Up and Over

I'm no marathoner. I'm not a flashy yogini. I like to do a lot of things, and I am mostly average or slightly below par in most of them.

I've learned to run. I'm not fast. For me, being able to run 3-5 miles without losing my breath is a BIG deal! I couldn't do that as a teenager. With age, I've learned about pacing. With time, I've learned the value of intentions.

There've been a lot of "I" statements in this post so far. Not all of this is about me. Some of it is about YOU.

You who struggle.

You who have bad days.

You who ask for prayers.

You who keep fighting - though your income has dipped or your relationship falters...

Yep. Some of my running is for you.

Up and over this hill. Not a steep incline. A gradual one. One that on hot or particularly blustery days, can seem endless.

When I know you are struggling, I take you with me.

I call to you, "C'mon! C'mon! Don't you see the top? Let's get it!"

I take the boy who beat cancer and the one who's almost there on every climb. Sometimes, I take the wife of a police officer, or the single mom, or the single dad. Lately I've added the drug addicts and their families. Sometimes I take a whole farm (and all the farms!) with me. Sometimes I take the teachers, the administrators, the aides of special needs kids, the special needs kids, my kids, my family... the dog I saw that came up missing (I sometimes figure my dog, Storm, has that one's back on that particular outing).

There's a whole team at my back and do you know what?

WE make it over this hill EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Believe me. You were there. Did you feel it? I always ask on the way back down. I hope you feel as empowered as I do. You see, I needed you, as much as you needed me.

That's the point.

Ridiculous

Do you think?
If it were your child bearing that label, would you be so quick to use it describe every negative thing in your life?

Ankles, Tendons and Heels, OH MY!

This has not made it into my blog, so could be a long story, but I guess I will just jump right into the middle. Yoga really brought me into a healthier state of being - mentally and physically. Yoga acted as a gateway to wanting to be and feel healthier, happier, fitter, all of the time, in every way.

Indoor yoga made me want to take yoga outdoors. Outdoor yoga made me want to take walks outside… walking led to running. Slow running led to faster running…

Faster running led to re-injuring my ankle, re-igniting plantar fasciitis, and igniting Achilles Tendonitis.

I was yoga-ing less, and feeling the burn much more!

Now, for real, I'm a flexible person. I have had a very hard time with understanding what this pose was actually supposed to do. That's where I was, on the floor, exploring this pose, and asking myself 'what is this pose even about?'
Then….

*POP!*

My toes tingled, something felt different… No Way, right? Not after months of rehab, strength and all of these therapies, right?

Yep. The answer was (and continues to be) Half Happy Baby Pose.
I do this pose daily and sometimes several times a day to keep whatever that-thing-is-in-the-back-of-my-leg where it is supposed to be.
Now, there is still work and healing to be done. My heel still feels bruised sometimes. I have to rest and keep re-aliging with this pose. The thing I have learned, though, is that no matter where my healthy living intentions and habits take me, I cannot ever leave my yoga practice.

Namaste ;-)

Do Just What You Need

Being self-sacrificing is not noble, it is wasteful.
In time, you will waste away to someone you do not even realize.
You will forget who you were, what you like, what you did…
before you started giving everything to everyone else!

Am I saying you should do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it?
No.
I'm saying, you must tune in to you, and do just what you need.

You do not need to spend money on frivolous things. You need to listen.

Simple, healthy, happy 

If there is one thing yoga has taught me, it is to listen, to myself and also to others.
When you first start listening to yourself, you might hear a lot of noise.
If you do, it's probably because you haven't listened to yourself in a long while!

When all of that is sifted out, you will hear what you really need.
It's probably not what you think.
I really, truly, and willing to bet you will be surprised.

Wanna  know what my soul needed today?
It's not a winning lottery ticket, or a vacation, or a new house…

It's hot water with an orange slice in an attractive mug.
Yep, kid you not!

So guess what? I took five minutes to make that.
Is it decadent? No.
Does it feel like a treat? Yes.
Do I deserve it? Absolutely!
Do I need it? Actually, yes! We all need more water.

If I hadn't really listened - I would have gone for chocolate, or something more decadent.
Maybe I would have thought I needed more clothes, or more music… or something.
But I know I need nice water. And a happy slice of citrus - I'd like my hydration with some sunshine, please.

What do you need? What will soothe your soul? What makes you feel nourished, loved, and cared for?
Listen carefully.

The Perfection in "Imperfection"

This post is about the transgender community.

If you are sick of reading about it, shuffle on.
If reading about anything that isn't your opinion will inflame you, please don't waste your time here.

This is my thought. It could be a wrong thought, I don't know. I'm just putting it here for others to consider. I don't think I can be convinced of anything aside from this just yet.

I can understand what it is to feel like you are one thing on the inside, and something different on the outside. It makes sense! We are all on that journey in some way or another: to try to find inner peace and achieve some sense of balance in our lives.

Those that comprise the transgender community are faced with this challenge at the highest level. What makes it worse, I think, is that we live in a society that makes it seem as though you must be one gender or the other.

My question is… Why?

Why?

If you feel one gender internally and physically express the opposite gender - what if you worked to embrace and incorporate both?

Wouldn't that be beautiful?

What if you aren't "trapped?" What if you simply and beautifully contain ALL?

What if you are ALL - ALL in one body, mind and spirit?

The amount of surgery and trauma these forms are sometimes choosing to undergo in order to conform to one gender or the other truly concerns me. When people go through multiple procedures to change their appearance for aesthetic reasons, we wonder if they have body dysmorphic disorder. The health implications  — both short and long term — are frightening. If society simply embraced people who embody both genders, would our transgender people still feel compelled to subject themselves to these of multiple, intense, elective procedures?

Perhaps we won't know until there is acceptance. Societal acceptance AND personal acceptance.

Isn't that what we are ALL after?

The Despair from the Compare

"I don't know why other people complain about blue fuzzy socks. I happen to love blue fuzzy socks and I intend to enjoy them every day!" Does anyone else get a little twinge when they hear or read statements such as this?

Are you reading between the lines here?
The implied "because I am a fantastic person and I am going to make you believe it by running down anyone and their brother who might have an alternate viewpoint."
You see, because if the fictional quoted person weren't having such huge self esteem issues, they'd simply say "I love fuzzy blue socks and I intend to enjoy them every day!"
You don't need to be better than anyone else to be great.
It's just not the point.
The point is to be the best YOU possible.
Not a YOU that is better than THEM.
And FYI? THEY are pretty great too. They may not think like you, they may struggle… and that may very well be exactly what makes them great.

Time to Punch Out and be Mom

The moment when your allergy-suffering kid, enwreathed in used tissues, gazes up at you with hound dog eyes and says, "cuddle with me, mama. I think I just blew my brains out."