed any contrast to this monochromatic world of white.  As I walked and shielded my face from the gusts of wind, I could sense my place in the world.  Striding along, walking Mr. Bear, I was in tune.  Just as a harmony depends on a contrast between notes, so too, my world today of blacks and whites felt harmonious.  My life, full of many different experiences felt whole.  I wish you all a sense of harmony, peace and wholeness today. 

Day 158  a white world


My friend Denise, of the 365 days of yoga and daily routine, mentions in her blog today a 21 day challenge offered by Yoga Journal.  Here is the link if you want to join.  It starts tomorrow.  Denise and I both signed up.  Will you?

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Day 157 January 8, 2011

I hope you have a great time today.  Get yourself tired by doing something that you love, then go to bed happy.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Day 156 January 7, 2011

'Tai'  photo by Chris Z.
'Jenny'  photo by Chris Z.

Our childhood can seem like a dream from the vantage point of adulthood.  But really our lives take on many forms.  Enjoy the wealth of your memories.  I know that they are not all fabulous memories, some will be painful.

Celebrate anyway.  It's just such a good way to be.  There are times when I still feel about seven, full of wonder and amazement.  Captivated by something like making art, or practicing yoga, or walking to the river, where I just focus as if nothing else existed in this world.  Totally swept away.

I hope you find something that sweeps you away today.

Namaste.


Thursday, January 6, 2011

Day 155 January 6, 2011

Humbled.  That is how I felt after my yoga practice today.  Grateful too, that I am making progress when I think back to the woman I was when I first started doing yoga.  I am learning, and the more I practice the more I learn.  One thing I've learned is that it’s good that I’m a patient woman.  
Day 155   Sahara Desert  photo by David P.







Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Day 154 January 5, 2011

Joe's peach tree in August


Another glorious day of sunshine here in my corner of the world.  Hallelujiah!

It was my turn to walk the doggies as David headed off to work today.  We walked and walked.  At around the 45 minute, half way mark I just had to lie down for a little rest.  Fortunately we were way out by the Avon River's banks with no one in sight, just the quiet ice that is thickening across the river, the blazing sun, the crusty snow that gave us feet like wings and the stubble of a harvested hay crop.

My elder dog stood watch by me while the puppy clambered up and down the river bank countless times.  Soon the snow will be too deep for that activity even and a bit dangerous even for a strong dog like Ms. Maddie.  A few minutes passed as I took several glorious deep breaths and finally sat up to inspect my surroundings.  We'd only flushed out one eagle so far on this walk and not another bird would we see.  The calm air was a blessing.  No aching bite from the harsh wind of the last few days.  My only complaint was a sore spot on one foot, a blister trying to form.  No worries.  We walked several miles this morning across the fields and near the river.  Can't complain one iota.  On the return leg, the cars zooming by on the road looked like toys due to the sense of perspective from a distance of perhaps half a mile or more.

Now back at home, this morning's walk seems like a journey to another world.  My favourite walks always include a view of water so this morning's walk was memorable.  We spent half an hour walking along the river.  It is so quiet here at home, I'm listening to my heat come on.  We have hot water heat downstairs and it almost sounds like someone is gargling in this room, or at least taking a shower as the water moves through the pipes.  It's quite funny.

Best wishes for a grand day today.  I hope you get some sunshine too and also find something funny to enjoy :)

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Day 153 January 4, 2011


Winter is stepping up today.  It feels like –20 celsius with the wind chill factor figured in, even though the weather network reports that it only feels like –10 celsius.  We live in a very open spot, thus our nickname for the property “little house on the prairies”.  If there is any scrap of wind, we get it full force.  The good news is that the sun was out all day long.  That helped.  It made everything crisp.

I’m off to do my yoga practice.  A heat inducing, standing poses’ practice, that should help to warm me up, that and the fresh ginger tea I have on the stove.  I started the day with Chinese reishi mushroom tea and Korean red ginseng extract.  That jump started my inner heat.  Now I’ll go jump start it again for the sun is going down and the house is cooling off.

Have a wonderful day yourself, please. J

Sunset outside of Inverness, Cape Breton Island

Monday, January 3, 2011

Day 152 January 3, 2011

I just can't do it yet.  I can't post images of winter constantly, even though it is winter [constantly] where I live.  I want colour, bright, bright colour.


One of my old friends yelled at me once during winter because I remarked that a Nova Scotia winter was so colourless, that it was really only tonal variations of black and white.  My friend yelled, "there is colour here!"  Of course, that got my attention.  My friend was a painter and he knew what he was talking about.  Now I see the wild red willows against the white snow.  I see red rose hips and subtle purple and blue tones in the sky.  I do also see a lot of gray......and white..... and black.

But here are some red tomatoes from last fall, too!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Day 151 January 2, 2011

Day 151  Ottawa, ON


Gray day.  Sky leaden and full.  Rain spills intermittently.  A day to dig deep.  A day when the biggest challenge during "me time" is to get on that yoga mat, despite lethargy.  One hour or more later, I leave the mat.  Rested, refreshed, having admitted to the gray day depression that nearly did me in, and grateful that I moved past it.

For years the hardest part of doing a yoga practice at home was actually getting on the mat.  Once I got on the mat I had no problem, stepping onto the mat was the problem.  I could count on any number of other interests that were more timely, more interesting, more important.  Does this ring any bells of recognition with anyone else?

It's hard to face helping yourself sometimes.  Cause when you start to get depressed you don't feel worthy, not even worthy of helping yourself.

As I did my back practice of 15 poses, the one outlined in the great beginner's yoga book by Mira Mehta  How to Use Yoga: a step by step guide to the Iyengar method of yoga, for relaxation, health and well being, the restfulness of the practice definitely helped.  The support of the wall during the few standing poses was crucial.  I could never get to the same level of depth in those poses without that support of the wall.  I played with it; used the props as little as I could, moved away from them, and tried to do the poses with the minimal amount of effort.  This practice has nothing to do with effort; it's all about releasing into the poses and for me it was all about working the muscles on the front of my body that protect the back, moving the abdominals way back towards the spine, and lifting the quadriceps.

"We all need somebody to lean on."  Well today I leaned on: the mat, the blocks, the straps, the wall, the chairs, the benches and the blankets.  I was grateful for their support.

Go ahead and lean on someone.  Or lean on something.  Get all the help you need.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Day 150 January 1, 2011


It’s a new year now, so expect things to be different.  Change can be good. 

Today yoga practice was all about acknowledging balance within my torso.  I’ve learned that most people are a bit crooked, it’s not just me that is crooked.  So today I worked on learning how to readjust and straighten out my torso. I’m willing to work with what I’ve got. I don’t just do what feels good, or only stretch in ways that are easy. 

If you do asana poses that work on your very tight areas, or your crooked areas, the body responds and some new ability to move signals your progress towards a more balanced state.  Instead of just accepting the problem your body presents, work on improvement. Improvement takes time, but then anything good is worth waiting for or worth working towards. 

Notice if you prefer to carry things on just one side of your body. Are you right handed?  Does your right arm drop away from its shoulder joint from overuse?  Compare how one arm might drop out of its shoulder joint and the other arm remains contracted in its shoulder joint and is unable to move with ease.  This is an area where you can work to improve the balance between the two sides of your body.  Stretch out that overly tight shoulder.  Pull up on that over used arm that drops out of its joint.  Bring it back into a stable position.  Make that your focus in tadasana, in dog pose, in all your standing poses.

Self-awareness.  That’s part of the process.  If you lack self-awareness you are missing what’s really going on in your own personal vehicle, your own body.  It’s a new year, so what better time to create a new model of your own vehicle, your own body?