another update

I am on the upswing after what was really a very horrific experience. My much belated apologies to any mother who once told me that she had mastitis and to whom I smiled and nodded sympathetically without understanding the full gravity of their condition. I am so sorry. Again. Wow. But thanks to the support and suggestions from many folks in the area I am feeling almost as good as new. Almost. I hope to make it in to practice tomorrow with my little audience of one (this is an entry for a later date, because oh, there is so much to say).

I was thinking today about why I have not been writing for awhile. I have really not been contemplating anything deep or anything that I thought has been worth sharing. Chalking it up to baby brain. But today I realized that what is really happening is that I have been deeply captivated by the simplest parts of my day. The way the wind blows the maple buds directly onto my porch, the way sod slumps when it is in a roll, how spry goats are when chicken are not sitting on their backs, my three year olds dream sharing, a simple and delicious recipe, the standing pose sequence in the primary series, the breath, how soft children look in sleep. And then I realized that these are all such comforting and lovely things to let my thoughts go to and that really aren't they in some ways where I am trying to get when I am working through different contemplations?

So that is that. Spring is here and I am full of glee. My girl is sleeping in a fairy dress and I am loving holding young ones and then breathing and stretching my body. How lovely. It occurs to me that if we ever want to dip into the sensuous we should read what someone who loves food or nature has written about it. It is full of bliss. Just the experience. Not the directions toward the experience. Yum. Anyhow.

quick

This is just a quick note from an errant blogger...

I completed a whole long entry about a week ago and then somehow never put it up or saved it. i think that I must have been distracted by some sort of baby adventure. I will give more of an update soon.

This morning, however, I just need to let folks know that there will be no practice. I think that I have my first case of mastitis (I never had this with Maple in almost 3 years of nursing) and was up all night with a fever. And all there really is to say about that is WOW. I had no idea.

But I had a great sequence planned and I hope to save it for next weekend. I will let you know. There may be a little bit of shuffling next weekend as Chris may have a race.

Love to all.

few and far between

Wow. Rough week at the Newlin house. We have entered a new phase and I cannot say that it is awesome. Eider has started having a harder time falling asleep (read: more crying) and this in turn sets Maple off and she gets loud and crabby which makes it harder for Eider to fall asleep or stay asleep and then Maple becomes more upset and it just goes on and on. And I was solo for a few days. Awesome. I finally sent Maple off for a few hours today so that she could have some much needed fun and Eider could have some much needed sleep. And now papa is home. ahhhhh....

Anyway. Is this a yoga blog or what?

I am going to be updating the website in the next few weeks so check it out. On there you will find the pdf for Christina Sell's workshop to be held in Viroqua in June. Can't wait. Really.

Last Sunday I did an amazing forward fold heavy practice with Kathy Doerfer. It was great. I love practicing with Kathy. She is such a dedicated practitioner and is very skilled at tuning in to herself. It was fun. I am really not in condition. I am making valiant attempts at regaining some strength but it is pretty challenging when I only make it onto my mat 2x a week. Alas. I was imploding after 2 1/2 minutes in Sirsasana. Wow. Onward we go. I am learning a lot.

This Friday is good friday and we are still having class. Because class is good. That is all there is to it. Less talk, more asana. Sunday is Easter, and there will not be a practice. Easter egg hunt for 3 year old trumps Mom's yoga gig. Go figure. I will however, be making it in to the studio for a practice at some point over the weekend I just have to confer with Chris about when that will be. Same deal, 2 hours, led format. I will post with details for that tomorrow.

Until then, goodnight. Everything in life changes. Enjoy it all. Even the muck.

into it

First class happened on Friday. Yippie! I was so excited to begin teaching again that I was practically vibrating. Small turn out due to spring break but I have high hopes for this class. First off, it is all levels, great for anybody of sound body and a lot of curiosity (read the previous blog entry). This is my intention for this class: CONDITIONING. We are looking to cultivate strength and flexibility in poses on the first syllabus and to do so in a way that is full of self honor. Friday morning is a time to get psyched to do something great for your body and nourishing foe your heart.

Sunday is for working on some poses (because you are so conditioned from Friday!), Tomorrow we are doing a bunch of work to get into a very delicious hanumanasana.

On a personal note: I thought that practicing before class on Friday would work out great for all parties involved. Wrong. It went just swimmingly for me, but not so for the big and little men. Oh well. Can't push it. Thursday will have to be one of my times for my practice instead. Really, I am looking at being able to get on my mat 2 or 3 times a week max. So I have to be a laser. Get down to business and utilize every minute (read: the opposite of what I was doing when I was pregnant),

But right now I have a sweet little baby sleeping on my chest and it doesn't really get much better than this.

Wow.

It really is like coming up for air.

I made it in to the studio yesterday morning following a great entrainment by David (who just welcomed a new baby at his house too!). This was all following Chris' return home after his usual 3 days on the road. It was my first week since Eider was born that I was completely on my own for the full time and it was made a bit more interesting when we woke up on Wednesday morning and Maple began throwing up. She is generally a very healthy girl and this totally caught me off guard. She definitely had it bad. She was, however, such a good girl throughout, really well behaved and mature about being ill, sharing Mom, and being on our own. Love her. Eider was exceptionally cooperative as well. And all in all, even though the 3 days were amazingly intense and rugged, they were also somewhat ecstatic in the sense that all we had room to do was handle the moment and prepare however feebly we could for the next. It was beautiful in a way and definitely a real practice in staying supremely present in the moment. As a result I am feeling so much love and appreciation for my children and also a lot of connection to myself. Who would have guessed? It touched on an aspect of what I love most about practice, which is that when it gets intense you can either go with it and be transformed by it, or you can be dragged kicking and screaming and still be transformed but maybe miss some of the wisdom within the experience.

So my practice was great. I am really starting to see little glimmers of myself coming back and that is both thrilling and terrifying as I know that there is a part of me that is permanently altered. Thank God in a way.

Class is up and running starting next Friday. Practice on Sundays. It should be great. I have not gotten the schedule back from the printers yet so if you happen to read this please spread the word.

It is a great time to start coming as everyone has been out for awhile and the Friday is a mixed level so everyone is welcome so long as you know what your limits are and can respect them. The theme for the year is the fun of coming together and sharing practice with one another. Can't wait! That and maybe throw a leg or 2 behind your head....

Where is Spring?

It really is hard to tell what season it is in western wisconsin in March. We will have 50* one day followed by a winter storm the next. It is very similar to the cosmic hide and seek of Shiva and Shakti except add is the explitives tbat come out of the Wisconsinites mouth at yet another snowy day. At this point we are just plain over it and ready to move on to all of the immense work of Spring. And there really is a lot of that around here. There is the general clean-up from winter which forus involves a ton of stick and branch pick-up from winter storms. But there is also all of the gathering of readying of seeds and earth for planting. Not only garden vegetables but each year a few new trees need to go into the ground as well as quite a few herbs and flowers. It is a very fun time, but very busy. There is also much to be done with all of the animals. The goats need to transition to a rotational grazing lifestyle and new chicks arrive sometime in the late spring. i think for me that will be after all of the garden is in. This year I am moving my garden to a sunny locale and expanding it by more than double. This is a big undertaking, especially as the place that I am moving it to is prone to flood so I need to build accordingly.

This is all very fun and exciting to me as all I have been doing is sitting around and scheming for so long that I am really chomping at the bit now. I still actually have to keep my feet up a bit more, and I really think that my biggest challenge might be to make myself go as slow as I need to. I like to do a lot, and lets just face it, this was not a pregnancy of doing much. I am not the pregnant lady that feels so great she is ready to take on the world. Maybe it is just my way of having at least one time in my life that is not completely Vata- visciating, where I really just do nothing.

Anyway, now I am ready to do a lot. And I am, I am doing a tin of diapers, I am nursing around the clock and I am reading many stories and doing many puzzles with Maple. And I am fantasizing about Spring and about Yoga.

I am looking for a venue for Christina's workshop this week. Very exciting. And I am having my schedule made for classes. This is great. The coming classes are up and to the right. I really cannot wait to get back into the studio, at least one more week home though, I think. I left the house for the 1st time in 2 weeks today and went with the family to get entrained. Very Sweet.

On a final note- I am so deeply appreciative of the meal wheel, I cannot even begin to put it into words. Every night we are receiving the most beautiful and delicious food from everyone. It is the most supportive and loving gift that I could imagine getting right now. Not to mention the financial strain that it lifts for us during this time and how I am aware of everyone supporting us like that. We really live in a magical place and I cannot imagine raising my family anywhere else. Now lets get some rockin' yoga going again and some warm weather and we will be all set!

Love.

Eider Atticus Newlin!

Well, he's here. Born last Tuesday, February 24th in water at home. He is pretty cute, if I say so myself. We are all adjusting pretty well I think. Maple is doing well and is very sweet to Eider. It is pretty magical to see the two of the, together.

This is brief. But here are some pics. Just wanted to let everyone know that we are well and plus one. The love and support from everyone has been amazing. The meals are wonderful and much appreciated. I think that we are all feeling very acutely right now how truly wonderful this community is that we live in. So much love and gratitude to you all. Big love to Denise Doerr, the most fabulous midwife ever!

Love.