Friday, February 8, 2013

2012 List just for fun

1:What did you do in 2012 that you’d never done before?
Got engaged, went fishing, went shed hunting, called off an engagement, went to Yellowstone National Park, completed Bikram Yoga Teacher Training, met my soul mate, got married, moved to Manchester
2:Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Didn't make any
3:Did anyone close to you give birth?
Jillian :)
4:Did anyone close to you die?
Sabrina, Sam and Prince
5:What countries did you visit?
England!
6:What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
100 classes under my belt. Maybe an Iceland stamp on my passport. :D
7:What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
November 17, the day I graduated from BYTT. November 18, the day I got married
8:What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Taking action to get out of a life that I did not want, almost touching the floor in a backbend assisted by Bikram himself, graduating from teacher training, getting married
9:What was your biggest failure?

10:Did you suffer illness or injury?
I did injure my shoulder at TT
11:What was the best thing you bought?
My growler, my Onzie outfits - best things to practice in hands-down
12:Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Bikram, Richard, Mother Teresa
13:Whose behaviour made you appalled?
appalled is a very strong word…
14:Where did most of your money go?
BYTT
16:What song will always remind you of 2012?
Love: Alone Again Or
Donnie and Joe Emmerson: Baby
17:Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer?
a) happier
b) definitely thinner
c) richer - only supporting myself at the moment
18:What do you wish you’d done more of?
seeing friends, spending time with my mom
19:What do you wish you’d done less of?
worrying
20:How did you spend Christmas?
with my new family.
21:Did you fall in love in 2012?
yes
22:What was your favourite TV program?
Madmen
23:Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No.
24:What was the best book you read?
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
25:What was your greatest musical discovery?
Wow... tough one. too many to name
26:What did you want and get?
got my teaching certificate, got a husband, got a new life
27:What did you want and not get?
hmm...
28:What was your favourite film of this year?
I didn't see many films last year to be fair. Drive, but that came out the year before.
29:What one thing made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
30:How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?
Moab Yogi
31:What kept you sane?
yoga, instagram, kitties, coffee, and dreams
32:Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
ryan gosling
33:What political issue stirred you the most?
gay marriage
34:Who did you miss?
my friends
35:Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.
Listen to your heart. Do not do what feels wrong, or makes your heart ache. We are born to give, not to get. Lock the knee. Self-realization is God-realization
36:Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
.... All you must hold on to is you, is you, is you  .....

The Invitation


It doesn't interest me what you do for a living
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dreams
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life's betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your
fingers and toes
without cautioning us to
be careful
be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand on the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
"Yes."

It doesn't interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after a night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the center of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Breaking Bad or How I Threw Caution to the Wind and Attended My First Advanced Bikram Yoga Class

Richard and I are currently in London, staying at the luxurious Jury Inn at London Heathrow Airport. Okay, when I say luxurious I am being 100% cheeky. It is the best deal in town, and within walking distance to Richard's training, as well as the Tube station.

We arrived Friday night sometime after midnight. We had spoken to our friend from Teacher Training Tammy about getting together, and she invited us to come to an Advanced Bikram class on Saturday. I was so excited for the chance to take an advanced class as they are currently not offered in Manchester or Liverpool. I have been intrigued and feeling ready to try it since Teacher Training, and my curiosity was heightened with reading Benjamin Lorr's "Hell Bent". Let's just say I've been dying to try it for a few months and was really happy that I was going to get a chance.

Tammy emailed me Saturday morning to let me know that I should come to the 12pm Beginners class to warm up for Advanced. As I wasn't planning on this, and since I was potentially 2 hours away with the trains and getting my bearings, I ran out the door with my skull onzie on under my clothes so that I could jump directly on to the mat upon arrival.

The universe guided me straight there with hardly a delay. I arrived with 20 or so minutes to spare. Tammy greeted me and introduced me to Ky Ha the 2007 Yoga Asana Champion who would be teaching our Advanced session.

The Beginners class was lovely. I enjoyed the hot room, the carpeted floors, the windows looking out to the posh office buildings of Canary Wharf just outside. By the time we were finished, I had chugged two litres of water, and was ready to fill up my third to take to Advanced. We had a 15 minute break and then class began.

I was positioned in the back, straight in front of a window looking out into the reception area where three employees were staring in watching the class. I felt a bit like I was in a fish bowl, but tried not to let that bother me too much.

I stumbled through the warm up series, falling down a few times inbetween the quick movements with Ky counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.. between each pose. Everything was brand new to me, which made it lots of fun. I had seen the Advanced series at Teacher Training, but other than that I had no idea what to expect.

There were several postures where you place your leg over your head, which I have been able to to since I was a kid. It felt so nice to actually be able to apply this special talent to something useful. Ha! I nearly did a lot of the postures, including one where my right leg was behind my head, and I stood up from that position like in toe stand. Holy shit! After that, I managed to do the splits on both legs. Holy shit again! I haven't done the splits since I was in middle school! The feeling of having my legs completely apart on the floor was a major rush.

After that, I managed to do a full back bend, touching my hands to the floor, walking them close to my feet, and then standing back up from the back bend (first with the help of Ky, then on my own.) Finally, towards the end of class, after accomplishing so many things that I never imagined I would ever attempt, I did full camel. What a feeling. I can't wait to do it all again!