Everything about the giraffe’s body is built for one thing: reaching towering heights. As the world’s tallest land animal, they have an unrivaled reach. With legs that are taller than many humans — about 6 feet — to a neck that weighs over 600 pounds, the whole structure enables the giraffe to eat tasty treats unavailable to others constrained closer to earth.

Yet you don’t see other animals lamenting the fact that they can’t reach what’s easy for the giraffe to reach. The zebra or lion don’t appear to be jealous. You don’t see them being melancholy over the fact that they are height-challenged in comparison.

It seems a purely human trait to compare ourselves to others, only to find ourselves lacking in one way or another.

I do consulting work at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, the largest and most established retreat center for yoga, health, and holistic living in North America. On any given day, I can look around the cafeteria during lunch to see lots of fit, young bodies. I notice my mind comparing my middle-aged body that gave birth to two children to those younger bodies.

Those thoughts are, of course, useless. But they are there nonetheless.

Wanting to cultivate a peaceful approach to my maturing body and do less comparing, I shared my experience with a friend of mine. I wanted some advice from this wise woman I admired. We chatted as we walked the grounds of Kripalu after lunch, confirming that yes, indeed, no matter how well you eat, no matter how much yoga you practice, the body ages and changes.

It’s like the shirt I saw on an older person in the Kripalu cafeteria. It read, “I eat well. I exercise. And still I’m gonna die.”

Well, that’s it in a nutshell, right?

As my friend and I walked, we started laughing. Unfortunately for me, I did not take a bathroom break before our walk. So as our giggles ramped up, so did my need for a stronger bladder muscle. Since those muscles have never been the same since giving birth, I improvised. I did what every woman instinctively knows to do — I crossed my legs and squeezed.

There I was, right in the middle of the picturesque road leading to a meditative retreat center, hunched over my crossed legs hysterically laughing for everybody driving by to see.

Which only made us laugh all the harder. Then my friend let out an unexpected burp.

All we needed was a good old fart to finish off the image of two aging bodies out of control.

All ended well. I made it to the bathroom without incident, and my friend’s excess gas was worked out. And the laughing fit continues to nourish me any time a thought arises about the maturing process. If I can still laugh hysterically because of bathroom humor, all is not lost.

Even as I write this essay, I am laughing hysterically. Laughing really is the best medicine.

Yes, the giraffe can reach great heights. But what happens when he wants to get a drink of water? His height hampers. He becomes vulnerable to attack as that long neck that can reach the heavens cannot reach the earth, causing him to spread his legs wide or even kneel in order to drink. In fact, the giraffe’s jugular vein contains a series of one-way valves that prevent the back flow of blood when the head is down to drink water, thus preventing a blackout.

No great gift, like the height of a giraffe, comes without a corresponding downside. The great gift of maturity is perspective. The downside is a weak bladder.

I can handle that.

Tags: comparing, self confidence , vulnerable, giraffe, stretching, human, trait

Inspiration struck at the grocery store. I was heading for the checkout counter when my eye was caught by a photo on a greeting card: a darling baby with her bright, sparkling eyes peeping over the top of a bucket, above the words, “Give us dreams a size too big so that we can grow into them.”

I bought that cute card.

Dreams are never meant to be toned down to what is reasonable, comfortable, and in a size that fits you now. Dreams need to be bulky, unwieldy, a bit too big to hold, with plenty of room for a growth spurt or two.

Dreams are meant to be bold.

For some reason, growing up seems to translate into growing out of big dreams. Youth seems well suited for energizing pie-in-the-sky thinking. Growing up usually means replacing big thinking with “being realistic” — a known killer of creativity.

Like Goldilocks looking for just the right fit, reaching out for your dreams means trying new things on for size so that you are constantly stretching your heart and head. Dreams don’t need to be limited by anything as mundane as geographic or financial constraints. They just need something simple to be nurtured — they need a “yes” from you instead of a “no”.

Saying “yes” to a dream means answering the call. Dreams are always calling, whispering of a new way, a creative possibility, a grand adventure. Dreams require many “yeses” and “I do’s” along the way. Just like any committed relationship, you don’t say “I do” once and walk away. Everyday actions either solidify that “yes” or break it apart.

Your dreams are worthy of that daily “yes,” aren’t they?

Tags: dreams, unwieldy, big, yes, stretching, heart

We celebrated my daughter’s Sweet Sixteen birthday with a weekend in New York City for just the two of us. One plan of many, squeezed into a short 48 hours, was to grab a cup of coffee and have breakfast near (instead of at) Tiffany’s. We got rained out, though. The rain poured down in buckets, pounding at our umbrellas as we waded down the street to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Around us, those that didn’t have umbrellas ran for cover. Looking at someone splashing by us, my daughter said, “Mom, do you know you get wetter running through the rain than just walking?”

I actually didn’t know that, and asked her to tell me why. Apparently, the TV show Myth Busters did an experiment on running in the rain (yes, I know, where do they come up with these ideas?). The myth they were trying to confirm or bust was whether running kept you drier. It did not. Over a hundred-yard course, the data from eight trials showed that the running person got wetter than the person walking.

As I thought about that little factoid, I couldn’t help but relate it to life.

There are some people who always seem to be in a rush, hurrying through life to get onto the next thing. I know what that’s like — I do it myself at times. Like trying to stay dry by running in the rain, it’s been my experience that running through life gets you soaked with stress.

It’s the rare person who walks with grace and ease through life, even when it’s hailing down responsibilities that make most hurry. When I see people barraged but still calm, or when I myself am able to stay in that relaxed state despite it all, I study it.

It’s a unique skill that calls for attention. Those people stand out. Good leaders have that ability, as do good parents.

You would think that when Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger crash-landed into the Hudson River in New York that his voice and demeanor would be rushed. Yet recordings of the radio traffic showed that the pilot was extraordinarily calm during the entire event.

You would think that the Mom in the grocery store dealing with a terrible-two tantrum would be harried and rushed. Instead, without a word, she calmly picks up the child and leaves the store, coming back after a time-out restored peace.

Circumstances happen every day where a rushed response could immediately arise.

In fact, as I try to concentrate on writing this morning, other requests are bombarding me. My son wants to have a friend over to visit. My husband is coming in and out the house, getting ready for work. My consulting client has an immediate need and wants my input right now. My daughter is waiting for me to take her to get her hair cut before she goes back to school.

Can you relate?

When I do come back to the writing, can I do so in an unhurried way? When you feel rained on by life, can you walk instead of run?

Tags: calm-storm, rushed-response, graceful-demeanor, good-example, hurry-through-life, less-stress

It was my privilege to host Laura and eight other speakers in a preview event for the upcoming Virtual Yoga Conference. During her session, Laura introduced some of the postures and the theory behind the Moon Salutations.

Her full workshop, called “Moon Salutations: Awakening the Healing Wisdom of the Feminine”, will be held during YogaHub’s Virtual World Conference from February 8-12, 2011. The doors are now open. Go check it out.

Many people are familiar with the Sun Salutations—that active, invigorating series of postures most often done in the morning to awaken and enliven energy. But the Moon Salutations are quieter, more subtle. That particular flow is a tribute to the feminine energy in us all.

Each night, and during the day when it’s visible, I now notice the moon. It is constantly changing. To my eyes, it seems to come and go, although I know it’s always there. I trust that it’s there even when I can’t see it.

The moon is a good metaphor for the Divine. Sometimes I feel very connected to Source, comfortable and secure in our relationship. Other times I feel isolated and disconnected. That disconnection usually happens when I get too busy to even say hello to the Divine.

Like the moon, I just sometimes forget to look.

The moon (and the Divine) has a pull and an effect on our life, even if we don’t take the time to notice it.

What can you unequivocally trust to be there for you, even if you can’t see or feel it, or you forget it’s there? How does that trust affect your thoughts and actions?

May you know that the sun is always shining, even on rainy days. May you know that the moon is ever-present, even when it’s dark and silent. May you have a sense of presence that fills you every time you need filling up.

Tags: moon salutation, sun salutation, Laura Cornell, Virtual Yoga Conference, Awakening the Healing Wisdom

Again.

Halloween spurred me into action. What sick, twisted mind came up with the idea that giving away a gazzilion little chocolate bars to sugar-crazed kids (and parents) was a good way to celebrate? Of course I do my duty and get a bag just in case any kids ever come to our house in the boonies (they never do). That bag gets eaten before Halloween, so I get another. If there is candy in the house, it somehow mysteriously shows up in my hand, all unwrapped and ready to go. At which point I, of course, pop it into my mouth.

It’s the Halloween curse…

So again I find myself needing to interrupt the sugar cycle of craving, overeating, feeling lousy. Sugar likes to take advantage of me. Maybe I’ll conquer the sugar sickness some day and leave for good. For today, though, I’ll be happy with maintaining a healthy boundary.

I decided to make myself a cup of tea called “Mental Magic” to rid myself of the sugar withdrawal brain fuzz. I steeped a whole pot. Later, a friend asked if the tea was working. I opened my eyes wide in surprise saying, “Oh, yeah, I forgot to pour it!”

Tags: Halloween, sugar consumption, sugar hung-over, healthy lifestyle, mental magic, tea for relaxation, herbal tea, tea party

I am not happy about the loss of the document. Maybe I’ll search through my backups and see if it was somehow captured there, although that just feels like too much of a distraction right now.

But then inspiration struck…

Why not ask my readers to share their favorite quotes? That way, I can start a whole new document, and we can share as a community our favorite quotes that inspires us. We’ll all benefit!

To share your favorite quotes and sayings, just hit the reply button below.

Inspiration strikes at odd times, and often when you’re feeling low (like when data is lost). The loss forces you to think differently, to try a new approach, to consider a way around the obstacle. I had no idea I was going to write this blog post until inspiration struck with the loss of my inspirational document (that irony is not lost on me).

Following your inspiration when it arises ensures that more will come. Why would inspiration visit if it kept hitting a brick wall?

The quote I was getting ready to add to my lost document came from a good friend and business colleague, Leslie Nolen. Leslie had sent me a beautiful card when my sister passed away with the Sufi quote:

The heart weeps for what it has lost;
The soul laughs for what it has gained.

That will be the first quote in my new “favorite sayings” folder. How about helping me build that new inspirational document? What’s your favorite quote?

Tags: inspirational quotes, favorite quote, inspiration, Sufi quote, favorite sayings

A tight deadline is like the whirling dervish syndrome right before vacation—quickly tying up loose ends, getting tasks completed that have been sitting in the inbox for some time, and responding in short, succinct sentences to looming emails.

For me, it’s finding a good balance between the deadlines and the downtime for lasting endurance and happiness. Too much of either and I get cranky or bored.

Remember what summer felt like when you were a kid? Each day was like an eternity of open space. It was fantastic at the beginning, and when it was over, you were ready for school (or at least ready for something different).

Is there that type of balance in your life now? Do you have a chance to sit under the blue sky to daydream, balancing the get-it-done-now project that stretches your comfort zone?

Tags: dealines, downtime, happiness, endurance, balancing daily tasks, timeline

I like the blank pages bound with a beautiful cover. It holds potential. It’s unencumbered with rules, responsibility and “shoulds.” It’s filled instead with “can-be’s.”

We all need a pathless place to explore—like a coloring book without lines, an empty book, a blank canvas, a walk through the uncharted woods.

Maybe the infamous mid-life crisis comes when we deprive ourselves of a space to just create. When we keep reaching outward for satisfaction – a fancy new car, a thrilling young relationship – we miss the creative inner spark that is the sustaining, interesting and intriguing juice of life. We ignore the capacity to be led from inner motivation versus outer expectations. It’s not easy to meet the blank page; it’s scary and at times cumbersome. But it’s infinitely more satisfying over time and is a consistent validation of who you are. The satisfaction lasts longer than the fleeing high of the shiny new thing used as a distraction.

If you looked at your day today, would you find space for a blank page? Is there room in your mind for creative expression without boundaries? What would you do with that space if found?

Tags: blank page, mid-life crisis, creative expression, my life

The most pleasant surprise has been the bonding of community. There’s a genuine concern for each other’s wellbeing. There have been many medical emergencies, such as hip or knee replacements. Just last week, we had a 92-year-old student leave via stretcher after a dizzy spell. But through illness, death, and celebrations, we’re here for each other.

No matter what you’re able to do physically, you are welcomed.

You may find a ride to class when your car breaks down. Or receive a card in the mail when you’ve been sick. Or get a phone call if you haven’t been to class.

This strong sense of connection and community has got me thinking. How can we foster this support in an online community such as this one right here at YogaHub?

Here are a few ideas I have…

• Be interested in other YogaHub members. Did you know you can search the membership for similar interests, or for people who live near you?
• Invite your other friends to join YogaHub.
• Write a blog post, and comment on another’s blog that you find interesting.
• Share a quick snippet from your day and send another well wishes in their comment section.
• Acknowledge milestones of your friends at YogaHub, such as an anniversary or other life events.
• Write a product review on ShopYogaHub, sharing your opinion.
• Stay connected with community learning by joining the annual virtual conference.

Do you have other ideas? Feel free to comment below and add to the discussion!

There are lessons to be learned and gifts to be received when we look upon this virtual space as a community. In community, we support one another. We challenge one another. We find laughter and lightheartedness with each other. Bottom line: it’s more fun to practice together than alone.

Tags: creating community, teaching senior yoga, yoga teacher, senior yoga class

I love the writing life.

I hear a cacophony of birds outside my open window and the frogs in the pond croaking their satisfaction. It’s summer, so instead of a roaring fire keeping me company I have tame votive candles in the fireplace.

The geese honk loudly when they arrive in the spring and again when the leave in the fall. They fly so close to the rooftop that you can hear the noise echo down the fireplace flue. Sometimes I leave the comfort of my writing chair to watch them. I love when they are so near I can hear the powerful flap of their big wings move through the air.

In the poem Wild Geese, Mary Oliver writes, “Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting over and over announcing your place in the family of things.”

What would you write today as the world offers itself to your imagination?

Writing gives me the time to actually see this moment—to take note of what’s happening in the unfolding story words create. It’s like the writing creates a new reality, one that was invisible before when I was busy doing instead of noticing.

Appreciation of what’s right in front of you arises when you write.

Writing focuses your attention. Sometimes that focus brings clarity as the story reveals a little more of itself. Sometimes that focus just brings up more questions—where is this story going? But the writing always gives a surprise. “Look,” the words say, “I’ve just spun a new world that didn’t exist 30 minutes ago.”

Writing is the big bang theory in action. Not here one moment, here the next. Writers are Gods, creating worlds with words.

There’s no better way to spend the day.

Tags: writing, imagination, focus, Wild Geese poem, Mary Oliver