Inner Universe ~ Meditate with Bolster 🦋

Hand to Heart and bébé belly.
Butterfly Legs Seated on Bolster.

 Make PEACE (rather than happiness, joy, love) your aspired state of being.

Silent Retreat

Listen only to the universe.

It has been 10 days since I turned off all podcasts, audiobooks, and music; a calm has swept over me that I haven’t felt since… turning them on. 

Life Lived In Full Color ~ Winter Rainbow

Easter Bunny spotted on Aspen Mountain!

There are as many ways to do things as there people upon this earth and as many ways to asana as there are yoginis!

🌟🎀 🐣🩵 Easter on Aspen Mountain.🩵🐣🎀🌟

“I Made It” moment ~ Easter on Aspen Mountain with my family.

 

❄️💎 With an egg hunt at the spot where we were married! 💎❄️

Reclamation ~ Ardha Chakrasana with Self Assist

 

Ardha Chakrasana - Half Wheel Pose, Standing Backbend
With self assist: low back support and press to open.

Reclaiming adequate alone time to return to oneself - supportive and enabling of You. 

Rewire ~ Ardha Chakrasana

 

Ardha Chakrasana - Half Wheel Pose, Standing Backbend

Rewire your energy through movement. Always be rewiring. 

Badass Then, Badass Now, But Different … ~ Knee to Nose Pose

Knee to Nose from Three Legged Dog

Weight forward, shoulders over wrists, for the ‘badass’ version.

Wear leopard-like patterns and large gems.

After dropping the girls off at violin lessons this afternoon, I took the boys to the new North Boulder Library and parked right in front of an apartment that we lived in for two years. It has been exactly a decade since the one toddler days we spent there, but, as I did then, I still have a three year old. Patrick’s comportment at the coffee shop and playground nearby was so similar to Goldie’s ten years back that I came home exhausted from the surreal experience. I was badass then, and I’m badass now, but different…

Every (Week)Day ~ Uttanasana

 

Uttanasana - Intense Pose, Forward Fold

Yoga for anxiety: Yoga every (week)day so that there is no panic attack in the first place. 

Weekends Are For ~ Anjaneyasana

Anjaneyasana - exalted Low Lunge 

Journaling, self-caring, socializing, sharing, brunching, hiking, bubble baths, romantic movies, great books…. Integrating ones week may be as simple as: extra weekend sleep. 

Not-So-Standard Routine ~ Grounded Camatkarasana

Camatkarasana - grounded Wild Thing

Use predictable at-home routines to re-anchor yourself post voyage. Embellish your daily round with inspiration from the sojourn.

 ⚓️⛵️🌺

🐌 Vacation Integration 🐢 ~ Sukhasana, Dhyana, Mukula Mudra

Sukhasana - Easy Pose
Dhyana - Meditation 
Mukula Mudra - Lotus or Lily Bud Hand Gesture 🤌 

(Vacation) integration is gradual, slow, steady, slimy, super cute, hard shelled, long-lived… 🐌 🐢 

Toy Boat 🚤 ~ Navasana

 

Navasana - Boat Pose play
Mindful of my low back, I like to work my Navasana without any outcome in mind. 

Look Inside ~ Sukhasana Dhyana

 

Sukhasana - Easy Pose, Dhyana - Meditation 

I took out my contacts one week ago and went unobstructed for the first time in decades. Here is what happened:

1. My sinuses filled with pressure, but the congestion is subsiding with each passing day. 

2. I realized that I am completely reliant - obsessed - with the visual realm.

3. I am slowly learning to look inward. 

4. My drishti is better than ever. 🙈

😇 👿 ~ Virabhadrasana 2, raised heel and heel hold

 

Virabhadrasana II - Warrior 2, heel raised, heel hold
Yoga poses are neither ‘Good’ nor ‘Bad’.

What if we no longer deduce things, people and experiences as ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’? 

Most Wanted ~ Laghu Vajrasana

Laghu Vajrasana - Little Thunderbolt Pose
Yes, mom’s light shines on us all. 🥰

 A few hours of uninterrupted work time daily for yourself and then they, whoever, can have the rest! 

Sweat It ~ Tri Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana

 

Tri Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana - Three Legged Downward Facing Dog Pose
& Drop to the forearm opposite the lifted bent leg - hurts so good.

Make it hurt a little, sweat a lot, and then take it easy for the rest of the day. 😉 

Perfect Form ~ Manduka Malasana

 

Manduka Malasana - Frog Garland Pose Squat
Playful, with movement: childlike.

Some days are not (at all!) perfect your form days. 

F Off ~ Setu Bandhasana

Setu Bandhasana - Bridge Pose
RX For your fatigue.

It is unwise and misguided to permanently rely on one’s therapist, friend, parent, spouse… —  yoga is always there for us. 

Pining 🌲 ~ Vrksasana

Vrksasana - Tree Pose

This was my favorite pose for many years when I first discovered the practice of yoga in my University days.

Upon completion of an insanely hectic week, it is natural to pine for the long-gone, youthful lingering days of nothingness, but, sigh, those days are decidedly behind us thanks to making our dreams come true.

Early Riser ~ Virabhadrasana II

Virabhadrasana II - Warrior 2 Pose

Surya Namaskar - Sun Salutation

To each era its own rhythm and organization: I may rise at 5am regularly now, but I was not astir so early when I frequently awoke throughout the night with bébés - or in my twenties with other motives and goals!

Snake Oil 🐍 ~ Malasana

Malasana - Garland Pose, Low Squat, reaching forward
Self-actualize.

Watch your step - it is (almost) all snake oil out there. I say be (very) skeptical of any THING or ANYONE - “authority, expert” - OUTSIDE of yourself promising YOUR self improvement; only the self can self-actualize.