The Sky is Falling

I don't know a whole lot about dreams and whether or not their content actually means anything. I like to think that they do mean something, but I sure don't know what on earth it is. Friday seems like a good day to randomly post meaningless stuff, yeah?

This week I've dreamed about cars falling out of the sky onto me, taking a bath full of butterflies and socks, doing a dropback and falling sideways into a bunch of people, having tea with John Friend, and swimming with baby whales while watching nameless creatures glow in the dark of the sea. Yep, it's all over the place... but it's always interesting.  Kinda like life.

Today I did a 3 hour morning practice all about balancing poses. I also realized I need to write up some new class plans. It's been like 9 months since I last did that. I've learned lots of new things since then that I need to integrate into my practice - for reals.

PS:  If you know anything about dreams or just want to throw a wild fiction story my way - let me know what you think some of those crazy dreams could be saying. Also - if you want to share a strange dream you had... please do.

Tree Climbing Fish

Blood, Bruises, and Scars

You may have noticed... we take a lot of yoga pictures around here. I swear they're not all for vanity's sake. Sometimes I get pictures so I can assess my poses and my progress with an objective eye. I don't practice around mirrors or teachers and I need to see where things really are in relation to what's going on in my mind's eye. Sometimes I have Adam snap pics of new breakthroughs. When something new and impressive happens... I like a picture to celebrate it... and to look at later when I'm doubting my abilities. Some of them are just for the sake of it. I don't know.

I have pics in houses, at parks, on University sidewalks, on the ledges of art pieces, riversides, forest clearings, beaches... I have them all over. I'd like to keep this up and get pics in more unconventional locations. However, sometimes it means braving something uncomfortable or weird. Like the fact that there's always someone around looking at you thinking you're weird. On top of that are sun in your eyes, wind ruining your hair, and trying not to get things like footprints and boots in the pics. It's a whole thing.



My knees looking better than the initial damage.

To get pics like this, sometimes I just suck it up and try to make it quick. From that I have a variety of battle marks... like these knee bruises I got recently on that big rock, matching scars on my elbows from doing forearm stands on ridiculously hard and scratchy surfaces, and a scar on my ankle that looks like I got it from shaving - but really it's from accidentally dragging that ankle across a concrete patio during an asana transition. I don't do a whole lot of injurious activities, but I have scars from all sorts of silly yoga stuff. Somehow, every single time I learn a new advanced pose - I shed blood. Not from anything exciting... usually from fingernails. Crazy. Just another reason to keep them short.

Then There Were Two

Usually while Adam is at work I do my thing. I tend to do yoga with a lot less depth if he's around. This makes me pay less attention to the details, get less involved, and I'm just horribly distracted which sucks and can lead to injury. Now though, he's around all the time... so we're just working him into my practice. For the most part, if I'm practicing he's practicing. It's a lot of work for someone that generally sits at a desk for a living. It's helping him with a lot of work related ailments though. He's done yoga for years - when he has time. You know how that goes (it almost never happens). So now he's doing yoga around 2 hours a day and it's already starting to opening his back, heal a shoulder injury, and restore health to his aching hips. I'm also making him meditate every morning which should help with stress levels. I'm hoping to keep him sane and healthy in spite of the whole situation.

He does not, however, do yoga sans mat on rocks. That's just for me. Maybe I'll post some pics soon of the effects of doing such ridiculous things. I have bruises and scars from doing crazy things like that too much.

Special Skills

So I mentioned that Adam got laid off and I was looking for a "day job". I was trying to fill out applications in a way that applies yoga teaching to other things. Then I came across this section on an application that asks about my "Special Skills". What does that even mean? Like in job search terms. All I could think was... does this count?

I Doubt It.

This is Piss, Isn't it?

Everytime I think I don't like something - the Universe brings in a massive change that makes me think that perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps it wasn't so bad... what if everything really changes? What if nothing is ever the same? Not just the bad, but the good too. What if the bad stuff gets worse and the good stuff just goes away? "What if" is a really ugly game to play. Don't let yourself wander down that road... and if you find that you're already on it... feel free to just head off into the weeds. Certainly there will be something better in there. Like a lion.

My husband was laid off from his job this week. It's been a couple days and we're trying to "deal" and really wrap our heads around it. If anyone knows of a great job opportunity for a mid-level Software Engineer... don't keep that tasty nugget to yourself. In response to all this - I'm actually looking for a job. A regular day job kind of thing. I haven't had one of those in like 6 years. I don't know if you know this about me, but outside of yoga I'm not actually qualified to do anything. Eeep! Yoga is a splendid tool - not only for joy but for pain, worry, frustration, and downright terror. I learned that ages ago, and now I just need to remain calm long enough to dip into my little yoga toolbox and use what's in there.

Reflecting on Reflection

As the week goes by I've been going over my notes from the Noah Maze workshop and trying to gently unpack the lessons and tips I received and find them a home in my regular practice. A lot of what was covered were the themes of love, commitment, and reflection. The notes on love and commitment come very readily to me... I just 'get' those... but the reflection stuff is apparently a little harder. Amusing that I have to consciously sit and reflect on these things... to really gather and soak in the lessons on reflection. I have always been a rather internal person, but actual reflection... maybe I've shied away from that recently because it's taking some real work. I'll have to settle in a bit more and look inside for that.

Here's something from my notes that we can all afford to consider a little more deeply today:

The Universe went through an extraordinary amount of effort to make you. Be Grateful.