Category Archives: Yoga

A Grateful Stance or The Seven Wonders

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Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful. ~ Buddha

I’ve posted this quote on The Veganasana facebook page before, and it’s one of my favorites (admittedly, I have many favorites).  I love this reminder of all that we have in this life.  Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot of whining and complaining around me.  Now, don’t get me wrong, everyone needs to have a little whine now and then.  It’s good for clearing out that emotional stuff and it’s nice exercise for the vocal chords.  Plus, it is true that we all have our troubles, our sorrows, and our pain.  But, the flipside of that coin is that we also all have something(s) for which to be grateful.  I’ve been working on cultivating my gratitude for a good while, not always as successfully as I would like – I can sometimes be uber-whiny.  So, I am going to take a moment here to put out there seven the wonders of my life (there are more, but I’m going to cram as much as I can into seven).

~ I woke up this morning.  See what I did there?  That’s a biggie.  I woke up.  I opened my eyes and took another breath and I got to spend another day with my friends and my family and my coworkers enjoying this beautiful world.  Nice.

~ When I woke up, I was in my body, with all of it’s pretty cool parts.  Yep, I have RA – and it’s flaring a little right now.  Uh huh, got that lymphodema in the right leg, reflux in the gut, and a kickin set of allergies.  BUT, I’ve got eyes and they see such beauty.  I’ve got limbs and they allow me to move and do things and wear nice pants : )   I have muscles and joints that allow me to participate in the practice of yoga, which I adore.  I’ve got a digestive system that does frankly fascinating things (everybody poops – I don’t know if you knew that, but I read it in a book once – true story and very cool).  I’ve got a heart that keeps beating, all the time, and I’m not even doing it.  I’ve got a mind that allows me to think about stuff and ponder it and write blogs about it and study and understand it.   I could go on, but seriously, isn’t the body nifty?

~ I’ve got people I love.  I have a spouse who makes me giggle so hard that I snort and keeps me intellectually challenged.  I’ve got kids who love me and annoy me and amuse me all at the same time.  I’ve got siblings and parents who bring me much joy and give me a sense of place.  I’ve got in-laws who have added a wonderful whole additional set of family cultures to my life.  I’ve got friends who keep my head above water, listen to me when I’m not feeling grateful, and make me laugh until my stomach hurts.  Nice.

~ I have a job.  Rockin.  And, you know, it’s a pretty cool job.  I get to contribute to the life of the mind of a whole bunch of people day in and day out.  And I get to work in a nice climate controlled building with bathrooms and running water and pictures on the wall and computers and a little mini fridge in my office and a teapot.  That’s pretty sweet.  I’m freakin’ lucky, huh?  Sure, every day and every moment isn’t a delight.  It doesn’t always go the way I want it to or the way I think it should, but still.  When I think about all the jobs I could be doing and that would be way less enjoyable for me and when I think about what having this job allows me to do for myself and my family… well…

~ I’ve got hobbies that I enjoy.  I get to blog.  I get to read. I get to tweet. I get to do yoga (did I mention that I love yoga?).  I get to read about and cook vegan and vegetarian food.  I get to listen to music and watch TV.  I have time to do these things.  I have the ability to do these things. I have the financial wherewithal to do these things.  I’m in a pretty swell place.

~ I’ve got people I don’t love.  Yep, them too.  There are people in my life who I don’t feel super warm and cuddly about.  They aggravate me (sometimes intentionally).  They dislike me.  They make things harder.  Maybe they say things that are painful.  But, they help me grow.  They help me to work on my sense of humor, my equanimity, my gratitude.  They help me to see the areas I need improvement in.   So, I’m grateful for them as well.

~ I’ve got pets and other animals around me.  Animals rock.  There is something about having a dog or a cat, or even a lizard looking at you with eyes that say, “I trust you with my life and my wellbeing” or “I’m SO AMAZINGLY HAPPY you came home!”  They really do bring something special to my life and I’m so glad that I get to have that experience.

So, there you go – the seven wonders of my life (and yes, I do know that I crammed about 27 things into each one).  Sorry about the gooey-ness  and positivity of the post. If that stuff annoys you, see me later and I’m sure I’ll find something to complain about.

All in all, I’m one lucky and grateful person.  Are you?

Namaste,

L

Peacocks in Motion

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So, peacock poses, otherwise known as Pincha Mayurasana and Mayurasana
I fell smack on my head done Pincha today in the center of the room (got a little over excited with the hop). But, I think it’s coming along.
As for Mayurasana, I have to get around the curvy back issue (as always) and get my feet actually into the air.
This cyber girl seems to have it down pat, however.

Peacock poses, someday you will be mine! : )    What are your tips for getting the peacocks in flight?

Lessons Learned from a Furry Friend

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This past week, we lost a long-time friend, our male cat, Rudy.  Of course, we are all feeling sad about not being able to see his furry face every day, but we are also very grateful to have had him in our lives for 7 years.  I’ve posted before about my cats being yogis, and I was only barely kidding.  In Rudy’s short lifetime, he taught me a number of important lessons, and I will always appreciate that teaching and remember him when I think about these things.

Rudy taught me about the joy of really resting.  Many cats, when they rest, will lay on their stomachs, all limbs tucked in and head erect – not Rudy.  Rudy rarely ever slept this way.  When he rested, he RESTED!  He would plop right over onto his side, stretch out as far as he could, snuggle deeply into whatever (usually soft) surface he had chosen, and sleep deeply.  He could, and would, sleep through significant noise, and even being moved from one location to another.

In a similar vein, Rudy showed us the importance of picking your battles.  While our other cat will fuss or squirm if you pick her up (and she might rip off your face if you try to trim her nails), Rudy was very mellow about almost everything.  Frequently, Emmeline would pick him up and carry him, like a baby, around the house.  I don’t know if he liked it, but he never really fought it.  If the dogs hassled him, he would just move out of their reach onto a high surface and ignore them.  When we would take him to the vet (another event that can earn you a scratch from Charlie), he would relax calmly on the table, letting the vet examine, poke, prod, and manipulate at will.  Rudy was truly a “cool” cat and his mellow mood was catching.

While Rudy picked his battles, he also reminded me that once you decide an issue is worth fighting for you must pursue it with all persistence.  Rudy liked to stay up at night.  And he liked company.  So, if someone was asleep that he wanted to be awake, he worked to his utmost to make that happen.   He would begin with some meows.  If that didn’t work, he would move on to climbing on the head of his intended companion.  If the result still wasn’t pleasing him, he would begin “patting” whatever skin on the head area he could reach (and he patted with claws).  His last resort would be to proceed to any table/desk/nightstand in the room and methodically begin throwing items onto the floor, checking between each to see if his friend had awoken.  If locked out of the room his buddy was in, he would open doors with his paws or climb furniture to leap through the transoms and get to the person he wanted.  Tenacity?  You betcha!

Rudy was also a fan of those little ritualized moments that happen between beings that care for each other, but that we can begin to take for granted.  It was obvious that he found them important and wanted to be sure they were maintained.  In the mornings, if someone wasn’t up by the time Rudy was accustomed to the feeding ritual, he would let us know, loudly and repetitively, that it was time for this family interaction to begin.  In the evenings, about 10 p.m. – as if  he could tell time – he would appear in the office, look at Derek, and quietly announce, “meow.”  This would be followed by an intense stare.  The meow and the stare were the start of a process involving the procurement of 5-6 pounce treats from the pantry in the kitchen, and he observed this ritual on a very regular basis.

Finally, Rudy taught me that it is possible to get your message across, if you keep trying, even when the  other being doesn’t understand how you think or what you want, and even if you don’t speak the same language.  When Rudy was a few years old, he began urinating in unusual places, including the sunroom and Jacob’s laundry basket.  We took the measures we could think of (scooping the cat box more often, reminding Jacob to wash his clothes, checking Rudy for bladder infections, installing cat calming plug-ins), but the messes continued.  Rudy kept upping the stakes, peeing on more surfaces, and making them places that were even harder to clean (like INSIDE of Derek’s briefcase, in Emmeline’s doll cradle, and all over the top bunk in Jacob’s room).  He even escalated to leaving excrement messages in these places.  Finally, after literally years of cleaning up, it occurred to me  that maybe he didn’t like running the dog gauntlet to get to the liter box.  So, we added another one upstairs and voila! – problem instantly solved.  We were rather dense about it, but Rudy kept trying to communicate his issue in more and more obvious ways until we finally were able to see what he was trying to tell us.

These are just a few of the highlights of what Rudy brought to my life (along with many nuzzles and purrs and catrobatics).  I know that I will continue to miss him, but I also know that he will never really be gone.  He is part of me and part of us.  Though I’m sad, I’m happy to have learned and loved with our fuzzy friend Rudy.