Surrender Dorothy 2013

Can we let go of the lessons of 2013? Can we empty ourselves enough to make room for what we don't know?

Thank you 2013 for all that was presented to me. Thank all of you for being a part of the show.  2013 was a growthful, expansive year, laced with the theme of healing. 

Simple. Profound. Complete. Yet still happening. Life is very cool that way.

And yummy.

I raise my glass and say "good job everyone!"

Clink clink sip guzzle laugh cry dance

Dust it off

You are 1 year older. Wiser. More evolved. You are not the person you once were. You have transformed.

Blow the ash and residual physical dust off of your light and "shine mutha effers!" Thank you 500 hr Mexico ladies. 

The ash is just proof that you've transformed. So let it go. Your life is proof enough. You don't need a souvenir. Your life is the souvenir. Keep the fullness of the feeling, but let go of the physical attachment to the format. And shine mutha effers! 

#shinemuthafuckers #happynewyear #imsmarternow #idgiveanythingforafeatherduster

Stop! or not...

That voice inside your head. Or your heart. The one that says "stop." Does it mean it? Do you believe it? Is it fucking with you inside your head? Or was that inside your heart?

I was taken by these stop signs on our trip to the strange land of Indio, southeast of Palm Springs. Are these signs actual indicators of the voices inside our heads (or hearts)? Do they whisper? Do they shout? and you know what i'm talking about...

whisper

 normal voice

 shout

These were actual stop signs within a 2 block radius. No stop signs were harmed in the publishing of this blog. 

PEACE!!!!! 

and RELAX DAMMIT!!!!

or just psssst 

" stop "

as my good friend Jillian said -- "and now we rest...."

thank you

Fishing

Instead of fishing for compliments, compliment yourself. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Let your opinion of yourself be the one that truly matters.

Be your own best friend, and you will attract friends who love and appreciate you for who you really are. 

I can

Yesterday

I cut a can

With a ginsu knife

Sliced right through that sucker

And yes, it could still slice a tomato.

Sometimes, when given the opportunity 

Ya gotta check that shit out

There was a can and a knife

And a curious me

Hee Hee hee

Duck walk

Sometimes in the heart of all, we feel like a lone duck taking a walk. And then we see one. 

Under a rock

If you are resting under a rock
and you feel the time of the ticking clock
and your light is bright but fails to shine
and you want your life to look like mine (meaning anyone outside of yourself)

Stay and rest until your done
and when you're ready, become the sun
that lives inside your infinite heart
and soulfully sing as the rock you roll

away from fear of pleasing folks
away from hiding behind the jokes
away from looking for posi-strokes

because you are the one who beats the drum
that accompanies your voice
as you express exactly what it is you are here to

Patience

A wise person pointed out to me, "just because you are calm, it doesn't mean you are not judging."

Patience. Just because we are patient, just because we are willing to wait, it doesn't mean that we are not silently, calmly, patiently judging...

Patience is a gateway to non-judgement. Check it out o ye patient ones. Are we really in a state of non-judgement, or do we silently judge away from our state of inner calm.

Reflecting on this and observing myself and the very wise person, i came to some realizations. Yes. Just because a person is calm, they may still be judging. They may still carry a charge. A button can still be pushed.  And the contrary is also true. Just because someone is acting out, being dramatic, doesn't mean they are in a judgmental state. They may not be carrying any charge. In fact, there may be a case now and then where the calm one is actually judging the dramatic one even though it may look like the dramatic one is "less conscious" than the calm one.

So, don't judge a book by its cover, cuz unless you are the book, you probably don't really have a clue as to what is inside.

Duck duck goose

Why did the goose cross the road? 

Seriously.

The grass was just as green on the other side. But maybe it was the thrill of webbed feet hitting pavement. And that could just be enough of a reason. 

Why do we do anything? Hmmmm. Because we can? Because we can get to the other side? Because then we will have been on both sides. 

Christmas cheer

When does Christmas cheer turn into Christmas beer? When it's on the heels of a $12 Cosmo. 

As I sit at Sip, industry party, I realize how out of the loop I've been. Perfect hair and eyebrows everywhere I turn. People are "on." Camera ready. Really camera ready. And for right now, so am I. 

Years ago I would have been freakin a bit about impressin the shit

Outa people who know people

But now I'm fine with the crap

And feel the clap 

Of applause in my head

Cuz "addicted to love" just came on. And that song is badass.

And so am I 

And so is every soul in this room

Perfect eyebrows or not.

So yeah. I'm skipping the Christmas beer and staying with the cheer 

Of wisdom.

And Robert Plant.

Good night sweet beats. I'm outa here.

With love and gratitude and a smile

And that speaks volumes to my heart 

And eyebrows

Eye brow

Eye bow

To You

Band aids

Riffing off of a comment from yesterday's blog. Talking about physical changes. JL, a long time student and a great source of inspiration said on a Facebook comment, "mind over matter right? But a good massage can help."

Yes JL- ultimately mind over matter, and practically speaking when working with a physical injury or malaise, it may be not enough to think "relax my shoulders" or "stop leaning to the left" or stop tilting my head to the right," at some point, I actually have to physically change what I am doing. Otherwise the massage is just a bandaid. 

I see this frequently in yoga class. People come in with a variety of ailments, and in spite of their own good intentions, they continually repeat the same set if movement patterns that either caused it in the first place, or continue to exacerbate it. 

Why? Because at some point, they thought they were doing the right thing. They thought what they were doing was helpful. And it probably was. But we get stuck in the past or fixated on the future. "I will learn to handstand no matter what!"  I applaud the willpower if that statement, but if someone has been practicing, and still isn't handstanding, then maybe 1) they need to keep practicing, or 2) they haven't found the most efficient way to practice for them. And if a person wanting to learn to handstand has a shoulder or wrist injury, then they need to be aware that their journey will be different than the person who is not injured. 

If you want to run a marathon, at some point you have to start walking. If you have a sprained ankle and have no cardio fitness,  your starting point will be different than someone who already runs 5 miles a day. The 5 mile "head start" dies not guan tree a faster result. The 5 mile head start person could think they can skip steps and get injured, knocking them out of the race. Te ankle sprain may also skip steps and keep reinjuring the ankle, but they may also accept where they are, forget that they were a distance runner back in high school, and start at the beginning. For them. And win the race.

Yes, a massage can help, but at some point, we have to start physically dealing with our patterns, habits, injuries, but changing how we move. Like carrying that heavy handbag on the other shoulder. Or get a roller bag. Or stop handstanding until it gets better, and then start at the beginning and systematically change how you were handstanding in the first place so you don't reinjure yourself. Because if you keep stepping in the same home everyday, that ankle sprain will probably not go away. 

Unless you are training yourself to not be physically or emotionally affected by stepping in the hole. Then carry on my wayward son! There'll be peace when you are done. Or a shitload of doctor bills.

Or put a bandaid on it. I like the kind with cartoons.

;)

A Whole Hole

How many of us have ever felt like we have a hole in our heart? show of hands?

That's what I thought. Inspired by the work of Bonnie Cohen, the teaching of pandit rajmani tigunait, and the yoga sutras of Patanjali, we all have a Whole in our hearts. The Whole (that phrase first coined to me by Dennis Adams). The Whole in our hearts is the light that knows no sorrow. The light of remembrance. The light that knows no sorrow because it recognizes the Whole that is both inside and out.

So yes, I have a Whole in my heart. And there was a time when it felt like a hole. But now it's a Whole hole.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Love that song.

So let's cut to the change.

physical complaints:
oh my aching back
my shoulder is blown out
my neck hurts
i never drink enough water
i don't get enough exercise

here's the thing. for each one of those physical complaints, we make choices to move or act in a certain way. A pattern, if you will. And you will.

We want to change. We want our back to feel better. Our neck to stop bugging us. Our shoulders be less tense.

We can go to as many yoga classes as we can fit into our schedule. Yes. It's great. But if we want to change, we have to stop doing whatever it is that we have done to create the thing we want to change. In other words, if we want to change, we have to change what we do. If I want my shoulders to stop being blown out, I need to stop whatever I've done to blow them out.

So. Am I willing to change? Or is it easier to complain and live with the pain?

No judgement. Just something to consider.  And once we have considered, does our relationship to the complaining change, now that we have awareness that we actually do hold the cards…

hmmm….

damn it! I thought ibuprofen was the answer!
and it was - but can it compete with the daily grind?

ibuprofen can help. but at some point, I have to move my shoulders differently if I want to stop having pain. and change can be painful, albeit not physically.

Sometimes the tapas of the mind is more uncomfortable than even the tightest Lululemon top.

just saying...