What do you think about during warrior pose?

During yoga class I search for calm.  That peace and quiet that comes and goes as I flow from one pose to the next focusing on my breath.

It's a struggle to quiet the monkeys and enjoy a couple of moments free from thought.  If I get one moment of quiet during a class I consider myself lucky.

Here are a couple of funny videos of what some others are thinking about while down doggin'.  Thanks to MindBodyGreen for sharing!

*warning* a couple of swears here and there...And they pretty much cover every stereotype, but good for a laugh!

Enjoy!

Yoga Playlist # 2

In an attempt to get into the flow of posting on a more regular basis, it's a toss-up between 'Meatless (recipe) Mondays' and 'Music Mondays'.  So far the playlists have won out! 

Last week Happiness for All gave me a great music recommendation in comments...please share if you have any too!!!

1. Karma ~ Soulfood

2. Fig Tree ~ Brett Dennen

3. It's a Fire ~ Portishead

4. Choices ~ Xavier Rudd

5. Waste ~ Phish

6. Fake Empire ~ The National

7. 40 Day Dream ~ Edward Sharpe and the Manetic Zeros

8. Soulshine ~ Michael Franti

9.  You are the Best Thing ~ Ray LaMontagne

10.  Restless ~ Alison Krauss

11. Groovin' Slowly ~ John Butler Trio

12. Let me Lie ~ Phish

13. Honey Honey ~ Feist

14. Darlin' ~ Bambi Lee Savage

15.  Enchanted Dream ~ Soulfood

ps...yes, I do realise today is Tuesday...

Yoga Playlist #1

There's this whole debate out there in the yoga world as to whether or not music should be played during yoga.  I'm not going to get in to all the details here because a) I don't care.   b) I understand both sides of the debate. and c) it's really a personal preference.

I play music during my class when I teach.  I love how a certain beat, rhythm or lyric can speak to you or help you to centre in. 

When I practice at home, it's a 50/50 split between practicing to music and practicing in silence.  While practicing to music I often allow my body to move to the beat, sing out loud and engage in a total dance party for one.  In silence, I love the way I can hear and feel my breath in my body.  My breath becomes my rhythm and that too can speak to me and help me to centre in.

Because I do play music while I teach, at the end of class I'm often asked about this song or that.  So I thought I'd start to post my playlists for all to enjoy.

Here's what I've been rocking out to during class this week!

1. Birds and Ships ~ Billy Bragg & Wilco
2. Boy With a Coin ~ Iron & Wine
3. Ain't No Reason ~ Brett Dennen
4. True Love Way ~ Kings of Leon
5. Closer ~ Kings of Leon
6. My Moon My Man ~ Feist
7. Peaches & Cream ~ John Butler Trio
8. Give me One Reason ~ Tracey Chapman
9. Hasn't Hit me Yet ~ Blue Rodeo
10. Please Read the Letter ~ Robert Plant & Alison Kraus
11. Dreams of 18 ~ Lal Meri
12. Let it Be Me ~ Ray LaMontagne
13. By Your Grace ~ Krishna Das

Bon Weekend!!!

back to the charting board




After a long day of travel in Indonesia.  ...this is how I feel today.

 
I'm tired.  Like dog ass tired.  At first I thought it might be the weather.  Than I thought it could be 'that' time of my cycle.  Than I thought maybe it could be because my schedule is getting busier.  I'm sure it's a combo of all three.  But also the fact that I've been eating like shit, going to bed late and getting up later and have been missing my morning yoga practice.

During my Energy month I was feeling great!  I was following my intentions, loving ticking things off and truly had more energy.  I thought that I could just keep it up without the daily reminder.  But the only thing that has stuck is improved dental hygiene.  I am now a regular flosser...my dentist would be so proud.

So, back to charting.

So far this month of relationships hasn't been the most successful.  Probably because I've been so tired and lazy.  Which, I should tell you are not the best ingredients when you're living with someone who is also tired and you're both trying to work on your relationship.  But, we're trying.  And have agreed that our relationship deserves two months.  So this will carry over.

I came across this great article on Elephant Journal about relationships and will add some of this in too.

The Whole Point of Every Relationship (is probably not what you think it is).

Anyways, did a big grocery shop with lots of veggies so this should help the three servings.  Also, changed my schedule around a bit so that my early mornings are free next week so I can get my yoga on!!!  It's amazing how being tired can affect everything.  Need to remember to always watch my energy levels!

~peace :)

marriage is like a team of horses

me and my parents at Bugolksa S. Korea

Yesterday was my parents 40th anniversary.  That's right, 4-0.  It's a big red ruby anniversary that was celebrated with family, food and one too many drinks.  For their present I put together a scrap book.  A lovely idea, and one that they really appreciated.  A lovely idea that ended up taking me hours and hours to put together.  I had no idea scrapbooking would be this hard.  *note to self ~ next time you think it's a good idea to make a scrap book for someone, remember - it's not.

Anyways, as I went through the photos for the book, it was like watching my parents grow up together.  Literally grow up together, they were 19 when they were married.  The love that they share for eachother is so clear in every picture.  My parents have been amazing role models for me and my brothers.  And at dinner the other night as my dad handed my mom a ring shaped box, the look of surprise and awe and absolute adoration that flashed under batted eyelashes from my mom to her husband made all of our hearts flutter.

For this scrap book I asked their family and friends to write in stories and memories for my parents.  The emails that came in were amazing and showed how much they're loved.  They were likened to Romeo and Juliet by friends and a good team of horses by family.  As the story goes, my great grandmother used to say that a good marriage was like a team of horses, you could only move forward if you pulled in the same direction.

With all this love and committment on my mind, it seems fitting that this month - in my no shit experiment - will be all about 'relationships'.  Not relationships in general, just one relationship really.  The one that consists of me and my homeboy.
side note~ yes, I am still doing this experient...last months theme of finances just didn't leave me with much to write about... not a topic I've really taken an interest in, but one that I did need to focus on and learn some basic principles...which I did...so now on to the fun stuff.

Relationships!!!

Here are some ideas I think might help to strengthen our relationship:

1)  Just do it ~ if there's something that I want to do, I can't always wait for the man to want to do it too...and then feel resentful when we miss out.  If I want to do it, I should just do it.
2)  15 mins of quiet together ~ I know this doesn't seem like much, but as I was writing it down I thought "how are we going to manage this?"  This means 15 mins a day just the two of us, no t.v., no books, no ipad...just a chance for us to sit, lay or whatever together in quiet and enjoy eachother.
3)  Proofs of love  (idea from the Happiness Project)~ leave notes, texts, hugs, kisses, anything as reminders of our love for eachother.
4)  Follow through ~ no matter how big or small, if I say I'm going to do it, then I'm going to do it.  If I say I'm going to wash the dishes, I'm going to wash the dishes.  If I say I'm going to clean our pad from top to bottom, cook dinner and give him a fully body massage all while reciting Shakespear from memory, than that's what I'm going to do.  No more putting our relationship and things around our relationship on hold for other 'important' things.  We are the important things.
5)  1x per week activity together; yoga, hiking, rock climbing, whatever.  Something active and out of the house.
6)  Read If the Buddha Married.  Give the homeboy the coles notes version
7)  Honesty ~ speak and act from a place of truth.  Sometimes we sacrafice our own truth as a means to avoid hurting the other.  And in the end, we both get hurt.  Honesty first!!

Just like a good horse, I ran these by the man and he is 'on board'!  Now let's see just how fast we can run together!!

Any ideas to help build a stronger/healthier relationship?  Please leave in comments.