Throw the children into the water!

This said the person who almost drowned:

I WON'T SET A FOOT IN THE  WATER EVER AGAIN UNTIL I HAVE LEARNED 
HOW TO SWIM!   

Sadly this kind of mentality is not a stranger to us and in society today. We expect ourselves to know certain things and when we're told we can't we just won't do it until we can.
How does that even..?
Yes, it makes no sense.

We don't throw little children who don't know how swim into deep waters yet we tend to do that to ourselves expecting great things at areas in which we have poor skills or no practise. When we wish to learn something new we must remember the children and the patience we show them. The small steps we allow them take. The gradual progress. The reward and praise we show them for every little movement forward.

Jake the dog of Adventure Time

Maybe you can remember a moment when patience was shown to you when you was little and new to the world. If you think about it you're still taking steps, but with greater expectations of yourself but also with the freedom of choosing your own path. So if you find you are in the mindset of "I won't until I can" in an area or skill you wish to master just patiently remind yourself that we don't have teleporters yet. You need to take those steps to get there. Make sure to see your own greatness and reward yourself for it.

How do you treat your friends when you know they are trying? Strangers who are newbies? Are you as harsh to them as you are to yourself? Why don't you cheer for yourself? How do you REWARD YOURSELF? If you don't have an answer for the last question it's time you start thinking about the things you want. The things you like. The things that make you feel good. So you can celebrate your own goodness.
The goodness is strong with This One.

Yoganidrasana - flex and focus!

Mathematician, philosopher, political activist and more. 

At work I ended up in a discussion with two "overbenders" and found myself annoyed with myself for not being a prezel... then I remembered the journey I've done so far. From clumsy stiff to decent foldable me. Although I do want to take it up a knotch. Been practicing a little bit while watching tv, reading and so on. Today I found a tutorial which I think will make it all the more pleasant and fun. Here it goes. Sleeping baby - yoganidrasana. Looking forward to being able to relax into it.

Yoganidrasana how to with Kino KinoMacGregor.

Apart from that, even though I haven't updated the yoga has been going on every single day and I'm keeping a (home made from an old water color picture) journal upon it with day, time, location and what was done and if there was any special sensation to it.

Today I did math break yoga. I would study 20 minutes, take a 10 minute break to do some asanas in the shadow of the apple tree. Repeat. Of course mimimize surrounding distractions. I like to time things. 20 minutes. GO!!!

Tomorrow a sister will visit, I'm seeing an old friend from waaay back and hopefully there will be some glutenfree rhubarb/ginger/apple muffins going on. To celebrate the day I'm also taking it from trikonasana (triangle) to ardha chandrasana (half moon). Know what I'm sayin'? 

If not, here's what's what. And that's that. Peace!

"...when I talk about running."

A good 15 minutes ago I closed Haruki Murakami's "What I talking about when I talking about running." I made it to the other side. Even if it is a good book I always feel kind of relieved that it's over and if it's a really good book there is a sadness, as if someone dear to me would have left this world. Right now I'm in a subtle grief. 

Balance and discipline

Actually I wasn't at all interested in running, and if it wasn't Mr Murakami that had written it, then I don't think I would ever end up reading about running. To be honest it wasn't an amazing book, but what was amazing was this little man who had a jazz bar and sold it to start writing books and train hard for marathons, despite most of his surroundings telling him not to. Mr Murakami goes his own way. His discipline is admirable and I feel inspired to, although with a more gentle approach, try to find balance between my creativity and my yogic training. 

This is the second book I read by Haruki Murakami. Previous was "Kafka on the shore" and it was pretty interesting. Strange but full of inspiration and beautiful almost movie scenes.

Perfect alignment

This is also the second book I read in my life that seems to just be perfectly aligned with my universe and where I am at the time.

It could be little things like he's writing about the falling rain and how good things can come from it, where I would look out and think to myself... Ah, well that's true. If It wasn't for the rain then I wouldn't be sitting here right now, reading that line... or another time when he mentioned running girls with their ipods on, earplugs in and ponytails swaying from side to side as the come trotting down the street, and shortly after... there they were!

Sometimes it would be just the right sentances for the moment. A paragraph that not only longed to be quoted, but also seemed to fall into place the topics that had been floating around in my mind. If it would have been a game of "memory" then the game would be over quickly.

Then there was the thing about the knees. And this really puzzles me. 

For those of you who haven't read my previous posts I've been a bit stiff, since I got a cold. Especially feeling limitations in the knees. Then I went to yoga class. The knees got worse. So since I can't practice, I read instead. Which led to me stumbling upon a chapter where he's really down. Everything's seemingly stuck or going backwards... and what should be his biggest problem at that moment? Of course... the knees. In particular the right one. What are the odds?

Quotes

At times the book has a soundtrack, which is one of the things I loved with "Kafka on the shore" as well. It is also very quotable. I folded some pages, sometimes forgetting that it's a library book. I've narrowed it down to just a few that feel right for the moment (please take note that this is a book originally written in Japanese, translated to Swedish and now I'm trying to get it right in english...)

"It is said that physical pain is the basic condition for to truly understand things."

"The wall dividing a healthy self-confidence and unhealthy boldness is very thin."

"... there are few arguments for me to continue running the way I am, but far more than a truck load against it. The only thing I can do is to continue to carefully polish those arguments for it. As soon as I have a moment to spare, I diligently polish them one by one without missing anything." 

"Life is school..."

Today's conclusion:

People aren't that bad.

People are that bad.

Flaw gave opportunity for positive feedback. Nothing's ever just one thing. 

Short shift ahead of me then two days off. 

Found a lot of reasons to laugh today, despite the hard work.

Finally signed up for yoga class with work which will be Tuesday, wednesday and Thursday. Lookin' forward to it. Managed only 15 minutes of yoga in the morning, because the body really said no. Have to respect it.

Made it home before the rain came.

Food on the table. Watermelon after. Shower. Nap. Just a few asanas and some meditation. 

Yoga. Work. Eat. Sleep. Yoga. Sleep. Yoga. Eat. Work....

That's what it is right now. So simple.

"Life is school 

and the tests 

will continue 

until you graduate."

Better than reality - bad habit.

I used to be a big time snoozer and honestly the first thought that appears when the alarm clock goes off is still sometimes oh how sweet it would be to fall asleep again. Please just a little bit more... 

NO. 

Why? 

You will not enjoy it as much as you enjoy the thought of it AND it even tends to make you more tired. If it's hard for you to wake up then why on earth would you force yourself to do it more than once? 

The mornings are becoming more sacred. As appreciated as important. I'm always eager to get up "earlier" for morning yoga. This really helps waking up on the "right" side. Good attitude, good connection with the present, body and mind. So get up when you wake up! I clean my mouth and grab a glass of lemon water. Lit candle. Hit the mat. Timer and inspiration book at the side. The best way to feel when the timer beeps is relieved and disappointed at the same time. Because it should be demanding (in a good way.)

The body is used to it now. When I take it away I feel it the same and the next day. Something's missing hmm? Looks like it's finally become a habit, a routine. Getting more and more into the mindset, understanding more, being more present... but of what value is knowledge if it can't be put into practise?
I'm looking forward to when I can bring the mindset out in the "real world". When I can feel around people what I'm feeling in my yogic training... As always the mind is good at the associating game, usually linking things to the past or future, away from the present moment. This time it was the past.
... A few years ago I had enough. I just wanted to up and leave this society. I desperately wanted to find an ashram in India and find that peace. It's a good thought, but if the words of monk Thích Nhất Hạnh "there's no enlightment outside of daily life" are true then... OK, let's say I went to an ashram. Let's say I found that peace, but how would I bring it back with me? How could I fit it into the daily life with all it's stress, pressure and rules? With all the places, faces and things distracting me. It would be easier to find peace in an ashram becasue you would have the perfect setting, the perfect schedule, the perfect peer pressure and the perfect way of life served for you. Devoting your life to peace and making it a priority you would find it faster. Out here it's more difficult. Then again if you manage to center yourself and stabilize despite all the noise of the world around you then you would have no transition problem, no adjusting problem and you wouldn't long for the ashram whenever things weren't heading "your way". You would have the strength of making it on your own. Yes, it is harder to find here but easier to keep because it is tailored for your particular life situation. Don't get me wrong, I would still like to visit an ashram, monks and all, but not in desperate pursuit of peace. If you chase it you can't catch it, but if you sit down patiently it will come to you, no matter where you are.

By the way, it looks like there will be breakfast yoga three days of the week for the staff at work. Thank you universe!

Sometimes the thought is "better" than reality.

We tend to glorify our bad habits.

Always remember

it's a choice between

what you want NOW 

and 

 what you want the most.

WATCH OUT - vitality!

5 in the morning on a race against the clock with too little sleep and too much hormones. Still I am grateful. For the sun in particular. Thank you for having my back at all times. For shining on everyone, especially the ones who are in struggle, out of balance and the ones who are in need of light in their life. Your gold is for every single one of us. You do not judge or separate. All are equal in your light. You give and expect nothing in return. 

We can learn much from you.

As a lady there's one time of the month that's extra challenging... which also can be challenging for the people around us. This is when you need to pick up the mantras and maybe add a few more minutes of meditation to your day. Be in control of your emotions, not the other way around. You don't have an excuse to behave badly. Don't project your pain and frustration onto others. Let them know how you feel or just enjoy the silence. One of my sisters (sounds like I have a ton, there's only three) said that there is an arabic proverb that says "Speak only when your words are more beautiful than the silence". Well... it doesn't have to be that extreme. You can talk if you want, but don't forget to listen. Not only with your ears.

There will be no update from me tomorrow as I am finishing my last math assignments. Finally.
In the mean time I would like to introduce you to Jona Dahlqvist or YogaJona as she's sometimes called. This is the second book I'm reading by her and she's always an inspiration with her playful and simple approach to yoga and using the yogi lifestyle to succeed in other goals aswell. She's apparently involved in triathlon. For fun. Amazing.
Thanks to Jona I have realised a new favorite word:

vitality.

What is vitality to you? What makes you feel vitality?
For me it was a little awakening. I have felt it without knowing it! This enthusiasm! This just random happiness! This energy that keeps me jumping around even after working for 11 hours! That's vitality. It's in us. You don't have to get vital, you are. Maybe you've just forgotten how to bring it out? Your passion is one way. Your friends and family another. Life energy is contagious. WATCH OUT, you might just become more alive!

Yogalife by Jona Dahlqvist