Tree Pose doing Down Dog

Breaking boundaries.

Allow yourself to be your Self. Don't let a title or a name lock you into name and form. Feel the freedom that comes when you find the Space within. And soon, even though you are a tree, you can become an animal and do downward facing dog pose.
#treepose
#vrksasana
#downdog
#adhomukhasvanasana
#breakingboundaries
#breakingrules
#yosemitetrees

Tree pose

#treepose

#vrksasana

#sukhasthira

#mariposagrove

#lovesequoias

#saynomore

Reboot

Two words. Cold. Plunge.

Just do it.

Do. It.

Ok that's 4 words.

#acoldplungeisworth1000words

#coldplunge

#4words

#justdoit

When life gives you busy-ness

When life gives you busy-ness, remember to mind your own business. In other words, the busier we are, the less time we have to spend worrying about what others think of us, worrying about whether we've done enough, done it right. When wheels of busy/ness come our way, use them to practice detachment. To practice taking care of ourselves. To practice letting go. To practice not taking things personally. Because all these things take time and energy, and when you are really busy, you just don't have time to waste on them. Notice how you feel if you don't waste time on them. Notice how you feel if you do. And if you have time, get back to me on that!

#busybusybusy

#timetoprioritize

#mindyourownbusiness

Mountain pose

Be your own mountain. It takes all kinds to make a range.

#elcapitam

#tadasana

#yosemiterocks

Ice cream

"Ice cream, you scream, we all scream for Pork loin!"

That still makes me giggle. And I printed my free birthday ice cream come coupon from Baskin Robbins and I intend to use it.

Just sayin'

#giggles

#baskinrobbins

#whatevermakesyousmilecantbeallbad

#lightenup

#birthdayclub

Light my fire

Looks like this dry stump is waiting for someone/something to light it's fire. Sometimes all you need is a spark, a match, another flame to light the light that is already within you. 

Chocolate Soup

I saw a sign - "Chocolate Soup." It was a store. My imagination went wild. John and I were driving through a town, I saw the sign, and said, "let's stop!"  From my point of view, how could I lose? 2 of my favorite foods! But alas, the store had neither. Just a mishmash of random items for the home.

Had I been attached, I would have been disappointed. Or even infuriated. We had broken the flow of our ride home from Yosemite. 

There are signs everywhere. How many mean what they say? How do we respond? Do we get bummed if they don't deliver? Or do we even care? Are we numb to the unclarity of the written/spoken word? Are we numb to the unclarity of our own words? Do we feel safer assuming that much of the time people don't say what they mean or mean what they say? Does it give us permission to be unclear with ourselves about what we want, what we believe, who we are? In other words, do we like to take our chocolate soup with a grain of salt? 

There is a comfort in clarity. We get to depend on it. We can even get attached to it. Yet, there is room for both clarity and signs that don't deliver. Because there may be method to the madness of the misleading sign. It got me in the door didn't it? And it also provided me with an opportunity to sit back and watch the Jean show respond. 

ake comfort that there is chocolate soup. I haven't tried it, but I fulfilled my own curiosity loop. It could be amazing. 

Let me know!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chocolate-soup-recipe0.html

 Rating: 5 - 10 reviews - 45 mins

Get this all-star, easy-to-follow Chocolate Soup recipe from Ham on the Street.

#chocolatesoup

#justtryit

#truetothetitle

#foodnetwork

Sticking to chairs

One thing I had forgotten since my life in San Francisco - wearing shorts. And during summer, wearing shorts at a restaurant. And wearing shorts in a restaurant for lunch and getting up. And having leg skin stick to the chair. It happens fast this stickiness. And not only in the summer.

Stickiness happens. We get used to something. We like it. We sit in it. And before we know it, we have developed "stickiness." Not quite an attachment, but just enough of something that it hurts a little to get up. As someone in my yoga class said a couple of weeks ago-"I'm getting back to yoga after a few weeks.  Just ripping off the bandaid and doing it!" 

Stickiness. And thank goodness we have stickiness as an option, or stamps wouldn't stay on the envelopes. 

Just sayin

#justripoffthebandai

#stuckonyou

#stickysticky

#1910fruitgumcompany

Angels in the sky

When in doubt, look up.

And if I had a wider lens you would see more of her. Nature. God. I love. All.

#angels

#naturalskywriting

My ship has come in

After all these years of waiting -  my ship has come in! Awesome!
But where's the water?

Pay attention to what you ask for...
:-)

Be your big S self

This gorgeous sequoia says it at. And it's essence is pre-dinosaur. Just sayin' just do it. Just be your Self. Take it from the trees. Be. Here. Now.

#whatareyouwaitingfor

The labyrinth project: day 2

I went to the sand. The rocks. The earth. Ganesha. The root chakra. The obstacles. And someone clearly had the same vision as me. Or that was my egostisitcal interp of the situation. 

There were new pathways today, where yesterday there were none. I added my point of view, and now there are more. So to say "I opened the gates for spiritual seekers" or even those who are curious, that is bullshit. 

Life went on and evolved. And there are fewer obstacles because of it. If you are looking from

My point of view. 

If you are looking from present moment, the obstacles may look like the same.

Or different. That would depend on the eyeballs and the lifestyle. 

#lifeinthesand

#labyrinthlife

Bass lake: the labyrinth project day 1

Jean spots labyrinth on the beach. All paths lead to nowhere. She is concerned for spiritual seekers and plans to alter the structure. 

Teaching Teachers

That about sums it up. We just keep teaching each other. And learning from our teachers. Who we taught. Who taught us.

#gurupurnima

#thankyouteachersoneandall

Reflections on looking in the mirror

When you see yourself

Who do you see

Your ego

Or divinity

What's important to some

May be all well and fine

But the point of your life

Is yours to define

It's a crap shoot out there

Rolling the dice

Bet on the house?

Who's rolling your life?

When I look in the mirror

What do I see

My big S Self

Or who you want me to be?

My ego

Or divinity

Follow your bliss

Do what you love to do! Follow your bliss! Live your passion! Etc Etc!

All those little quips telling us to do what makes us happy. Why? Because, 1) if we do what makes us happy, we will be in a better mood  2) if we make a choice from our own volition that we believe might result in our own happiness, we are less likely to blame someone for the outcome and 3) when we get older, we won't have as many regrets, which will probably make us feel better about ourselves and how we've lived our lives.

So it may not really be about making choices that make us happy. But making choices that make us happy, could result in being happier. Depending on the outcome of those choices of course. And depending on our attachment to "doing what you love" "bliss" and "living your passion."

Or we can get in present moment and see where that takes us. Oh yeah, to the next present moment...

#livinginthenow
#iwaslivinginthenowthen
#iusedtoliveinthenow
#nowi'mliving

Good Old Choices

Our physical life is a product of our choices. What we do or don't eat and drink, or if we exercise, rest, work, play. What we think, what we say. For example, in the big picture, if I do or don't do yoga asana today- what is the effect? For some, it might make the world of difference. For others, it may not be that big of a deal in that moment. For that day. 

The result of our choices that I'm talking about are the ones we see down the line. For some, way down the line. We can really learn from our elders. As my family ages, and yes, I'm in that family too, no matter how many of you still see me as 25, 30, 35, 45... and what is fascinating is how I see the products of choices. Why do some age more "gracefully?" Why do some "rapidly decline?" I'm not an expert in the science and physiology of aging, but what is becoming clear to me is how we are the result of choices we've made. We are the effect of our causes. We might say that we are living karma. 

So, if I don't do yoga, or meditate, or pick my clothes up off the floor. How will this affect me when I'm 20, 30, 40, 50 years older? Hard to say. The body starts to break down. For some, the mind starts to break down. So do the choices we make, help realize our spirit? Self realization perhaps? What is the effect if denial of spirit? 

The nutshell version this comes from my observations after visiting a relative at an independent living facility. The physical and mental grooves and attachments we set up seem to affect our quality of life when we age. So whether or not we do yoga, meditate, study the yoga sutras and understand all the book learning about consciousness and philosophy from a scholarly point of view doesn't seem to matter unless these practices help us make clear, conscious, and Loving (the big L love) choices. The "practices" of yoga may not make that much difference, unless those practices are affecting our attitudes about ourselves and others. Are we more accepting and less judgemental, or are we more dogmatic, holier than thou, and attached to "right living?" 

To me, it boils down to the "real yoga," the daily life activities and choices we make in our interactions with others and with ourselves. Are we being true to ourselves? Are we living in our own integrity? Are we accepting responsibility for our actions and cleaning up own own messes? Are we focused on the faults of others, or are we focused on why those faults derail us from feeling peaceful? Are we afraid to lose our jobs because we might starve to death and suffer? Are we afraid to die? Maybe it's more a matter of being afraid of how we die? 

Choices. We make them every moment. See yourself as 80. How will that action or thought affect me as an 80 year old? Think about it. Then make a choice. 

#notafraidtodie #notafraidtolive #notafraidtochoose #notafraidofmyself

Timing

When your delayed flight lands early, you know time is not always what it seems. Sure, you can "expect the unexpectable," but that sets up expectations and possible attachments/dissappointments. Another option is to allow the unexpected. And get home sooner, relax more, kiss your partner and pet your dog. Or iguana.

Sparkle

July 4. Plenty of fireworks. Sequins. Glitz. Sparkle.

Sri. Sri means resplendence. Resplendence means sparkle. So on the day where fireworks are banned , illegal, and yet displayed anyway, light your own light, your own sparklers, and sparkle. Be the beautiful display of you. Be illegally bright. Be illegally you.

Yes. Be that big. Because that who is who you really are. And even more. So get used to feeling your light, to seeing/being/loving/acknowledging your light. That prepares us to see/be/love even more.

Shine. Sparkle. Sri. Be.