San Juan Getaways.....

Looking for a place to getaway in the San Juans?

Here are a few vacation spots that have access to water (fresh & salt); parking spots for an RV; cabins for a family; outdoor activities like fire pits and hiking trails; and dog-friendly attitudes.

Be sure to click on all the underlined links for more information on each possible vacation location.

Doe Bay Resort and Retreat:

Retreat House w pets allowed: $500-$650 per night

Cabins: $85-$200

Yurts: $85-$120

  Highlights:

All meals served at Doe Bay Cafe

Yoga

Ocean view soaking tubs

Sauna & Massage

access to kayaking, hiking, shopping, golf, bicycle rentals, etc

Whale Watching discounts

Has a retreat house that sleeps 18 

some pet friendly cabins

West Beach Resort

Cabins: varies around $200 nightly

Ocean View RV site: $50 nightly

Please to go website for clickable map pictures......

Highlights:

onsite kayak tours

kayak rentals

hot tub card for purchase

boat and fishing gear rentals, launch

summer daily kids activities

various outdoor activites (fire pit, volleyball, horseshoes)

access to shopping, whale tours 

ice cream/espresso stand

general store

some pet friendly cabins

Guemes Island Resort

Cabins: $150-$320 night

Yurts: $100 night

Highlights:

Boat Launch

Boat rentals (no motor)

kayaks (no charge)

sauna house, massage therapy

rec room: ping-pong, fooball, tv/dvd, wifi outdoor games

outdoor grill, tables, crab cooker

gift shop

encourages pets

Lakedale Resort

Lakehouse: $600 nightly

Log Cabins: $300 

Canvas Cabins: $170-$250

Airstream: $250

RV sites: $64

Highlights:

swimming, fishing, canoeing

Access to winery, salt water fishing, bicycling, artisan tours, whale watching, kayaking

outdoor activities: horseshoes, bocce, BBQing, paddle boat, row boat, paddle boards, volleyball,

3 stocked lakes with docks

boat rentals

art classes, sundae bar, organized daily activities

General store

super pet friendly (offers pet packages)

Snug Harbor

cabins: $200-300 night

Highlights

waterfront cabins

marina

espresso stand

wifi

beachside firepits

pet friendly

tours from dock: whale watching, kayaking, 

access to Friday Harbor, Lime Kiln State Park, English Camp National Historic Park, Westcott Bay Sculpture Park

Other resorts to consider:

Beach Haven Resort

North Beach Inn

My Merrell's and Me

Things I do in my Merrell shoes.

Be a yogini.      (Cranberry Lake, Anacortes, WA)

Be joyous!    (Cranberry Lake, Anacortes, WA)

Be a beach comber.    (Washington Park, Anacortes, WA)

Be a role model.   (Washington Park, Anacortes, WA)

Hips

Hips.

They store energy. And not always the good kind. They are a group of bones, joints, and tissues that are a powerhouse for activities like running and climbing. But if you are storing the excess energies of stress there, you may be holding back your potential.

Think of your hips like your upper back and shoulders. Along comes a stressful day, and you may feel like you need a back rub to get the tension out.

You can give your hips a "rub" by stretching them.

This is where yoga comes in. You don't have to be searching for the highest rungs of self-realization to get true benefits from this ancient practice. By practicing the following poses you can stretch out those hips, release stress you've been personally storing there, and allow your muscles the range of movement they need to grow stronger for whatever athletic endeavor you choose.

Easy Pose

High Lunge

Low Lunge

Standing Forward Bend

Tree Pose

Warrior 2

Extended Triangle Pose

Extended Side Angle Pose

Eagle Pose

Warrior 3

Extended Hand to Big Toe Pose

Noose Pose

Wide Legged Forward Bend

Garland Pose

Half Frog Pose

Full Boat Pose

Upward Plank Pose

Cow Face Pose

Bharadvaja's Twist

Fire Log Pose

Half Lord of the Fishes Pose

One Legged King Pigeon Pose

Wide Angle Seated Forward Bend

Wild Thing

This Yogini.....

Garland Pose, Rashel Fitchett, photo by Thomas Fitchett

Who is this yogini? That is a question I asked about myself recently as I contemplated the idea of how "trained" I am in the school of yoga. What experiences have molded me into who I am in the world of this ancient middle eastern philosophy of mind, body, and universe. 

Included in my own answers were the subjects of home practice, official trainings, workshops, literature, and yoga classes.



Home Practice:
2002-Present: Includes the following

• Yoga (Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Restorative, Anusara)
• Pranayama (Ujjayi, Anuloma Viloma)
• Meditation
• Journaling & Blogging

Bird of Paradise, Rashel Fitchett, photo by Thomas Fitchett

Official Training:

Anusara Immersion- 50 hour study of Anusara yoga (Asana, Philosophy, Pranayama, Meditation)

• Detailed Exploration of the Universal Principles of Alignment^™
• Tantric Yoga Philosophy & History of Yoga
• Anatomy Components for a Strong & Safe Practice
• Fundamental Pranayama, Meditation, Journaling & Sanskrit
• All Asana from the Anusara's Level 1 & 2 Syllabus

Workshops:

Melina Meza at Surya Yoga in Yakima, WA

Study and practice of-

• Hatha Yoga
• Ayurveda
• Whole foods nutrition
• Healthy lifestyle promotion into a unique style called Seasonal Vinyasa.

Literature:

• The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary by Edwin F. Bryant
• The Bhagavad Gita
• The Anatomy of Movement by Blandine Calais-Germain
• Anusara Yoga Immersion Manual by John Friend
• Anusara Yoga Teacher Training Manual by John Friend
• Yoga Journal Magazine
• Yogafit by Beth Shaw

Yoga Classes:

• Kundalini Yoga at the Anacortes Center for Happiness
• Yoga with Dunja at the Anacortes Center for Happiness
• Sun Salutations Yoga with Lashel Church at Surya Yoga
• Yoga with Jennifer McFarland at  Crescent Moon Yoga 
• Yoga with Alexis Britton at Crescent Moon Yoga
• Hatha Yoga at the Burlington Parks and Recreation Center

Favorite Poses:

• Headstand
• Bird of Paradise
• Crane
• Wheel
• Wild Thing
• Side Plank
• Standing Splits
• Full Lotus
• Scorpion ...at the wall ;)

My home practice began in 2002 when I chose to try new methods of handling the stress of being a military wife and mother of three. My home practice remained steady until December of 2011, when I chose to begin the process of teacher training to become a yoga instructor. Since then, I have added to my home practice, visits to local yoga studios where I have enjoyed multiple types of yoga taught by different instructors. My reading list is always full of yoga-based literature and I rely on my Yoga Journal magazine to keep my perspective fresh. Adding workshops, here and there, is a fun way, I've found, to expand my knowledge. 

My ultimate goal is to teach yoga someday. Finding a place to become officially certified by the Yoga Alliance has been difficult, as traveling away from the demands of the family has curtailed those efforts. Until then, I will continue to practice, read, and expose myself to more yoga in ways that further deepen my connection to my mind, body, and this universe. 

Standing Bow Pose, Rashel Fitchett, photo by Thomas Fitchett

Beginner Yogi's

I remember the first time I stepped on a yoga mat. It was blue and I laid it out in my living room in front a TV cued with Rodney Yee. My husband had just left for a deployment to the Middle East after the attacks on the World Trade Center towers and I was left, for the first time, to parent three young children in a town far away from “home”. I was scared, unsure, and sad.

On that mat, I practiced, for the first time, poses like Mountain, Bow, and Bridge. I experienced heat and resistance and then practiced the skill of staying still under the strange new feelings. When I finished, there was a vibration deep in my body. At the time, I just recognized it as something strangely enjoyable. And I went back to that mat, again and again through that entire deployment to capture that oddly pleasant sensation.

Today, I call that feeling strength, mindfulness, grace, and joy. It is what I practice now, as a more seasoned yogini, with much greater depth and intensity. I explore the edges of my yoga practice to find more strength, more mindfulness, more grace, and more joy. When I find them, I rejoice.

These characteristics of mind and body I now use off of my mat to meet the obstacles of each day. I find these obstacles readily and they can look like this:

• ·     an unexpected mess in the kitchen
• ·     an email from Husband saying he's leaving the country for a month
• ·    a car that won't start the day after Husband leaves the country for a month
• ·     a lost remote control
• ·     an unexpected call from the doctor saying to come for more tests
• ·     your sad child whose dreams just fell to pieces
• ·     a crazy-hair day
• ·     an angry driver shaking a fist at your car
• ·     a disappointed child voicing an strong opinion

All of these forms of resistance are the same resistance I meet on the mat. When I find them in my day, I now still myself. I practice “yoga” and decline my own personal invitation to judge, react, or get spun up in an emotion.

B.K.S. Iyengar is a yoga guru who is considered one of the most influential practitioners in the world (Aubrey, 1995). In his book “Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom”, Iyengar explains that even the most beginning of yoga students can access these positive returns from yoga. An individual who has never practiced yoga can step on a mat, make his or her first attempt at Mountain Pose and immediately begin to feel the pleasant experiences of centeredness, strength, and joy. He can learn how to meet obstacles with stillness and positive intention.

As I lay in bed reading his words, last night, I wanted to jump up atop the coveres and joyfully yell, “YES! Yes, this is true! It IS!” I remembered my first Mountain Pose, on that blue mat, in that husband-less living room, with those Tibetan Bells ringing true in the background of Rodney Yee’s voice and I remembered those feelings that I hadn’t felt before.  

And while I lay there in my bed, reading my book, I became certain that I could share this with others. I could become a yoga teacher and share with others how to tap into these fantastic subtle body pleasantries that may be sitting dormant, waiting for the opportunity to show themselves.

Aubrey, Allison. "Light on life: B.K.S. Iyengar's Yoga insights". Morning Edition: National Public Radio, November 10, 1995. (full text) Accessed July 4, 2007

Iyengar, B.K.S. Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom. Rodele Books, 2005.

Dispassion....for coffee, too??

Dispassion was the first word I saw when I opened my favorite 598 page book, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary by Edwin Bryant.

The word immediately struck a cord. I didn’t need to read anymore. I knew right away that the Eastern Yogic tradition was going to enlighten me about how my “passions” should be of the “dis” nature. 

Passion is one of my favorite words, though. How could I possibly choose to have a lack of it?  Why would I purposefully “negate” it in my life? I carry so many compelling feelings toward so many different things in my life….my husband & children, food, drink, exercise, nature, texts….Why would the Easterners of long ago ask me to “dis” on any of those fabulous things.

According to this specific sutra, “dispassion is the controlled consciousness of one who is without craving for sense objects, whether these are actually perceived or described (in scripture).”

A sense object, according to Bryant, can be external, like a brilliantly brewed pint of beer or an exotically etched high-heel shoe. It can also be internal, like the desire to be respected or admired. Both of these types of attachments, or cravings, will eventually cause a person suffering. Other examples he names:

• ·      food
• ·      drink
• ·      power
• ·      the opposite sex

"How?" I asked myself, as I lay snuggled in a fuzzy blanket (sense object) with my favorite book (sense object) and my beloved cup of strong coffee (another sense object). How is my blanket and coffee, which I really WANT on a Sunday morning going to cause me suffering? That sounds silly.

As I read on, Bryant pointed out that sensual gratification is temporary. There is a beginning and an end to the pleasant sensations it brings. Eventually, I will put this blanket away and my coffee will be gone. If, per chance,  I don’t get to experience my time on the couch at all, with those warm, sensual objects, I will most likely miss it…perhaps even be frustrated or irritated that I didn’t get it.

If something is purchased, for example...like a (    fill in the blank here of your favorite item you like to purchase    ), it is exciting and may cause happiness there in the store. A person may even experience pridefullness upon showing it to the world. At some point, though, that item loses its luster, either because it has taken one too many scuffs against the world, or because it simply becomes ordinary and boring. Either way, the pleasantry, associated with purchasing, showing, & using that item, ends.

After the end of the pleasurable experience with the object, the craving for another object begins.

It is a “never-ending pursuit of ephemeral pleasure,” according to Bryant, that brings a person to a life of suffering.

Hmmm. 

How does this apply in my space?

Well, this morning, I craved a few things:

• ·      a cup of perfectly, strong-brewed coffee (palatial pleasure)
• ·      a pillow and warm blanket (somatosensory pleasure)
• ·      at least an hour of relaxation time on a comfortable chair (somatosensory pleasure)
• ·      and quality conversation with my husband (emotional pleasure)

I suppose if my coffee pot had broke this morning and my husband had went straight to his man-cave to work on his car, I would have been less than pleased. There is no doubt. I would have experienced frustration at the removal of such named sensory pleasures. I may have even carried my cloudy mood around with me all day… its flag whipping in the wind for all to see.

Okay, great. So, I get it. Attachment to sensory objects, within and without, lead to some level of frustration when the object is removed and the degree to which that object is removed affects the degree of the frustration.

Now what?

According to Bryant, the Eastern scholars of such beliefs prescribe the following to-dos:

• ·      try to break external attachments
• ·      recognize which attachments have been broken and which ones still need work
• ·      and then, after all external attachments have been broken, start working on the internal attachments

Sounds easy enough (not).

Today I will practice indifference to objects I crave whether they are available or not. If they are available, I will recognize the defects in indulging. 

I, quite honestly, don’t even know what that looks like in the real world. It makes sense, conceptually, but now I have to consider what I WANT today, then think about how its just going to make me WANT more of it later, and then not partake in the object so that I avoid the creation of desirous attachment.

Holy cow. Wish me luck.

Does that include doing yoga? Because I really want to do some yoga right now ;).

Tattooing

I went to Bandana's Skin Art located in Anacortes, WA, and took in some ink, yesterday. I was pretty nervous, only because I wasn't sure how my idea for this grey-washed lotus flower was going to turn out. I had the idea in my head, had a basic picture of the flower, along with a blurred picture of the sanskrit script, and hoped my words would serve the purpose justice. 

My boy came with me, since he had been to this specific shop twice in the last year and was excited to support his ole Ma while getting a tattoo. He sat quietly and took pictures throughout the process.

The beginning of the process started with a 15 minute talk with Bandana Mike about the elements of the tattoo that were important....the image, the shading, the coloring or lack thereof, and the script. Then he started drawing on a type of parchment-looking paper. He adjusted it a few times, then gave me a look at the final work. I approved and he transferred it to transfer paper and then rubbed an outline of the image on my skin. I laid face-down on leather chair/table and he got to work.

The initial pain wasn't too bad. After awhile the outlining became a little painful...for some reason on the left and right sides of the flower. But I breathed and centered and calmed and didn't wince. Then he started the shading, which is multi-needled gun the he "brushes" across the skin. It looked awful, but felt better than the single needled gun. After some black, then some bronze, and finally, some white, the finished product was there...

Permanent Body Ornamentation

Permanent Body Ornamentation

I have wanted to decorate my skin with art for a long time. I did once, back in college, at the wee age of 21. I chose a drawing that I found scribbled in a used poetry book and placed it on the back of my ankle. I liked it then and even with it's 17 year old blurred appearance, I like it now. Today, though, the only skin art I've hung is that one little ink blot from that time long ago. That fact is due to two causes. One, is that my husband's career as a naval officer leads to events where I am adorned in formal dresses that show my shoulders, upper back, and arms. These locations, then, have been "out" as far as stamping goes. Second, the one that trumps the first....my husband doesn't like tattoos.

I chose not to get one mostly for the second cause. I couldn't reason with myself as to why I would want to permanently place a mark on my body that I knew my husband found distasteful. So, I didn't...for 16 years.

Recently, though, our son recently gained two tattoos, which has brought a lot of discussion about the controversy...even a little heated debate. Through all of the conversation, though, my husband began to soften on his outlook towards the decorative ritual and over the course of a year's worth of conversation on the topic, gave me the seal of approval to brand myself as I wished.

This brought upon me great reflection. What image would I even want on my body? I had not allowed myself to entertain the idea for so long that I didn't even have the answer to that question. The first thing I need to ask myself was, What is my purpose in permanently branding my skin with art? Besides the basic desire for ornamentation, which dates back to civilizations in ancient Africa and India thousands of years ago, I would like the art I choose to serve a purpose. I want it to bring my focus towards an abstract concept that is connected with something important to my own sense of values. What I decided upon was the concept of self-awareness and enlightenment. 

I have been actively pursuing my own awakening and emergence from ignorance for three years now. I  started reading buddhist literature, then began attending Buddhist fellowship gatherings, and even obtained a spiritual guide to help me on my path. Presently, I just read the Buddhist literature, but have recently began reading ancient yogic texts such as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. I even began the certification process to become a yoga instructor. Regardless of the tool, Yoga or Buddhism, my path towards enlightened self-awareness is solidly stamped upon my lifestyle. It will remain with me for all of my days.

So, with the intention to find an image that brings my awareness to this important abstract concept, I move forward in the direction of obtaining a permanent piece of body ornamentation....

In comes the LOTUS....According to Buddhists.org, a " lotus flower fully bloomed and open represents full enlightenment and self-awareness".  This lotus below shows the type of bloom my lotus will have. It will be full and open.

Placement is a pretty important part of this decision, as well. I will  lace the lotus on the base of the neck, where the shoulders meet at the top of the back. The reason for that placement? Here, at the back of the throat, the throat chakra, is a place where the true essence of one's truth resides. Through this chakra, one is able to share and communicate truthfulness.

Lastly, what kind of color does this tattoo need? Well, I am not a colorful person. I love black, grey, navy blue, and dark earth tones. At first a grey was tattoo seemed appropriate, but I am rethinking that. I think I will go mostly grey washed with tips of red color on the petals. The reason for red: on a lotus flower it represents compassion and love. 

In conclusion, I have chosen four important abstract concepts to go into my body art...love, compassion, truth, and, ultimately, enlightenment. The object chosen: a lotus. The placement: the back of the neck. The color: grey wash with red.

Now it's time to call Bandana Mike's Skin Art...but not before I break the news to Husband. Wish me luck on the latter. It may be more painful than the tatto.

Fast Yoga?

Fast Yoga? 

Since 2002, Rodney Yee (the backbend-boy above) has been leading me toward understanding yoga. He is a popular TV personality known for his excellent yogic health and motivational prowess and I have been copying his "way" of doing yoga on and off over the course of the last 10 years. I have not questioned any pose or considered any other implications that may or may not have been associated with his "way". 

This year, though, I began studying to become a certified yoga teacher. What I found in my new experiences with my new yoga master is that the "way" of doing yoga has changed from what I thought was THE way. As a group, we move from asana (pose) to asana, pausing frequently to align our bodies and engage our muscles. We spend a lot of time in each pose.

Before, in my Rodney days, I had moved quickly, from asana to asana, using the breath as a measure of how long to take between poses and sometimes how long to hold a pose. This equates to a fast-flowing dance that gives me little time to think about how squared-up my hips are or if kidney loop is in the correct position. 

So, I went to the internet to research why some yoga sequences are so danged fast and why some are so darned slow. 

Yoga Journal names this rapidly-paced style of yoga as Ashtanga Vinyasa. Right away, it was apparent that it came down to "style". Rodney Yee's "way" wasn't just his...it belonged to a school of yoga which he practices. It is meant to be practiced after a yogi understands how each pose is correctly formed. Once a person understand the proper form, he or she can move quickly and really work up a lot of body energy.

The slower type of yoga, that I have recently been exposed to, is called Hatha, according to the Sanatan Organization, and it is a style of yoga that focuses on alignment and desensitization of the senses while holding a pose. 

To me, that focus on alignment and pulling away from the discomforts of a pose gave me the reward of a glowing vibration deep in the core of my self that feels like a store of energy. This store seems to last throughout the day, which I need as a busy mother of three. I helps me keep going with power.

Thanks, Rodney, for the ten-year introduction to Ashtanga Vinyasa. I'll be focusing now on a more slow and inwardly-focused "way" of yoga. Maybe, someday, when I'm feeling really firm in my knowledge of the asana's, I'll revisit your fast yoga.

Non-Violence

Non-violence

My homework for this week was to study the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Specifically, my task was to look through the second chapter and be ready to discuss a sutra. The sutra that stuck out like sharpened object in a bed of pillows was II.30.

This sutra describes one of the eight limbs of yoga, which is a fairly well-known list of eight tasks which leads to liberation or enlightenment. This first limb is a list of abstentions, or actions of self-denial, that are, due to their position as the FIRST limb, the most important to practice in order to move across the limbs towards the central goal.

The FIRST word on the list of abstentions, again being the most important on that limb: nonviolence.

Let me back up here, just one moment, and explain that so far, the sutras have suited my beliefs well. I have been practicing many of the limbs without even knowing they were LIMBS. I practice virtuosity, austerity, asanas (yoga postures), & meditation. All of them have led me to the place I am now…working toward gaining a yoga teacher certification so that I may lead others toward the path of enlightenment. In order to do this, it is necessary to understand yoga, its history, and its current indications as practiced in the west.

Back to that sutra of nonviolence. According to Patanjali, the sage who took many ancient scriptures of India and collected them as a manual towards becoming a yogi, nonviolence is not harming any creature at any time. Of course this meaning was shared not by Patanjali himself, but by a scholar who is commenting on Patanjali’s sutras. Patanjali just says practice “nonviolence”.  It is the commentator today, and according to him, other commentators dating back to the fourth or fifth century, that divulge what Patanjali really means by the word.

So, the word, “nonviolence”, was especially sharp to me as I read through the sutras that describe the limbs. The commentator, Edwin F. Bryant, explains that “one can be very clear about the fact that eating meat, nourishing one’s body at the expense of the flesh of other living beings, is completely taboo for aspiring yogis” (p243).

This is where I put my book down in my lap and looked out over my middle-east-inspired carpet with great uncertainty. Can I abstain from eating living beings? Does it make sense to not kill things for the nourishment of my own body? How much discomfort will I endure if I practice this abstention? Is this commentator correct? Are the commentators before him correct?

This morning those questions still need answering. Killing things to eat them does, in fact, bring a sense of sadness to my heart. I have always tried very hard not to know about the life associated with my meat-food. Just recently, I moved to only eating meat from farms, where animals are “happy”. Is it any better to kill happy animals than it is to kill unhappy animals.

In a state of unrest, my mind will continue to ponder. I will certainly be speaking with my master Anusara yoga teacher regarding the issue…and I am left to wonder…A year from now, will I look back upon this as a pivotal moment in my spiritual and physical journey?

Bryant, Edwin F. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. New York: North Point Press, 2009. Print.

Seated Meditation

Seated Meditation

In the video below, I demonstrate three topics: Siddhasana (Accomplished Posed), Anjali Mudra, & Ujjayi Breath.

Siddhasana is a seated posed used for mediation. It is slightly different that a cross legged pose in that you either stack your feet atop each other and slightly tuck the top foot in, or the two feet are lined up at the mid-line and laying flat next to each other at the perineum. This pose stretches the knees and ankles and strengthens the upper back. Use it to relieve stress. If you have a knee injury the deep bend in the knee will compress the joint, further causing irriation. Try folding strap a few times and tucking the strap behind the bend of the knee before getting seated. It opens the knee space just enough to help with the discomfort. If you find your knees won't open to the point that they are in line or below your hips, sit on a folded towel or blanket. 

Anjali Mudra is the second topic demonstrated in the video. Spreading the fingers wide, and keeping the upper arm bone in line with the sides, meat the hands at the chest so that the thumbs gently rest on the heart. Keep the palms softly domed. This hand gesture focused at the heart serves a reminder of the center of your being and where an opening will occur. This opening will allow the person meditating to accept all parts of the self with softness. The benefits of Anjali Mudra is that it relieves stress, calms the mind, and increases flexibility in the wrists and hands. 

The third item shown on the video is Ujjayi breath. Drawing the crease of the neck softly back and up toward the skull, take a deep breath. Begin the breath with first filling the tummy, then the lungs, then the collar bone area with clean, purifying air. Blow out the air in the reverse action: dropping the collar bones, resting the lungs, and then the belly. Each inhale force and duration, mirrors that of the exhale. Now constrict the back of the throat in such a gentle manner that the sound begins to mimic ocean waves balancing inward and outward on the sandy shores of an ocean. 

In this pose, using this hand gesture, and employing this breathing technique, a person can concentrate upon an aspiration or intention toward their highest good or one can simply focus on the breath to clear the mind of all thoughts. The first will help a person acknowledge their intentions (ichha) and the latter will allow a person to be free from the business of the mind. 

So, try it out. Wait not, until the day is still, for most days never cease in their busyness. Just take a seat and practice this stillness. If something interrupts you, remember that our days are filled with interruption and the practice of keeping this balanced relaxation while the busyness of life continues is the whole purpose. 

Namaste.

Beginnings

Beginning a Journey 

I recently began the journey of becoming an instructor of yoga. This not only lends towards the idea that I will someday lead a group of yogis in asanas, but also that I will be an instrument of the Buddhi Mind. 

The Buddhi Mind refers to spiritual intelligence or the will of the mind to know what it dharmic (divinely natural & moral). Yoga is more than just physical poses that result in a beautifully sculpted body. It is a way to connect with what is divinely natural with the mind as well. 

When I stepped into a small yoga studio in Bellingham, Washington, I felt the pressing intention of this mind upon my skin. Warmly painted walls hugged tightly an old wooden-planked floor and they were well-lit by three white-paned glass windows which looked out upon a ragged red-brick wall, a blacked roof, and pure-blue sky. It was a perfect mixture of reality and consciousness and I knew right away I was in the right place.

Among a group of warm-faced yogis, I spent eight hours practicing asanas, meditating on higher intentions, and discussing topics focused on the Universal Principals of Alignment (a topic best discussed at a later date).

I left sore but filled with a vibration of light that was unique and welcome. Again, a perfect balance of reality and consciousness.  

This week, as I prepare to meet with my Kula (yogi community), I have studied Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, the Bagavad Gita, and other ancient Vedic texts. I have practiced breathing techniques, asanas, and pronouncing sanskrit words more correctly. I am keeping a journal, videotaping myself in practice, and publishing my work on venues such as YouTube and Pinterest. 

During my training,  I intend to tell you what I know and show you what I am learning. This will become a space for me to gather my knowledge, reflect upon it, and ultimately create knowledge for my mind...a blooming buddhi mind.