Cie Change

“There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”   – Edith Wharton

The days grow longer now, but we are still in the darkness of winter.

“The hero is the one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for me to see by.  The saint is the man who walks through the dark paths of the world, himself a light.”   – Felix Adler

Be the light.

Happy Solstice, Season’s Greetings!

Thanks for stopping by.

C.

Again.  Upon my return I shall update to include some more fun summer yoga stuff.

Have a good week!

C.

“Happy Feet”

My feet were so happy doing beach yoga last night they flipped right up into Salamba Sarvangasana (aka, shoulderstand).  Now, smile for the camera, please…….

A good time was had by all.  Here’s some more happy feet…. If you ever get to Chicago, you must do beach yoga.  This one courtesy of lululemon, THANK YOU LULULEMON for providing beach yoga all summer long.  And hey, bet you didn’t know there’s palm trees in Chicago!    Speaking of lululemon, did I mention they also provided 25 mats for our yoga class at Camp Widow?   What an amazing company!  lululemon.com/

Happy Friday, happy feet.  Thanks for stopping by.

C.

You will recall in my last post, some very many days ago now, I referenced my overall  “happy camper” feeling, having mainly to do with summer, yoga and life in general.  Now I’m here to talk about a real happy camper.  As in, this is about a real camp that makes some very special people feel special and yes, happy.   It’s called “Camp Widow.”   Sounds happy, right?    Believe it or not, it is!

You may or may not know that I’m a widow, 5 years running now.  I’m not going to dwell on it, if you’d like to learn more about this, you can read all about it here:  www.lessonsfromlou.blogspot.com The important thing is that over the last five years, I’ve moved from depression to pretty much “happy camper” status.  It took a lot of work to make that happen; false starts, experimenting, good times and bad, soul searching, family, friends, kitties, lattes, music, writing, nieces, etc etc etc.  And yoga. Yes, I believe yoga played a very big role in this journey back to life.   And because of it, I’ve wanted to help other women, through yoga, who may be experiencing similiar life transitions.

Enter Camp Widow.   www.campwidow.org/ Camp Widow is an amazingly unique weekend of support for widowed people.  Now in it’s third year, 275 people convened for it this past weekend to participate in workshops,  a 5K marathon, and to bond and enjoy each others company.  To meet new friends and old.  To get a bit of R & R.   To cry and laugh.  To feel like a human again, even if just for a few days.  And some did some yoga, led by yours truly.  I was honored and humbled to be a part of this awesome weekend and to bring a little hope and good feelings, through yoga and meditation, to this special group of people.    We did “Warrior Widow” poses (clasp hands behind back, stretch chest upwards toward the sky, open hearts, feel strong), we focused on the idea of hope.   We didn’t have music due to a last minute change in venue, but “hope is the music of grief” (author unknown), and it seemed to work for us.  Later in the day, I led a session called “Meditation Moment”, sharing some simple breathing and meditation techniques that are easily accessible to all.

Yes, there were tears.  I heard some very sad stories of loss, young women left with babies, hopes and dreams dashed, reminding me, yet again, to be grateful for what I had, and what I still have.  But there was happiness, too.  Lots of it.   I met some fantastic people, including the founder of  Soaring Spirits, an inspirational woman who started all this just four short years ago after the unexpected death of her husband in a biking accident.   She saw a need to provide support for widowed people and she has made it happen.

I’m so grateful to have been able to share yoga in this way.  I’m hopeful I helped someone.  But really, I think I’m the one who was helped.   I left feeling uplifted, it’s so great to be able to reach out and connect in person.

If you know of anyone dealing with spousal loss, please share these links with them.  They do not need to feel alone:

www.sslf.org/ (Soaring Spirits Loss Foundation)

widowedvillage.org/ (Widowed Village, a great resource for widowed people to chat, share, find each other.)

Thanks for stopping by today!

C.

And you missed me, right? Yes, you did, please say you did!

Guess I’ve been having too much hot fun in the summertime, it’s almost… AUGUST! Before you know it, these dog days will be done.   Yelp!  Best be soakin’ up that sun soon y’all, don’t wait, don’t hesitate.  It’s too short…summer….life…yes, all much too short.

Now then, glad I got that off my chest.  Here’s me, today, yippee!

It really doesn’t take much to be a happy camper, she says.  It’s the simple things….

l.  Repeat students came to class this morning, yes!  Sooo happy to see you, please come back, soon.   And for all you yogis out there (or any other student), remember how happy it makes your instructor when you come back to class and keep it up.    And you like happy teachers, right?

2.   The music coordinated with the movement, wow.  I love that when it happens, almost like I planned it.  I love it when everyone swoops into Up Dog exactly when the music hits the right note.   So lovely.

3.  Chattin it up.  I love it when students who’ve just met are chatting outside after class, isn’t yoga grand that way?

4.  Rain rain go away.  Exactly as I was leaving the studio the sky grew dark and mean.  Then it rained, quickly, as I was grocery shopping.   And just as quickly, it stopped.  Just in time to bring in the groceries.

5.  And then this:  I came home to curtains blowing in the breeze.  This has to be one of my most favorite visuals ever.  No, these are not my curtains, I went to grab my camera only to discover it needed recharging.   Curtains softly blowing in the breeze…bliss.

Now that was a great morning.   Hoping you’re a happy camper, too, today.   Look for the simple things.

Thanks for stopping by.

C.

Not literally, but in my mind, yes, “Gone Fishing.”   Speaking of which, have you ever thought about how yoga can help with fishing?  I think so.  Not that I would know.   It seems to have helped my golf game.  But I digress.  Actually, I am hitting the road, be back in a few days.

Happy Friday y’all!   Thanks for stopping by.

C.

Or is it Duh?

Either way, I posted the “Monday Meditation” on Tuesday.  Why didn’t somebody tell me?    Seems today is Wednesday. Good thing I figured THAT out in time to get to my 6:30 am yoga class!

Hey, it’s already mid week, just like that!

Thanks for stopping by today.

C.

To see the Summer Sky
Is Poetry, though never in a Book it lie -
True Poems flee.
~Emily Dickinson

And now it’s back to work after a long summer weekend.  Let’s remember to look up and read the poetry in the sky every now and then.

Enjoy.

Thanks for stopping by today.

C.

So.  How does an urban yogi clean and dry her yoga mat in an apartment that does not have a balcony, porch, deck or any other form of outdoor space?

True, I could hang it over my shower curtain rod but I want it to have fresh air and sunshine of course!

What you do is, you open the window (mine open IN), and you hang the mat over the window, see, like this :  And then you have to reposition it every so often so each part of it gets some window time.

It’s not quite the same as “hanging it out to dry” but it’ll do! Here’s another view.

Now you know the deep dark secrets of the life of an urban yogi.

Happy Friday, happy 4th!

C.

I was one lonely yogi yesterday morning.  NOBODY came to my 6:30 a.m. class, NOT.ONE.SINGLE.PERSON.   Where were all of you?  Last week, six lovely peeps came on a not very nice day.  The week before, four.   Progress, or so I thought.  This week…zero!  How can that be?  It was an absolutely spectacular summer morning y’all, where were you?  Ok, ok, maybe you were out biking or running?  Certainly you weren’t sleeping , were you???   I opened the front and back doors, got the cross breeze going, turned the fans on, cranked the tunes up.  It was lovely!   It was like I was throwing a party and nobody came, so sad.   I waited and waited thinking maybe someone would just show up late.   There was the young man who rode through a horrible rain on his motorcycle one morning, where was he on this fine day?  Harumph.  I did yoga in the front of the studio, near the open door.  The construction men on the street found it amusing.  I said hello to the several runners and asked them to come join me.

Finally, I went back in and held my own class.  For me, myself and I.  Kinda like my own little party.    Guess what?  I DID A HANDSTAND! This was my summer goal for myself,  to do a handstand.   Yah, ok, it was against the wall but I was on my HANDS guys, this is huge for me!   I was almost as excited as when I did urdhva dhanurasana (“wheel pose”)  for the first time.  There was only one problem, I had no one to share it with.  I high fived myself.   I can’t wait to show my teacher in class today.   I hope I can do it again!

So, back to early morning yoga.  Here’s why its great.  It’s a wonderful way to start your day, physically, mentally and spiritually.  You get all the kinks out from sleeping funny, you know how you can wake up with a crick in your neck?  Gone.    In the summer, it’s great to practice before it gets all hot and sticky.   It’s not overcrowded.  You’ll get personal attention.   Your stomach is empty.   You can get your practice in and still be at work on time.  Then you can have plenty of time to play after work (or do more yoga.)   You start your day with that yoga glow.  You can just roll out of bed and go!   And you’ll make a yoga teacher very happy.

Hope to see you in class next week.  I’ll show you my handstand if you’re lucky.  Speaking of handstands, here’s a funny summer handstand pic… 

Thanks for stopping by today, stay cool!

C.