Friday, September 4, 2009

Day 40: What Else Can I Say

No fireworks, cymbals, maracas, or chest bumps. It turns out that the most fitting way to celebrate the completion of 40 days of practice is quietly, with 90 minutes of restorative yoga, closed with a om circle (with me and Heather at the center). It was a very sweet evening.

At 12:01, I'll be celebrating a little more boisterously with a nice glass of wine! Why not!

The beautiful moon in the sky tonight (last night I watched a shooting star blaze just below it), reminds me of a Zen story that Kat told at the end of class last Friday. It goes something like this:

"Ryokan, a Zen master, lived the simplest kind of life in a little hut at the foot of a mountain. One evening a thief visited the hut only to discover there was nothing in it to steal.

Ryokan returned and caught him. 'You may have come a long way to visit me,' he told the prowler, 'and you shoud not return emptyhanded. Please take my clothes as a gift.'

The thief was bewildered. He took the clothes and slunk away.

Ryokan sat naked, watching the moon. 'Poor fellow,' he mused, 'I wish I could give him this beautiful moon.'"


Let me end this blog with the Sanskrit chant we share at the close of each class:

"Om, lokasamasta sukhinobhavantu. Om shaantih, shaantih, shaantih," which translates to, "May all beings everywhere attain happiness and freedom. May there be peace, peace, and perfect peace."

(It turns out my words aren't always the most appropriate).

Namaste.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Day 39: To Blog or Not

The question I ask myself tonight is whether or not I should keep up with a blog after tomorrow. It's a funny little question that really only I care about. My goal was to write every day in conjunction with my 40 days of yoga. And, except for last Saturday when I was in the mountains, I wrote daily--some worth reading, some not.

Maybe I'll go the route that I plan to take with my yoga--establishing a regular, meaningful practice. But, does that work for writing, or is it all or nothing? Before the 40 days, I was doing a whole lot of nothing when it came to writing. I don't want to go back to that. So, whether in blog form or not, I may have to keep the daily ritual alive.

If it's worth tuning in for, I'll let you know.

Day 40---Hello!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Day 38: Cooling Off

If it isn't already hot enough in my livingroom at 8:30 at night, I'm sitting here with my laptop in my lap. This little machine generates some heat, but I'm too tired and lazy to sit up straight to work at the bar.

So, this will be a short post.

Today, I had my first instance of feeling some true unkindness toward a student. So far, I've been really lucky with my students. They are boisterous, but overall the energy is positive. Things went a little south with one freshman later in the day. I don't feel comfortable including details, but needless to say, I'll need to take a few deep breaths tomorrow, call him out of class, and let him know that when he's in my class, he's on my schedule and following my instructions.

Wish me luck! Time to turn this little machine off and cool off!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Day 37: Ready for a Break

My body is ready for a break! Tonight was our first night in the new studio, which is a beautiful space. The natural light and open feeling will be wonderful for yoga, but my body wasn't feeling it tonight. After day 40, my goal is to settle into a regular practice--three or four days a week. A schedule that I can maintain through the rest of the school year.

Last Sunday, I mentioned a partial radio story I heard that same day about a group of children who had decided not to help a man they had found stranded at the bottom of a well. Tonight, I tuned in via the PRI website to hear the rest of the tale. Turns out that the children never did tell anyone about the man; it also turns out that the story was a work of fiction!