Thursday, November 24, 2011

So Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

I certainly have a great deal to be thankful for. As I've mentioned before, I am thankful for the struggles and hard times I've gone through because they make me even more thankful for where I am today - geographically, emotionally, mentally, physically, socially...

Here's just a sampling, in no particular order:
-My Faith (well, this is in order)
-The 58 degree forecast today: one of the top 5 warmest Thanksgivings in the Twin Cities. I will thoroughly enjoy my Thanksgiving walk today!
-A job: to challenge me, keep me out of trouble, work with wonderful people, pay the bills, and pay for FUN.
-No homework
-Less stress
-Family: especially those that will listen to me ramble on and on about things (Mom, Heather, Mary...)
-Friends that are willing to take me in on Thanksgiving and treat me like a part of their own families
-Old friends
-New friends :-)
-A fully-functioning body that can do just about anything

And random things I'm thankful for:
-Chocolate. Let's be honest.
-Delicious food
-Days off from work
-Coffee, Starbucks
-Wonderful stores like Trader Joes and Whole Foods
-Amazing restaurants serving healthful foods like Birchwood Cafe
-Hot Yoga
-My parking garage
-An apartment that I love
-The internet

This is by no means a comprehensive list, but just a few things that come to mind. It would be wonderful to be home with my family, but I look forward to trip home in less than a month!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

There's this brief moment when I leave hot yoga, dripping with sweat, happy to know that I've strengthened and stretched my body til I quivered (and am done with the hard work), inspired by a thought-provoking intention, and feel that everything is right in the world.

Ahhh.

And then life happens.

But that one moment is awfully nice.

I try not to get too spiritual about yoga, as I certainly believe in "surrendering" to something greater than the sun and earth. During each class, the instructor sets an intention - some profound thought that they share in a soothing, poetic voice, one that might ordinarily make you roll your eyes, but somehow gets you all emotional. Maybe it's the heat and a mild case of dehydraton.

Lately I've felt like the instructors have been setting intentions just for me. At first I thought maybe they were interpreting the way I held my butt a certain way in down dog or the fact that no matter how much I do yoga, high to low plank still makes my arms quiver. But then I decided that maybe it's just the way I connect the intention to my own life.

Tonight the intention was centered around, "Who am I?" (Don't smirk. I know it sounds cliche.) and how we like to be in control and know what we're doing and where we're headed, but that we're always evolving. Another time it was about "doing" less and "being" more. It all makes perfect sense when you're on the mat, but somehow gets harder to integrate into your own lfe once you step out the door.

In other news...

Work Snapshot of the Week: In a bathroom stall with a pre-adolescent (all parties fully clothed), discussing the intricacies of wiping and completing a mock-run- including a graphic discussion of how to know when you're done. One of those "I have such a weird job" moments.

I'm in a continuing education course today-Saturday. I had one last weekend, too, and it's kind of fun to be a "sponge" again. I find that I'm a much more porous sponge when I'm fascinated by what I'm learning and have clients to apply it to. If you ever want to have a geek-out session, look me up - I am currently fascinated by the auditory system and it's affect on the entire body and pediatric feeding.