Monday, January 25, 2016

Snow Daze

A clean white blanket
A clean white blanket of snow
A clean white blanket of snow covers
A clean white blanket of snow covers everything
A clean white blanket of snow covers everything outside my windows

3 days. 3 days of quiet while the snow fell for 2 days and the sun came out for one. 3 days of being sequestered inside. In the quiet. Birds flew and landed on tree branches. Squirrels ran up and down tree trunks. All as usual. But with no sound. All was quiet, outside my windows.
This was an invitation to go inside myself and be quiet. I did do some self-reflection, some worry about our world, some anxiety about actually getting out and driving with my new automatic transmission car in the stuff.

Focus on going inside. Focus on the quiet of the mind. I got a lot of things solved this past weekend, solved in my head anyway.

It was easy to do some laundry and some reading, some cooking and some eating. It was easy to relax with the cats purring on top of me. It was easy to stay warm and watch Netflix and keep up with the outside world through Facebook.

Beyond those tasks, it was challenging. I almost felt stifled by the snow, afraid to go out in it, not wanting to shovel, while imagining it would melt by Sunday and I could easily get my car and self out then. If I had another person here I would have been more adventurous in going out for a walk or a tumble or creating a great snow sculpture like I have seen on Facebook. 

It all comes to self-discipline and getting myself going. Yes, we are often bustling and busy, so snow days give us a rest from the routine. I sure took it off! Hot cocoa, making hot soups, lighting candles, appreciating electricity. It’s ok to be a slug at times.

To find the balance, that is the key. To work and to play, to be disciplined and to take time off. What I recently discovered about myself is that I enjoy the creative energy, the trying to figure things out and get them going or get them right. My new website is an example. I loved the creative process of finding a new name for my business, and then creating a logo, which was a collaborative effort with my web person. I enjoyed the looking at what is past and deciding where and how to go next, to make things easier for myself and students. There was the anticipation of when the website would actually be live, and making new business cards. And then, it’s almost like letting the air out of a balloon. It’s done, and on to the next thing. Exhale. And move ahead.

So I am excited about my new business concept, of truly getting back to the roots of teaching yoga and helping others find what works for them. I’ve been doing that since 1988 when my friend and yoga teacher Katya left town and passed on her yoga classes to me to teach. It progressed to Piccadilly Square, my first yoga center space. My business became incorporated and teachers came and went. Now for a year I have been itinerant again, only me, well, except when Evie teaches yoga for relaxation. My space has been pretty much CoLab in Grandin Village, while I maintain teaching at Roanoke College, Hollins and Elm Park Estates.

What about 108? Why did I choose that name? Well, many many reasons.  I think we can come up with 108 reasons for practicing yoga. In yoga and Hinduism 108 is the number of mala beads. Mala beads are used similarly to rosary beads, in meditation, as a way to quiet the mind. I see 108 Yoga Works as a path to quiet the mind and dig deeper.

And we come back to the snow and the quiet. I am off to meditate and practice my own yoga; however it shows up today, as something new in the moment.