Computers Are So Cool!

I love the computer age.  Internet, email, Google; all these make life so much easier, simpler.  In just five minutes I can get store hours, coupons, and directions to get there.  That catchy tune playing on the radio?  I’ll find and download it in two minutes.  If the kids want enchiladas for dinner, I can get three recipes in seventeen seconds.  I am connected to yoga teachers, meditation gurus, my church congregation, and cousins I haven’t laid eyes on since before the days of sunscreen.  Woo hoo! It is exciting and fun to have such unfettered access to people, things, and facts.

Tovie prefers hardcover books.

Yeah, I know it can be a time-suck.  One Shiva Rea YouTube video can lead to an hour of vinyasa viewing.  But hey, as long as I’m getting the laundry done and enough sleep at night, what the heck!  I even like these new-fangled Nooks and Kindles.  A book is about the story, not the delivering medium.  If you like the feel of paper, then by all means read from that; the convenience of twenty books in my purse makes my Kindle a treasure.   I don’t have a smart phone, though, and I may never go that way – but only because the screen is too dang small and I’d have to start wearing a magnifying glass on a string around my neck! 

I’m going to skip the cautionary tales and horror stories of stolen identities and lost electricity, because there is a shadow side to everything and you’ve heard it all before.  So blog me a blog, find me a find on eBay, catch me an eCard; I’m just gonna throw the laundry in the dryer and I’ll be right back!

Gratitude for Me

This past week we officially gave thanks for all that we have, as we celebrated our great country and its bountiful gifts.  Now it’s on to the harried holiday hoe-down!  If you celebrate Hanukkah, watch out because it’s practically on top of us; Christmas follows closely behind.  What gift will you give yourselves this month?

I highly recommend presenting your self with an hour of down time every day.  Sound impossible?  Try doing it out of your house to eliminate distractions.  Yoga is a good idea, of course.  Or visit the library and sit on a comfy chair under a window; you can read or just pretend to read.  Bundle up and take a meditative walk, leaving the dog behind so you don’t have to keep stopping (the kids’ll take him out later!).  Take a drive down a country road with the radio off. Wander through a garden nursery and breathe in the pine scents. Visit a local museum.  Again, you can wander and look, or just sit and relax.  Did I mention yoga?

Give it a go.  You will be surprised how quickly an hour goes by, and how refreshed and energized you will feel afterward.  The bonus realization will be that an hour of replenishing your soul won’t take time away from your busy day – you will seem to gain more time!  Need I say more?

A Tree Grows in (insert your favorite location here)

My favorite balance pose is Vrksasana, or Tree Pose.  It is simple and can be done by beginners and experts alike; and as a teacher, I love being able to say, “Grow your tree” and watch what happens.

            Today I was a student, and my teacher brought us into Vrksasana.  She guided us to raise our arms, then to incorporate a little backbend into the pose.  Just looking up toward the ceiling changed my perspective and balance, and reaching back a tiny bit further with each breath changed my attitude.  My heart opened and I breathed deeply and evenly.  I filled with joy and grace. 

            Tiny changes in perspective and movement can create broad changes in body and mind. My favorite balance pose is Tree -- open, grounded, always growing.