Six Word Saturday ala Cate at Show my Face...

Be the ocean, deep and vast.


My show today is on Mindfulness Meditation with guests Lonnie Wiig and Brant Rogers. We'd love for you to call in or listen today at 4:00pm PST.

Three word Thursday...

I Am Healthy.

Grounded in a good way....

I went to a wonderful yoga class with Brant Rogers of Yoga Hillsboro today. If you live anywhere near the Portland, Oregon metro area I highly recommend taking a class with Brant. My body had a chance to open and breathe in such a beautiful way and I am certainly more ready to teach my own classes tonight with such a great "grounding" earlier today.

During final relaxation pose, Grant happened to play the instrumental tune "The Water is Wide". This is the song that as a young bride I walked down the aisle to, over 17 years ago with my darling hubby. I was nearly in tears as I rested on the ground and let the years flow through my imperfect and yet still usable body.

How evocative is music memory... the very first few bars had me nearly weeping. I feel the same way about certain scents as well. Wouldn't it be amazing to live each day with such awareness that this moment is a future opportunity of sensory memory? Maybe not. I definitely don't want to remember certain scents, sounds, sights, tastes, or touches. What do you think?

Leave me a comment with your most evocative sensory experience and see if just remembering it is enough to bring you back into the moment of then and now. How are you different in this moment from the memory moment? How are you the same? Isn't it fun to play with sensory awareness?

Have a great day,

Jan

New Post

So the radio show went well.. (I think) and you can listen to the archive of it here if you are interested.

I'm still looking for Wenda and looking forward to teaching my classes tomorrow hopefully sans asthma.

I'll try to come up with something really interesting for tomorrow!

Happy Sunday Night,

Jan

Upcoming Radio Show on Qigong

Please tune in to www.BlogTalkRadio.com this Sunday evening at 7:00pm Pacific Time for an interview with Qigong master Brenda Harris. My co-host will be Sarah Dinsmore of Blissbrokers.com

An exploration of Qigong with Brenda Harris

Call-in Number: (646) 727-2327
Upcoming Show: 2/22/2009 7:00 PM

Host Name: PetalsYoga
Show Name: An exploration of Qigong with Brenda Harris
Length: 45 min

Description:

Please join me and my cohost Sarah Dinsmore for an interview with Qigong master Brenda Harris to discuss the benefits and methodologies of Qigong in day to day life.
Brenda is a licensed acupuncturist with a Masters degree in Oriental Medicine from National College of Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM) and a Bachelors of Science degree in Scientific Interpretation and Speech Communication from the University of Washington.
Brenda utilizes Qigong, acupuncture, Chinese and western herbs, moxibustion, cupping, tuning forks, craniosacral, massage, and dietetics to harmonize the energy systems of the body to address acute or longstanding conditions as well as adjust imbalances before they manifest as illness. Brenda provides care for acute or chronic conditions including colds/flu, sinusitis/allergy, pain syndromes, arthritis, thyroid imbalances, menstrual irregularities, anxiety/depression and fatigue. Brenda offers individualized massage appointments as well as personalized Qigong healing appointments and Qigong group instruction.
For more information please visit: Blissbrokers.com



Also... Welcome Wenda!!!

Can irony deepen into goldy???

So, today in the Yoga for Healing class I had a full-on asthma attack which for me involves hacking, coughing, and not breathing very well. Had to leave the room to run to the restroom in the middle of a meditation sequence. I recovered but have felt pretty weak and tired all day. I'm off to the Dr. tomorrow for a good once over. It really is getting fairly Monty Python-ish though. I was playing the whole thing over in my mind this evening and I started giggling at the image of my whole class trying to meditate while I'm obviously coughing up a kidney... The good news is that many people came up to me afterwards and told me what a great class it was, so go figure. They were either just being supportive and kind or I somehow channeled BKS Iyengar during my pertussive fit.

Hope this finds you healthy, happy, and content,

Jan

Healing is hard work...

The irony of the fact that ever since I started teaching Healing Yoga my body has been falling apart, is not lost on me. I'm sick again with a cold/virus and have been dealing with this one since last Thursday. Bleah... Enough already. I'm ready to be a HEALTHY healing teacher! I wonder what is really behind this though? I'm going to think on it and get back to you in the next few days....when I'm feeling better hopefully.

Anyway, a little Casablanca certainly can't hurt...

I think this is the beginning of a beautiful blog friendship...

Six Word Saturday Valentine Edition

My husband is my heart's desire.

Courtesy of Cate at Show My Face.

Okay, I know it's sappy but the man just turned 50 and I really do think he's pretty amazing. You know what else? Life is over in a flash. You should let the people you love know it as often as you can so that you have one less regret in life...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentines Day

I celebrated Heart Day with some heart-focused Yoga classes today and we had a great time. I'm getting over yet another cold and I am so happy it's the weekend so I can heal and rest. We're also celebrating hubby's 50th birthday this weekend with a Chinese food feast and good friends. I'll take some pics to post, but this is the centerpiece I made for him filled with 50 reasons I love him and birthday wishes from family and friends around the world.

Wishing you a lot of love in your world and a very Happy Valentines Day.

Hugs,

Jan

Healer be healed...

Today is the day I felt like a bonafide teacher at last. The students were sharing, laughing, and truly healing on a deep level. Nearly everyone in my healing class today shared a piece of themselves with someone else in that room, and it was tremendously moving and for me, personally healing. Nothing helps me move forward on my own journey more than knowing I am making a difference in other people's lives. The cancer, lung disease, hysterectomy, and pulmonary hypertension are all badges of honor for me because they have taught me not only how to survive and get stronger, but how to find a path towards helping others. I feel so very blessed to be in the place I am today. Thank you to everyone who knows me and has supported me and to those of you visiting for the first time. You are all a part of the healing.

Namaste,

Jan

Sorrow in Australia

A picture says it all....



http://www.theage.com.au/photogallery/2009/02/09/1234027920316.html

If you feel that you can help at all with either your condolences (click here) or with a few dollars please click here:



I'm just so thankful for the great strength and resilience of the Aussie spirit. It will take some time to heal and rebuild but there is no doubt that our friends and family down under will prevail.

With love,

Jan

Confession to make....

Okay, I know I'm supposed to be all zen and above this, but I have a dark confession to make. I'm jealous of every other blogger out there. Seriously. Everyone else in blogland is wittier, cooler, and just plain more interesting than me. I have blog-envy and I seriously don't think my health insurance plan will cover the treatment for it. Okay, I said it and now I feel much better. Here are just SOME of the bloggers I'm jealous of:

http://revolutionbybrandy.blogspot.com/

http://wellokaysassybritches.blogspot.com/

http://hillbillywoman.blogspot.com/

http://ammdh.blogspot.com/2009/02/ced-words.html

So you get my point. Maybe I can start a 12 step program for blogger-envy and then blog about that.... Nah!

Hope your Sunday is splendiferous,

Jan

Six word Saturday

I love playing this game
http://showmyface.blogspot.com/

Who put the poo in poodle?

Some yoga for your day:

Thought for a change I might actually make this blog revolve around that thing I do... yoga. So, I invite you to make yourself comfortable and take this moment for yourself.

Click here for audio recording of this breathing meditation:

Begin by observing your breath as it travels easily up and then down your body. Let go of striving or attempting to manipulate your breath in any way. Simply begin developing awareness in this moment. There are three parts of the body you may choose to observe in order to begin developing your sensory and meditative focus. You can place your attention on the slight air-exchange beneath your nostrils as you breathe in and out. Alternately, you can rest awareness on the gentle rise and fall of your chest. And finally you could choose to place your hands on your lower abdomen and observe as it gently expands and contracts with each full breath. No matter which part of the body you choose to observe, give it your full and undivided attention for the next 5 - 10 full breaths.

Can you feel the energy shifting within you upon the inhale, and the tension releasing on the exhale? Can you allow the muscles of your face to soften and then soften even a little more with the next full breath? Allow the softness in your face to spread calm stillness into and throughout your entire body.

If your mind becomes restless, simply observe this and then let go of judging your thoughts or focus. Simply notice the thought activity and then move gently back to following the journey of the breath.

Can you allow your shoulders to become a little heavy but soft and receptive? Perhaps your head can slowly and gently begin circling around on your neck first in one direction for several breaths and then slowly and deliberately back in the other direction. Continue noticing the quality and depth of your breath...

Bringing your head back to stillness, close your eyes and continue your quiet observation for another 5 - 10 full deep breaths.

Take as long as you need, and when you are ready,

Slowly open your eyes and gently transition back into this moment with renewed energy and resolve.

Click here for audio recording of this breathing meditation:

Back in the saddle...

Okay, I'm not back in the saddle but at least I'm back on my feet. I've recovered from the fall on the world's smallest patch of ice last Friday and will hopefully be perfectly capable of teaching my two yoga classes tomorrow night. I'll move through some gentle yoga today and see how it feels. Thanks to everyone who commented and asked how I was feeling. It certainly helps to have the kind wishes.

I've just finished doing my daily homework for the mindfulness class and I have to say it is either getting easier or I am actually sleeping through the whole body scan but dreaming so vividly about it that I don't know I'm missing it. In any case, the whole thing is better and my attitude is CERTAINLY better now. When I fell on the ice my back started throbbing almost immediately and I began having those thoughts that you have when you get worried that you've really hurt yourself badly. Things like, "How will I be able to teach my classes?" or "How could I have been so stupid to wear these slippery shoes?". Mental pain on top of physical pain. The moment I heard myself, I stopped the inner diatribe and just began to focus on my breath. Magically the pain in my back lessened and became manageable. See, this stuff really works! So at least I finally have something cool to share in class next Thursday.

Well, that's my weekend. We're off to wash clothes again at my parents condo because I still haven't bought a washing machine. Procrastination thy name is Jan.
Either that or my name is La Cheapskate... I'm not sure which.

Anyway, please take care and have a beautiful day wherever you are,

Jan