Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Just Breathe

Hi there! I have some bad news and good news to share today, but more on that in a minute. First, I wanted to talk about an important reminder given to me today.

As usual, I made my way to my yoga studio to unwind after school. I am lucky enough that my yoga studio has 2 locations so I can practice with my favorite teacher on Wednesday at the studio that is just a bit farther.

From the moment I started taking Wednesday night class at that location, I noticed a difference. I can't explain it, but there was definitely something special about my practice there. The people. The cozy space. The energy. The only word I can think to use is "sweet"...the kind of sweet that is like a big hug from a loved one or a cozy blanket being wrapped around you.


Today's practice was all of that and more. It just felt right.

When my teacher noticed there were only a few students (I'm talking less than 10... probably because it's at a weird time) that she knew quite well, she asked us if we could please form a circle with our mats. She then proceeded to tell us about the tragic thing that had happened just a few hours earlier: one of her best friends had been killed suddenly in an accident.

Rather than look for pity, she asked us if we could dedicate our practice to her friend's life and life in general. Instead of mourn her death, we planned to celebrate her beautiful life with our ujjayi pranama, or "life force." I immediately knew from that moment on that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I lived in the moment and was engaged in everything I did by working at my edge. I kept my breath strong and my mind clear. I was celebrating life.


I celebrated my compassionate heart, strong body, and sharp mind. I was thankful for every deep and full breath that created support for those around me, as they had done for me. More than anything, I was thankful for life. I marveled and the beauty of every stage of life, from newborn to elderly. Life is precious at every age. It is a beautiful gift that those around you receive.

There is so much power is just a simple breath. So many kind words and gestures that it can produce. With every breath I take, I hope to be mindful of the wonderful world I am fortunate to live in. I want to celebrate the beauty and blessing in even the hardest of things. And sometimes, I just want to enjoy the moment, giving myself over freely to my breath rather than worrying about what is to come. It all starts with a breath...

How do you celebrate your life? What was the last beautiful thing that you saw?




Speaking of breath, I definitely needed to reminded myself to "just breathe" about some blog issues. I'm surprised a full moon isn't near because the issues I've been having are definitely unlikely. Not only was blogspot not allowing me to post, now that it will, I can't upload and post my pictures. On top of that, the work I did on my new blog was all lost, and I can no longer access it. Basically now neither my "old" (aka current) or new blog work. Go figure.

So what did I do? Well, I definitely started by taking a few breaths. I then decided that stressing about it really wasn't worth it. Instead, I have come to see this as a sort of blessing in disguise. I feel like the name "Sweet Treats and Vegan Eats" doesn't really define me well anymore since my culinary point of view, as well as myself in general, has changed quite a bit since STAVE's beginning.

Now that I've accepted the problem, I've come up with a solution. I decided the best thing to do is just start a new blog, this time with Wordpress. Sure, it won't be self-hosted for now, but maybe one day it will be up to par with where my "new" one was. For now, though, I'm just going to enjoy it as it is. I'm still thinking of a name, but I definitely want to create it soon. These issues sure haven't made my memory card any lighter (especially since I've been on an experimentation kick)! Please look out for the switch coming up!

Do you have any ideas for a new blog name for me? And do any of my Wordpress friends have any tips for the switch?

I challenge you to celebrate life in at least one way today! Nameste!

Have a lovely day!
xox,
Mandiee

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