Oh, Snow!

How I love thee, lovely snow.
You make me see in the snowy way of blankets and quiet.
Hot cocoa inside this ship of an apartment.
And you, snow, looking so pinky outside.

a yoga practice

If the definition of yoga is union, then doing a yoga practice could be like braiding your hair, everyday.

Or drawing together what you are doing and you who is doing it.
Your breath and your body (of course).
Cooking (always cooking, possibly my favorite yoga practice).
Eating something delicious, really fantastically delicious.
Riding a bicycle in NYC, or anywhere where you must pay attention...
Sweeping the floor smooth.
Hiking in the PNW
Oh the list is endless.
Infinity is yoga too!

mitzvah = karma yoga

My mom just reminded me that when you do a mitzvah, it is done without thought of getting anything in return.
I said "just like karma yoga!"
Because I love it when thoughts, ways of life, parallel each other like this.

There's a new DVD in town!

And it combines 2 of my favorite things, yoga, and food.
Yee-haw!

the yoga of motherhood

Oh, patience, patience, patience, patience.
Big eyes & love.
More patience, patience, patience, patience.
Strong arms, and the rocking back and forth of waves and the yogic 3 part breath.
A little more patience.
Diapers. Lots of them.
Singing, like chanting, to help our (Isaac and my) minds go elsewhere.
And the primordial rhythm of hunger and satisfaction.

Yoga of Isaac

I wonder what the yogis would say about new motherhood?
Love, pain, lack of sleep. That's what I say, so far.
Good thing he is so cute, or I don't know what I would do.

yoga helps you be happy!

The doctors say its GABA.
The yogis say its PRANA.
I say its what happens when we pay very close attention and hear something beautiful.

Look here: Yoga prevents Depression (uk telegraph article)

Practice yoga, and you can be as smiley as this guy!

Not forgetting June

June received no yogic posts from me.

But she was a beauteous month!
There were waves crashing on the Oregon Coast
Gardens chock full of flowers
Mom-cooked breakfasts
Dogs leaping and cuddling, horses running and nuzzling, cats watching and being watched, and a parrot drinking coffee.
People walking and talking, and walking, and talking
A good friend married, so gorgeous and happy

Everything and everyone in that lovely June, was just what they were to the bone (except for the parrot, and that is just one huge mystery).

Enormous Yoga Mat?

I was thinking about how we are so connected to the boundaries of the yoga mat.
And that in a practice where we (hopefully) are feeling connected to everyone and everything, we are actually in our own little world (mat) of experience.

So I asked, via the LRY facebook page how it would feel to practice on one huge mat, along with everyone else in the class.

Natasha wrote, "I think it is more a state of mind to be everywhere while standing in that defined space...at least that is how I like to practice."

I still think that in this current age of yoga 2010, a matless class might really open our minds (and hearts!), but Natasha's words help my mat-acceptance.

:)

a yoga question ~

I'm wondering if yoga practice is a way to have a break from reality, or a way that we dive right in?