I'm Okay To Go

Heading out in less than 24 hours, and feeling like I am ready as I'll ever be. The last seven weeks have been peacefully re-affirming for me, mixed with serious bouts of stress, confusion, anxiety, sorrow, and remorse. But no regrets. Coming back to Castle Valley has been magical. This place is even more precious and wonderful than ever. I never want to leave, but I feel I have taken it in and absorbed it to the fullest every day I have been here. Each time I watch the sun rise from the table next to the window over looking Porcupine Ridge, I take in even more. 

My focus must turn back to Bikram, to my soul, to my self. I want this experience to launch me in to a place where I am manifesting what I really want out of life. Learning, travel, love, communication. I need to remember that a lot of the reason I chose to be a teacher, the reason I love practicing Bikram is that it is self-induced self-love. To quote my sister in law Kathy "I don't know when the last time was that I paid that much attention to myself for an hour and a half." 

My neighbor Adele read my astrological chart a few months back, and noticed that I had "Natal Mars Squares Jupiter" in my reading. She told me to go home and research this aspect to find out what it means and that it was prominent and unusual. Here is what I found:

MARS SQUARE JUPITER - Mars and Jupiter in a square aspect generate abundant physical and mental energy. Of itself, this energy is undisciplined and uncontrolled, but you will learn through experience how to channel it into productive activities. You have a desire to achieve great things, and you have the capacity and determination to do so, but you would do well to examine your own motives to ensure that they are based on some philosophical ideal or guiding principle. It is only in this way that you can use this aspect to its full potential and achieve eventual success. If your purpose is simply for the glorification of your own ego, an equally possible manifestation of this aspect, then you are bound to run into serious problems.

You have a tendency to overdo things, in your desire to get ahead you are prepared to work long and gruelling hours at the expense of the needs of your physical body, and also of your domestic life. You need to learn when to rest if you wish to avoid nervous exhaustion, and to say hello to your family occasionally, if only to let them know that you are still aware of their existence.

I feel that Bikram yoga has helped me to balance this aspect of my life. Bikram requires that you drink more water, to eat healthier, to make exercise more than just a priority - it's a way of life. My list of reasons for doing Bikram could go on and on, and I will dedicate a post to this while at BYTT. The point is, I have a tendency to overdo things at the expense of my own physical body. Some people see Bikram yoga as an extreme thing, but to me, it is more extreme to go throughout life without having something to remind you to breathe, slow down, be in the moment, drink your water, and just be. 

I'm about to do that for nine weeks, and it is my hope that I will stay in that frame of mind, not get caught up in any drama, and stay true to myself. 

I'm okay to go...

Slight Change in Plans

I made it to Williams last night, and am staying at the sweetest little B&B called the Grand Canyon Bed and Breakfast. Sheri and Del are super sweet and kind, and have a lovely place here. If you are visiting the Williams area, I highly recommend staying here.

I dropped my phone last night while checking in here, and the screen shattered into 100 pieces. :( Wah! Because of this, I found the nearest Apple store, which is in Palm Desert, CA - just outside of Palm Springs, so I will be heading that way instead of Joshua Tree and staying there tonight at the Inn at Deep Canyon. Updated Travel plans below:


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On the Road Again

My route to LA:

1. Castle Valley to Williams, AZ (by way of the Grand Canyon)
2. Williams to Joshua Tree, CA (by way of Lake Havasu)
3. JT to Cabazon (To see the dinosaurs from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, duh!)
4. Cabazon to LA!

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Words of Wisdom

Before I left Salt Lake, Niki took the time to read me this week's CW Horoscope. I love when stellar advice comes to you in the form of your best friend reading it from the local independent paper...

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)“Disappointments should be cremated, not embalmed,” said the aphorist Henry S. Haskins. That’s good advice for you right now, Libra. It’s an auspicious moment for you to set fire to your defeats, letdowns, and discouragements -- and let them burn into tiny piles of ashes. I mean all of them, stretching back for years, not simply the recent ones. There’s no need to treat them like precious treasures you have an obligation to lug with you into the future. The time is right for you to deepen your mastery of the art of liberation.

Seven Days

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains a Sting song.

In just seven days, I will be at the Radisson LAX practicing my first of many, many, many Bikram classes with 450+ other people. I have been following the BYTT Fall 2012 Facebook group very closely and am taking comfort in the fact that we are all equally freaked out, equally relatively oblivious to what we are getting ourselves into, and equally ready to help each other through it. There are many very encouraging posts from instructors, posture clinic teachers, and people who have been through the training. Some of my favorite quotes so far:

"You will all soon join the ranks of other TT grads who smile knowingly at the following phrases..."You have NO idea", "He was my best friend", "I hate lazy people", "Check, check, 1-2-3-4", "Hi, Guys!", "♪ ♫ I'm so lonely...♫ ♪", "Let's start the movie", "Is my English clear, yes or no?", plus so many more."

"Its just 90 minutes of breathing interrupted 26 times."

"Think bigger picture. And learn your dialogue."

"We must train from the inside out. Using our strengths to attack and nullify any weaknesses. It’s not about denying a weakness may exist but about denying its right to persist." ~Vince McConnell

Let the soul journey begin!

Of course, I had to include a song to go with this post.. even if it is Sting. If you can think of a better, more appropriate song with a "seven day" theme, let me know.

Life Milestones

Noteworthy Achievement deserving of blog post: I currently have two major movie star crushes who are both younger than me. I will not cry, I will accept this with grace, as I have a feeling I had better get used to this happening. I also have two crushes who are much, much older than me, so I've got that going for me.

My current crushes in no particular order:

One:

Two:

Three:

Of course, there is the original crush, one which never went and never will go away:

While I am at it, my Paul Newman crush grew three times last week when watching this piece from CBS Sunday Morning. I dare you to watch this without a hanky. As if I needed another reason to fall in love all over again, ladies and gentlemen I give you Paul Newman... be still my beating heart.