Recent Reflections

Just a few random thoughts from me recently about life and yoga. Honestly life is so unexpected. A good person I know from college is very sick. One friend of mine is getting married, moving across the country and starting grad school - so many lovely things all at once! Another friend recently took the time off work to lunch with her dear grandmother who is now going through some really serious health issues. A woman I work with helped her mom through surgery, though it was fine, and now some complications are arising. It really just underlines something I really have learned well in my life, but forget from time to time. If there's something you really wanna do, plan it now. Buy and wear that swimsuit, make that call, whatever it is, don't wait too long. Tomorrow is farther away that we expect sometimes, in fact, things change and then it's out of our grasp for good.

Today I listened to a lecture by an engineer. Yoga has really increased my awareness of not only my own breath, but that of others. I noticed his spine is somewhat rolling forward, and each time he spoke, he could barely catch his breath. It was almost painful to me to hear it. I wanted to teach him yoga breathing and help him. But I know people have to be open to things first, and maybe this will never happen for him. I will simply wish him breath and maybe that will help. The day was really cool too. It was a science lab and we hooked up an electrode that measures muscle activity. It was on my bicep and tricep of my right arm. I did a few pushups and also the half series ---> down dog, plank, chatarunga, up dog, down dog with the electrode on my arm. Turns out I mostly used my triceps the whole time. This sort of makes sense anatomically, but got me thinking I will look for some poses that work the biceps too! Many inversions might, I'll have to keep thinkin' on it.

Tonight I was practicing yoga outside with my delightful Thursday night class taught by Emily. She's a yoga poet! The weather was lush from recent rains, the sun peeked out for salutations, a breeze blew cheerily to dry our sweat. I noticed bumblebees zooming busily over the clover, felt slight fear of sting but they were ignoring us oh so well! I saw a nest in a tree, and how my toes look during chatarunga, the two sets of toes bend a little different, interesting, I never saw that before. I feel cozy doing yoga outside, like I'm bathed in the essense of yoga and they are soaking into me all at once. Drenching me in childhood feelings of safeness, peace, the yoga family moving and resting together.

Recently I was getting my eyebrows waxed. I do this every once in a while. It's slightly painful, not too bad but I focused on breathing calmly and imagined ocean waves rolling in. I was somewhat uncontrolled with this mental focusing, but it took hold lightly here and there and I could actually find myself swaying to this other place hazily. I want to work on this and develop it. It would be very useful if I ever have a child and go through that whole birth process thingy. ;)

Namaste,
Kat