Stay (Wasting Time) Dave Matthews Band

Just for Fun Friday.

 Because Dave Matthews Band blows my mind!

Enjoy!

~Writer Yogi

Words For Wednesday: The Day's Movement (poem)

I. Dawn
Moon covers his head under the sheets
While Sun sweeps her hand over the hillsides.
Ruffling the roosters feathers before he crows.


II. Morning
I woke in the garden to a purple sun.  
The Morning Glory whispers the day's love for me.


III. Dusk
The drunken butterfly dances towards the setting sun.
Determined to love the biggest flower he's seen
Before she wilts below the horizon.


IV. Night
The Wolf's howling swoons the Moon.
She blushes luminously. 

Rumi Of The Day

You suppose you are the trouble

                                                  But you are the cure

You suppose that you are the lock on the door

But you are the key that opens it

It's too bad that you want to be someone else

You don't see your own face, your own beauty

Yet, no face is more beautiful than yours. 

To all my beautiful people out there! Which is all of you! xoxo

~Writer Yogi 

Asana Of The Day

from Yogapancake.com

Name: Warrior 1


Sanskrit: Virabhadrasana 1


What I've picked up about the pose:  Here is an article I found on yogajournal's website on The Story of Virabhadrasana 1.  And Here is where you can see more on getting into the pose. It's very interesting and raises some questions. Such as why such an aggressive pose, and pose named after intense violence is in yoga.  My favorite part of the article states:


" Tim Miller, director of San Diego's Ashtanga Yoga Center, agrees. "Virabhadrasana's a humbling posture," he says. "If you attempt to stay in it for any length of time, you'll confront your own bodily, emotional, or mental weaknesses. Whatever limitations you have, the pose will reveal them so that they can be addressed."




This really spoke to me.  When I go into this pose, it definitely makes me battle with fear, and giving up and pushing on.  The article also states  


. "Many yogis, especially beginners, feel genuinely embattled by its complexity: its persistent tug-of-war between extension and compression, twist and backbend, internal and external rotation, and strength and flexibility."


It's so true! In practice today I attempted to really focus in on the pose. To pay attention to what was going on in it. My thighs begin to get tired, my arms got weary, yet I want them to stay strong. I have to twist one way, stay straight another. Try to sink into the pose a little bit more, be brave and breathe through the tension instead of immediately pulling out of the pose. Warrior 1 has something for the whole body! It's a battle with yourself to stay strong, focus, breathe through the tough situations we get into. 




Namaste my friends,


~Writer Yogi 

Sitting Alone Part 2

Today, I decided to challenge myself.  I decided instead of going to yoga practice this morning, I would practice sitting alone. Sit and breathe for 30 minutes! It was not perfect, oh but how I have learned from the experience.  It made me think of articles I have read or things I've heard. It made me pay attention to what was happening.


Why is it so hard to sit alone?  Because I am used to moving around so much. Or when I am sitting, I am doing something. Online, Netflix, Daydreaming, planning, whatever. It also brought something else to mind! 


Sitting and breathing is not just a challenge for the mind,it's a challenge for the body as well! 


From something like, my legs are cramping up, to I want to get up and do some asana.  I was thinking about how to deal with these issues, why they were issues and what to do.  As for cramping, well, no one wants that. The key is, to relieve the cramp but still stay still and get back to breath.  I shifted many times. To get rid of some stiffness, trying to keep my feet from falling asleep. I was still determined to sit and breath after each movement, get back to breathing. This may seem minor but it isn't really.  While I am figuring out how to sit, I may be focusing less on breathing. Or, one can find themselves ready to start experimenting with sitting poses (which I did for a small bit) and getting away from the main focus of being Still and Breathing! Ah, how tricky such little distractions are.


Also, I tend to want to do some asana after awhile.  Which is fine, except for the fact, this, at least in my case, is my mind tricking me into thinking I want to do something with breath. In reality, it's my minds clever way to try t get me to get up, move around, move with breath instead of being still with it and really focusing in.


When I did decide to do some asana, I went into childs pose. Haha, take that fear of stillness! We both get something, my mind being afraid of stillness gets its asana, and I still get to breath and stop moving. (it never specifically asked for a vinyasa teehee).


To sum this all up, I was just pleasantly surprised to find sitting alone and being still a mind AND body exercise! Perhaps for others, it is not the same. For me, it was a challenge to not move, to not try different sitting poses, to not worry about how I was sitting and to just be pleased I am sitting and getting some air. It made me realized how bored I've been with myself.


I read somewhere boredom is from not being challenged. I am starting to see that now. When I am at yoga, I'm not hungry (until after, come on, we all are). When I am at home, milling around, I am pretty much always hungry.  When I'm out and about doing errands, or going for a walk, I'm not bored or sluggish, because I am doing something. Or writing, when I really get into it, everything else just isn't even there. The world around is nowhere and the writing is everywhere.


I realized I was interested and happy for the challenges that have been arising from yoga. The mental puzzles, physical challenges, philosophy, health habits, body doing what you want it to, and not.  Yoga makes me move, makes me stay still, makes me think, makes me try not to think. All with a purpose! Of going forward, seeing what is beyond where I am now because I literally feel inside myself that there is SO much more to me! There is a part of me just standing, face pressed to the glass like a kid staring into a candy store, tapping the glass, "Come on Chelle, come on...I am so ready!" 


Ready for what you say?  Well, you'll just have to wait and see! It's coming, I feel it in my chest. Those excited and drunken butterflies swirling around. Something great is coming and I'm sooo excited!


Namaste my friends,


~Writer Yogi

Breakdancing Yoga!

I was on yogadork.com and saw this. I am completely in Awe!  Fun Friday! I hope you enjoy as much as I did!


xoxo ~ Writer Yogi

Dear Soul

It’s time to change you light bulb

and looking through the keyhole

I see it flutter like a drunken butterfly

from only a few months of burning.

Abandoned Sci-Fi books lay disordered on the floor

next to a disheveled particle board bookcase.

While aesthetic projects with eclectic potential are sprawled on a lonely desk.

Half cut and never pasted.

Paint breaks away from the wall giving it

sick blotch spots on its jaundice face.

I tried the door knob and it refused to twist

As a faint memory came of me swallowing the key with thoughtless intention.

Tasted like rhubarb and honey.

Picking the lock with a pen was close but failed.

I pounded the door, kicked, to no response.

Giving up, I fell to my knees like a kid having a tantrum.

My heart, as meek as your glow, came to a rest on the keyhole.

Arms up like an arrest on the door from rejection

You got me.

I couldn’t break in.

Why should I have to if it’s mine?

It’s better to surrender.

The door opened after aggression became affection

And I wept like I won something.

For the forgotten room is you, my soul.

I’ll finish cutting and glue together my puzzle pieces of artwork.

Put the books on the to-read shelf and remember there is always room for more.

More to have and even more to give.

It’s time to change your light bulb to energy saving.

And redecorate.

No doors included. 


~Writer Yogi

Thoughtful Thursday

Shel Silverstein

My happy thoughts for the day:

* My husband trying yoga for the first time at my yoga studio just to make me happy! 


* Being off of work for the day.


* Summer Summer Summer Summer!


* Singing Dave Matthew's Band loudly on the highway with my windows down because I don't have A.C. 


Got any happy thoughts today?  I'd love to hear them! 


xoxo ~ Writer Yogi

Words For Wednesday: Head Back Hair Dancing

Head Back Hair Dancing 

The woman I really am is a familiar stranger on the street.

We walk by each other

Shoulders

Oh…so…close…

And just

               miss

We turn our heads back,

Almost sure we know each other.

Like two lovers in slow motion

Gazing to the other side of the crosswalk at rush hour.

One day, I’ll stop her and say

“We haven’t met each other, but God we belong together.”

And with her head back and hair dancing

I’m embraced in her laughter

As she asks,

“What took you so long?”

~Writer Yogi

Rumi Of The Day

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.

Don't go back to sleep.

You must ask for what you really want.

Don't go back to sleep.

People are going back and forth across the doorsill

where the two worlds touch.

The door is round and open.

Don't go back to sleep.

From "The Essential Rumi" by Coleman Barks

I think this one speaks for itself! The morning is a good thing. Embrace it, go for what you want and don't turn back. Don't go back to sleep! Remember the mantra of the week incase you do! It's never too late to start over.

Namaste my friends,

~Writer Yogi

Mantra Monday

"It's never too late to start over." 

image from detroitcreativecorridorcenter.com

Guess who is the most perfect person ever?!  Nobody! Yay! Everyone makes mistakes, has flaws, or needs to completely reboot and start from scratch.  That is okay.  There is nothing wrong with you, you're not a failure, you just need to restart. You only fail when you give up, which at times is right when you were sooo close to getting what you wanted.  May it be where you want to go, what you want to do, or how you want to Live. Live my friends, never settle for a mere Existence.  Today is the only day that matters. A perfect time to start over! 


xoxo
~Writer Yogi 

Asana Of The Day

image from yogaasyouare.wordpress.com

Name: Downward Facing Dog (or Down Dog)


Sanskrit: Adho Mukha Svanasasana. Adho-Dog, Mukha-Face, Svanasana-Dog


What I've picked up about the pose: In Vinyasa and Ashtanga, you cannot escape it!  It's what the teachers call a "resting pose".  As a newbie, not so much...yet! More details on how to get into the pose are Here.  What gets me is how to distribute my weight. I usually put too much in my arms. But, my arms are getting stronger, and I am trying to learn to pull my hips back. It's an inversion so its good for you. For your body to be upside down instead of right side up, to get some circulation going another way.  This is a resting place, to get back to breathe between a vinyasa, pose, or anytime you need a break. It's a pose in progress I suppose. Somewhere I am always exploring, which isn't bad. :) 


What about you?  Have you done this pose? What is your relationship to it?  What is your knowledge about it? 


Namaste,


xoxo, ~Writer Yogi

The Best of What's Around

This song speaks to me so much right now.  The way it talks about making the best of what you have.  How togetherness makes it "hurt not much".  It's a song about not giving up, and being able to make anything good for you. It talks about the things that can make you feel better, being together, being open, and in the end if all these things dont work for you, just find something you got here, around you, anything, and do what you can with that.  It's so simple yet profound.  


There are so many times when I think that what is going to be the best experience, the best fun, is something bigger, better and has to be profound.  In reality, sometimes the most simple things are the best things.  Like right now, I am on my porch, outside, sitting at my laptop, listening to youtube and writing.  I actually feel great.  It's a beautiful day, the weather is nice, there is a slight breeze, lovely neighborhood, and I'm writing which is something I have needed to do for a while!  It was so simple.  Get yourself up Chelle, sit down, and write. My porch is free, outside is free, the breeze, the day, the expression is free and I am having an excellent time.


 Why do we think there has to be something so crazy to make us happy?  When did these notions of the bigger the better become the forefront of what can be fun or what living is about?  When I was little, if I had two pencils of a different color, or size, or one dull one sharp, I had a blast! It was play time.  They were two different characters and I was ready to go.  I find it stunning how I was able to do that. Just about anything I had in my hands I was able to turn into something entertaining and fun.  Now-a-days I feel there has to be something so much more beyond that! Beyond the beautiful day right outside my door, outside of my neighborhood.  Don't get me wrong, there are other things out there. But if you can't get to those at the moment, like DMB says, Make the best of what's around.  And why not?  It's around you, its there.  If you are not comfortable in your own space, how can you be comfortable anywhere else really? It's like being satisfied in your own skin.  If you are not happy with yourself, how can you be happy with others? 


 It makes me think of the first Ashtanga class I took last week.  After the class I literally felt like I was high or like the stereotypical relaxed satiated feeling of the best sex ever in some romance movie where the girl is walking around all whimsically.  And I realized how simple what I was doing was.  It was still work, but if you break it down, what was I doing?  Breathing, and standing, sitting or bending in poses for 5 breathes, or more if I chose, each. I was sore for a few days after, which I love. I enjoy hurting good after a workout.  


What amazed me was how High, and blissful and Truely Happy, I mean legitimetly happy I was once I got into savasana.  I thought to myself, is this how some people feel All the time? Or even 90% of the time.  I can't really put into words, it's a feeling of pure joy that you can feel inside your body.  And I want it soo much again. I think I may be addicted.


 It's bad. I actually think I skipped yoga this week because I couldn't do Ashtanga. And I had only done it once, that's the impact that experience had on me)  I asked my teacher if she remember the poses I did, so I can practice them at home.  I really want to see if I can feel that way again or if it was some sort of fluke.  I also plan to go to some other Ashtanga classes.  I just couldn't believe how simple breathing and posing was sooooo fullfilling! 


Making the best of what's around is something I have struggled with for the past few years.  It's something that everytime I do it, I think, why couldn't I do this before!? There is something in me that holds me back. I am ever so slowly breaking it down though. I can see who I really am. Remember who you really are, is always there, you just have to unbury who that person is.  I am ever so close to touching fingers with here. I see her daily in my mind, but not in the mirror.  One day, I plan to wake up, go to the mirror and say "There you are. Finally, on the outside." 


Making the Best of What's around,


~Writer Yogi XOXO 

Michael Stone - The Heart of Non Attachment

Being unattached may not be what you think it is.  Michael Stone always has something eye opening to share. Enjoy! 

Namaste my friends,


Writer Yogi 

Sitting Alone

image from ebrainsupplements.com

I was reading Daily Cup of Yoga and this article on Learning to Sit Alone really got into my head.  It talks about getting away from the distractions and learning to be with ourselves, and gaining calm and insight.  I've re-read over a bunch of parts because I keep thinking to myself, how do I get still?  How do I get quiet?


I've noticed lately my mind has been elsewhere most of the time.  Away in "La-La Land".  Which is fine, but after a bit, I need to snap back to reality to get things done.  Also, I think I am just urging to be alone. To be truly alone.  Not antisocial, but still, clear, open.


The article is in the meditation section on dailycupofyoga.com.  I have written about my attempts at meditation.  Starting with 5 mins or whatever I have time for.  I think I may need to revamp how I am going about it.  Which is fine. I am still at the very beginners stage of my yoga journey so I am happy to play around with ideas and techniques.  I won't leave what I have now. I just want to try other things too.  I listen to music.  I do this to try to tune out a tv that may be on, my husband moving around, house sounds.  Maybe I need to try be completely silent. No music, and to tune out whatever noises arise, or perhaps just acknowledge them and move on....


I suppose what I have learned, is to quiet the mind, is to accept my mind and then let it go.  Let all of my thoughts come to me, say hello and then allow them to pass by.  There are times when I am alone, but my mind is not.  I am always trying to think of something entertaining, whimsical or whatever.  Perhaps, once I empty that full cup in my mind, completely, silently, and oh so slowly, I can allow it to fill with better things....


Contemplatively yours my friends,
Namaste,


~Writer Yogi