Kayaking-Taking Things On

My husband looked out into the ocean with trepidation and turned to me and said, "You really want to do this?" He knows that I'm not a fan of being in the water and especially getting into the ocean and he is not a fan of exercise. Paddling really didn't seem that appealing to him. But my mind was set. I really wanted to get in a kayak and see things you can't see from the shore. I want to kayak to beaches you can't get to normally or float alongside the whales. Or take photos from a completely different perspective.

Finally past the repressed memories of my sister falling overboard from a raft when we were little. She almost drowned and my dad saved her. Throughout my childhood I thought it was me that it happened to. A traumatic event witnessed and repressed into my head. When I met my husband several decades ago, I told him I was afraid of the water because I fell out of a raft and almost drown. My family heard the story and said it wasn't you, it was your sister. I really had taken it on that it was me, although my mind knew it was my sister all along. It's taken me a couple of decades to get over that and through it. I actually swam in the Caribbean a couple of years ago and now I'm kayaking. What's next? Maybe I'll actually swim underwater again. :)

It was very empowering for me to know I had the strength and stamina to get in that kayak and paddle through waves and out into the bay exploring sea caves. I've never felt such adventure and excitement. It's about time!

Practicing yoga and Pilates on a regular basis and focusing on my health has opened new paths for me. To have my body strong and healthy has opened my mind to new possibilities. The spiritual side of yoga has helped me with visualizing those things I want to do and then taking that inspired action and doing them.

Know your truth

From Daily OM:
March 24, 2010
The Ultimate Authority
Using Our Own Minds
"Our own sense of the truth is the most important piece when taking in information from external sources."

I was watching American Idol the other night and one of the contestants, Crystal Bowersox, was receiving critisism from the judges. Some were saying she should not use her guitar, some were saying she should always use her guitar. The host asked her who she was going to listen to and she simply answered, "Me." She knows her truth. She takes in all the information but in the end it is her take on things that she listens to. I think she will win the contest or at least be in the top two. She knows who she is.

The article above from Daily Om goes on to state: "We need only take a brief look at history to remember that the religious, scientific, and political establishments that ruled the day were all wrong about something at some point in time. This is the beauty of learning, experiencing, and evolving. While we sometimes wish we could just let someone else decide for us what is real and true, this is clearly not a viable option. The good news in all this is that we can confidently devote ourselves to making up our own minds about reality, taking everything that is handed to us as truth with a grain of salt." I hope that as a society today we can all learn what our own truth is. I especially send this out to our politicians with a blessing that they let us continue to know our own truth and trust us to be who we are. It's just not a viable option to let others think for you.

Savasana

My yoga teacher, Linda Grace, gave us an assignment Monday night at our restorative practice; challenge ourselves to do a 20 minute savasana (corpse pose) every day. Give yourself that time to relax and just breath. She said to think about when and where you would do this each day, what kind of music you would play, what props you would use. It's not as easy as you think to find 20 minutes a day to just lay still.

So here it is Friday and I have not found the time to do a 20 minute savasana a day. Well we did one last night at our Thursday class and someone asked how everyone was doing with the challenge. Only one person had tried it in the evening and they said it was hard. You keep hearing the household buzzing around you and then the rest of the family is wondering where you are and "What are you doing?" Linda Grace said when trying new things it's sometimes harder before it gets easier but to keep trying. I had even started this blog Tuesday morning about this subject and hadn't finished it, probably because I hadn't found the time to start the challenge myself.

Judith Lasatar says, "Everyone who is alive in the world has exactly the same amount of time each day." It's up to you how you use it. A 20 minute relaxation break seems like a nice thing to do for yourself. I always look forward to it in class, why shouldn't I look forward to it every day of my life?

Loss

What is the lesson of loss? To lose something is to open another spot up in your being for something else. You lose weight, you open up a spot for better health, more activity, longer life. You lose a loved one, you open up your heart to the memories that helped you become you. Often loss causes reflection on where you are in your life and you set new goals, new paths. In yoga you are opening up your heart, exposing yourself to looking at things in a new way. Sometimes it's upside down, sometimes it's from deep within, other times just being present gives you another way of looking at something. Loss is not bad, loss is growth. Namaste.

Size 6

No, I'm not into a size 6 but I tried a pair of size 6 jeans on and got them over my hips! I had to stop myself from squeeling out loud in the dressing room. Was I ever a size 6? I did buy some new jeans in size 8. I'm actually very happy in a size 8. I put my goal weight on Weight Watcher's at 140 but I really think 145ish is probably more realistic for me. I'm at 155 right now. I see my doctor next month and will discuss it with her. I'm losing about a pound a week, unless I over-indulge and then I stay the same give or take a pound.

Start fresh each day

Too much wine, too many cream puffs, Gorilla BBQ and a killer martini on Sunday. Great weekend, but used all my points up for the week. Now I have to eat lettuce the rest of the week. LOL

Although today didn't start off very well either. I woke up late because we forgot to change the clock in the bedroom for Daylight Saving Time (probably to do with the martini the night before)so I had to get breakfast at Starbucks on the way in; non-fat chai and their turkey bacon sandwich. I could have gone to McDonalds. I really wanted to go to McDonalds and have a greasy sausage and egg sandwich, but I digress...Starbucks was the better choice. It was low-fat and I got my milk in for the day.

Hey I'm not going to beat myself up over indulging this weekend. A girl's gotta have fun! I figure I'll be good the rest of the week and I workout enough it all evens out. I'll just make sure to drink all my water and flush my system out and write down everything I eat. Maybe do some detox yoga, twisting it all out. My husband and I took a long walk on the beach Sunday, so that burned some calories too.

My philosophy is if I over-indulge, I let it go and start fresh the next day. Every Monday I figure out what my workout regimen is going to be and mark it on the calendar. I make sure that exercise is just part of my life, like drinking wine and eating killer bbq ribs once in awhile. It's a balancing act you have to work out with your body.

P.S. Gorilla BBQ was featured on Diner's, Drive-in's and Dives. If you are up our way, you need to go there. I'm drooling just thinking about it.

Jai Uttal-Rama Bolo

My yoga teacher, Linda Grace Foster went to this Kirtan by Jai Uttal. I wanted to go, but had previous plans. If you click on the link you can hear it for free. I didn't know what a kirtan was. It's basically a whole group of people singing ancient chants together about the many names of God and the Goddess. I listened and it's quite uplifting. Jai Uttal's website explains it well here.

Here is translation of the chant Rama Bolo from Krishna Das:

Rama Bolo Rama Bolo, Bolo Bolo Ram
Sita Bolo Sita Bolo Bolo BoloRam
Hanuman Bolo Hanuman Bolo Bolo Bolo Ram

Oh my friends, sing the Name of God! When it gets too damn hard, just sing. Have no fear, don't give up. Sing! When it gets too good, sing. When it falls apart, sing. When it comes together, sing. Cry and sing. Sing and cry. Living sing. Dying sing. Listening sing. Singing sing.

I love this message. Don't you feel better when you can sing out loud? This is quite an education learning about yoga and all the different paths it is taking me down.

RAMA, SITA, and HANUMAN:

Rama, a prince, is also an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

Sita is Rama's wife.

Hanuman is a monkey who serves Rama and Sita, and rescues Sita from evil.

BOLO: "Bolo" is the imperative form of the verb "to sing."

Oatmeal

I eat oatmeal almost every morning now. I use non-fat lactose free milk to cook it in. Lactose free milk has a little sweeter taste to it and is gentle on the stomach. I cook the oatmeal in the milk with a dash of salt, honey, vanilla and cinnamon. I use the 1 minute oats because I'm impatient to eat my breakfast in the morning. Sometimes I will add dried fruit to the mixture if I have any. Cherries are my favorite to add.

Ganapati Mantra

Shrim Hrim Klim
Glaum Gum Ganapataye
Vara Varada
Sarva Janam Me
Vashamanaya Swaha

Let the energy in the obstacles and difficulties return to their sources. Let that energy be transformed and returned to you in a usuable form.

Gayatri Mantra

Om bhur bhuvaha svaha
Tat savitur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dhimahi
Dhiyo yonah prachodayat

We contemplate the glory of light illumnating the three worlds: gross, subtle, and casual.

I am that vivifying power, love, radiant illumination, and divine grace of universal intelligence.

We pray for the divine light to illumine our minds.

Compliment

Best compliment ever, my husband said, "Your underwear looks too big."

Breakfast

New breakfast recipe: Plain yogurt, honey, cinnamon and mandarin oranges. Mmmmm!

Another really good one is Greek yogurt, blasamic vinegar and fresh fruit-any kind. Really good. don't even need any sweetner for the yogurt with that.