Tricks and a Few Treats...

Alaska and Halloween equals kids in costumes with no coats freezing their you know whats off!! After about three blocks they decided to come home and hand out candy- they were pretty happy with that decision as were their parents:)

 I can always count on Hayden for one of his infamous faces- he did a great job entertaining us with music during the passing out of candy.

 These three continue to bring such joy to our lives- they get along great and are always looking out for each other.  The girls were way excited about their Monster High Girl costumes and I don't know who was more excited about Jack's new love of Ninja Turtles- Jack or Ken...it reminds him of when our big boys were little.

 Poser number one-

 Poser number two-

 Not such a poser number three-

 The pumpkin festivities- 

 I spent my morning at the neurology clinic trying to get to the bottom of my tingling, burning, and weird sensations in my head.  The doctor was super nice and after doing a weird electric shock type of test called an EMG and ordering an MRI of my brain basically told me that she is pretty certain that it is all anxiety related and not to feel bad that she sees many people in the same predicament.  She understood completely that the body sensations only add to anxiety and ordered the MRI just to be safe and give me peace of mind.  I called the therapist Whitney suggested and am going to start EMDR therapy which involves using eye movements during the therapy to help the brain move through the trauma- seriously!!!!!!!

Tricky times filled with lots of treats- LIFE!!

Namaste...

I am now on the 2nd of 9 yoga teacher training week-ends and I LOVE it!!!  I have spent much time thinking about how a chubby gal can have any credibility being a yoga teacher.  Lucky for me I found a whole world of curvy yoga teachers online- one of the better things about the interweb- stay away from webMD- I'm just sayin'...

The week-ends consist of -Fridays from 3-9 practice teaching, observations, and adjustments- I was a little freaked out the first week-end because we were seriously all up in each others business- but I got over it!

  Saturday mornings from 9-12 are spent doing 3 hours of yoga- yes 3 hours.  Saturday afternoons are filled with lessons on anatomy- so important- it would be easy to injure someone if you don't know at least some anatomy.  Sunday mornings are again filled with 3 hours of yoga practice and the afternoons consist of studying yoga philosophy.  I love this part because there are so many moral and eternal truths in this beautiful practice:) In addition to the 9 week-ends we are required to have 20 hours of workshop time with master yoga teachers, 20 hours of mentoring under a trained yoga instructor, 6 hours of actual teaching time, at least one class per week at the studio, and a consistent home practice- which means 30-60 minutes 3 to 4 times per week.

One of the things I like the most is that everyone is there for the same reason- they love yoga and want to use that love to learn skills to share with others.  One thing that surprised me was how difficult it is to give the cue's that yoga teachers give.  Everyone was having trouble with that- we were all laughing because we know how to do yoga but not how to tell others how to do yoga!  Plus, this was only the second week-end and we were already teaching each other- scary!!

Also required is a 5 hour meditation course.  There are 5 classes and we do two 20 to 25 minute guided meditations per one hour class.  The first week was horrid!! I could not sit still and it felt torturous- my mind was messing with me big time!! Week two was much better- I was able to sit without too much discomfort and wasn't nearly as wiggly- on the plus side that was the first night I have slept for 5 hours in a row not medicated since July- I don't think it was coincidence:)  I have yet to do any meditation at home but that is also part of our homework- I'm working on it.

It feels so good to do something that means so much to me and is also very challenging physically but especially mentally.  I know I will leave this program with new-found life skills and a better understanding of who I am.  

All of the photo's come from Anna Guest-Jelley's website www.curvyyoga.com

- it is where I get my inspiration to keep on going when I get discouraged!

Politics...

The older I get the more I hate politics.  During the last election year I cancelled my facebook page because of the political comments people were making.  What I find most disturbing is the superiority that people feel toward their political party- regardless of what side you are on.  Here's the thing-

Do you believe you are morally superior because of how you vote?
Do you believe you are in a political party that has better moral values than its opponent?
Do you feel that those who vote opposite of the way you do are less intelligent?
Do you feel that yours is the only party that cares about our country and the rest of the population is bamboozled?
Do you have only one issue that determines your vote?

Most of the time when I read political posts or comments this is the way I feel- there is a sense of I am right and you are wrong.  I have a treasured friend who differs from me in every way politically and yet we are able to have discussions that invigorate the mind and give us both food for thought.  Why? Believe it or not people have actually asked her this:)  Here's the thing- we both respect each other and neither one of us has an agenda to change the other persons mind!! We listen to each other and try to see where the other person is coming from.  I can't help but think if there were more listening and less trying to be right we would be able to solve many of today's troubles. We are so much more alike than different if only we could see it!!

I feel hurt when my intelligence or better yet my testimony of Jesus Christ are called into question because of who I choose to vote for.  I haven't always been what my husband would refer to as a bleeding heart liberal- he says so with only a touch of disgust along with a smile on his face:)  I at one time did think I was somehow superior because of who I voted for or what party I chose to associate myself with.

Frankly, I'm not a fan of any political party.  I'm sure it will disturb many to know that I usually vote based upon the feeling I get from the person- which means I have voted for both of the major parties at different times in my life.  There are a small number of political figures that I feel I would cast a vote for- these figures come from different parties.


I chose to believe that most people care about our country, most people care about their families, most people are trying to do the right thing in life, most people want to be able to take care of their families, and most people when treated with respect will choose to act respectfully.  We just are so use to looking and reporting all the negative that the positive gets lost no matter what party you associate with.