Tapestry yoga

This is very cool. Lots of Yoga and other fine pursuits all under one roof. Next week marks the first week of classes at Tapestry Yoga in Viroqua. There are a whole bunch of classes and teachers to check out. And the first week of classes are free! Wahoo! The schedule is on Kathy's website and you can link to there through her blog. Look right.

I am going to be offering the Sunday practice for now. Starting this Sunday! I keep thinking that I can do more but in reality I keep doing less (except for canning, I keep on doing more of that).

So, I have really missed everyone lots and lots and I am really looking forward to seeing folks back on their mats. And some new folks too I hope.

I could go on, but I will keep it short. I have lots of interesting happenings brewing but they need to settle a little bit more before I can share them.

See you Sunday.

Last Call

So, tomorrow morning is the final horah at the warehouse. It has been fun to be there over the summer. Love you Val. And, contrary to my last entry, I am going to offer something at Tapestry Yoga for the fall session. I will keep the Sunday Led Practice going so that nobody thinks that I have disappeared completely into the arms of motherhood. It will run from 7 am until 8:45 and will be a fun time to get together and do a structured led practice. We will work on all class of poses and have an opportunity to go a little deeper than we might in classes. I am also going to offer an inversion workshop on a Sunday in November. Should be great. I love teaching inversions and really can't wait.

But for now. Tomorrow I am thinking that we are going to do a lot of hips and thigh openings and then work on some lotus variations. Why not. Seems like an auspicious way to end the summer. I hope folks can join me, otherwise I will see you later in the month back in the Landmark.

This morning's practice

It is a rainy day and oh boy is 6 am much earlier now than it was mid-summer. But I made it in and did a pretty mellow practice with some inversion and a little bit of backbend work. I am working on a great little nugget that I received from Chris Saudek in Lacrosee. It is really a gem and I think will help me really open up my backbends. That and a chair. Must really get a chair! Or at the very least finish the ones that Chris Newlin started like 2 years ago.

So we are going to meet at the warehouse until labor day weekend. But we will change the time to 7 and go until right around 8:45. Much more manageable.

And then that will be it. I am not going to offer anything this fall. Just take some time to regroup and work on my own practice. I am getting into a nice groove and I hope to just keep it going until the time is right to offer some classes. Hopefully, in January all of the pieces will have come together to support me in teaching 2 or 3 times a week.

So, until then, come in and join me for these last few group practices. I may try and offer a few special events during the fall. So keep checking here. I will be recreating this blog in the next few weeks to reflect this time in my life. It will still chronicle my own practice, but it will also have a lot of my reflections on mothering and living in a small rural community, both through the lens of yoga.

I hope that this is all as interesting to you as it is to me.

Love.

another 45

I want to share with you a fantastic sequence that i just finished practicing while my kids slept. Slept! This sequence was given to me by my friend and teacher Christina Sell, whom many of you know and likewise love.
But before I lay it out, I just want to say that it is simply wonderful to begin the week with a therapy appointment. It is marvelous to put everything into perspective before I actually have lost it entirely. So there you go. Perfect.

note: the times Christina has given me for the inversions are significantly longer. They are shorter here.

1 minute AMS
1 min uttanasana

5 minute Sirsasana (with variations, such as eka pada, parsvaikapada, padmasana)

10 minutes of standing poses- 1 minute per side

Parsvakonasana
Trikonasana
Parivritta Trikonasana
Parivritta Parsvakonasana
Uttanasana

5 minute virasana

10 minutes of forward folds- 1 min per side

paschimottanasana
janu sirsasana
triang muhkaikapada paschimottanasana
ardha baddha padma paschimottanasana
marichyasana 1
paschimottanasana

5 minute Sarvangasana with same variations as Sirsasana
halasana

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

a new sequence

I have been errant. I know. I am so sorry. Here is a new sequence. Down and dirty.

Speaking of which, before I go any further, I want to share the fun of the day with you. I am home from the 2nd week of the Viroqua cyclocross races. I am utterly exhausted and happy. Doing it on a day when I wake up before 6 to practice is pretty insane, and also just right. I am here to say that everyone should come. It is a delightful way to spend a Friday afternoon with the whole family. So you heard it here. Check it out over in my blog roll. There should be some good pictures up later tonight.

OK. Yoga.

I have been taking a weekly class up in Lacrosee with an amazing teacher and so I am feeling very influenced by Iyengar Yoga. But my roots will always be Anusara. So everything right now is a bit of a smattering. Enjoy. I am too tired to say much more. Other than this: do come on Sunday! I am devising a sequence to really open up the shoulders and upper back. Besides, how much longer can we really get together at 6:30 in the morning anyhow?

Centering
1 minute each
Supta Padangustasana 1-4
jatara parivartanasana
navasana
Supta Virasana (3-5 minutes)
Adho Mukha Svanasana

Parivritta Trikonasana
Parivritta Parsvakonasana
Uttanasana
Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana
Ardha Padmottanasana
Uttanasana

Paschimottanasana
Janu sirsasana
Ardha Padma Pascimottanasana (support the knee with a blanket if you need to)
Paschimottanasana

Setubandha (sacrum on a block and feet at the wall- legs straight) 5 minutes

Wahoo!

not quite back from vacation...

So, while I am back in town, I am not quite back in town.

I ran in to Valorie at the co-op and she reminded me that blog is far from up-to-date, and alas, she is correct. So here I am. Updating.

We are on for early morning practice for all of August. Every Friday and every Sunday. It is going to be great and it is also going to be hard. Why? Because we need it to be. Plain and Simple. It will be fun. Plan on a lot of standing poses tomorrow moving toward some deep hip and backbend work.

I am taking down my website, which is very exciting news for me. And I hope to re do the blog in the up and coming future. Just freshen things up and get a new perspective. Something that is representative of where I am headed as a practitioner and where we are headed as a yoga community. It really is about time.

Lots of folks have been asking me what will be happening in the fall and the truth is that right now, I really do not know. I haven't committed to anything, but I am also still hoping to find a space to host 2 practices as week. We shall see what happens.

The main thing, as always, is that we continue to get on our mat and remember that our essential nature is goodness.

Ahh.

No Practice Friday

Sadly. I am flying solo this week and cannot make it in tomorrow. But hopefully everyone is having a great time practicing at home or with friends. I have been having a great time in my home practice which is wonderful. It is like reconnecting with an old friend. Or coming home. Both I suppose.
So, this Sunday is our last time to get together this month and then it is August. I am still really hoping that folks will get together to practice in my absence. I think that it is great to practice at home (of course!) but there is really something different that happens when we practice with community. We lift each other up and ask a little bit more of ourselves. And we are asked to reveal something at once tender and powerful in ourselves. Yes, in my opinion, practice with community, practice in good company, is essential.
So get together!
For now, plan on Sunday morning. i will not forget my timer this week and I think that it will be a real duzy.

Another 45 minutes

Here's a good one. And I think that with warmer days (and a timer) it should be no trouble at all getting warm enough for a few backbends. Backbends are definitely the type of pose that do not improve without attention and they also have a bit of a code for unlocking. One which can only become adept at when we give it the attention that it requires.

In many ways, bending backward is all about the breath. We need to let the breath really move so that we not only connect to the bigger energy that is actually moving us but on a physical level as well so that we may expand the inner body enough to have enough space to deeply take the head of the armbones back and curl the shoulderblades into the back of the heart. These are mighty actions that ask us to begin with enough spaciousness so that we can be free of pain and also go deeper in the bend.

Grab your timer...

Surya Namaskar A (5 min)
AMS (1 minute)
uttanasana (1 minute)
eka pada AMS (total 1 minute for both sides)
handstand (1 minute)
pincamayurasana (1 minute)

sirsasana (3-5 min)

standing poses (1 min ea side)
crescent
vira 1
anjaneyasana
parvotannasana
parivritta parvokonasana

virasana and supta virasana (5 minutes)

10 minutes of backbends
ustrasana
dhanurasana
pigeon prep with thigh stretch
lunge with thigh stretch
urdhva dhanurasna (3-5x)

halasana (with blankets and a lot of lift and extension through the spine
3-5 minutes)

Missin' this morning

I too missed this mornings practice! So sad! Please always check here to see whether class is happening. I always try to put it up here well in advance if class is not happening, this way I can avoid making phone calls or emailing folks. Just check here.

Chris' travel schedule is a little different right now and that in conjunction with our summer vacation make for a very inconsistent schedule. Shucks.

But this is what I think. I think that you all should still meet for practice anyway. Valorie has made the space available and it might as well be used for yoga. There could still be a $10 donation to go to the space and whoever it is that is leading the practice. I can even help you out on sequences. This sounds like a very empowering opportunity to me and I would love to do whatever I can to make it happen. Because really, I looked at the month of July and I couldn't teach today, I can't next Friday and then my family is gone until the beginning of August. So that means just this Sunday and next Sunday are happening unless someone else decides to take the plunge and lead the practice.

Like I said, I would be psyched to help this to happen. Everyone could just do one day (there are 5 times available...) or just one person take it on. Whatever works for folks.

I apologize to the folks that woke up this morning and made it up to the warehouse. Please make it a habit to check the blog the night before! I put this up well in advance so really everyone should have known.

OK. See you Sunday. I hope that everyone's practice is going well. More on that later.

45 minutes of fun

This is going to be brief. I am so tired that I can barely see. But I need to stay up and digest some homemade strawberry ice cream for a little so I have a minute.

Here is this weeks 45 minute sequence. Go for it. It will be fun. All you need is a mat and whatever blocks you think that you might like. And a timer. A timer is key. That is what effectively makes it 45 minutes. You can do this any time. I find myself often practicing about an hour after lunch when at least one of my kids is generally asleep and my meal is digested. I eat light at that hour. Often I have Eider on his sheepskin for the entire time. It works out. If Maple wakes up before I am finished I ask her to sit on the couch and watch with maybe something for her to drink. It is good for her to see mom taking care of herself. I have even stopped for around 15 minutes in the middle to nurse someone back to sleep, but I always come back and finish. That is key. If you do not have very small kids this should really be a snap. 45 minutes is really nothing. You are going to love it.

This week there is no practice on Friday because Chris is away. So that means we will not meet until next Sunday and you should set the goal of trying to do this practice 4 times between now and then. It will get better when you have more sequences to choose from but this will be a good start.

Here you go.

1 minute Down Dog (AMS)
1 minute uttanasana
8 minutes Surya Namaskar A and B (set your timer)

Standing poses (1 minute each side)

Trikonasana
Parvakonasana
Parivritta Trikonasana
Parivritta Parvakonasana
Uttkatasana
Prasaritta Padotannasana

Virasana and Supta Virasana (5 minutes)

Janu Sirsasana
Triang Muhkaikapada Pascimottanasana
Marichyasana 1
Pigeon prep (eprk)
eprk with thigh stretch

Setubandha with a block supporting the pelvis (3 minutes)
Jatara Parivartanasana

Shavasana or sitting (5 min)

There you have it.

Here is little inspiration via my friend Darren Rhodes:

When we have the capacity to take every experience as nourishment, freed from the fear of what is going to happen to us or any concern about living or dying, then we can grow through every experience without trying to locate it in some set of pre-existing categories. Experiences that awaken us are not divorced from ordinary life. It is, in fact, in the context of the ordinary that such occasions occur, and at any moment. This means that any event, however small it may seem, can become the occasion for our transformation into the fully Real.
Swami Chetananda - Will I be the hero of my own life?

Lovely Morning

What a lovely morning practice we had! I am just loving the energy of the early morning for asana. The light, the quality of the air, the fragrance of everything in bloom. It is really wonderful. I imagine drinking it all in and filling every reserve in my body that is every lacking the fresh vitality of this time of year. And my body is feeling great. For the first time in so long, it feels as though I am coming back into an old friend. Remembering some things and noticing and appreciating the changes of other parts. I am into it. It is all very rich.

I am also going crazy with the strawberries. I have processed 40 quarts so far and have another 10 in my fridge. Strawberries are not even my favorite berry. I like them in the season when they are fresh, but that is about it. But I am wanting to build confidence canning on my own, I have always only been someone's helper and I want to take the reigns and get proficient. So I am practicing on lots and lots of strawberries. Lots. In fact, I got home too late from a birthday party tonight to make any headway, but there is definitely canning on the agenda tomorrow. Fun.

So, practice on Sunday. Early. After the 4th of July. I am not sure what we are going to do yet. But it will be great.

July Transitions

I spent a short period this morning moving out of my studio in the Landmark Center. I will move the final little odds and ends out later today and tomorrow. It took surprisingly little time (with the help of Jess, Chris, and Maple) and it just goes to show that the content of the place was indeed quite minimal compared to the context. In some ways I am very sad about moving out but I am actually trying not to think about it too much and just ride the larger flow in which this choice is clearly a part of. A bit strange.

Especially because I am coming back into my own practice and rhythm with yoga for the first time in a year. Embrace the paradox. In some ways it is just a gesture to bring my practice back into myself and make that the primary flow right now. I have so much more to offer in terms of teaching yoga when I have attended to myself. Go figure.

So, in a very informal way we will be practicing early in the morning on Fridays and Sundays over at the Warehouse. Suggested donation on $10. Jessica is being utterly awesome as usual and letting us keep a few props in her space. I am not sure how we will orchestrate that yet, but I guess that we will see tomorrow.

As for what is on the agenda tomorrow, I can't quite tell yet. I am thinking that I want to do a whole bunch of standing poses but I am also feeling a nice full spectrum practice coming on. We shall see.

Something that I have been mulling over for awhile now is how I can support folks in their practices the rest of the week. And I think that essentially I will just offer what I am offering to myself. I am making the effort right now to get on my mat at least 5 days every week. This is including the group practices. The days at home I can really only have 45 minutes, but I make those 45 minutes really count. I use a timer and I have the sequence laid out before I begin and I make every minute count. Christina gave me an alternating backbend and forward fold sequence that we have dubbed "Meg's 45 minute survival practice" and it really works. And then at some other point during the day when I am alone I spend at least 10 minutes on a focused meditation. (I will offer more on that as it unfolds for me more.)

This is what I am thinking of for you. Over the weekend I will put together a 45 minute sequence with each minute accounted for. And you can print it out and there you go. If you make it to practice on both days, then all that you have to do is roll out your mat at home 3 times. And give yourself 45 minutes. How amazing is that. And trust me on this. It works! This will put you into your practice in a way that 2 times a week simply will not.

So check for it on Sundays. This will be sweet.

Summer Yoga

It is hard to believe that it has been almost a week since the workshop and I am just now getting to this blog. In fact, I really did not want to write anything but Chris is essentially making me. And besides, I am waiting for the granola that I am making to be done, so here I am.

It is hot around here and I am getting into the swing of summer and all of the things that I love: Swimming holes, long days, eating straight from the garden, riding bikes, squirting kids with hoses and early morning practices.

Ah, that is a good one and I am really looking forward to tomorrow morning. 6:30 am. Can't wait actually. I am thinking that I want to unearth an old sequence that is standing poses and arm balances all intertwined. Sounds fun to me. I have also been thinking about asking the folks that come to practice to sit with a contemplation during the week and I will post about it here and this could also serve as a place for people share any reflections, insights and such. I have not quite gotten that together but the intention is definitely out there for me.

It came up because I began thinking about how potent a weekend workshop is and how when something comes up after such an experience it is of real value to contemplate it and even journal about it in order to aid in the digesting of the experience. I really think that it is sometimes even the seemingly unrelated stuff that presents itself following a workshop that might actually hold the most juice for us when we take a closer look and consider it through the lens of the Yoga.

I have heard a number of different things directly and indirectly about the varying experiences that people had over the weekend and afterward. I find this very exciting and am really wanting to support people in their individual processes as much as I can. It is my belief that any deep experience of the heart (even ones that we may not even see as such. But believe me when you are in a room with someone who has generated a lot of Shakti, you are going to be affected), is going to trigger all sorts of mechanisms in the mind as it tries to regain primary control.

This is interesting to me and always has been. It is how we begin to cultivate the witness and also how we generate a deeper capacity toward Satya within our very selves. I would love to hold the space for folks to journal about this, contemplate, reflect.

There is much more I could say about the weekend directly, but that will have to wait for another time. My granola is done. See you in the morning.

Solstice Weekend Workshop with Christina Sell

It is here folks. Really the yoga event of the year here in Viroqua. Really the yoga event of the year in Wisconsin in my opinion, but that is another story. We have a great and a varied group of people signed up for various sessions throughout the weekend. And, of course, it is not to late to register. Not at all.

I myself am very excited. In fact, I have seen a number of folks around town who appear to actually be vibrating with excitement. And not the ungrounded, up, outside of myself excitement at all. It is more along the lines of really knowing deeply that I and quite a number of my community members are going to be participating in a weekend experience that has the primary intent of connecting us each more deeply to our own greatness, our own potential and the grace that abides in each of our own hearts. That sounds like magic to me. And I know that I keep on saying how great that it is happening right here in our very own town, but it is and this is why. When you go away to a yoga workshop you have an experience that is deep and magical and trans formative on many levels. And then you go home and there can be a little bit of shock and let down that everything is exactly the same as how you left it. You had this experience out of the context of your everyday life and transforming your life to support such an experience can be hard to do once you are back in your life. You may feel at a real loss. (Not that going away for workshops or retreats are in any way bad. They are not. They are wonderful and something that I myself love and always look forward to. But there is always a great deal of reintegration involved upon return home). On the other hand, being IN the context of your own life and participating in something as potent as a weekend with a master yoga teacher is a real gift. Not just for all of the logistical reasons but really for the the fact that we get to really practice being our best selves and recognizing that in ourselves and one another in the the flow of our life. This is at the heart of cultivating a functional discipline toward our practice and in fostering sangha, when you are rolling out your mat next to the person whose house you bike by everyday.

So the weekend will be great. The longest days of the year are here and what better way to honor such fullness than 3 days of yoga. Can't wait.

wow what a week

And so it was. And so it is.

I have really been all over the place as this week started out a little bit backward around here. Chris was home Monday and Tuesday as I had some medical concerns that we had to address early in the week. And then was ordered to rest from said concerns and then Chris hit the road on Wednesday. Very odd for us.

I have recently started to take advantage of the light in the early morning to get up and enjoy some personal ritual. It has been awhile. It looks like this: wake up, neti, nasya, tea, meditation and then maybe a few poses before Maple inevitably comes padding out and we do all of her morning rituals. This has been great, save the fact that Maple is on to me and is waking up about 10 minutes earlier every day... The little rascal! Foiled!

But this is my theme right now. Do whatever I can, whenever I can, to attend to my well being. And even when it does not work out exactly like I had hoped, there is still just the beauty of maintaining that intention for myself. I am having some very interesting and seemingly powerful things up for myself lately: I have made a return to therapy after quite a few years, I have dove back in to my meditation practice, and I have started to look at some things in my life through new eyes, taking some bold steps toward allowing my own perspective of me to shift. Wow. So it is good. Ultimately good.

And I am gearing up for the workshop. I am so delighted to host Christina again. In one week. Believe it or not! We have a great group of people signed up and even more to come.

We will not be having class tomorrow as Chris is away. But Sunday is on. 6:30. It is amazing to do a full practice at that time of day. Perfect for summer.

Christina Sell's Workshop

OK. I am unable to put the pdf of the flyer for the workshop up on this site. bummer. So please contact me for any information and to register. 608-630-0228. Or scoopie7@yahoo.com. 2 weeks folks. 2 weeks.

Things are going well on the home front. The use of the early morning is becoming a reality. One that is working quite well for my family. Hoorah! So tomorrow we will be meeting for practice at 6:30am. Can't wait. Plan to work on lotus variations as well as sarvangasana to setubandasana. Sounds fun hunh?

The garden is going great guns which also makes me very happy. Eating Arugala and Salad greens now. Love it.

Hope everyone is well. See you in the am.

Something to consider

This morning's practice was lovely. Lovely. I have been getting on to my mat so infrequently that often when I do it just feels like ironing out all of the kinks. But today was a great flow of energy. Did I say lovely? And then after practice we appreciated what a beautiful day it is and how it is hard to get yourself to go indoors on such a beautiful day, even if it is to practice yoga with friends. And now that it school is out for the summer, and it is so light out so early, there really is nothing stopping us from moving the practice times up to an earlier slot. This was the conversation. And then my family arrived. And there was a full meltdown happening. Papa is super with his babes, but Eider likes to take a morning nap right around nine, and he is still really in the groove of mama making that happen for him. Can;t really blame him. So I started thinking. Eider really does not nurse in the early morning. In fact he is usually asleep until at least 7 (sometimes even 9, but I won't go into that) and never wants to nurse when he first wakes up. (Can you tell that he is having a hard time taking the bottle?) So, practicing from 6-8am might really work for my family. I shared this idea with Chris and he was nervous that it may wake folks, especially Maple, up before 6 which would be sad. But it may not. And I think that it is worth checking out. And there is big spectrum of earlier times: 6-8, 6:30-8:30, 7-9. We could play with it.

This brings me to another topic, which is something that I have been thinking about for awhile. I have been thinking about taking a break from teaching for a bit, mostly because of how much I am needing to get my own practice on track. And teaching without having much practice in my own being has always seemed silly to me not to mention downright challenging. So, after Christina's workshop (which is a mere 3 weeks away!), the Friday morning class will become a led practice, just like Sunday morning. I hope that this works out well for folks. I am certainly still available during these times to answer questions and to generally help folks out, but I will be practicing too, which I am much looking forward to.

So this week: Friday class as normal 9:30-11:15. And then Sunday, let try 6:30-8:30 am. Why not? And then we will see how folks would feel about moving up the Friday class time. I think that it will work quite well for folks. Just for the summer.

One final note, Christina Sell is coming! Send me your registration immediately! We are going to have an absolute blast. And if you haven't been exposed to the major marketing campaign of Kathy O'Rourke, I hope that you have the opportunity to experience her in action soon. She is amazing.

I will confirm the schedule later in the week. In the meantime, get into the garden, spend time with family and friends, and enjoy the sunshine!

No class Friday

Hi Gang,

I apologize for the late notice but we are not having class tomorrow morning. I am off to Maple's Kinderhaus for a sweet little ceremony to send off all of the children who will be going to kindergarten in the fall. Very sweet.

We will have practice on Sunday 9-11am. I am not sure what focus right now, but I am thinking many timed standing poses and some hips, forward folds and maybe sirsasana, sarvangasana. I still have something wicked in my lungs that I am attempting to navigate around.

I also want to take a minute to apologize for my recent neglect of this site. I am exploring some pretty challenging situations in my parenting and between that, the garden and trying to do anything with my own practice, I am left without any time to spare.

I am going to put a link up over the weekend for Christina's workshop so that you can just download the pdf for registration. That should make things easier for folks.

Alright. Enjoy the holiday weekend. It is beautiful out.

reflections

What a lovely class this morning! We had a nice group and I think that everyone had some great openings with the sequence that we did. The magical Anusara template. It is highly effective.

I shared some personal stuff at the beginning of class and I think that softened folks up a bit, and when we can get soft and open like that right off the bat it really makes the practice sweet. Really.

Anyhow. I love teaching, I love practicing, and I love guiding people toward an opening. So with all of that, it was a pretty fabulous morning.

I hope to see some folks on Sunday. I know that it is mother's day, but I cannot really think of a better way of starting mothers day than with a practice. I am going to follow another JF sequence. Magical.

Also, please let me know soon if you are interested in Christina's workshop. It is only 6 weeks away!

mmmmmm

Springing into summer that is for sure.

Well, everything is moving here, that is for sure. It is pretty much non-stop. All thrilling of course.

Kids are great. Maple is almost a free bird for the summer and I think that she will be a bit sad about that unless her mama comes up with a slew of brilliant activities. I am thinking lots of friends and lots of swimming... Eider. Well Eider is just splendid. we are all in-love and in-awe of Eider.

I have opened up a huge patch of earth for the new garden. Nothing is planted as of yet as I wait for it to stop raining so much and for my neighbor to get in there again with his super tiller. But the plans have been made and that is exciting now as we watch them unfold.

The chicken plan is still in the works. I will keep you updated. But hopefully many chicks sometime in June. We need to refab one of the sheds for them. Can't wait. Really.

Also, Chris just got me a new bike which I am both very grateful for and also very excited (scared!) to learn how to ride. The women's group ride is starting up this Tuesday and I hope to be there every other week when Gramma is here. I need to get out sans bebes and get my but in gear. We all need that of me...

And Yoga. Hmmmh. Lets see. Where to begin? Well, I need to come up with a better plan than my current one. That is for sure. My current one has me with child(ren) non-stop from Monday until sometime on Thursday by which point I have officially lost my mind and I do not even know how to go anywhere once given the opportunity. So my practice is really suffering for it and I am needing to reconfigure my use of time. I am even contemplating hanging up my hat after Christina's workshop (nigh 6 weeks away! Oh My!). But there is no telling as of yet. I just need to strengthen my relationship with my own practice. Which for anyone who knows me knows that this is a very big deal as this has most often come very easily for me. I am blessed in this way as far as my physical practice has been concerned. That is not to say that it is not hard for me it is more to the point that getting and being on my mat has never really been very hard. Right now, different story. Which is kind of catapaulting me into an identity crisis of sorts. More on that later perhaps.

So this weekend is mothers day and as a gift to you and to me, class tomorrow is going to be a led practice, free of charge. Sequence a la John Friend. Wahoo. So I hope this pleases.

I am off to put the eyes on Maple's horse. It turned out very well (in case there are any knitters who actually read this...)