I have just fallen off a whirlwind of activity.
Finishing end of the year school responsibilities, preparing for next year and
setting up workshops and conferences to attend, travelling and spending good
time with friends all contribute to my ‘busyness’.
In the last two months I have journeyed to 9 different cities in the United States and Canada. I attended my High School Reunion in Ft. Lauderdale Florida (graduation 1972). And rode horses in the red rock hills of Sedona with my grand daughter, Stella. I dipped into L.A. California for lunch with my son and daughter-in-law and escorted my 8 year old grand son back to Gabriola for a week of visiting with myself and Sabba. I spent two days visiting with and reading books to my mother in Connecticut. I watched our (ridiculously strong) daughter, Jacquie compete in The CrossFit Regionals in Tacoma, Washington while sharing a ‘catch up’ weekend with old friends in the area. I have luxuriated in the Hot Springs of Northern B.C. with close friends from my childhood, and while there, we stayed on an old newly renovated boat complete with a collection of kayaks, canoes and row boats all available for our use. The owner, a wild, loving and generous gourmet chef who loves gathering groups of people together and serving, prepared our meals!
Paul and I have had at least 25 days of
visitors in the past 2 months. We move ourselves into the tent to give our
guests the experience of sleeping in our yurt. We’ve been loving the numerous
reconnections with old friends and family!
The last two glorious weekends we’ve been
involved with Music festivals (Vancouver and Duncan) where music, exciting
people, good food and gorgeous sunny days prevailed.
When I reflect on my life as an observer, I am
awestruck. My life looks so rich…so
full…so exciting! So, how
come I’m not feeling the joy? Why, when someone asks me “Was it fun?” I can’t
answer truthfully, “Yes”? I’m just
not having fun. What’s going on here?
The fact of the matter is….
there’s nothing wrong!
Alfie Kohn, a prominent educator once expressed
a wonderful concept that taught me something important about long-term
learning. Alfie said, “Too much, too fast, don’t last.” He was describing the
need to slow down when we teach and allow for, and even facilitate the learning
to occur. Input of information can be varied and exciting and interesting, and,
if we forget to incorporate the process of reflection, so much of that stimulus
becomes lost.
From my Yoga practise I have come to appreciate
the ultimate need for Savasana.
Savasana is
the Sanskrit work for “corpse pose”. It’s practised by lying flat on my back
with as much of my body making contact with my mat as possible. My shoulders
touch the ground, making sure that my heart remains open. Here I am totally
relaxed with my arms slightly away from my sides and the backs of my hands on
the ground. My palms open up towards the sky. My legs, also relaxed, open
slightly.
Most importantly, Savasana is
an opportunity to ground myself, gather together the energy around me,
including that energy I have used, and bring it within. I begin my practise in Savasana and
end it there too with many opportunities to settle into the pose after
asana flow. It’s a time to integrate the postures and allow myself to settle
them within to better become a part of who I am. If I just flowed through my practise, I would miss the
chance to allow my body to embrace the moves and make sense of the postures.
My life is full. It is rich and exciting. Some
times it can get a bit overwhelming. I want to enjoy every moment and be
intentional about taking the time to do just that. Being quiet, allowing for
time to absorb, and being in and with
each moment as much as I can is essential. I always want my heart to remain
open. There is nothing wrong. I just have to make the space to remember that!
There is nothing wrong.
I have strength and love inside.
Time to discover
