As far as the sun knows, it is now giving us, the inhabitants of the Northern hemisphere, a little more light every day. Every day will have a few more minutes of sunlight than the previous one.

I wonder if we notice this.

Do you notice this subtle change each day?
Or do you realize at some point that the sun is setting later than it was a month earlier?

Becoming aware of the subtle changes around us, as with the sun’s movement north, is a perfect reference point for an understanding of the amount of attention we apply to all things. What kinds of change attract your attention?

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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.

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Hubby and I were in the mall the other day and came across an Apple store, so of course we had to go in and brave the crowds. I couldn’t believe how many people were there – mostly teenagers and young adults who were looking at the latest iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch or whatever (what’s with all this “i”, “i”, “i”, by the way?) for their coming school/university year.

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Last week, my yoga-passionate cousin and her husband came for a visit. It was lovely to spend time with them and we all enjoyed ourselves, especially Mumsie, who is very close to her God-daughter.

One night, after everyone else had gone to bed, my cousin Jo and I had a wonderful chat about yoga – the whole mind, spirit and body aspect of it and how it has helped both of us so much. “I make it a point to find time to practice my yoga every day”, she said, “because I know how beneficial it is for me”. Then came her big question: “How often do you practice”? (more…)

I’m looking at the moon more often these days (or should I say nights?). And it’s all because of Laura Cornell.

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. (more…)

Changes in our lives continue to happen, whether in regard to our life journey or our planet.

What happens to us when we get too comfortable in our situations? When there are no changes or shifts, or when we stop noticing them?

We become familiar, lazy – stagnant. In the flow on things, we begin to miss steps that we would usually do. (more…)

It’s surprising how yoga can transform an acquaintance into a friendship so quickly. Perhaps it’s just a matter of two or more individuals finding common ground and connecting over something that we enjoy.

As I mentioned in my last blog, Hubby’s cousins from Portugal stayed with us recently – seven in all, which made for a full house (mild understatement)! Hubby hadn’t seen them for quite a few years and I’d never met them, so it was a matter of getting to know one another. They’re all lovely and we got along remarkably well right from the start (just as well, seeing they were staying with us for two weeks). (more…)

I bought another journal today that I didn’t need. My daughter says I have a fetish for journals – and she’s probably right. I have thin and fat, large and small, colorful and plain journals stuck in all sorts of places – including by my bed, in my car, the office, kitchen and here now as I sit in our town common at the local farmer’s market. (more…)

I think I overdid it. A couple of days ago, I was feeling so much better – having finally recuperated from that horrible viral infection – that I decided to return to the gym.
My trainer, Paula, was on holiday but she’d photocopied all my exercises so that I could get back into my routine. We’d spoken on the phone before she left and she told me to make sure I was completely recovered before getting back to my exercises. She also warned me to ease myself back into the routine and not push myself. (more…)

So am I enjoying my twice-weekly workouts with my personal trainer? Hmmmm…“enjoying” may be a bit of a stretch (if you’ll pardon the pun) but at least my body’s starting to feel the benefits.

I’m fine when I’m exercising – but the day after that? Those aches and pains…oh my. A couple of sessions ago, I told Paula I was convinced that one of the requirements of being a personal trainer is to have a bit of a sadistic personality. She just laughed and increased the weight on one of the machines, telling me that I wasn’t even breathless when I said that (serves me right, too)! (more…)