A clean slate
“There's always a clean slate, a fresh sheet of paper, a waiting space, a chance to have another shot at it tomorrow.”
—Herb Block
Coming back out of what turned out to be a longer period away than I had originally intended. What never went away, though, is the mindset I had developed over a year's worth of blogging. Whenever I think of anything that might be of interest to more than just myself, I ask, "Could that be developed into a post?" The difference here is that when I had these thoughts, I continued to develop them and see where they went... and then they just went. I don't remember any. It doesn't mean that they weren't worthwhile, but it speaks to a degree of non-attachment that feels healthier than some patterns I took on over this year.
During this time off, I missed writing. There's no doubt that a lot of this practice is for my self (in addition to seeing it as seva). Blogging every day makes me a better writer. Not blogging every day has me thinking about how I should write more than actually writing. Boo hiss on that one. The goal becomes working on writing aside from here in addition to continuing to write here.
Here's why I am really back and what I want to share:
1. I am much better at not apologizing for everything and saying "I'm sorry" like other people say um. And it's changed the way I interact with people, the way I carry myself, and allowed me to notice other phrases I overuse.
2. Nikki said, "Laughing engages your core muscles." It's your sequence of the day, too. While the sequence is something I'll take to a strong, "power" class of experienced students, that quote I'll take for me.
3. I kissed a student today. On the arm. After class, during a discussion. They said a very nice compliment, which, apparently, I couldn't accept very gracefully. I promptly called my mother afterward and told her I felt very foolish. I'll put that one on the list, too: Learn how to accept compliments and hold the space when I receive them gracefully as opposed to doing something silly to change the mood.
4. Someone wanted me to promo their Etsy site, which is called EatPrayShop. That's what the world needs: the exchange of "love" for "shop." The stuff may be lovely, I didn't really look, but the name... I couldn't get over that.
5. And we're going woo-woo hippie landia in 5,4,3,2,......: When you frown, you create tension in your third eye, which is also an important pressure point in the body. Smiling relaxes the face which in turn relaxes important pressure points, which in turn relaxes the body. So smile. See #2 for further instruction.
And, finally. The comments I received after my last post. You can see #3 again for this one. I am not good at accepting such lovely, beautiful things as were written under that post, but that is no excuse for taking so long to respond. What everyone wrote very deeply moved me (and, as a side note, also brought great joy to my mother). I cannot thank you all enough. You are family.
Atha Yoga Nushasanam. Many different spellings and translations exist, but the one I go with:
And now the study of yoga begins (Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1:1).
—Herb Block
Coming back out of what turned out to be a longer period away than I had originally intended. What never went away, though, is the mindset I had developed over a year's worth of blogging. Whenever I think of anything that might be of interest to more than just myself, I ask, "Could that be developed into a post?" The difference here is that when I had these thoughts, I continued to develop them and see where they went... and then they just went. I don't remember any. It doesn't mean that they weren't worthwhile, but it speaks to a degree of non-attachment that feels healthier than some patterns I took on over this year.
During this time off, I missed writing. There's no doubt that a lot of this practice is for my self (in addition to seeing it as seva). Blogging every day makes me a better writer. Not blogging every day has me thinking about how I should write more than actually writing. Boo hiss on that one. The goal becomes working on writing aside from here in addition to continuing to write here.
Here's why I am really back and what I want to share:
1. I am much better at not apologizing for everything and saying "I'm sorry" like other people say um. And it's changed the way I interact with people, the way I carry myself, and allowed me to notice other phrases I overuse.
2. Nikki said, "Laughing engages your core muscles." It's your sequence of the day, too. While the sequence is something I'll take to a strong, "power" class of experienced students, that quote I'll take for me.
3. I kissed a student today. On the arm. After class, during a discussion. They said a very nice compliment, which, apparently, I couldn't accept very gracefully. I promptly called my mother afterward and told her I felt very foolish. I'll put that one on the list, too: Learn how to accept compliments and hold the space when I receive them gracefully as opposed to doing something silly to change the mood.
4. Someone wanted me to promo their Etsy site, which is called EatPrayShop. That's what the world needs: the exchange of "love" for "shop." The stuff may be lovely, I didn't really look, but the name... I couldn't get over that.
5. And we're going woo-woo hippie landia in 5,4,3,2,......: When you frown, you create tension in your third eye, which is also an important pressure point in the body. Smiling relaxes the face which in turn relaxes important pressure points, which in turn relaxes the body. So smile. See #2 for further instruction.
And, finally. The comments I received after my last post. You can see #3 again for this one. I am not good at accepting such lovely, beautiful things as were written under that post, but that is no excuse for taking so long to respond. What everyone wrote very deeply moved me (and, as a side note, also brought great joy to my mother). I cannot thank you all enough. You are family.
Atha Yoga Nushasanam. Many different spellings and translations exist, but the one I go with:
And now the study of yoga begins (Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1:1).