Just give and people will remember how you made them feel

For such a seemingly social creature I place and extremely high value on alone time. Lately it has had to fit around work, working for someone else, which is actually a really good thing. It forces me to carve out moments for myself in my otherwise occupied day. The last few days I have taken to walking a few extra blocks for a coffee (reminder: pick up ground coffee and almond milk). It gives me time to be alone in a crowd, putting one foot in front of another and not be accountable to anyone but myself and my short soy cappuccino. I also love that quiet time before I go to sleep. I usually have bold ambitions of reading something worthwhile or getting some work done but often it looks like me putting on some tunes and hunkering down for a little pre-sleep nap. Weird? Yes, Awesome? Always.


I think this 'hammock time' as my dear friend Eoin Finn calls it, is so key to our well being. Vancouverites actually seem to get this for the most part. Runners who run to stop their brains for an hour. Yogis who practice and meditate for their own space. Writers, readers, musicians, all the little ways to just indulge. Putting ourselves first in a day that often requires us to be lower on the ladder of priority. 


Taking time, taking care of ourselves also allows us to better take care of those around us. A full tank allows us to give to others without depleting so much of our own stores. It also tends to make us, or at least me, more stable, more chill, more fun to be around. I came across a quote this morning that pretty much sums up what giving to others can do. "Just give and people will remember how you made them feel." I think this is key. Doing and giving without expectation of results is what we do when we take time for ourselves and also what we can do for those around us. 


here is a cool TED Talk by Eoin himself on the idea of Hammock Enlightenment.

The only moment we were alone.

I’ve fallen for yin.

Yin yoga is the balance to a firey power class. It is the melty, slow, introspective counterpart to a more strength based, quicker paced yoga style. It is my new love.

I have always had a soft spot for a good slow stretch class but lately it is my passion. It helps I guess, that my new favourite instructor has a voice that is soft and sweet like a bird and buttery smooth all at once. That her classes are just what I need when I need them. And these days boy do I need them. A lot is going on here, especially in my head, and it’s all I can do to keep from getting, from going.

Last night’s class came at the end of a long and reasonably unproductive day. I haven’t been myself lately. Blaming it on the weather, on transitions, on everything I can. When it really comes down to it I am simply that. Down. I store it all in my shoulders, in my hips for sure, in my kidneys, in my jaw. All the anxiety, the worry, the inexplicable tiredness, it is printed and drawn across the connective tissues and organs of my body. Yin is a release from this. For a class where much of the hour and a half is spent laying or sitting, most often in heavily supported postures, it is always a challenge for me. To be present to what is going on inside, to the sensations in those tight spots is harder sometimes that sun salutation after sun salutation, a strong standing series and a multitude of chaturanga dandasanas. Boy I was sweating it out last night. Working hard to try to get some energy flowing.

Needless to say I always feel better when I practice, no matter what class, no matter what I do in my home practice, the simple act of coming to my mat brings me home. Let’s my chattering mind know it is time to get quiet. Time to breath. To sit. To let some junk go.

If this all sounds too good for words you can check out a yin class here:

In Vancouver:

- YYoga http://www.yyoga.ca/ ( my favourite class is Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday with Ingrid Nilson)

- Semperviva http://www.semperviva.com/classes.php

In Calgary:

- Yoga Santosha http://www.yogasantosha.ca/schedule.php

- Yoga Shala http://www.yogashalacalgary.com/wednesday.php

When I practice, I come home.

As I sit here watching the dragon boats go by, the Yaletown dogs going for their evening walks, I am sticking to my guns on this whole path of least resistance, going with the flow of life thing.


It is falling into place and I can see the bigger picture a little more clearly. I am starting to see that when things are right they do come a little easier. Once again, being honest, laying the cards on the table, works when what you are going after is in line with what you really want. Trying to cover up the parts of your life and yourself that you think aren't gets you only so far. Being honest and embracing them creates the opportunity for greatness. ACTUAL greatness. The kind of greatness where you freakout a little in awe that you are getting exactly what you want and were always afraid to ask for for fear of falling flat.  Now I am not saying this is a fool proof method. That being vulnerable in combination with confidence will get you anything. If that was true I would have a pony. And maybe that coral coloured blazer I am coveting from aritzia. If it is not right this doesn't work. If the job, the boy, the what-ever isn't what is meant for you then it isn't going to happen this easily.  


I wont lie a lot of hard work is going into this too. Giving it up, taking a risk, working hard for something is essential but when it works out and you are still happy and reasonably balanced at the end of the day just be grateful and take it. Be happy. Go with the flow. Take your failures (they are not bad) and your lessons learned and your hard work and get what you want. 


So Vancouver is warming on me needless to say. Delicious affordable sushi (literally 5 places within a block of me), beautiful scenery, amazing opportunities. I am getting back to a consistent yoga practice and am reminded of all the things I love about it. Despite this, and the view this evening I still miss the Alberta sky.


‎"I come from the prairies. When I practice, I come home. Home to the familiar expanse of a never-ending sky. Home to solid land that stretches in all directions. Home to a place in my heart that is always there, no matter where I am." - Ingrid Nilson

Calgary.

Sometimes it just sneaks up on you. The right song for the right moment. I know this is what I will listen to next time I walk home watching the sun set over the water, through the clouds, on the snow capped peaks. It will be beautiful and lift my heart and I know a smile will cross my lips. And even then I know my heart knows what this song is named. It recognizes the light in the notes.