Let down your emotional hair!

Oh my! Has it really been three weeks since I've posted? Well, I did move after all. I guess that is a good reason, if there is one. It is a good thing I did not commit to NaMoBloMo, or whatever it is, like my lovely sister did, because I would have failed miserably!

On to other things: I was vinyasa-ing* through one of my Baron Baptiste DVDs this morning and as I was in this twisted-triangle-y thing, I realised that I was struggling through the pose. I was starting to panic--I have really tight hips and hamstrings, partly due to my running. And then I heard Baron say, in his smooth voice: "Let down your emotional hair." Oh YEAH! I was uptight! I was feeling cranky about my hips! I was holding it IN!

Several yoga instructors I have had have told us students how much emotion we, especially women, hold in our hips. By holding poses that bring us close to the edge of our tolerance, yet breathing through them, we actually can let go of a lot of tension and anxiety. Believe me, it works. I remember being at a yoga workshop (led by Baron himself--remember, Jenna?) and being in a really difficult (for me) hip opener. As I struggled, Baron walked over, placed his hand on my sacrum and said, "Just let it go." I totally did! And, alarmingly, I started to cry! But I left that day with more a more open, relaxed body and mind. It worked today as well--I feel HAPPY!

I did not intend to extoll the virtues of yoga in this post, but as usual, I get going and woah! a tangent!
But a daily yoga practice is one huge way, for me, to let down my emotional hair. Recognize it, let it go and, along with some deep breathing, move on...

Sometimes, when I walk out of a movie where the heroine was particularly spunky or emotionally carefree, I find myself wanting to be more like that. I try to smile more often and let the little things just roll off my back. We all have our stresses, true, but do they have to RULE our lives? Must we stuff stress and emotions down into our hips and back? No, I say--it is not necessary! Let us practice just letting it out, and letting it go--whatever "it" is. Workers, unite!** Take a deep ujjayi breath and LET IT GO!!!!!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! And, if your food for some reason does not turn out, it is OK! If you eat too much, it is FINE! If you sleep through dinner, OH WELL! If your children fight, send them OUTSIDE! It will be an incredible day! Seriously, what other day can you eat pie with such abandon?

*vinyasa, as you probably know, is movement with breath, i.e., breathe in, bring your arms up over your head. Breathe out, and lower them back to your sides...
**No, I am not a Marxist.

I Made 37!

Here in the Islands, when your birthday passes, you do not 'turn' to your next year, you achieve another year, as in, "My son just made 13" or "Your dad made 86?" Thus, upon my birthday, I made 37--just a few days ago, in fact.
In my mind, it is not the number that surprises me, it is the sheer number of events that have occured in these thirty-seven years. And, how fast the years have gone by! It makes sense that when you are young, the years seems to go by more slowly. Each year of, say, a nine-year-old's life is a larger proportion of their life compared to mine. To me, the time just seems to flip by, like when you thumb the edges of the pages of a book. My husband Dave and I realized that when twelve more years have passed (this is the number of years we have been married thus far), my youngest child will be graduated from high school!

So, I have decided that I need to make a list, of sorts, of things that I want to do before the next 12 years go by:
* see all of my children through their educations
* finish the sewing AND knitting projects in my sewing bin (before adding new ones--key!)
* pursue graduate studies
* make that trip to India
* become a grandmother (the odds are definitely in my favour...)
* complete an Ironman triathlon
* complete a yoga teacher training course
* own and operate a farm (what kind of farm? you may ask...I don't know that part yet! Just get me those barnyard animals!)
* spend a summer learning Spanish in an immersion school with my family

So far, so good...I may add to the list as I see fit. But they say the first step to recovery is stating the issues at hand, right? My goal is to capture these years and make them COUNT! Plus, it'll be fun! (I hope my husband and children agree!!)

PS. When I "make" 40, I plan to run forty miles! Want to come with?