Live Your Yoga

in the zone, yo.

While digging out a site for a new garden bed, I was playing around with balances on my shovel. I’m fairly light weight. So when I dig the shovel into the dirt I have to put my whole body into it to really make a dent. When I do that, one foot first then the other, I’m essentially balancing my whole body weight on the rim of the shovel.

I dance with it sometimes, swaying here and there. It’s a laugh if you were to see me.

So anyway, my daughter came out with the cell phone and grabbed a couple of shots of my shovel yoga.

Tree pose was not super difficult, putting my weight slightly towards one side of the body rather than directly in the center. But Dancer, well that was another story and will definitely need more practice. Couldn’t quite balance enough to take the leg any higher.

It was fun though.

Happy gardening.

care to dance, anyone?

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Sitting on my back porch. The sun is shining for what feels like the first time today. I was feeling a lot better yesterday, so much so that I think I over did it a bit. Therefore the morning brought me more mucous and a headache to seal the deal.

I taught 2 classes. The first was a gentle reminder that it’s hard to talk for an hour straight when you’ve been sick for days on end. I ended up having to leave the room for savasana because I thought I might go into a coughing fit and ruin the relaxation experience

The second was a little smoother. One of my favorite students was there. Yes, I have favorites~ but I do not play favorites. She is just the most lovely of creatures and her presence makes me smile every time. She and her partner in crime, which was absent today, are both shiny; the two of them bring joy to my heart.

I have a design commission to complete for Custom Made Fairytale. The wedding’s in June and that’s been weighing in on me a bit. It’s hard to be motivated when I’m sick. Plus, I want to be in the right spirits when I’m working on her dress. Energy transmutes.

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Good Goddess, this tree on my back porch is gorgeous. I don’t love her so much when I’m picking up spoiled crab apples in late Summer (she and I had a talk about this yesterday), but oh~ how I love her right now. She is the Sacred Yoni Tree. She has 3 perfect slits in the roundness of her trunk. It’s odd. But perfect. And she has always brought to mind for me the sacred feminine. I guess I should keep that in mind come late Summer as a reminder that we all fall down and get bruised sometimes… but we can still make the sweetest jam.

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Sacred Yoni Tree

♥

Magic is everywhere.

Like right here in this bowl of soup, for example. Not the best photo, mind you, but that’s what happens from a camera phone.

Quite a random turn of events getting sick, but nevertheless, the crud this way came.

So my darling husband stewed together his own brand of magic into a magnificent healing punch! for my immune system. Yes, it’s the gobs of onions, garlic, and ginger… among other things. But mostly, it’s the LOVE that went into the process.

So while the husband and the child are out feasting on Italian food for the mother in law’s birthday, I am home, snuggled in my grandma’s afghan, watching Practical Magic, and getting loved up with my love soup. ♥

Somehow I have come down with a cold. Ugh. It was quite bizarre. I came home from work yesterday feeling fine, with the exception of being a little dehydrated. I ate some food and went to the back porch to sit in my rocker. My husband was pounding away on our earth ship (greenhouse) tires. I was sitting there, and all of a sudden I felt myself dozing off. My head got heavy and my throat started aching.

I went inside and laid down for maybe 40 minutes or so, but had to sub a class for a friend that I’d already committed myself to. So I made some slippery elm tea with chamomile and rose petals, and went on my way. I got through the class okay. Do you ever just go into ‘work’ mode? That’s where I was. I slept heavy, but I can still breathe through my nose so I slept decently. When I woke this morning, however, I hardly had a voice. I knew I could make more tea and go into work mode again. But my husband and I both agreed that showing up in this state was not showing up. And if I’m contagious, I don’t want to inflict that on my students.

So I had to cancel my a.m. class and get a sub for my noon. I still had to work at the boutique tonight, no way I could get out of that one, it being a new job and all. I am so thankful for the morning and early afternoon of rest though. It was necessary.

honey lemon throat coat, tissues, and my pen...

One of my students brought me a dozen eggs today in lieu of payment. The eggs came from her very own chickens. Does it get any better than that? I think not.

Annoyed. Bothered. Quite honestly on the edge of absolute pissiness.

What brings me to these feelings of negativity, you ask? Oh yogini of gratitude?

Need I say more?

Daylight savings time.

I’ve been dreading it for weeks. Compiling this momentum of passionate frustration into imaginary letters to my government officials. Knowing that it was going to come, and at least for this time around, that I wasn’t going to be able to do a damn thing about it.

Last night I agreed to fill in a last minute class this morning. I agreed, forgetting that I’d be waking up an hour earlier, before the sun had even made his appearance. I wasn’t upset so much about the loss of that hour of sleep, I was upset that it was so unnecessary. I was upset because once again, some other force, that of the material, not natural world, is trying to undermine the beautiful and rhythmic flow of Mother Nature.

Why?! So we’ll have longer daylight hours. Well here’s the thing. We do not have more daylight. Just because you “take a foot off the top of the blanket and sew it to the bottom, doesn’t mean you have a longer blanket”. Just because you change our clocks, hoping that we’ll use that extra hour to go spend our money on unnecessary frivolities, or you think you’re “conserving” energy by allowing us to think it’s 8:00 when in fact it’s 7. Maybe we won’t turn on our lights until later? No. But we’ll leave them on just as long as we did before. Because our bodies are trying to listen to the cycles of the earth- not your damn regulatory control on our pocketbooks.

And thank you for taking away my precious morning sunrise, as I send my daughter off to school just past the break of dawn…

Stop.

Breathe.

When I got to the studio this morning I carried with me my frustration. Before my students arrived, I sat on my mat and took in my breath deep from my belly. I filled my heart with that breath and used it to relax my shoulders. I felt the sensations in my body and mind. I watched the motions of my thoughts as they bickered back and forth, between steadiness and chaos and allowed this all to happen without judgment. When my students arrived, they too were experiencing frustration, so we let ourselves express our feelings- and as a group agreed to allow our practice to melt away that tension and lift us up above and beyond the constraints of time.

By the end of class, we all felt much lighter.

So yes, my breath and my practice helped me move through the matter with more grace, but I am still frustrated with the system itself.

I understand that because I live and function in society, I have to follow the rules. I have to get my daughter to school on time, show up for work, and make my scheduled appointments. In order to do this, I need to let go and flow. While some people will feel like they’ve gained something by setting their clocks ahead, I feel like I’ve lost something…

And while some people might feel that I am overreacting or expressing too much rage on the subject, oh yogini of gratitude, I feel like I’m honoring my path and living my yoga. To hold back emotion, when it is not necessarily harmful to others, is to suppress the self. I am breathing. I am carrying on.

Kripalu yoga teaches brilliantly: Breathe, Relax, Feel, Watch, Allow.

Sometimes there is just nothing like a hot shower to cleanse the mind and refresh the whole self. Ahhh…

While scrubbing my tired skin with a yummy ayurvedic sugar scrub, it got me thinking about how blessed I was to have these delicious natural products at my personal hygiene bidding. As I dried off and went about my relatively simple routine, I felt a renewed love for the products on my bathroom shelf. The skin is our largest organ after all. Treat it with love. ♥

So without further ado, and in no particular order, these are a few of my favorite things:

1. Witch hazel. I love this stuff. I tend to go back and forth between brands, whatever’s on sale. But truly, witch hazel is my answer to a lazy night when I don’t feel like washing my face. Or those times when you’re camping and don’t have access to a water supply. It’s also a great astringent and even an antiseptic for cleaning wounds. My husband doesn’t really care for the smell but I like it. Keep some organic cotton pads around for applying or just use as a splash.

2. Aubrey Collagen and Almond lotion, oh how I love thee! I’m the kind of girl that likes to keep things simple (most of the time) so I was always looking for a lotion or moisturizer that I could use on my face as well as the rest of my body. This is it. It’s not too heavy, not to light. It smells fantastic and definitely serves its purpose. Most of Aubrey’s products are organic and vegan. Bonus!

3. Bronner’s liquid castile soap. Any scent but my favorite is peppermint. This stuff is pretty versatile and can be used for just about anything from brushing your teeth to washing your clothes. We keep a large one in the shower for bathing and a small one in the VW for camping needs. Be careful, a little goes a long way. And watch out for the more sensitive areas of your body. The peppermint tends to tingle. Most healthfood stores will carry this in their bulk section so save your container to re-fill.

4. Jojoba oil. I like keeping a simple base of jojoba around because I can add it to a smaller container with my favorite essential oil. If you apply the oil to you body when your done showering before you dry off, and then just pat yourself dry with a towel, your skin is so silky smooth! Also works great as a massage oil. My yoga students love it!

5. Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay. This is by far the best facial mask ever! If you use apple cider vinegar instead of water it mixes a lot smoother plus you have the added benefits of the ACV. Leave it on for only a little while or until it dries to a crisp To remove, take a warm, wet washcloth and press onto face with both hands. Rinse cloth and repeat until most of the clay has come off. Rinse any leftovers off with warm water. Witchhazel can be a little stingy to apply right after so I use Rose or Lavender water instead and follow with my Aubrey lotion.

6. Egyptian Magic. This is the most expensive of my beauty arsenal but it lasts forever and it’s worth it. I use it for tough dry spots like my feet and hands. Also great for cuts and scrapes and even chapped lips.

7. Speaking of chapped lips, I’ve yet to find anything that beats my Burt’s Bees. It saves me in this dry climate. I like the original with the peppermint, or the new honey one.

That’s it for the most part. I tend to go back and forth between what I use for shampoo/conditioner. My favorite brands are Aubrey, Jason, and Avalon organics.

8. Oh~and recently I’ve been using these great new bar soaps that my neighbor makes. (I know, awesome right?!) They are completely natural with no harmful additives. They come in all kinds of great scents, too! Check her out at Apotheka Soaps.

So there you have it! A little insight into my girl-ness. ♥

Ciao!

To keep it local if you’re in the Springs area, shop Mountain Mama Natural Foods or Sammy’s Organics. Vitamin Cottage is great, too!

I’m tired.

Even when I just had 2 luscious days at Valley View hot springs with my beloved husband. Soaking in the magic of the Mother, embraced in that sacred warmth of her earthly womb.

The Meadow Pond

And yes. I’m tired. But it’s more than that. I’m heavy. I’m empty. I’m seeking. I’m full. Can you be all of those things at once. I guess so, because I am.

In packing for the trip, thinking of gorgeous down time in a warm cabin in the middle of winter, I wanted to bring reading material that didn’t feel like work. Yes, I knew that I have a 6 page essay due by the end of February on my thoughts of Kripalu yoga and how I weave it into my everyday existence. I knew that I have piles of papers to complete to keep up with my Clayton degree. And goodness, all that time (1 entire day, 2 delicious nights) to focus on these things with complete clarity. Seemed like a good idea to me. But I really just didn’t want that pressure.

So what did I choose to bring for casual enjoyment reading? Yoga and the Quest for the True Self by Stephen Cope, and Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford. I find this ironic. The time went by entirely too fast, which was to be expected. I didn’t even crack Healing with Whole Foods. I did enjoy page after page of Cope’s book, however.

What I find interesting is that I chose to bring these books out of the sheer enjoyment that I get in reading them. But then I wonder, is my subconscious playing tricks on me? Really? Am I just so used to going going going that I couldn’t help but pick the books that would still apply to my work? I just don’t know.

But back to me being tired.

Niko planned this trip months ago. We had to book in advance to reserve the cabin. There was no telling how the weather was going to be or what we might have going on at the time. We just had to chance it. And goodness did we end up having a LOT going on. Niko has been tiling up in Monument and I have helped him as much as my own time has allowed (gigantic wet saw + lil ol’ me = EMPOWERING!) on top of 6 classes a week, the energy expenditure of building up a new business, PLUS Daisy’s hectic schedule with the play. It was a bit overwhelming. And though we both knew the time away would be wonderful, we were struggling to get out of here at a decent time.

This trip itself was fantastic. My mom came to stay with Daisy so I knew there would be no worries there. We took the dog with us because Niko simply felt calmer that way. In our house, dog really is man’s best friend.

Rainbow Eury Hostenhoffer

Valley View had had a pretty good snowfall the night before but the roads were decent and well plowed. We actually got lucky with the weather for late February. The first day was cold and overcast but the warm cabin totally made up for it. The second morning we woke to the sun shining through which was bliss. Check out was noon so we had a last soak and headed out. Stopped at a lil ‘country cookin’ restaurant called Loretta’s for some greasy breakfast which was heavy but delightful, and then made our way home.

So here’s where I believe my little exhaustion problem starts.

We got home around 6 Thursday evening. IMMEDIATELY Niko is right back to work, working on websites and such. And I am also quick to the return. Accessing what I’ve missed for Daisy, preparing my classes for the next morning, making dinner, talking to my mom. There was NO time for integration. No time for Savasana.

I really GOT Savasana here. Living my yoga off the mat.

Savasana is important, not only because we as a people are generally leading exhausted lives and we just need to REST, but because our bodies need that INTEGRATION time. Our mind, body and spirit need the time to process our practice.

So here it is, Sunday night, and neither my husband nor I have gotten that time to integrate our experience at the hot springs. And we REALLY needed it. We had an incredible time of connection. Magic happened there. I know it. But I haven’t had time to open my eyes to it yet. The weekend came swift with piles of snow, tile and grout, website construction, 2 back to back evenings of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (in which Daisy did fabulous by the way), a frustrating experience with my mother and my final weekend with my Kripalu mentoring program. Just as Savasana can create that deep healing for the nervous system, going without it can lead to an extreme feeling of disconnect.

So again. Tired. Yep.

Tomorrow is Monday. I have nothing planned. I’m hoping to finally get that Savasana.

Potatoes. Yep. You read it right. Here's why:

The week before last, my husband took our dog on his regular morning run through beautiful Red Rock canyon. On this particular day he happened to trip and fall. Our dog, being that he didn’t want to be the cushion to the landing, ran on… dragging my husband behind.

When he got home I tried not to panic. He tends to injure himself often. (Tis true, honey) He was pretty banged up though. A nasty deep gash on the palm of his hand and a leg that had definitely seen better days. So we cleaned the wounds and pulled out the ole staples: tea tree oil and what we had left of Egyptian magic. Normally we use Tamanu oil for EVERYTHING, and because of this we were completely out, as was our local health food store. I don’t know if it would have made a difference or not having Tamanu. Probably not.

Anyway, that day and evening he was helping out a friend in Denver, handling a lot of cash and merchandise and exposing his hand wound to all sorts of invaders…

The next morning we were having coffee and we noticed the wound on his hand was tender and red with an obvious red line traveling up his arm from the wound. Definite red flag! I knew some folks that had blood poisoning and knew that it was nothing to mess with. Immediately we started him on LDM and did research online and in our many holistic and medical books. Everything we came across said EMERGENCY!!! We opted at first to go to our trusted local herbalist and get her opinion. Well no sooner did she look at his arm then she declared: get to the hospital NOW!

He was expecting an antibiotic shot given the seriousness of the issue and the fact that the first emergency clinic sent him to another because they didn’t have the shot. So he sat at the “Urgent” care facility, a division of the hospital for almost 2 hours before anyone addressed him with any information. By that time his hand had just been soaking in some sort of soapy water solution and his ‘patience’ was wearing very thin.

When it finally came down to it, it turned out they didn’t have the shot (after they’d already told us they did), and prescribed him pills instead. Have you read the side effects of these things?! We were so frustrated by the time we left. They didn’t come through with anything they said when we got there, including giving us a rough estimate of the bill… nope, we have to wait a good month or two to see our outrageous hospital bill for absolutely NO service.

He got a tetanus shot. Didn’t want it, but he did it anyway.

I filled the script on the way home. But we weren’t satisfied. Between the LDM and reiki, the line had started to fade. We wanted to give Mother Nature one more chance before we pumped him full of chemical antibiotics.

Now let me state: I am in no way suggesting you ignore your doctor’s orders for such a serious condition. I am simply relaying a personal experience.

We found a story online about potatoes. We thought, okay, let’s just try this. We’ll monitor his condition, and if any of the symptoms get worse, we will immediately take the antibiotic. So on to the health food store for some organic white potatoes. We peeled and then shredded some of the pulp, and made a poultice type application for his wound. He kept it on there for a few hours, covered with plastic, then we let it dry out for awhile and followed it with an Epsom salt soak, followed again by drying and then more potatoes. We did this continuously for a couple of days. By the end of that first night, the line had faded dramatically. He continued with the LDM and also took propolis, ate LOTS of garlic and drank lemon and cayenne water.

No antibiotics later, he is superb. Wound is healing wonderfully AND he didn’t get this NASTY cold/flu that I seem to have caught (probably from being in the hospital). It is still beating me for almost a week now. I am very sure though that the propolis, vitamin C, garlic and LDM kept him from getting sick. And they are definitely helping me, too. Just taking a bit longer than I’d like… ugh. We are happy, after the fact, that they didn’t have the shot.

It was funny. We are not doctor people. We always trust in Holistic medicine, but we are not opposed to using conventional methods when they are deemed necessary. What was funny was that we ended up using our Holistic arsenal anyway.

Jai! and Blessed are we to live in such a magical, bountiful Earth! Heres to health!