"Finding love or joy in unlikely places"

In essence, this thought or mantra is one of the messages I took home with me after my six week insight meditation course. For the past year, I felt myself finding wonder in the simple things and in the great outdoors, so I have been traveling a more mindful path than I could have imagined- before ever taking this course. I’ve found myself stopping to investigate  things like a four year old, and I have shared many of my deer encounters (while hiking)  with friends who sometimes think I am nuts to talk to these gorgeous and graceful animals. “Run up a tree and get away from them, you’ll get gored or kicked in the head!”, they say to me.

A fellow yogi passed along this poem today, I experienced the energy of insight and metta meditation when I read this poem... it’s kinda odd in some respects but it does drive home the point that all that is adoring or lovely is not necessarily clean and beautiful...or alive.

Life Shared.

Aimless Love

This morning as I walked along the lakeshore,
I fell in love with a wren
and later in the day with a mouse
the cat had dropped under the dining room table.

In the shadows of an autumn evening,
I fell for a seamstress
still at her machine in the tailor’s window,
and later for a bowl of broth,
steam rising like smoke from a naval battle.

This is the best kind of love, I thought,
without recompense, without gifts,
or unkind words, without suspicion,
or silence on the telephone.

The love of the chestnut,
the jazz cap and one hand on the wheel.

No lust, no slam of the door –
the love of the miniature orange tree,
the clean white shirt, the hot evening shower,
the highway that cuts across Florida.

No waiting, no huffiness, or rancor –
just a twinge every now and then

for the wren who had built her nest
on a low branch overhanging the water
and for the dead mouse,
still dressed in its light brown suit.

But my heart is always propped up
in a field on its tripod,
ready for the next arrow.

After I carried the mouse by the tail
to a pile of leaves in the woods,
I found myself standing at the bathroom sink
gazing down affectionately at the soap,

so patient and soluble,
so at home in its pale green soap dish.
I could feel myself falling again
as I felt its turning in my wet hands
and caught the scent of lavender and stone.

~ Billy Collins ~

(Nine Horses)

It's been a while...

My decision not to write was a wise one. 

This fall, I was met with another rough spot in the road...I suddenly lost my mother-in-law and my father had to be moved into an Alzheimer's residence. But when family heart aches occurred earlier in 2012, I thought I could take my time to formulate my thoughts and words about the "senioritis" I was experiencing and blog about them in the coming weeks. I realized that writing about certain events, people and situations are sometimes better left untouched. The potential to harm, expose and hurt people in my life seemed to loom over me, as they may have felt that the family's business was being publicly laundered. 

Throughout 2012, I have observed and witnessed self-destruction and implosions on the blogosphere by numerous bloggers. Their 'bear all to cleanse myself’ about personal moments in their family, matrimonial or professional life back fired by alienating friends, partners, peers and family members. In one particular instance a mommy blogger doesn't back away from the keyboard after her child 'comes out' to the world. Taking some time to absorb and become comfortable with this revelation could have prevented her from blogging the most disjointed, snarky, mindless and scattered jibberish content for more than a month-further discrediting herself. Then there was a post from a yoga teacher/blogger (remember that?) about her sultry hook ups with one of her students, it came off like she was bragging about the conquest.  I quit reading blogs for a while because I felt that the content was turning into episodes on reality TV shows (that I also avoid.)

My blogging intention for 2013 is to do my best to write when appropriate and not force the pen for blogging’s sake. I hope to bring light and humor to those who click on my blog, and hopefully some fascination or intrigue causing readers to seek and dig deeper for more knowledge on the presented subject matter. It’s a lost opportunity if we do not learn something new each day!

Life Simplified-

Sondra

Prana on the Porch

"Have you practiced #yoga on the front porch of a bed and  breakfast? #imagineit #365yoga"

Tweeted by @neshobayoga

An early morning began with seated pranayama amongst a row of rocking chairs. I then rose and stepped over to the sunlit side of the porch to awaken a downward facing dog and flow through several surya namaskar A’s. I continued with some standing poses and an upright pigeon variation (I squatted deeply and extended my arms laterally while I envisioned a heron perched on a fishing pier.) Savasana was swapped for tadasana with hands poised at anjali mudra for several minutes-to provide myself with a grounded clarity for 

the day.

This grand Victorian Lady presides on an urban Pensacola street corner, it’s been her post for over one hundred years. I can imagine that she has witnessed some unusual events in her city, but has there been anyone else to practice yoga on her porch...or am I the first?

“Build it, and they will come”...or not (May 20th, 2012)

I can’t believe what I am seeing here, almost like a mirage in the Southern Delta desert. There stands an incredible junior college football stadium outfitted with turf, yes a TURF field, a Jumbo tron and a very likable press box. Next to this desirable stadium is a freshly built baseball stadium, all shiny and new with a fabulous batting cage, roomy press boxes and dugouts- Oh, I bet the locker room is pretty sweet as well.

This is why my son and I are here, to tryout for the East Mississippi Lions baseball team, a junior college in Mississippi that can’t be located on a Tom Tom. I think that every time my husband typed in the town of ‘Scooba’ the auto correct changed it to Scooby. My twitter photo pretty much captured my expression as we turn off highway 45 onto route 16, just blocks away from campus (I couldn’t send it, no service). As we turned, there before us stood a very fat and happy cow grazing on the side of the road-no he was not inside a fence, but literally just off the shoulder of the road. Later, I started to wonder if the AstroTurf football field was a necessity after all, to keep the cows from grazing and pooping on it. 

My yoga tells me not to judge; I am doing more yoga now from a stadium seat than I have in the last 7 days. My mind can’t help but evaluate, critique and rank things as I slowly roast in the Delta heat. “Where did all the funds come from to build such star quality facilities? Are those dorms, converted from old motels? THAT is the student center?

I’m closing the Mac to sit for a few minutes and breathe, shut up Judge Judy and send positive thoughts  to my son. But deep down inside I'm hoping he will take the offer from Southwest.

Writer’s Block

It happens to anyone who puts pen to paper (or finger tips to keyboard)- regardless of your experience or skill level, you feel like you haven’t an intellectual bone in your body and nothing to express. Heck, you can lock up when writing in your own diary or journal!  You may have the writable, reportable experiences, but they may be too raw to organize and communicate, hence the freezing action I suppose. It takes immense effort, meditation and pranayama to quite those nasty voices. 

I am back on the blog track and I recently returned back to social media after a several week hiatus. I was caught up in the throws of this disorder called “Senioritis” and it can be quite gripping. My last child graduated high school last month and ordinary events or rituals became “this will be the last time you ___, sniff sniff”. The month of April and May felt like one long roller coaster ride at Six Flags as we experienced senior projects, prom, Senior Awards, the last baseball season, final exams - and rumbled right into baccalaureate and graduation. What a spring 2012 was.

If you are not aware of it, there is a completely opposite end of the spectrum to the disorder known as Senioritis, and I was experiencing this version in tandem with the more youthful Senioritis. My father’s failing cognitive functioning skills (associated with Parkinson’s disease) started to drop off right before I had to place my mother in a nursing home as she is anchored in the severe stages of Alzheimer’s. So you see, I have had a lot on my mind and plate...and it was covering up my mat.

Some incredibly insightful moments took place during this time, and a lot of light appeared amidst the grey. When the time is right, I’ll be blogging about a few of them under the heading of Senioritis. 

Metta and Ananda to you all yogis and yoginis

27 February 2012

Pada Bannnndha Baby!

Pada= foot

Bandha= lock 

Bandha is usually translated as a lock, it also implies a "binding" or "harness". To create this effect in the foot, stretch and lengthen the foot. Spread those toes, baby! Don’t forget to plug in the front of the heel, base of the little toe, and the base of the big toe.  These pressure placements help the arch to lift upward. If you visualize a suction cup, you kinda get an idea of the engagement of the feet. This Bandha is used in standing poses to increase stability, balance and a sense of grounding.

Don’t waste this tool-take it off the mat and have fun with it, i.e. experience life! The Pada Bandha was quite handy in my first try at SUP (stand up paddle boarding). Spending the afternoon of the Gulf of Mexico with me and my board was incredibly fun and relaxing. Paddling with a canoe paddle will give you an abdominal and upper body workout; staying on the board is where alignment principles and Pada Bandha come into play and challenge you even further. 

Once I found my ‘sea legs’ and Pada Bandha, the time on the water started to feel like time on the mat- it was all mine. Free from life’s distractions and responsibilities, the dipping of the paddle, the bright sun and smooth breeze soothed my soul. My breath started to match the flow of my strokes... it just felt familiar and friendly.

Living my yoga.