Cakewrecks

For those in need of a good, heartfelt belly laugh, I recommend the following: http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

Beginners are exhausting and exhiliarting

Another yoga year begins.

To my great surprise and delight, I found out yesterday that I have a (relatively) small class of 15 participants. Usually I'm fighting to keep my class at 35. "Please, please, please don't let any more participants in." becomes "enough already!" which becomes "oh, just pack 'em in. It doesn't make a difference any more anyway."

So yesterday was a treat. A gift, really. Until I started class. A fibromyalgia here, a couch potato there, some super experienced long-term participants thrown in for good measure. 15 minutes in and after half down dog, I realized that I needed to take THIS level 1 & 2 class slowly or I'd lose people.

In the end, I very nearly lost two last night. I tried to hang on. I went super slowly. I showed modifications. I was at a loss for what to do. They decided their arms weren't strong enough and just sat on their behinds and watched the rest of the proceedings. I truly know now one of the reasons standing poses are easier for beginners. When there was a wave of excitement through the room at standing and doing blown palm (side stretch), I realized what I missed all along. Being upside down is really tough! Not only that, but my arms are pretty strong. I tend to forget my own body because I look at it through a haze and only see the imperfections and weaknesses.

So, a few more lessons learned, courtesy of self-examination through yoga. I drove home feeling exhausted but exhiliarated that (I'm pretty sure) everyone will be back next week. That is after all the goal.

No one gets left behind.

It's not quite fall, but. . .

I have always loved jeans and jacket weather. Even as a kid, I felt most comfortable, most normal, most like "me" when I could wear pants and a jacket and feel like I was the perfect temperature. Then there's the crisp morning air, cooling and waking the body and mind for the day. Warm days - but not hot, bright blue and sunny skies, mosquitos are gone, loads of fresh veggies to consume, geese starting their flight south. The short fall season is as close to perfect as any time of year could be.

Today I realized it is fall. Not because of any of those listed above, although I am in my fall clothing - dark pants and a jacket over my sleeveless sweater. No, today it is fall because, as of today, Starbucks has brought back the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

You should try one. It tastes like all of my favourite things.

Every Bum is Different

If you don't believe me, check out this blog: http://peffablogi.blogspot.com/

Most of them shock the hell out of me, too.

You know that scene in Pretty Women where Richard Gere tells Julia Roberts that people don't surprise him and Julia's response is that most of them shock the hell out of her?

In my world of teaching I am mostly oblivious to how people feel about me. Check that - I'm pretty good at knowing how people feel about me and I really don't care all that much. Hey, I am who I am and as long as I'm doing my best to teach and entertain, you can take me or leave me!

As I prepared to teach yoga yesterday to a very small summer class (oh, why can't they all be small summer classes) I set my intention to teach by intuition.

I will preface yesterday's in-practice experience by saying that I am VERY hands-on in small classes. I used to never touch anyone, now I'm so touchy feely that I can rub my entire body against another woman and not even worry how she feels about it. There are two or three people, however, that I NEVER touch. I get "the vibe" from them and I just stay away.

This experience with one of the women in my class started a few years ago when I told her that I found belly dancing to be sexy. You'd have thought I'd insulted her mama. She was so offended that I would dare call such a beautiful thing sexy, or even sensual, that I could scarecely believe such prudes existed in the realm of who I know. But, there you have it. One person's sexy is another person's "don't look at me, I'm hideous".

This woman comes to too many of my classes to absolutely hate me. I would put her in the category of possibly tolerating me as long as I'm not too mouthy. Fat chance, lady! She never smiles. She may smile at others, but she never smiles at me. Or even near me, come to think of it. She thinks my stories are juvenile and my jokes are stupid. I know that's very difficult to believe but my "shinning" tells me so.

In class last night, as I set my intention to follow my intuition, I began to go into that teaching "zone" that I love. The one where I have no clue what I'm going to teach and then it all falls into place. We examined two standing poses in intimite detail. I even used belly dancing as an analogy. So much for not being mouthy. I just go ahead and bring up that very painful topic - although I didn't get near any words that began with "se". And (wait for it) I TOUCHED her. I sat right behind her in one pose and worked with her breathing through the pose. Anyone who says I don't have balls, please go pound sand.

After class, I had that really heady feeling like things were pretty good and I had done exactly what I was meant to do - teach a proper beginner's class. Two people came to speak to me after class. One was Mrs. Non-Sexy Belly Dancer herself. She was smiling. She was happy. Said something things I had done gave her fresh perspectives on the pose and really "clicked" in her head. Said thank you. Can you speak?!

And now for my encore, folks. . .a rabbit out of a hat.

Yup, they certainly do shock the hell out of me, too.

Nice blog no blog

My last post was just over one year ago. In the past year, I've discovered. . .

- My teeth are really lovely. Like REALLY lovely.
- The hardest people to work with are insecure.
- A few really good friends are a lot easier to maintain than a whack of social friends.
- I need to be careful who I trust.
- Eat, Pray, Love.
- The Twilight Saga.
- My favourite food really is ice cream, or gelati, or sherbert, or frosty's, or. . .anything cold, creamy, and wet.
- Balance means being home for supper.
- Balance is a tradeoff.
- Facebook.
- Childhood friends, childhood crushes, good and bad people from "former lives", and people to avoid can all find you.
- The older I get, the better looking older guys get.
- My nieces are fantastically awesome creatures.
- It's hard to keep up with a house.
- Pets bring more joy into one's life than can be admitted publicly.
- Sometimes if you leave and let be, things fall into place.
- Maybe having a 5-year old car isn't such a big deal (sorry dad).
- If someone else made it, it's always the best meal I ever tasted - even if it might not be my taste.
- I AM A STARBUCKSWHORE.
- Sometimes your friends are more family than family.
- It's not always a bad thing to go back to the familiar and yet insanely ridiculous things.
- I'm not so bad even if not everybody likes me.

I have arrived

I am finally considered a wise old sage. Really, it happened overnight. The young people want to hear my stories. They want to know what life was like in "the old days". It's only a matter of time that I haul out my photo albums and people laugh and point at my hair, my clothes, my two-toned glasses (pink and blue, folks), the old Malibu Classic.

Sigh.

I have joined a group on facebook - Winkler Bible Camp Alumni. The last time I was at WBC? 1992, perhaps? The first time? 1980, maybe? I was an annual summer camper. I loved camp. Then I became a counsellor. In 1985. I spent a few entire summers at WBC. I learned how to ride horses, overcome (that's a bit of a stretch) my fear of heights in the ropes course, felt actual JOY when some accepted Jesus into their hearts, gained & lost summer loves.

Time marches on.

Now in "the group", I am asked to tell stories about the way camp was. In the 80's. Before they were born. There are two other names I recognize from my glory days in the group of 100+. TWO.

I feel oddly at peace about my new lot in life. People finally want to hear about my experiences, my life, the way things were. I am an icon. I LOVE it. I have arrived!