Butterfly Effect - Wet Paint Week 21

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world...
Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead

This week was filled with butterfly sightings; monarchs to be exact. It seems every time I took a walk there they were seemingly aimless in the direction that they were flying in, yet they've got the basics figured out. What to eat, who to mate with, where to go on "vacation" --- Mexico of course.

How to be a little more instinctual on my mat this week was the underlying theme.

Also, thanks to my friends at Wikipedia, I found this info...

In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions, where a small change at one place in a nonlinear system can result in large differences to a later state. The name of the effect, coined by Edward Lorenz, is derived from the theoretical example of a hurricane's formation being contingent on whether or not a distant butterfly had flapped its wings several weeks before.

Sounds like the interconnected sense a person can get from practicing yoga to me...

t.

 

Plants - Wet Paint Week 20

If it came from a plant, eat it;

If it was made in a Plant, don't. 

-Michael Pollan

The above quote is from the beautifully illustrated book, "Food Rules." It provides the reader with some common-sense ideas regarding food; what to eat, how much, etc.. 

It makes me think of Ahimsa, Non-violence/ Compassion/Kindness. 

Be kind to yourself and eat/drink well. 

Since it is Mother's Day, it was appropriate that this book came to mind. My mom did a really good job setting time aside so that we would eat most home-cooked dinners together, sitting down, all 10 of us, whenever possible. Amazing. We would always find some kind of green on our plates. She never made us eat it all, instead we would just have to "try" it. There were many times that I remember eating one pea. I'm grateful to you mom for setting me up to try stuff! 

Side-note: Another way to think of gratitude... My twin sisters and a partner are leaving San Francisco and taking a '87 Volvo across the country. They each get 1/3 of the car for their stuff. 

If you had to pack up a 1/3 of a car with your earthly goods, what would you take? 

More importantly, what can you live without? 

-t 

Improve Your Vision - Svadhyaya - Wet Paint Week 19

Improve your Vision

Your vision becomes clear when you look into your heart. 

Who looks outside, dreams. 

Who looks inside, awakens. 

- Carl Jung

The next Niyama that I'm focusing on is Svadhyaya (self-study). This is a tricky one because in order to do it we need to go inside. What if we don't like what we find once we get there? There are a million ways to do this and yoga is just one of them. Other examples include: focusing on your breath, making music etc... It is important to do something that is authentic to you. 

Some of my yoga teachers have told me that your gurus (teachers) find you when you aren't looking for them. I like this train-of-thought because it doesn't seem forced. 

I was watching a 20/20 episode the other night about the book called "The Secret." James Arthur Ray, a self-proclaimed, self-help guru used the ideas in this book to take supporters on a $10,000-per-person retreat in Sedona, Arizona. This climaxed in a sweat-lodge event that injured dozens and left three dead. This is an extreme situation, and has helped give the term "guru" a negative connotation. It also got me thinking about the importance of going inside to find your truth rather than searching for it through other people.

I remember the day that I first got my glasses. The clarity was something that was new and strange. How fun is it to find this on your mat?

-t.

The Flame Inside- Tapas- Wet Paint - Week 18

... this isn't a contest but a doorway into thanks

and a silence

in which another voice 

may speak. 

-Mary Oliver, Thirst

This week's focus is on the Niyama, Tapas. There are different ways to explain the meaning of tapas, burning zeal in your practice is one of the them. Think of it as a passion without your ego getting in the way.
You could consider your habits. Think about your bad habits (this should be an easy one), your good habits and last but not least, your neutral habits.
Can you separate the definition of you, from that cup of coffee that you have every morning?
This week try to take yourself out of your own comfort zone at least three times.
My plan:
1) Take showers that are 5 minutes or shorter.
2) Play catch with my kids and try to discover why throwing a ball back and forth is fun.
3) No coffee

 Also, when you are on your mat, be there fully. Feel that flame inside of you stoked by your breath.

Life is Sweet - Santosa - Wet Paint, Week 17

When you do things from your soul,
you feel a river moving in you, a joy. 

-Rumi

All week as I considered a focus, honey/nectar/bees kept popping up.
As a student in a yoga class, I listened to my teacher describe a nectar flowing through my system.
It makes me think about Santosa (Contentment). How could I be anything but content when thinking about nectar flowing through my veins!

In a time when we can go out to the grocery store and buy a tomato; any time of the year -from clear across the world.  In a place where bus stops and magazines scream things like, "Buy this product... You need it... It will make you happy."

Where do we find contentment? 

Let's start with a cup of tea with a bit of honey. Sit with the tea. Consider its journey. Sit with the honey. Where has it been? How many flowers and how many bees did it take?
Feel the temperature and taste it.
Take time away for this screen that you are reading for a spot of tea.

t. hutch

As a result of contentment, one gains supreme happiness. 

Patañjali, Yoga Sutras

Find Your Balance - Sauca - Wet Paint, Week 16

Find Your Balance through Sauca

Time for some spring-cleaning. Sauca (sow-cha) or purity is a good place to start. I was thinking that it is like the daunting idea of cleaning my entire house; including my basement! Don't do it all at once, instead just pick a closet.  

Cleanliness of the body and mind develops disinterest in
contact with others for self-gratification. 

When the body is cleansed, the mind purified and the senses controled,
joyful awareness, needed to realize the inner-self, also comes. 

Patañjali, Yoga Sutras

It all starts with awareness and a little faith. Think of your body as sacred and remember that the chemicals that we consume and the processed food that we eat isn't as good as the real thing; fresh out of the ground at the farmer's market. 

So hop on your bike and breathe the air. 

t. hutch

Amazing Grace...

Grace is a Crocus: 

Eager, Strong, Delicate and Fleeting. 

T. Hutch

This weeks focus came to me in the form of the song, "Amazing Grace" in the form of the Ani's cover of it. The words that we've all heard a million times.

"T'was Grace that taught...
my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear...
the hour I first believed."

I found this crocus in my yard and thought about how, in Minnesota, a crocus flower is the first to come up. Often times, too early. I've seen them peeking through the snow. Although they are not around for long, they offer a sense of hope; that spring is here.

I sometimes wonder how to live my life more gracefully. So, for this week the focus is to find glimpses of grace in my life. There is no way to really hold on to the beauty of a crocus. If it is cut and put into a vase, it will only wilt. 

Likewise, there isn't a way to hold on to a sense of grace, instead appreciate the glimpses of it when you feel it pass by. 

t. hutch