More than once upon a time ago, around this time of year, I would pull out all of my Bon Appetite magazines and start planning a Cookie Party or Christmas Eve Dinner.  I would pick a new recipe to try, find the old ones that we loved, and the magazines would eventually become strewn all over the living room floor. My two small children would then have to put them all back, in order, and return them to the shelf. To this day, I am not missing one from the entire time I subscribed to this magazine. 

My children are now grown and away from home with children of their own.

In yogic philosophy we talk about non-attachment, (Aparigraha in Sanskrit.) I have purged a lot of things over the past years to simplify my life, and it wasn't really that hard for me to let go of physical things. I can honestly say that I was not even attached to the expectation that what I was giving away, I would certainly need the next day!

On a deeper level, I have often wondered why I cannot purge and let go of the Bon Appetite magazines. I barely use them now and continue to move them around the house.  After much thought, I determined that it is because I am attached to the memories of the warm, delicious meals created from them, (including the now highly requested Chocolate Chip Scones). They remind me of cozy fires, hockey on the pond, old friends, laughter and the presence of noisy kids.

Feelings of love filled my entire being as I recently sat on the living room floor in silence, in the exact same place, and put my magazines back in order myself. Sacred tears of sadness released down my cheeks for years gone by.

We talk about letting go of what no longer serves us, but in a way, my magazines still serve me, so I will keep them.

But if all my kids and grandkids gave me the gift of their presence and I could make a big meal and be surrounded by all that love again, would I give my magazines away?

A HUNDRED PERCENT!

(Maybe)

May you all be blessed with Peace in your heart, Strength in your mind and body, and Harmony in your life.

In Grace & Gratitude,
deEtta

Ever since my college days, I’ve always been interested in fitness and how the body moves. (Despite the fact that my friend and I received awards for being Back Row Bums in P.E. because we didn’t want to participate.) I was interested for all the external reasons of looking good.

Forward through raising children and my reason to exercise became to feel good. (not to mention a few moments of quiet time) This is when I started practicing yoga consistently, until I didn’t. But I did start to snowshoe and cross country ski more, to hike more in the summer and started walking daily. This was all good.

Then I realized that I missed practicing yoga on a mat. I started a regular practice again that I looked forward to. Still staying grounded with all nature has to offer, I started the journey of looking inward. I didn’t have pain in my body, but I did have pain in my heart. I had feelings of despair, loneliness, anxiety, and well, all the icks. By the time I became a yoga teacher, I was really good at hiding behind the mask, at applying band-aids on what hurt. This was less good.

I told myself so many stories that my body began to store them up. Then they got mixed up with other past stories until they expressed as pain in my hip, my shoulder, my jaw, etc. My journey inward continued. I had to learn to meet my myself where I was at and not rush through to where I wanted to be.  So I kept moving. I started meditating consistently, I began a gratitude practice, I became more aware of my surroundings when I walked and I started to learn even more about the how our bodies move. And more importantly, I began to understand the mind, heart, body connection. It is a beautiful thing.

And some days I do my own trust fall in the snow, create a snow angel, laugh out loud and gaze up at the vast blue sky. It reminds me to trust the process and it makes my heart smile.

With much love and gratitude,
deEtta

​While on a recent Bicycle Therapy Yoga Retreat in Nova Scotia I learned the importance of shifting gears. Riding a bike is easier if you are in the right gear.  So is life.

  Even though I instinctively knew that I needed to shift down to make riding up the hills easier, it didn't always work out that way. There were times when I shifted the wrong way and the ride became much harder. Life is like that.
  There were times when I thought I could push through and make it to the top without shifting and the ride became much harder. Life is like that.
  There were times when I stopped in the middle of a hill to take a picture of the beautiful landscape and to savor the moment.

  You would think that the ride would become much harder when I started to peddle again in the middle of that hill, but I can honestly tell you that it did not! I was so in awe of my surroundings that my bike, my body and my spirit felt light.  I couldn't stop smiling as I shifted gears to catch up with the others, and a little bit of downhill definitely made it easier!

My thoughts about how hard it was to ride uphill were gone.

When I stopped to savor the moment, my attitude changed.

Life is like that. 

Nature also knows the importance of shifting gears. Over the past week on my walks, I've been observing and savoring the shifts taking place in nature. The autumn blue/purple flowers that grace the floor of the aspen grove and the daisy dotted with rain by the stream. The goldenrod and mountain rose hips that are the last to show color in the new meadows. The fireweed as it shifts to red and the aspen leaf as it instinctively, and seemingly without effort, shifts from green to gold. Listen to nature.

Find the right gear and savor the moment.

Savor the moment and find the right gear.

I wish you all peace in your heart, strength in your mind and body, and harmony in your life.

With Gratitude and Grace,
deEtta

Once upon a time there was lady who lived by herself in the mountains. She liked to do everything herself, very seldom asked for help, and most of time was behind on the everyday maintenance of her little cabin in the woods. Despite making a to-do list on a sticky note that was somehow misplaced so she kept making new ones. Of which one of the things on the list was "wash windows." A task she wasn't very good at!

As is the order of things, the sun began to rise later in the sky indicating fall was on the way and the summer days were slowly growing shorter. And the to-do list was growing longer. 

One morning while savoring a cup of coffee, she noticed that the sunlight was struggling to come through the windows. It was brought more to her attention because of the new angle of the sun.  It's easier to NOT notice such things when the sunlight isn't there. None the less, the windows needed to be cleaned today, as it had been on the list for quite some time.

She had many other things planned to do that day. But she felt it best to procrastinate them and set about washing the windows. She had mastered the art of trading one procrastination for another. Because after all, if it all needs to be done, and eventually gets done, she reasoned; is it really procrastination??

There seems to be a paradox in there, much like the paradox of yoga...

Her advice to you is; if yoga is on your to-do list, keep it there for as long as you need to and keep practicing. Keep showing up for yourself. One day you will be savoring a cup of coffee, looking out the window at the changing sunlight, and you'll have a felt sense in your body that prompts you to step on your mat. Your body mind will crave the movement, the stillness, the peace and the calm; everything else can wait.  You will choose yoga over the plethora of other things on your to-do list, because it is now a felt sense and is not written down as something to do, but rather a state of being.

Some, but not all, of the windows got washed that day, so it's still on the to-do list and that's ok. The lady is delighted that she can now see a few things more clear, partly because the windows are clean and partly because she also practiced yoga that day.
The End.

In Gratitude & Grace,
deEtta

​In the distant past when I traveled perhaps I would take a lot of photos, I'd tell people that I had been there and I would soon forget and go back to the daily grind.
You learn something about yourself when you travel.
You also learn something about yourself when you practice yoga.
I recently had the opportunity to travel to Zimbabwe, Africa. I felt the excitement of going somewhere new! I did not mind the two days of travel and the long layover in London that allowed us to hop into the city.
I joined the 4X4 Club on their Sunday drive to a Wildlife Sanctuary and had my first African braai! I taught Office Yoga at the US Embassy in Harare, I enjoyed shopping at the markets, (I am not a shopper.) I ate delicious food that the locals eat with their fingers (I did not.) I embraced the trips across town dodging the potholes, I soaked up the sunshine and let it fill my soul.
I was mindful and savored every moment.
The cold chilly mornings before we went on safari, bundled up to stay warm. It was a blessing to feel the warmth of the sun as it rose high into the sky.
My feet connected with the sandy soil as we quietly walked into the presence of the rhinoceros. The plains were dotted with termite mounds that were good hiding spots for the lions in search of dinner. The zebra, the wildebeest, the warthog and all the antelope shared the wide open space. The giraffes stayed mostly in the trees and walked peacefully and gracefully to the water hole. Most of which were dried up from lack of rain.
We stopped to watch the sun go down and the bush became alive with the little mammals that come out at night as we drove back to camp.
I loved the authenticity of the Zimbabwean people. I felt that no one was a stranger as they smiled and waved. And where I saw a field of grass, they saw the makings of a thatched roof. The school in the village was overcrowded but the children were happy to be there.
Victoria Falls (Thundering Smoke) is the largest sheet of falling water in the world, one of the Seven Natural Wonders. But I think there are more. I think you and I are also wonders of the world.
I watched the full moon rise above the Falls and the sun set on Zambezi River at the same time. I could feel the lunar pull at my back as my eyes were being drawn back to the changing color of sky.
And then it was time to leave. My feet were happy to be back on the trail at home. The wild flowers are blooming and the snow still sits on the mountain top. I savored the moment.
The moment when I realized a little piece of my heart was still in Africa, that my feet felt the energy of the plains of Zimbabwe and the mountains of Colorado at the same time. I savored the moment when I felt the interconnectedness of all humanity.
And I know that I am truly blessed to have learned to bear witness and to feel all of the emotions that go along with traveling and a yoga practice. 

Cheers & Namaste,
​deEtta