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

Mind Your P's and Q's

Mind your Peace and Quiets 

I'm not sure what "Mind your P's and Q's" really means, but there is a sign up at the Yoga Center that says, "Peace and Quiet Starts Here." This made me wonder about my noisy life. Where can I find this both peace and quiet in it? 

My first thought was an image of a butterfly, and my second was my 18 year-old cat who sits so quietly on my lap that I usually end up asking him, "When did you get here?"

I've know Honey, (my cat) since he was a kitten, for about 1/2 of my life. He sleeps most of the day and when he is content, it shows from his paws to the tip of his tail. There isn't a part of him that wishes that he were more like our dog. That would be silly. So why do we spend so much time wishing that we were like others. 

Try to be more cat-like on and off of your mat this week!

t. hutch

Love, Patience, Practice

Love, Patience, Practice

Three simple/complicated words. 

Love and have Patience with yourself and Repeat (Practice). 

Trying to come up with an image to match these words wasn't easy. I was trying to think of a part of my body that I like. I came up with my bubbly toes. 

What is your favorite feature, of you? Don't let society dictate the answer.
Can't think of one, sleep on it. 

If you want, leave your comment below.

Listen to Your Body

Always listen to your body. It whispers, it never shouts....So listen to your body, and never compare yourself to anyone else. Never before has there been a person like you, and never will there be. You are absolutely unique -- in the past, present and future.
So you cannot compare note with anybody, and you cannot imitate anybody. 

- Osho

Many people come to yoga with the idea of becoming more flexible in their bodies. Hamstrings are tight, back needs to loosen up, etc... Even though the above Osho quote is about "listening to your body," the act of listening starts with your mind. They are connected.

This week, I'd like to work on those times that I feel stuck in my situation. Whether it is the person in front of me who isn't paying attention to the green light, or when I need to help my 6 year-old recover from another breakdown when his apple sauce touched his carrot on his plate, or his hat "feels funny."  I could look at it as a chance to come back to taking a few deep breaths and become more flexible!
-t.