Ready for a return to reality.

 My new note keeping book for yoga sequences, pose variations, music ideas, quotes, etc etc. Just the right size to fit in my yoga mat bag. 

 Our last afternoon on the beach. It was a great two weeks, a perfect combination of rest, exercise, great food, and fun. We lucked out with perfect weather ~ none of the overpowering heat so common on the east coast this time of year. Warm sunny days and nights where you wanted to grab your sweatshirt….the best. 

 Luke really, really hates boogie boarding, as you can see :). I got to play around with my real camera and got some great photos of the kids in the water. They are all little fish. I can't wait to see Jake on the swim team next year, he is going to be ready to tear it up, starting at just 4 and turning 5 at the beginning of the season. 

 We ended vacation with a crabfest. The kids love them and are getting more and more adept at working their way around a crab. There is just something so relaxing about sitting around outside picking away at a few dozen crabs, liberally doused with old bay, of course. 

My babies. Despite daily and repeated rounds of sunblock, they are brown little bears. Luke's tooth came out on Friday night in his sleep! He looks so different and more grown up already. Time marches on. 

I'm ready for vacation to end. Though I have been so grateful for the extra time to simply relax, to sink into time with no errands, few phone calls to make, no classes to teach ~ time to simply be a student of yoga instead of a teacher ~ I'm ready for routine. I wound up vacation on Friday with my first 10 miler since breaking my hip. It felt amazing. I love running. I really feel strong again as a runner ~ I will never ever push myself like I used to, but settling into an easy run a few times a week? I'm ready to add it back into my life. I feel secure about it. It feels safe. 

I am SO excited to have registered for this.  I've already chosen my workshops and am so excited about a full day of yoga and learning. 

This week is some housekeeping. Some Dr's appointments, some car maintenance. Mostly this week is list making. I am a planner. This week is the official set up of a permanent meditation place. Odd as this sounds, I think that it may be in the master bathroom. I know, so weird, right? The more natural place would probably be the basement, as that is where I do my home practice when I practice inside. It is a GREAT place in summer, as it stays naturally cool, and is lovely with dark wood floors and a bright orange wall that I just adore. BUT, in winter it tends to be dark, and it tends to be cold. A perfect place to cozy up and watch movies, but not necessarily a perfect place to sit in meditation. I don't know that I would want to drag myself down there at 6 am. My bathroom, however gets great natural light. It has three large windows. It is too big. I have two different corners that would be perfect places to set up. I will be generally be meditating either first thing in the morning, or at lunchtime or bedtime, and its proximity to light, and to warmth appeals. 

I'm considering taking on an Ashtanga challenge. Alone. Solo. By *gasp* video. My mentor suggested it. 

No, Ashtanga is not a horror.  And, no, maintaining the discipline of a daily Ashtanga practice does not compare to the horrors of war, nor do I mean to imply that it does. However, I'm craving increased self discipline. Its been a loosey goosey sort of summer, and I am a creature of routine. I love it. In talking with my friends the common theme seems to be that I feel like I'm missing something…….and what I seem to feel as though I'm missing is routine. When I mentioned to Sue that I wanted to look for a daily Ashtanga class (because I've always been averse to Ashtanga ~ and strange as this sounds I'm learning in my life that the things that I try to avoid are generally the very things that I need the most. I am, of course, inherently one who wants to take the path of least resistance. Doing so, thus far in life, has yielded mixed results). She said, in her Sue way, don't be stupid, do the David Swendon DVD, and do it every day. So, I think I will. Each morning, on my own, in my basement practice space. Early. And we will see. We will see how this changes me, my practice, my mindset, my outlook, my needs. 

Project:Ashtanga begins August 15.