Work & Play

"The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which he is doing. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him, he's always doing both." unknown

As a gal who received her bachelors and masters degree in recreation and park administration, I love this concept. What a wonderful way to live your life... letting the lines of work and play cross over one another.

Doug Swenson Workshop

I attended a workshop at Eternal Health Yoga Studio yesterday with the very down to earth Doug Swenson. Doug is such a great, funny, low key, laid back kind of guy. You immediately feel comfortable in pushing into a handstand and twisting yourself into other odd like pretzel positions with his assistance and support.

The workshop was on partner yoga and also covered adjustments and assists for students. My friend and owner of Eternal Health Yoga, Shelli and I ended up partnering up for most of the poses, which in hindsight, was probably a bad idea. We get together and we're like two kids misbehaving in the fifth grade. Whispering to one another when the teacher (Doug) turns his head and then ultimately getting busted. I think, actually I'm sure, at one point she bit my toe (which Doug actually witnessed) and and I made her look a bit foolish when I was in the wrong twisting pose and Doug had to come over and correct her adjustment (sorry Shelli, I know you'll love this post ;-). I like to think that we would have behaved better if we hadn't done this workshop with Doug once this past summer. But who am I kidding... Enjoy some pics from the workshop.

Pottery & Photography

I had a near perfect day today. I started a pottery class with the very talented Wyman Rice at his studio downtown. For two hours I got my hands all dirty molding and shaping clay, drinking green tea, listening to great music, and having wonderful conversation with Wyman about pottery and yoga. I've always been interested in pottery. I'm drawn to pottery when I go to galleries and shops, so this was the perfect opportunity to roll up my sleeves and dig in. I was so excited, poor Wyman probably tired of my questions quickly. But he was the perfect teacher and never led me to believe that. I still can't believe that I made this beautiful pot! All within two hours. I'm not sure how long I expected this to take, but the process moved much more quickly that I anticipated. We're gonna fire this pot next week and start another piece. If you check the handle on the pot, the texture came from rubbing a fluorescent light cover on the clay. I love that Wyman recycles everyday items and finds ways to incorporate them into his art. It's all very fascinating to me. I can't wait for next weeks lesson.


Then I spent a couple hours this evening photographing Leigh Ann and David

at Keeneland....very Kentucky-ish with the barns, stables and beautiful scenery in general. Plus it was a picture perfect day with the bluest of skies, but brrrr, was it cold? I keep reminding myself that it is January after all. I got a few good shots before my battery died on us. I'm gonna have to replace it. Time for a new one. I'm lovin' this shadow shot!

It's a snow day!

No school in the area today. Doesn't mean quite as much to me as it did 20 years ago, but it's still a nice feeling. Growing up in eastern KY, we had LOTS of snow days. People that move here from other areas wonder if we ever have school in eastern KY. It seems that on any given day you can turn the tv on in the morning and across the bottom of the screen you'll see "No school is Breathitt, Perry, Knott, Harlan, Pike, etc...And Andy is still tucked away sleeping in bed. I suppose it still means a lot to teachers (but not yoga teachers).

Check this website and take a 3 minute quiz to find out what kind of ecological footprint you're leaving. It'll calculate and let you know how many planets we would need if everyone lived like you.

Brrr, it's cold outside

"Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while."

Kin Hubbard

Isn't that so true?! I guess I don't have a whole lot to report today, so I've resorted to talking about the weather. Oh well....I wanted so badly to brave the cold and go outside and take pictures yesterday. But I didn't want to take my precious camera out in the drizzling rain. The ice frozen on the tree branches was just so pretty. I did escape to my front porch and the upstairs balcony to get a couple shots with my super lens. Then I was hanging out in my craft room (yes I now have a craft room and a yoga room...isn't life great) and noticed the baby ice frozen on my pretty old windows.

I did get an entertaining email from the YogaDawg today. It seems he wants to be on my mailing list, says he may drop in for workshop sometime. His writing is very clever and quite funny. I think it's actually quite refreshing, as yoga can be such a serious topic. Here's a section that I've copied from his YOGA Q & A section..

Q: Will Yoga turn me into a hippie? - From John S.
YogaDawg: As there haven’t been any hippies around for at least 30 years, that is not possible. On the other hand, you might find yourself wandering your neighborhood naked, looking like a sadhu covered with the ashes of the dead. This might disturb the neighbors as much as the hippies did.

Q: Will I become possessed by demons or serpents if I do Yoga? - From Ana B.
YogaDawg: Only if you are a member of a Fundamentalist religious cult, a Zombie or a member of a right-wing political group such as the Republicans.

Q: I have found myself buying great amounts of Yoga mats when I am at the GreatTranscendentalYoga Superstore. I have had to get rid of most of my husband’s clothes to make room for all of them. He is starting to notice his stuff is missing as I make more room in his closet for my mats. How can I continue to buy more mats and not piss off my husband? - From Cindy L.
YogaDawg: Buying mats from the GreatTranscendentalYoga Superstore is not a problem. On the other hand, we suggest that you convince your husband to install the Yoga Supercloset, available at the GreatTranscendentalYoga Superstore to make room for more of your mats. This might still piss him off, but not as bad as finding his clothes in boxes on the curb.

Too funny....

The Secret

So, you just have the see this film. If you even remotely believe in the power of your thoughts and the power of intention, you must see this documentary. I finally watched it last night (thanks Robert and Heather) after at least five different people had asked me "So have you see The Secret?" I hadn't, but I was just dying to know that the "secret" was and why it was coming into my life on many different occasions. One of my students had asked before class one night if I had seen it which I of course responded "No, not yet." She then went on to say that she thought we should watch the film at the studio or form a reading group for the book. She said she couldn't think of a better place to do it than at the yoga studio, as I had obviously set an intention and created something wonderful at Barefoot Works. So I took this as a great compliment and we began class.

I finally watched last night and I'm so glad I did. It was inspiring and motivating. One of the things that stuck out in my mind was the three steps in getting what you want:

1. Ask

2. Receive

3. Believe

And since I can think of two times within the last couple of days in which I said to someone "Ask and you shall to receive"....I was fully on board with this notion. Except I learned that I was leaving an important part of the puzzle out, the whole part about believing, and really feeling what if would feel like if you did receive. Or I thought I was, but I hadn't fully.

I came back to the comment from a student about the studio and making it a reality. I realized that I had followed these same three steps in dreaming, planning, and actually opening the yoga studio. My step 3 part of the process, believing...came in the form of a spiral bound journal which I appropriately titled "Journey to the Opening of a Yoga Studio". I purchased this lovely journal from Joseph Beth and carried it with me everywhere beginning the day I bought it, January 1 of 2006. In this journal, I visualized and recorded what my studio would look like. As I visited different coffee shops I would make notes of the colors on the wall, the decor, the details and the music they played. I also wrote of ways to create community at my studio, as it was important that people not just come in, unroll their mat, take a class, roll their mat up and leave (last week before a class many people were chatting in small groups, several conversations going on at once and I heard a student say to her neighbor "listen to everybody talking, the energy is great in here today"). I wrote about how the growing up in the mountains helped mold me into the person I am today and how I wanted to somehow give thanks for this (many months later I would learn of Green Yoga Association and Barefoot Works is now the only studio in KY considered a green yoga studio. I wrote of great classes full of people (I love it when students mention the need of expanding the yoga studio) and workshops taught by great yoga teachers (I got an email from Doug Swenson last Thursday offering to do a workshop on the 29th of this month). As I flip through my journal, which is completely full, a see many other ideas, hopes and dreams that have become a reality. My new journal is titled "Running a Yoga Studio". Not so exciting and not so creative. I'm thinking of a new title for my journal after seeing "The Secret". One that can come close to the grand and exciting dreams I'm full of. I'll keep you posted!

Wild Geese

I love this poem by Mary Oliver. She's one of my favorites. I love how she uses elements of nature and relates them to human life. I also had the perfect picture in mind that I wanted to use. It is a great shot of several geese lined up at the edge of water at Lake Tahoe. Luckily the computer doctor rescued it for me (see previous post) but apparently, I did not have it categorized appropriately and can't seem to find it for now. So this shot of my nieces will have to do. They're not geese, but they're certainly wild...in a fun way of course (I know my sister will be reading this) ;-) Enjoy, and have a happy Friday.

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again.

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.

Love the computer doctor!

My photos from a computer that crashed months ago have been rescued! I was so scared that I'd lost so many important photos (like the one above with my sister taken at my brother's wedding). Last Friday I walked my big old laptop downtown Nicholasville to the Computer Doctors and was so relieved when the computer doctor assured me that he would retrieve all my photos. As you can see from my blog, I love photos...old ones, new ones, my photos, friends photos and even strangers photos. They're all great! Makes me happy that there are those computer geniuses out there, as I am quite clueless about the whole process.

And on a yoga note, there is a big lovely article titled "Yoga without the mat" that is in the Herald Leader today. Teresa Thompson (you know the one in class with the great forward fold) was interviewed for this article about her chair yoga classes that she teaches at the senior citizens center and Latitude Artist Community. It's a wonderful, wonderful article with three great pictures. Teresa listed Barefoot Works as a contact and I've gotten so many phone calls from people interested in chair yoga. Makes me think that there is more of a need for this type of yoga.

If I Had My Life to Live Over

I'd dare to make more mistakes next time. I'd relax, I would limber up. I would be sillier that I have been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones.

You see, I'm one of those people who live sensibly and sanely hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I've had my moments and if I had it to do again, I'd have more of them. In fact, I'd try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day. I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat and a parachute. If I had it to do all over again, I would travel lighter than I have.

If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry go rounds. I would pick more daisies.

-Nadine Stair

I found this great book "If I had to live my life over" this weekend at an antique store in Owensboro. It was a true bargain at only $2.95. It's a great collection of stories and poems written by women. Reflections of the choices they've made, childhood through old age. The poem from above was penned by an 85 year old gal from Louisville. And I love the dedication at the beginning of the book "To the women who inspired me to make wiser choices and the women who comforted me when I made foolish ones." Love that!

Faith

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

I always share a reading at the end of my yoga classes. I think it's another great way to add the whole yoga experience. Yesterday's reading was about faith and courage from Living Your Yoga. Eric (you may remember him being yogi of the month) just entered the job market and is traveling to and from Michigan submitting his resume at many places. I know that this is such a process and many times it can get you down. As I shared the reading, I had him in mind and told him so after class. So let's all send some well wises to Eric and hope that he lands a job soon! And hopefully it's in KY so he can continue to grace us with his beautiful crow pose!

A road less traveled

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

~Robert Frost

Yes, I think I took a road that is a little less traveled. I've always enjoyed the scenic byways more so than the interstate, and to a certain degree I've always marched to the beat of my very own drum. Life's more fun that way.

I choose to spend my days in barefeet teaching people how relax by breathing deeply, how to get their heart rate up by flowing from pose to pose, how to create a mind-body connection by really listening to their body, and how to stand on their head even when they're a bit scared. Really, other than gymnasts, how many people literally turn their world upside down on a regular basis by standing on their head? This gal does. Maybe it goes with that less traveled road.

I've created a flickr page to display my photos. Click here to see a few other photos taken the same morning as the above.

Yoga

Yoga stretches

Yoga flexes

Yoga bends

Yoga folds

Yoga flows

Yoga breathes

Yoga strengthens

Yoga twists

Yoga transforms

Yoga awakens

Yoga unwinds

Yoga rejuvenates

Yoga relaxes

Yoga destresses

Yoga decompresses

Yoga balances

Yoga believes

Yoga works

Barefoot Works

What an exciting day!

"Life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning the instrument as one goes on."

Samuel Butler

My day began at 3:30 this morning. The alarm goes off and I'm ready to go, really excited to greet the day. Normally at this time I'm just pulling my quilt and flannel sheets up to my chin and sinking a bit farther into my pillow and into a deep sleep. But today was an exciting day for me and Barefoot Works. I arrived at the studio at 5:00 lit some scented candles, turned the lamps and twinkle lights, and rolled out my yoga mat and spent a few minutes doing some gentle stretching and deep breathing. It wasn't long after I had arrived that several dedicated yogi's began to stream into the studio. Now I had to be there bright and early for Lee Cruse and the camera's of WLEX 18, but these guys didn't. I was truly honored and so thankful that these people came to practice yoga and support the studio.

Lee Cruse made his way into the studio around 5:45. I excitedly greeted him and thanked him for sharing his morning with Barefoot Works, then I ask "So what's the plan?" You see, I'm a planner, a big planner and when his response was "No plan, we'll just see how it goes", for one brief moment I got a bit nervous. Then I realized that he was at my studio talking about yoga. If there is one topic that I feel completely competent and comfortable in discussing, it would be yoga. I mean right now I'm living, breathing and dreaming yoga. It's my world. So when the camera started rolling and we were live on television is was easy and it felt natural. I didn't trip over my words, get tongue tied,or repeat "ummm" (which I was most scared of). I was actually surprised at how easy this whole thing of being live on tv was. It was a great time!

The next exciting thing for the day was teaching yoga to a group of high school football players, their coaches and several teachers. It was a large group of almost 60 people clustered in the school cafeteria. It was lacking the serene and soothing vibe of the studio, but the energy and the curiosity among the group made up for the less than desirable space. I think the boys were surprised to find out how challenging yoga could be. I heard an occasional "I'm sweatin'" and "This is hard" as I worked my way around the large group encouraging them to relax their shoulders and continue with deep breaths. By the end of class they gladly came to corpse pose for final relaxation and more deep breathing. They've signed up for a ten week session so I'm really hoping to teach them how yoga can benefit them both on the field and in the classroom. It will be a fun challenge. I'll keep you posted!

Things I'm lovin'

So I'm not really a jewelry person, aside from big pretty dangly earrings. But here lately I've found some of the sweetest jewelry. I love these superhero necklaces! They're so bright and colorful. And I love the thought of wearing one and being transformed into a superhero. These vintage charms are just the cutest things ever. There's a charm of a gal doing headstand and it's titled "Look What I can do"....so cute.

These are a couple of my favorite photo blogs. Their pictures blow me away. Durham Township and Kuberblog. Their images amaze me and inspire me to take more time to photograph.

This morning I was watching the Today show and Five For Fighting was live playing a couple of songs. His new tune "What Kind of World Do you Want" is great. What's even better is this website that allows you to "Tell the world what kind of world you want and raise money for charity by making a video of yourself, your friends, your kids, your online buddies answering the question, "What Kind of World Do You Want?" and upload it to whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com. Tell everyone you know to watch it and each time they do, it raises .49 cents for charity. You will be able to select the charity from a list that John Ondrasik from Five For Fighting personally selected." You can use videos or photos for your very own video. How cool is that?!

Salute-the-Sunathon with Lee Cruse

Monday January 8, 5:45 am. - 7:00 am.

Yes it's early but is there any better way to start your new year?! It will be a great way to start your week, plus it will be lots of fun. We would love for you to join us in greeting the new year, greeting Lee Cruse, and greeting the sun at Barefoot Works.

The sun salutations can be an entire yoga practice by themselves. This series of poses includes back bends, forward bends, and plenty of flexibility and strength building poses. Come flow into the new year! This is not instructor led, you will be free to flow as you please! We'll mingle and enjoy hot tea and pastries following the flow. Please let us know if you plan to attend.

Happy New Year!

"It's time to start living the life you've imagined." Henry James

Here's to the best, most abundant and inspiring year that we can all dream of and envision. I feel like this is going to be a really big year. Great things are in store, I just know it, and I'm ready! I'm keeping my eyes, ears, and heart open to all possibilities. I don't make resolutions. I can't even remember the last one I made. What I do however, is make lists. Lists of things I want to do and experience. A few items on this year's list includes participating in a Buff Betty adventure race, growing a veggie garden, attend a yoga conference, completing the upstairs bathroom (with assistance of course), and continue to build a yoga community at Barefoot Works.

Wishing you a year full of surprise, delight, and love. Cheers!