Sarah, Temma, and I took a hike up to the waterfall in Sierra Madre. We found a nice shady spot to get our yoga on! Enjoy the pictures.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Warrior Women
Sarah, Temma, and I took a hike up to the waterfall in Sierra Madre. We found a nice shady spot to get our yoga on! Enjoy the pictures.
Sense of Peace
It's 8:35 in the morning. While I wait for my tea to brew I scan over my 22 new emails. My inbox looks like it's been hit by a tornado. Nothing is in order, but they can wait. I scan the stacks of paperwork, magazine layouts, and raw text piled up on my desk. What to do first? The familiar pang tightens around my right should... the stress knot. Very easily I can let it all get to me. I can become distracted or overwhelmed with it all...I can allow “it” to become daunting.
But where's the joy in that?
Two more minutes and my tea should be brewed. My Sense of Peace.
This artfully crafted, recyclable tin sits, filled with lovingly blended sachets, on the shelf above my computer. It blends in with all the trinkets I've placed up there. Throughout the day my eyes gaze up and delight in these small trinkets, which bring me joy, peace, solace, and nostalgia. A picture of an airplane taking off and a small statue of the Eiffel Tower remind me of travel, a Mariksa doll and picture of my little sister remind me of childhood, origami, a model MINI cooper, a picture of my boyfriend, and a yellow piggybank all create various emotions—happiness mostly. I let my eyes dance around the objects until they undoubtedly land back on that tin...teatime.
Two minutes up… I sip on “Sense of Peace” and white tea created by Master Blender Zhena Muzyka of Ojai California. Her “Gypsy” teas are becoming a sweet addiction, one that I share with family, friends, colleagues, and yogis alike. I like to think about this kind-hearted woman gently blending this tea for those she loves… even if she doesn’t know their name. She gifts the world with such a small token, but really (for me anyway) sitting down in the middle of a hectic workday and enjoying a cup really can impact the way I respond to things, the stress I feel or don’t feel, and may sense of peace.
There’s less than half a cup left now… time to return to reality.
With Peace.
But where's the joy in that?
Two more minutes and my tea should be brewed. My Sense of Peace.
This artfully crafted, recyclable tin sits, filled with lovingly blended sachets, on the shelf above my computer. It blends in with all the trinkets I've placed up there. Throughout the day my eyes gaze up and delight in these small trinkets, which bring me joy, peace, solace, and nostalgia. A picture of an airplane taking off and a small statue of the Eiffel Tower remind me of travel, a Mariksa doll and picture of my little sister remind me of childhood, origami, a model MINI cooper, a picture of my boyfriend, and a yellow piggybank all create various emotions—happiness mostly. I let my eyes dance around the objects until they undoubtedly land back on that tin...teatime.
Two minutes up… I sip on “Sense of Peace” and white tea created by Master Blender Zhena Muzyka of Ojai California. Her “Gypsy” teas are becoming a sweet addiction, one that I share with family, friends, colleagues, and yogis alike. I like to think about this kind-hearted woman gently blending this tea for those she loves… even if she doesn’t know their name. She gifts the world with such a small token, but really (for me anyway) sitting down in the middle of a hectic workday and enjoying a cup really can impact the way I respond to things, the stress I feel or don’t feel, and may sense of peace.
There’s less than half a cup left now… time to return to reality.
With Peace.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Backbend Bliss
The Beautiful Backbend: Urdhva Dhanurasana
Benefits
A Stretches the chest and lungs
Strengthens the arms and wrists, legs, buttocks, abdomen, and spine
Stimulates the thyroid and pituitary
Increases energy and counteracts depression
Therapeutic for asthma, back pain, infertility, and osteoporosis
Urdhva Dhanurasana or Upward Bow Pose
A heart opener; Stacey joyfully pushed up into this pose—yes blood may have been rushing to her face and her wrists and arms may have trembled a bit, but as she stretched into Urdhva Dhanurasana she felt energy rushing through her body. This pose stimulates all sorts of areas that we as adults forget to feel. In my practice, I find a child-like joy in the pose. Not only does it strengthen the core, but it also opens the heart.
I found a perfect break down in Yoga Journal: http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/473
I suggest following up with a lovely “legs up the wall pose” for a counter stretch. End your day with this…bliss!
Namaste.
Benefits
A Stretches the chest and lungs
Strengthens the arms and wrists, legs, buttocks, abdomen, and spine
Stimulates the thyroid and pituitary
Increases energy and counteracts depression
Therapeutic for asthma, back pain, infertility, and osteoporosis
Urdhva Dhanurasana or Upward Bow Pose
A heart opener; Stacey joyfully pushed up into this pose—yes blood may have been rushing to her face and her wrists and arms may have trembled a bit, but as she stretched into Urdhva Dhanurasana she felt energy rushing through her body. This pose stimulates all sorts of areas that we as adults forget to feel. In my practice, I find a child-like joy in the pose. Not only does it strengthen the core, but it also opens the heart.
I found a perfect break down in Yoga Journal: http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/473
I suggest following up with a lovely “legs up the wall pose” for a counter stretch. End your day with this…bliss!
Namaste.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Heat
Heat. Right now it’s all I can seem to think about. I wake up in the morning perturbed by the light hitting my windows; turning my little room into a sauna. I set my alarm for “early” hoping to elude the heat, hoping to get a nice little practice in before day is upon me, hoping to find refreshment, but the only thing I seem to find is myself…myself in a state of frustration. I honestly don’t want to move. I want to be lethargic, sit in an ice bath, and downright do nothing. I’m irritable and can’t quickly find my focus. I search for solace but instead find sweat. I struggle to get through my asana’s and worse yet some times struggle to even start my practice.
I voluntarily step into my Bikram studio. I inhale the 106-degree heat. I let it wash over me. So, what is the difference between the heated studio and my heated apartment…
Perhaps intention.
Regardless, when the forces of nature are upon us we can do nothing but to respond in peace. I’ve been fighting and resisting this heat, rather than embracing it. Perhaps if I can just sink into it I’ll find it less embracive than it seems…
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