friday quotation

Commitment
Until one is committed
there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back,
always ineffectiveness.

Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation)
there is one elementary truth,
the ignorance of which kills countless ideas
and splendid plans:
that the moment one definitely commits oneself,
then providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one
that would otherwise never have occurred.
A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner
of unforeseen incidents and meetings
and material assistance,
which no man could have dreamt
would have come his way.

I have learned a deep respect
for one of Goethe's couplets:
Whatever you can do, or dream you can...begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
~W.N. Murray (The Scottish Himalayan Expedition)


From a very non-committal place, this seems oddly appropriate as my quotation for the week...if for inspiration to commit if nothing else!

bittersweetness is...

...Yoga Vida 707 closing...getting to practice one last time in that beautiful room (the pictures in this post are taken from that room) with Deralyn, Katie, Vic, Bekah, and Dean (some of my favorite teachers)...all of the wonderful memories I have in there with Amy, Lisa, Malia, and Joan (who was also there tonight). It was an emotional night. Gratitude and love all around. Downward dogs and pigeons and warriors and wheels and trees and eagles and inversions and boats, too.
Dean started us off with Donna Summer's "Last Dance" which just about undid me. I don't know why. I think there's just a lot of change going on within and around me right now and Yoga Vida 707 closing its doors is just one more example of it. It felt in some way like a chapter of my life was closing. The chapter of early morning yoga classes where sometimes it was just Amy and me with Deralyn to guide us. The chapter of 5:30 p.m. yoga classes on Sunday afternoons with Lisa. The chapter where I got brave enough to do a headstand (against the wall!) and to flow up into wheel. Where pigeon became something that I embraced rather than fought. Where I was reminded of why, even after years of not practicing consistently, I return to yoga. Time and time again.
And it was a place where the circle did not get even begin to close with a lot things. Emotions. Aspirations. Challenges. And mantras. 707 is a place where crow still eludes me...most of the time. Where I dream of doing a headstand without the wall. Where I dream of flipping my dog into wheel. Where I dream of floor bow being a flow and not a fight. Where I dream of being more graceful and balanced and grounded.
I'll carry those dreams to Yoga Vida Westlake with me. It's just a few miles away and, for me, well worth the trip.
Because I think that is the other thing that tonight...and a viewing of YogaWoman last week...showed me - that I am committed to this practice. Not because it replaces anything else that I do but because it adds to everything else that I do. I have an ambition to eventually practice yoga daily - even if it's just a few poses in my home by myself upon rising or before going to bed. For now, it's enough to continue to learn and grow, to surrender and stop struggling, to take risks and become stronger...from within and without...on my mat.
Thank you, Yoga Vida 707, for being the space in which that journey really began...

sweetness is...

...a former student getting married...me being invited to the wedding...seeing a handful of other former students (four of whom were my advisees)...all grown up...all still just as funny, kind, and wonderful as ever. My heart was full to bursting. My eyes were brimming with tears. We laughed about old times; I caught up on their whereabouts and goings on right now. I'd seen most of them since their graduation in 2004, but I was still caught off guard seeing them "all grown up" some eight years later. So very proud to know them. Definitely one of those (many) moments when I'm reminded of why I love my job. Because of my students/advisees.

friday quotation

Tell me, what is it that you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
~ Mary Oliver

What a good question!

Been asking it of myself a lot lately.

a new perspective

I've been trying my hand at photography lately. Thanks to Amy who had a Groupon that she couldn't use and that I bought from her, I took my first photography class in February (on SuperBowl Sunday). I have a Canon PowerShot that I have, quite frankly, been lucky enough to take some good pictures with - completely by accident. I have a decent eye for things (or so I've been told!), but I had no idea that this little point-and-shoot could do so many things. I learned A TON that Sunday afternoon...cold and rainy as it might have been. We sat for about an hour and listened to some instruction and then were set forth to take pictures. Our instructor would give us an "assignment", we'd wander around the food trailer court near Progress Coffee and then regroup. We continued in this way for about an hour and took lots of photos. Some worth keeping...others quickly being deleted. (Got to love that about digital cameras).

Some of my favorites from the day:

I had a blast in those two hours of photography class. And so I took our instructor's words to heart and I have been practicing. A lot. Taking photos each day. Since February. It's quite a feat for me to have stuck with something like this!
To hold myself accountable, I set up an account with Blipfoto. The idea is to post one photo each day. I quickly learned that the more pictures I took (even of the same subject), the more likely I was to have at least one that I was willing to post. Some days I've gotten lucky and had many that I would like to post. Since that initial class, some of my favorites include:











I'm about to embark on an online photography course, which will be interesting. And I'm hoping to keep expanding what I'm doing and how well I work with my camera. The most important thing to me is that I'm having a ton of fun with it. I'm not claiming to be extremely talented by any means, but it has given me a new perspective on how I see things throughout the day.

and the stone was rolled away

In the spiritual sense...because it's Easter and today marks the day of the women going to the place where Jesus' body had been placed only to find the stone that was covering the opening to the tomb rolled away...and Jesus gone. Risen. Born again.
In the emotional sense...because in yoga today Dean reminded us that it was time to let our defenses down. To let go of whatever was holding us back from being our true selves. He encouraged us to let that true self of our soul speak to us...and for us to listen...and to believe in it whole-heartedly.
In a physical sense...because I love the idea of literally moving something out of the way. To allow something new to come in. To see to the other side of whatever was blocking our vision.
I feel like this message has been delivered to me time and time again. Through different means, people, classes, songs, words in literature, art, experiences. And each time I repeat it (sometimes here on this blog). And each time it settles into my soul in a different way.
Yes, universe, I hear you.
Yes, I want to follow the directive.
And in some ways I can...but the steps are sometimes baby steps. And sometimes they are steps in the wrong direction. Or backwards. But on this Easter Sunday, a day of rebirth and new beginnings, why not start again?

friday quotation

Starting an online photography class this week and already loving the messages that are being sent my way via "manifestos" like this. Some of my favorites:
- Wake up to what's already there.
- Trade your fear for curiosity.
- See beauty everywhere.
- Make mistakes.
- Tell your story.
- Be playful.
- Elevate the ordinary.
- Be brave.