Consistency

 

Awkward Airplane Balance Pose

Simple. Strong. Everyday. 

Not crabby

Eka Pada Ardha Purvottanasana - One Legged Reverse Table Top Pose

Eka Pada Ardha Catuspadapitham - One legged crab pose 

🦀 

Just hanging out, letting your light shine. 

Certainly we do not neeeeeed skin tight, synthetic leggings (or polyvinyl thermoplastic mats, tritan water bottles, laminate floors, foam blocks…) to train. 

Head cold

 

Parsva Savasana - Side Lying Corpse Pose - Fetal Position

What is your illness telling you? STOP most of what you’re doing, get quiet & listen intent-ly.

My head is now submerged in what feels like a giant cotton ball and I’m hearing from my dis-ease that I’ve been consuming too much. Intaking kids’ equipment, junk food, other’s opinions, gossip, media, activity, meetings… throat, nose, ears and eyes are ailing. As I have been actively releasing much of this worldly influx as of late, I can also concur this is another important, physical step in the cleansing. ☁️ 

Returns and exchanges

Supta Padangusthasana - Reclined Big Toe Pose, with strap

Realize genuine aspirations by crossing off of your list any and all errands / shopping. XX even those returns and exchanges that seemingly save you money, but in reality perpetuate a vicious cycle (of believing that next thingie might finally make all the difference). Eat the ‘cost’ to reclaim the hours up front and bask in the meaningful goals accomplished before long.

Label maker

 

Adho Mukha Sukhasana - Easy Pose Forward Fold

LABELS may temporarily console us (“I am not alone!”) but, ultimately, epithets are limiting and best discarded (every snowflake is, in fact, unique.) ❄️ 

Also - put down the podcast, book, lecture, course etc. Cease the googling. And reject outside opinion (even from your mother, brother and besties). Reacquaint yourself with yourself. (The answer is you.)

Start here

 

Phalakasana - Plank Pose

Small victories: 1. Make the bed. 2. Brush your teeth. 3. Walk the dog. 4. Brush your teeth. 5. Unmake the bed. 

Fruit

 

Bharmanasana - Table Top Pose

There are times to actively manifest* and times to passively enjoy the fruits of your labor. 🍡

* manifest = imagine and create your own true, beautiful, Free reality, not that which the ‘world’ dictates. 

Thingies 💓💖💝💕

 

Vyaghrasana Dandayamana Bharmanasana Vinyasa- Tiger Tabletop Pose Knee to Nose Flow

If you’re not fond of that THING (the fit of your sweats, the tightness of your sports bra, the cut or color of your thong, the stroke of your hairbrush, the ingredients in your lip gloss, the squeeze of the scrunchie on your wrist…) today, it will inconvenience you even more tomorrow, but you will forget your aversion over time - so OUT NOW with that thingie! And all of its unsatisfactory thingie friends, too. 

Privacy

 

Pincha Mayurasana - Forearm Stand with stag legs 

Some poses are better practiced at home. 

The hospitality rubber band has been stretched to its maximum and must now snap back; after a many-weeks-long, very social streak for our household, mom and dad are enforcing nuclear family time, just the six of us (plus the pup). 

Proper preparation prevents poor performance

 

Parivrtta Utkatasana - Twisting Chair Pose

Momentous, significant (appointment, meeting, trip, event, party, holiday) day tomorrow? In order to sleep, do so with a notepad and pen on your bedside table. 🗒️💤 

Cobwebs in the attic

 

Parsvottanasana - Pyramid Pose 

🕷️ IDENTIFY and sweep aside your COBWEBS. 🕸️ 🧹 

Squeak

 

Waterfall Pose, Squat Pose

Afishka yoga mice packed and dressed

Pack, fold, place sweetly out of sight only those clothes you’ll be elated to unbox next summer. The SURPLUS leaves your home ASAP. 🍃 🍂 

Velocity

Dhanurasana - Bow Pose

It is an effortful task to reverse the momentum from intake to outtake when a decision has been made to disencumber yourself (of both your beliefs and your belongings). But once that tide has been turned - you are unstoppable. 🌊 🏹

Mirror rorriM

Bhujangasana - Cobra Pose arms wide 🐍 

When we lessen our own material requirements, (persistently removing those pesky impulses and cravings one-at-a-time,) the incessant worldly demands of our children (and other household members) no longer vex us, as the mirror aspect is removed. 🪞 

XS enough to schlep XXL loads.

Twisted bow

 

Dhanurasana - Twisted Bow Pose

The real twisted bow is described below 🎀 

The children are not at school. And somehow I have to get them ready for the school year. But surely they must be out of the house for this to be possible. But they are all home. And there are so many of them 🐵🐵🐵🐵… 

It is absolute chaos-insanity-frenzy pressure-cooker-crazy and then POOF they are off.

Fuel gauge

My heart is still in no-business mode.

40 days away from a home, schedule and phone full of trappings — it’s not easy returning to all that I must SUPERINTEND. The separation will fuel me in ejecting more, mas, encore !!! And sooner not later. 

Peppy steppy

Walk about the neighborhood. 

Clothing as KOSHA - SHEATH 

More PEP in my STEP this AM thanks to the husband who scooped up and brought back with him a small assemblage of attire from my main closet at home whilst there on a work day (I am on a month-long uninterrupted ‘reclusive’ vaycay). I didn’t realize how fatigued I was of my pathetic selection of duds (it is ASPEN, after all,) until I donned a neon swimsuit, gingham dress, silky cardi, pink suede sneakers and got a NEW LEASE ON LIFE!

Unfortunately? But powerfully! Clothing acts as a sheath - energetic layer - which can be used to our advantage (or disadvantage). 

P.S. The procuring of such items was made possible by strategic, color-coded closet organization (and periodic paring down,) allowing myself to plainly explain and my husband to effortlessly locate the 10 or so sought-after items in mere minutes via FaceTime. 🛍️ 

Purchase less, create more ✌️

Rad

You know you’re having a pretty RAD summer when you’d rather PLAY in that lame purple bikini AGAIN (and be seen in it!) than stop to go SHOPPING.  

My Armoire

 

As a former clothing COLLECTOR (hoarder-squirrel 🐿️!) this is a new frontier for me —

Wear your SEASONAL (shop once quarterly max) wardrobe so much that there is no question as to whether you love and keep the clothing longer OR, NO QUALMS, they’ve fulfilled their destiny and you don’t! 

Mountain Mama Summer Wardrobe, as of Late July:

💚keep 💛this is its last season ❤️already out the door  💙hmmm🧐

💛Silver espadrilles - wearing through

❤️Black river shoes (pictured above) - stretched from last Summer, already said See Ya (poubelle)

💛Flip-flops - maintaining

💛Crazy Crocs - worse for wear, as used for all hikes and most bikes

💛Purple bandana bikini - hanging on for dear life

💛White & Blue One piece - yellowing at edges 

💙Tomato soup cashmere sweater - soft as ever, maybe showing age?

💛Skull Sweater - last hurrah 

💚Prairie skirt (pictured) - good to go 😅 

💚2x Shorts - just fine 

💚Taupe linen pants - surprisingly great

💚Flowered cross-body bag (pictured) - still fresh 

💛Rose tote - wilting

💙2x Camisoles and 2x T’s - washing well

💚Sweats - new this trip :)

💚PJ’s - beddable 

💚Silk Dress - unfortunately unworn since childcare disappeared into thin air 🌬️ 

💚Shiny amethyst long cardigan - keeper

💚💜Jewels - lovely and sentimental as ever.💕 

The forced Capsule Collection that comes inherently with travel is blissful. My dear friend says all of her belongings (ALL!?) would “fit into an armoire”. What a beautiful image and, sigh, dare I say, Holy Grail, in these excessive times. 

one foot two foot red foot blue foot

 

Trikonasana - Triangle Pose

Instructors will most often cue the trikonasana drishti 👁️ upwards to the skyward reaching hand, but I prefer to gaze down when GROUNDing is called for. During TURBULENT times FOCUS on your FOOTING. Literally.