I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the ways in which we compartmentalize our lives. We have various activities that we do, various ways of being in the world, and often, these can become quite separated from each other emotionally. This started to become something I was thinking about more after my retreat to Breitenbush several weeks ago. It was such an idyllic place and setting to practice yoga and live more in tune with my practice. Then I got back to my normal life and things were all of a sudden very hectic and practices that I wanted to continue after my retreat fell by the wayside as I switched back into my normal mode of living. But what is the point of retreats (or for that matter going to yoga class) if we can’t bring some of that with us into the rest of the day? Somehow we need to expand our sense of the interconnectedness of our activities and see how they all relate to each other. I’ve been trying to bring awareness to how my practice on the mat and during retreat affect other areas of my life. Can I cultivate some patience with the way my body is on this particular day? The way my mind wanders during meditation? And if so, can I remember that when things are not going well or I run up against a block in other parts of my life, I can cultivate patience there as well? Mostly for me, I’d like to bring more mindfulness into my life and slowly expand my sense of the sacred (or whatever you would like to call it) so that it includes ever more of my life, not just those times when I can be in the woods, have lots of free time, and can practice on my mat as much as I would like.

I have a couple of new classes that I’m excited about. As spring finally seems to be hitting Seattle (somewhat), other new things in life seem to be taking hold as well. Starting next week, I’ll be taking over the Mon, Wed, Fri slot at 8 Limbs Yoga Centers on Capitol Hill. This class has not been well attended up to this point and is scheduled to be canceled for the summer session unless I can build it up a bit. I’m trying not to be attached to the outcome, but I’d really love to keep the class. I’ve been wanting to teach at 8 Limbs for a while (it’s where I got my teacher training) so this is a great chance to have a regular class there. It’s also a great time to start a morning practice. The sun in coming up earlier and earlier, and as it gets warmer, people are leaving their houses more (we in Seattle tend to hibernate in winter), so I’m hopeful I can build the class a bit. If you are in the area, please come join me!

The other class I’m excited about is a class I’ve started on Friday at a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu studio in Ballard. I really like the people there. Very community focused. They have a deal where if you have been laid off recently, you can train there (and come to my yoga class) for free! It’s basically karma yoga for the Jiu Jitsu set. Big props to them for being so giving.

I just got back from a week long yoga retreat at Breitenbush in Oregon. It was truly an amazing week. More than I could have asked for really, and part of it was that it was dedicated time where all of us could simply be present to the moment. No cell service or internet, so the distractions were minimal and since we were away from home, the daily tasks that can pull our mind away from what we are currently doing were just not there. I’ve been thinking a lot about how rejuvenating it is simply to be open to the now. It’s something that most of us don’t experience nearly as much as we should, yet it’s essential to our ultimate well-being. I seem to be able to do this well when I travel (which is part of why I love traveling so much), but I’ve often struggled trying to figure out how to bring in that same openness into my everyday life. Every morning this past week, we all got up at around 5:45, had a quick dip in the hot springs and then went in for a 30 minute meditation, followed by asana practice. We were done by the time I normally get up in the morning while in the city. This morning, I got up early and meditated in my living room for half an hour and have been feeling like some of the same energy I felt while on retreat is possible to get at home as well. It just takes figuring out how to be present each day. My teacher Melina was relaying something that Dr. Robert Svaboda said, which is that we don’t like time, we simply lack focus. So easy to forget, yet so true.