Day 58 Don't hate meditate!

I was very glad to have meditation today. I have been in a foul mood this morning and it was just what I needed. Some weird changes are definitely happening to me. I can't explain it but I feel more aware than usual and it's kind of freaky. My dreams are more colorful and I can think a bit more clearly. I am going to meditate on my own in the mornings with the mantras that the DCC uses

Who am I?

What do I want?

What is my purpose?

Tomorrow my good friend Mazz is going to be taking class with me.I'm excited to share this experience with a friend...

Day 57 Doctor Ganesh will see you now

Today was a good day. I went to meditation class at 12 and this time the room was totally packed! There must have been 25 people in this small room all wanting to rid themselves of stress, bad memories and fears. We were literally knees next to knees which is curious with total strangers. I really don't want someone else's energy unless it's good energy.

My mind darted all over the place but always came back to my Mantra inhale Ease... exhale Fear... I have to say, I love starting my day with this calming activity. I do feel like my day goes smoother when I begin it with positivity. That sounds sooooo gay. Like 4th grade gay, not same sex marriage gay... anyway... I'd like to think that I could do meditation every day in addition to Asana practice and think I will try it.

I went to the orthopedist and got another cortisone shot for my trigger finger which will make my thumb and point finger and the cul de sac of skin inbetween pretty sore for the next few days... I spoke to him about my elbow and was diagnosed with... ukulele elbow! Actually they call it tennis elbow but mine is from playing uke not a back hand! Go figure. I will have to start modifying in class to help these injuries heal quicker.

Physician heal thyself.

Musician? you're fucked :-)

Day 56 Dance, Dance Yogalution

A cold, wet rainy day. I did the community class today from 3-4. The instructor was a new one which is why I went at that time. I'll call her Martha (after Graham.) She did these wide sweeping hand movements that when combined with warrior 2 looked a lot like a plie in second position. Her whole approach was very dance oriented.

It was a pretty full class and only lasted an hour. I was surprised at that and I actually found myself wishing there was more time.

One of the things I like about Yoga is that it's somewhat circuit training based. Certain poses put with others to give different parts of the body a stretch. We did an amazzzzzzzzing shoulder roll opener which opened me up to a place that was obviously a hysterical one. As soon as we began to come out of the right side and switch to the left I found myself giggling like crazy. I have no idea why. But I laughed for about a minute. I always think of Hanuman when I laugh in Yoga. Not because he's funny in actions (au contraire, he led an army of Monkeys to fight the demon king Ravana) (perhaps inspiring Wizard of Oz?) but because he always looks like he's smiling :-)

No one acknowledged my outburst. That probably would have been too weird. Like I always say.. It's a private practice in a public forum. One thing worth mentioning though... upon hearing what was a pretty loud emission of gasses from someone in the room, the instructor said "Woohoo! I just heard a great fart!" I guess I stand corrected on the previous post where I said no teacher would mention it!

Day 55 Yoga. I does it. Nuff said

Day 54 I been around the block. Try it . You'll like it.

Today's Align class from 1-2:15 was awesome. It felt great to stretch mah bones after two days of no Asana. I wasn't nearly as flexible on my left side today as my right so I used a block.

These blocks are provided by the studio and help people get into deeper stretches and poses. They are also fantastic for alignment since they offer a bit more balance.

I find that sometimes I put to much stress on my legs and knees in Extended Triangle Pose or Utthita Trikonasana and the block relieves a lot of that problem. It's also really good sitting on during meditation because it straightens your spine, opens your hips and relaxes the sits bones.

Emme was teaching today. She has such an awesome smile. She is very laid back in her own person and it pours over into her teaching. I like that she asks questions during class. A lot of the time it feels as if the questions are not to be answered but pondered. Even the beginning of class has a usual "So, how is everyone doing today?" and maybe 3 people out of 25 will say something. However, everyone always gets down with the Ohmmm. Go figure.

My husband is feeling better but I stayed by his side as much as I could and only left for class and to get more supplies; Puffs Plus, OJ, soup and green tea Mohci. I think we'll download some movies, snuggle up and maybe I'll even give him a massage to work out some of that stuff. I think perhaps I avoided getting what he has partly because of my new yoga regimen. It focuses me, releases more energy therefore helping me sleep better which in turns keeps me healthy. Whew!

I think I might get some of those blocks for home use. They feel uh. may. zing when you lay one between your shoulder blades and lie back on it... *drool*

Day 53 In sickness and in health

My husband is very sick. Like, he-asked-me-to-look-up-Dengue-fever-because-he'd-been traveling-and-couldn't-shake-the-chills-and-sweating kind of sick. I felt terrible and stayed home to nurse him. I'd made plans to go to a class from 3-4:30 because I thought he'd be home from work by 5 but he came home early and sounded like he needed some comforting. So I stayed.

I will make up the class by adding an extra meditation this weekend.

Day 52 Sex, Yoga and Violence

Today was a noon meditation day at the D.C.C. Tara was leading everyone and unlike the other two women who'd taught she didn't put a candle in the center of the room. I'd always thought it was just for a sense of light so no one would freak out if they nodded off and woke up wrapped in a blanket in some basement room. It's actually for concentration. There is a certain type of candle meditation practice called Tratak. It is said that it's extremely beneficial to reenergizing the mind.

There were about 10 people today 4 men the rest women and of every walk of life. I had a hard time today even though no one was talking like the last time... I found myself having these incredibly violent thoughts. In and out they flowed. One minute.. one of the people meditating in the room was going to open fire and kill everyone just to make a point that even folks meditating for peace and calm are screwed. The next minute? Inhale "Soooooo" exhale "Huuuuuuum." It was really weird.

Somebody farted. Twice. I doubt any yogi would acknowledge those things because it would seem rude but I know they think it. That brought me to thinking about just letting go and that some dude could just jerk of under his blanket with his eyes open, watching all the women in the room with their eyes closed and mouths parted. Inhale "Sooooooo" exhale "Huuuuuuuum"Sex and violence and meditation? Damn, my subconscious is riddled with dirtiness eh? I couldn't help but think that I was absorbing some of the peoples fears and thoughts as well. I wondered if there were any yoga programs for prison. Turns out, Yes... that's awesome.

I liked the pic above of what looks like some kind of county uniform and thought the irony of the orange jumpsuits with what orange represents with the shakras. Maybe if more people knew about thee color affectations they might change their minds. And color choices... http://www.gemstonegifts.com/Colors/orange.htm

It is an extremely different experience than at Sonic. All the folks there are serious yogis and at the D.C.C it's housewives and businessmen. Which is awesome don't get me wrong! However, it makes it hard to concentrate when energies are flying and not honed in on one purpose.

Geez that sounded like I'm gonna go vegan, stop shaving and eat wheat germ...

not

just

yet