Yes folks. I'm back again. I have thought about you and my blog everyday, however, thinking isn't the same as DOING! So without further "to do" (you know I gotta put my own spin on words)...here it is:
I hope it's big enough for you to see...I'm doing another Yoga in the Park!! This time, it will be in Brooklyn and there is a $10 suggested donation.
I have so much going on (this is not an excuse, merely a fact) and I have to prioritize. Between this blog, my book, my job(s), my mom, volunteer work, and cleaning my house...well, you get the idea. The blackberry is not enough. I need the Jesus phone to be able to keep up (or at least a long vacation). The vacation won't happen anytime soon (I'm working on that too) but I have been meditating and it helps a lot. You like the segue, don't you? 
I went to Summer Spa Day at Integral Yoga yesterday. It was a fantastic event. I did 90 minutes of Yoga, 20 minutes of Meditation, had a great vegetarian lunch, got a facial/body scrub, did some Qi Gong, Reiki, Thai Yoga Massage, and enjoyed a lecture by Dr. Naina Marballi on Ayurveda Beauty and Wellness. It was truly amazing to share and celebrate our "Sacred Feminine Aspect." The rain didn't dampen our spirits...it actually made us more aware and alive because we knew that it washes away the past and the dirt to make way for the new and the present to shine.
It's just too damn bad that my hips are super sore! 
I need to work on my right hip more (making it open up) but it's my left hip that is the sorest! It's weird but interesting because it shows me how one side will work to compensate for the other. The left hip is taking all of the soreness for the right hip. I did a lot of work on my right hip yesterday!
Another good thing about yesterday was when I was doing Yoga. Sumatri is the name of our instructor and guide for yesterday's events. She is an amazing teacher. We had a multi-level class and I loved the way she was able to take the simplest poses and "build up" in complexity so even first timers had confidence to do more than they thought they could do.
Now most of you know that I only have time to do Yoga at home (right now). 5 minutes of Sun Salutations and I'm a happy camper! If I can get in a pigeon pose and savasana (corpse pose), then I'm golden. This is no more than 10 minutes, tops. Being that this was my first "class" in months, I decided to try to take the mediocre route. If I could advance in a pose, I would. If I didn't think I could, then I wouldn't.
Sumatri wasn't trying to hear any of that. "Why don't you try it this way?," she would ask me. My mind would say, "hell to the no lady! This is supposed to be an easy day!" but my breath would lead my body to do the poses with ease. I was amazed...at myself and the class. As I would do a pose, the person next to me would follow my lead. The person on the other side of me would get a little bit bolder in doing the pose. The person across from me would smile and continue to focus on her breath. It was as if I was inspiring them and they were inspiring me and this energy was building up throughout the day. The energy built up but didn't burst. It bloomed and blossomed, like a lotus flower. Did you know I love lotus flowers?
Oh yeah...I forgot one thing to add to my to-do list...RUNNING! I said that by 9/7, I'll be able to run 5K in under 30 minutes. I haven't started practicing yet.
But all of that will change as of next week. Today is the first day (of that time...yeah, it's really 'Sacred Feminine' time 
) so I'm going to take a break. However, I am going to make it a point to run at least twice a week so I can get my time down. Right now, I run 5K in 34 minutes and I haven't ran in a month.One more thing...I finished the Master Cleanser a couple of days ago. I lost 8lbs and in 5 days, have only gained back 3lbs. It's tough to gain weight when you don't have time to exercise (yeah my metabolism/weight is funny like that) and your stomach seems to have shrunken because you only took in liquids for 10 days! LOL In the end, I made a lot of silly mistakes that I didn't need to make. I can't be upset though...it will only serve to help you when my book comes out. I don't want you to make the same dipsh*t mistakes I did!
OK, that's it for now. I'm tired of talking about me, me, me and nothing about breathe, breath, breathing! Mediation anyone?
Let me babble on some more before letting you go:
when there is something I need to do that is very important, I have this tendency to avoid it until the last second. This is not a good thing. I need to act with urgency and not desperation. Most human beings are living in "fright or flight" mode (more on this at another time)...with that comes desperation. Everything is in a hurry...not an urgency - knowing that you need to do something soon but pacing yourself to make sure it happens at that time and not a second later but waiting until the last minute and then rushing to get something done half-assed. Don't look at me like I'm crazy. I know you do it too. Especially if you live in NYC? Oh yeah, that's you!
My friend that did my Reiki treatment yesterday (hey Louisya!) told me that my body screamed to her that I needed to rest. She wasn't lying. The Thai Yoga Massage lady said something similar to me, in regards to my right hip being so tight. "You're still holding on to something that the rest of you wants to let go...you need to get some rest so that this last bit of tightness can be finally released." In typical NYC fashion, I told them both to wait until after Sept. 7. Well sorry ladies, we're going to have to wait until Jan. 1. I start Yoga Teacher Training at Integral Yoga Institute on September 8.
Even though I have all this stuff to do, I will take their advice and relax for a couple of days. I'm in another period of transitition (did I mention I also need to clean my house? LMAO) so I think I can fit some relaxation in. I don't want to crash and burn out, like I have done in the past (I am a Pitta-Vata...I burn out easily) and I don't want you to either (regardless of what Ayurvedic constitution you are).
I'm going to meditate for a little bit and then face my fear and type up this blog on Meditation. I still have a schedule to keep and people who like to read....so until next time true believers (yeah Stan Lee...sue me later when I have $)...
stay strong, stay healthy, and fight dis-ease!
