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Source: http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

1. <?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:blogger='http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316</id><updated>2024-02-07T04:12:20.021-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Judi Harvin</title><subtitle type='html'></subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>19</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-3503118550720426046</id><published>2013-02-08T22:25:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2013-02-08T22:25:29.393-08:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;div dir=&quot;ltr&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot; trbidi=&quot;on&quot;&gt;
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3. <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y4CLwklXk68/URW71MsONAI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/jTAc3QJ8ycY/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y4CLwklXk68/URW71MsONAI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/jTAc3QJ8ycY/s1600/photo.JPG" /></a></div>
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14. <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PmyCfSHpS7k/URXq_aKPw1I/AAAAAAAAAaU/neyshrbQjFs/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PmyCfSHpS7k/URXq_aKPw1I/AAAAAAAAAaU/neyshrbQjFs/s1600/photo.JPG" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PmyCfSHpS7k/URXq_aKPw1I/AAAAAAAAAaU/neyshrbQjFs/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PmyCfSHpS7k/URXq_aKPw1I/AAAAAAAAAaU/neyshrbQjFs/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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16. Yesterday was my favorite so far. Instead of heading into the throngs of the Mela, we went in the other direction. We walked along the Ganges for a while then veered off into a large prairie and walked along a path toward a village. Here we saw sheepherders with large flocks, and herds of an antelope-type animal. It was so nice after the heat, dust and noise of the Mela.</div>
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20. The village we were walking through was expecting us. As Westerners only walk through a couple times a year, generally with the Himalayan Institute, HI went there the day before to tell them we'd be coming. That way they could stay in and out of sight if they wanted. However, a lot of villagers were out, and it was wonderful.</div>
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24. This village is a "healthy" village, meaning not a poor one. They do have electricity, although from what I could see it looked like maybe a bare bulb or two per household. Houses are clay or brick with thatch roofs. Each house has several  cattle, usually tied to a ground post in the yard. I think I heard some goats inside the structures, but I didn't see any chickens, as Hindus generally do not eat eggs as well as meat. </div>
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28. It definitely felt awkward taking photos; on one hand I don't want to leave without something  to remember this walk, on the other it feels intrusive. However, again, the curiosity seems to go both ways. Several women and I made eye contact and smiled at each other; I think if I spoke Hindi or they English it would have been wonderful, but not so exotic. One woman spoke enthusiastically at Doug and I as we were admiring her cow; we had no idea what she was saying, but it seemed to be encouraging us to take a picture. So, we did, and right on cue as we snapped the shutter it let out a huge bellow. We jumped back and she laughed hysterically. I think she had that cow well trained.</div>
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32. Kids, of course, are the great equalizer, and they LOVE having their picture taken. They run up saying "hello!" "hello!" "hi!" and ask for a picture, which you then show to them on the screen and they laugh. They shake hands and generally love visitors.</div>
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36. My favorite was a boy who met us on the road with his camel. He let me pet it, and then asked if we wanted to see it lie down. Our guide spoke Hindi and everyone said, no, because it looks like so much effort for a camel to get up and down. But the boy really wanted to show off for us, so finally he ignored us and started saying "sit!" "sit!" and the camel with much effort lied down on the road. Then he got up and the two of them ran off, camel on a leash like a dog, into the field.</div>
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40. While I'm loving the cultural part of this trip, there are also lectures in the ashram on the symbolism of this place, visits to temples, and lectures on meditation. I am particularly enjoying Rolf Sovik's lectures on meditation and mantra.</div>
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44. Finally, weather has its highs and lows. Daytime temperatures are beautiful, sunny, high 70s. But nighttime has been quite cold, high 40s. As Sunday is an auspicious bathing day at the Mela, crowds are growing, and the fervor is building. This means that any hour of the night I wake because of cold, it'll be equally tough to go back to sleep due to noise. 2:00, 4:00am, the Mela never sleeps, and from 4 kilometers away, the din is consistent.</div>
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56. </content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/3503118550720426046/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2013/02/yesterday-was-my-favorite-so-far.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/3503118550720426046'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/3503118550720426046'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2013/02/yesterday-was-my-favorite-so-far.html' title=''/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y4CLwklXk68/URW71MsONAI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/jTAc3QJ8ycY/s72-c/photo.JPG" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-7532322288983864074</id><published>2013-01-31T11:02:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2013-01-31T11:02:59.071-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Yoga is a Spiritual Practice</title><content type='html'>&lt;br /&gt;
57. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
58. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJGg5cTFl_-SOM9PRh3iQwRwC5l3eElqiQhuZx3BmNa4NnzY7JKTBZwJ3at1gGoD8gBswtSl1Y-ZzlscH1V7GGJH1UTcVurtpJyNOZGaJt2KK57y-pXIsLB5N373qvRteeE1MKlrFWjA/s1600/Kumbha+mela+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJGg5cTFl_-SOM9PRh3iQwRwC5l3eElqiQhuZx3BmNa4NnzY7JKTBZwJ3at1gGoD8gBswtSl1Y-ZzlscH1V7GGJH1UTcVurtpJyNOZGaJt2KK57y-pXIsLB5N373qvRteeE1MKlrFWjA/s320/Kumbha+mela+1.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
59. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
60. Most of us that practice yoga seriously know this is true: Yoga is first and foremost a spiritual practice. If we don't know it through our classes and our studies, we certainly may have experienced it during a yoga class; that feeling of wholeness, one-pointed focus, and vibrating awareness that happens when the pranic energy is flowing freely through the body and the mind is focused and calm.</div>
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62. <br /></div>
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64. This feeling is what keeps many students returning to their mats, even though their real interest is the physical benefits of the practice. But, there is something about yoga that transcends the physical freedom created.</div>
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66. <br /></div>
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68. Over the next few weeks I'll be visiting India to dive into the spiritual component of this ancient practice. Yes, I anticipate spending plenty of time on the mat at the Himalayan Institute "ashrams" where I'll be staying. But, the emphasis here will be highly spiritual, as myself and fellow students are embarking on a "pilgrimage" to the Maha Kumbha Mela in Allahabad.</div>
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70. <br /></div>
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72. "Maha" means great. "Kumbha" means container or vessel. This title refers to the vessel that holds the elixir of life. Ancient Indian legends tell that every 12 years at this time, this elixir of life pours down from the heavens to a point near Allahabad where three rivers meet: the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mystical Sarasvati. This creates a powerful vortex of strong spiritual intensity at this location, where millions of pilgrims, yogis, saints, and sages have joined to practice during this event for over 5000 years.</div>
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74. <br /></div>
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76. I'm excited to see the culture of India, to practice at the birthplace of yoga, to listen to lectures by esteemed teachers, sages and saints, and to be a part of this event. I'll be joined by my husband and two daughters. They are not practicing yogis, but they know down dog from plank and even can belt out a chant or two. Who knows? Maybe they'll feel the buzz??</div>
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78. <br /></div>
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80. I plan to blog as often as our schedule and internet access will allow, so keep an eye on the Focus Yoga studio blog <a href="http://www.focusyogastudio.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">here</a> for updates, as that will be my primary posting point.</div>
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84. When I return the end of February, I'll be hard at work planning our next Focus Yoga Immersion and Teacher Training, so stay posted for news.</div>
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86. <br /></div>
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88. Namaste!</div>
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90. <br /></div>
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92. Judi</div>
93. </content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/7532322288983864074/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2013/01/yoga-is-spiritual-practice.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/7532322288983864074'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/7532322288983864074'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2013/01/yoga-is-spiritual-practice.html' title='Yoga is a Spiritual Practice'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJGg5cTFl_-SOM9PRh3iQwRwC5l3eElqiQhuZx3BmNa4NnzY7JKTBZwJ3at1gGoD8gBswtSl1Y-ZzlscH1V7GGJH1UTcVurtpJyNOZGaJt2KK57y-pXIsLB5N373qvRteeE1MKlrFWjA/s72-c/Kumbha+mela+1.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-6897010495640333237</id><published>2012-12-11T16:09:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-12-11T16:08:59.995-08:00</updated><title type='text'>The empty teacup and the learning mind</title><content type='html'>&lt;br /&gt;
94. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
95. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzB27RZK2NtcJXSq8OImNdaAGz8HjxTuFHBgSov8sjzspV-wYvhrxPhQ4O14qiheM9J2PHPKUbIee5bfBfGZTS_PkWa9s6rd8vZphm3rdBlHKrYn8fal8xGT92EqstljBy_0duU7sZz-c/s1600/empty+teacup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzB27RZK2NtcJXSq8OImNdaAGz8HjxTuFHBgSov8sjzspV-wYvhrxPhQ4O14qiheM9J2PHPKUbIee5bfBfGZTS_PkWa9s6rd8vZphm3rdBlHKrYn8fal8xGT92EqstljBy_0duU7sZz-c/s320/empty+teacup.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="214" /></a></div>
96. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
97. <b>Judi Harvin</b></div>
98. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
99. <br /></div>
100. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
101. So this man goes to see this zen teacher. He says (demandingly, as he is a very busy man) "Teach me everything you know!"</div>
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103. <br /></div>
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105. The zen master looks at him, then slowly goes to the cupboard to get a cup, which he places on the table. He picks up his tea pot, and begins to pour. Soon the cup is filled, but he continues to pour. Water begins to run over the sides of the cup and on the table.</div>
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107. <br /></div>
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109. The man watches this, confused, then yells, "Stop! Can't you see the cup is filled? Stop pouring, the water is spilling all over the table!"</div>
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111. <br /></div>
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113. The teacher stops pouring and sets down the pot. Then, he looks at the blustering man. "You come to me asking for knowledge, but your mind is like this cup, already full. Anything I add will simply pour out; there's no room for more."</div>
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115. <br /></div>
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117. I love telling students this story, and my trainees have heard it more than once. As they are embarking on a learning path, it becomes so important to learn to clear, to empty the mind.</div>
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119. <br /></div>
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121. The terms "information overload", "decision fatigue", and "TMI" are bouncing about for good reason. We have access to more information and more choices than every before. Well managed, this can be a benefit. But, poorly managed, it can lead to confusion, poor focus, and an inability to absorb and digest information.</div>
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125. A teacher training offers so much information that the student can feel overwhelmed. And, that's even before popping open the laptop and looking for <i>more</i> information to satisfy that insatiable sweet tooth that inspired students have for learning everything yoga! How does a motivated, and very busy, student handle this desire to learn more? Here are some tips:</div>
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127. <br /></div>
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129. <b>Stay on topic. </b> Look back at your notes for your previous training class. List the topics that were discussed, the asanas, philosophy, etc. Study these notes. If the class left you burning with excitement, look for more information on those topics. If you have limited time for your studies, focus it here.</div>
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131. <br /></div>
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133. <b>Resist studying ahead of topic.</b> Just like the rest of the world, the yogic world is full of opinions and often-conflicting methods. Come to class with an clear mind. Allow your instructor to present their teachings. There will be plenty of time to learn other methods. Study one first.</div>
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135. <br /></div>
136. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
137. <b>Develop your personal practice.</b> You may feel this is a ripe time to try every style of yoga, and with as many teachers as possible. This can lead to confusion when in a training. Stay on one path. Reduce the number of classes you take and the exposure to different teachers and styles. Instead, get on your own mat at home and pull out your notes. Start to study, dissect and personally experience the alignment, pranayama and meditation techniques you learned in training.</div>
138. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
139. <br /></div>
140. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
141. <b>Teach it! Speak it! Share it!</b>  While I was attending my first teacher training, the instructor of the yoga class I was attending at the YMCA decided to leave and asked me if I wanted to take over his class. I thought this would be a great opportunity, so I said yes.</div>
142. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
143. <br /></div>
144. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
145. My training met on a Saturday. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I studied relentlessly, solidifying the alignment and cueing I had learned. Wednesday nights I showed up in class and taught those poses. I'll tell you, it was the best way to ingest, digest and process information.</div>
146. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
147. <br /></div>
148. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
149. Find a willing friend or family member and start teaching them what you are learning. So many people want to learn yoga, this should not be difficult to do. Set up something regular, so you have a rhythm and commitment. Over time, this experience will not only help old the lessons solidify, but will direct your focus toward the most pertinent information in future lessons.</div>
150. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
151. <br /></div>
152. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
153. In only a few short months you will complete your training, and have a good understanding of the foundational principles of yoga. But, perhaps the most important skill you will learn in your training is how to empty your cup, again and again, allowing space for the next bit of wisdom.</div>
154. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
155. <br /></div>
156. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
157. <i>To learn more about Focus Yoga's </i>Yoga Immersion and Teaching Skills Training<i>, visit our website, <a href="http://www.focusyogastudio.com/">www.focusyogastudio.com</a>, call Judi at 708 471 0487, or email</i> <a href="mailto:info@focusyogastudio.com">info@focusyogastudio.com</a>.</div>
158. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
159. <br /></div>
160. </content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/6897010495640333237/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-empty-teacup-and-learning-mind.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/6897010495640333237'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/6897010495640333237'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-empty-teacup-and-learning-mind.html' title='The empty teacup and the learning mind'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzB27RZK2NtcJXSq8OImNdaAGz8HjxTuFHBgSov8sjzspV-wYvhrxPhQ4O14qiheM9J2PHPKUbIee5bfBfGZTS_PkWa9s6rd8vZphm3rdBlHKrYn8fal8xGT92EqstljBy_0duU7sZz-c/s72-c/empty+teacup.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-4353994287145616112</id><published>2012-12-03T09:07:00.002-08:00</published><updated>2012-12-03T09:07:16.309-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Keeping balance in a body that resists change</title><content type='html'>&lt;br /&gt;
161. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
162. As a practicing yogi, I have special powers. I can see into the future. If I wonder where I will be and what I'll be doing 5 minutes from now, I simply take a look around me. Chances are I'll be exactly in the same place as I am right now.</div>
163. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
164. <br /></div>
165. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
166. I heard that nugget somewhere and it stuck with me. The more I observed my actions, I saw it was true. If I am lying in bed in the morning, trying to talk myself into getting up, there is a good chance in 5 minutes I'll still be having the same conversation. If I am sitting on the couch, contemplating getting up and doing dishes, there is a good chance I'll still be there in 5 minutes, dishes congealing on the counter. The truth is, <b>our bodies and our minds like to stay right where they are. They don't like change.</b></div>
167. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
168. <br /></div>
169. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
170. This may sound discouraging, since we all would like to be productive and active. We all have something we want to change, and discovering that we are battling nature, human and otherwise, is not helpful. Or is it?</div>
171. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
172. <br /></div>
173. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
174. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwRxHi6sS0_zAmDPPbYPssiYOslgBzxKJSyb5ySYZNmZNhmWL3qnhIMBXes5-979QOCXBDGzD1G4ZX5tDu2LfbkvLCLLZvSFFhF_ZqIWp9CoMr2MM_fijFzHO_v3ZlmZSQgLoI06oRu_8/s1600/girl+with+ice+cream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwRxHi6sS0_zAmDPPbYPssiYOslgBzxKJSyb5ySYZNmZNhmWL3qnhIMBXes5-979QOCXBDGzD1G4ZX5tDu2LfbkvLCLLZvSFFhF_ZqIWp9CoMr2MM_fijFzHO_v3ZlmZSQgLoI06oRu_8/s320/girl+with+ice+cream.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="212" /></a>In Ayurveda, there is a saying<b> "Like attracts Like"</b>. In Ayurvedic terms, this means the elements that are strongest in our systems tend to absorb those same elements from our environment. If you're a light, airy, dry, cold Vatta-type, you'll feel especially cold and stiff on a windy, frigid winter day. A hot, fiery Pitta-type might feel uncomfortably hot and aggravated after a spicy meal. And, a sweet, solid, relaxed Kapha-type might never get off the sofa after consuming a heavy hot fudge sundae!</div>
175. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
176. <br /></div>
177. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
178. When our elements are in proper balance for us, all is well. We follow healthy routines. We can compensate for small environmental shifts. And, because the body and mind doesn't like change, we crave foods that will keep us in this balance. We have the energy to create healthy meals and exercise appropriately. We feel strong and happy!</div>
179. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
180. <br /></div>
181. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
182. But, what if a strong environmental shift comes along? What if we are hit with a big change, such as a move, job loss, heat wave, hectic schedule, disturbing argument, etc? What if the forces around us are so intense they bring out out of balance?</div>
183. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
184. <br /></div>
185. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
186. Well, same thing, only worse. If the heat in a fiery person is aggravated, they will become even hotter, maybe looking for conflict or craving heated physical exercise. An sad experience can cause a person struggling with heaviness and lethargy to crave a lie-in on the couch with a tub of Ben and Jerry's. And a major change can cause a disorganized, airy type to resist any attempts at routine and organization, puttering aimlessly while any real production ceases, wondering where the keys are.</div>
187. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
188. <br /></div>
189. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
190. Yes, this is nature. This is to be expected. Yet, knowledge is power. This leads me to my final, most exciting point:</div>
191. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
192. <br /></div>
193. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
194. <b>Opposites create balance.</b></div>
195. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
196. <br /></div>
197. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
198. If Like qualities increase Like qualities, then Opposite qualities decrease Like qualities. (Catchy, huh?) So, when you are feeling out of balance, (and rest-assured, you know when that is), take a look at your cravings. Ask yourself, is indulging in this activity or food-type stuff going to make me feel better? Or, will it aggravate my imbalance? Can I put off indulging in XYZ, and try something totally opposite? At least for a few minutes?</div>
199. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
200. <br /></div>
201. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
202. This does require detachment and discipline. You need to recognize the imbalance, and look at it for what it is; too much of something in your system. Too much heat, cold, heaviness, airiness. Then, you need to determine what the opposite quality might be, and apply.</div>
203. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
204. <br /></div>
205. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
206. If you are feeling scattered and unfocused, resist indulging in mindless internet surfing. Try 10 minutes of meditation. Organize a drawer that you can later look at in pride and feel more grounded.</div>
207. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
208. <br /></div>
209. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
210. If you feel heavy and lethargic, eat a lighter meal, such as leafy greens or fruit. Go for a brisk walk.</div>
211. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
212. <br /></div>
213. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
214. If you are hot and irritable, resist the cardio-boxing class. Instead, pull out your bolster. Indulge in some restorative yoga and deep breathing. Then, make yourself a decadent ice cream cone.</div>
215. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
216. <br /></div>
217. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
218. Yep, someone has to get the treat.</div>
219. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
220. <br /></div>
221. </content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/4353994287145616112/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2012/12/keeping-balance-in-body-that-resists.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/4353994287145616112'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/4353994287145616112'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2012/12/keeping-balance-in-body-that-resists.html' title='Keeping balance in a body that resists change'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwRxHi6sS0_zAmDPPbYPssiYOslgBzxKJSyb5ySYZNmZNhmWL3qnhIMBXes5-979QOCXBDGzD1G4ZX5tDu2LfbkvLCLLZvSFFhF_ZqIWp9CoMr2MM_fijFzHO_v3ZlmZSQgLoI06oRu_8/s72-c/girl+with+ice+cream.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-833969959273582279</id><published>2012-11-12T11:25:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-11-12T11:25:04.098-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Keeping Strong and Sharp with Agni</title><content type='html'>&lt;br /&gt;
222. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
223. <i><b>Judi Harvin</b></i></div>
224. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
225. <br /></div>
226. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
227. Last post we talked about <i>agni</i>, the "digestive fire" that aids in transformation.</div>
228. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
229. <br /></div>
230. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
231. The really cool thing about <i>agni</i> is that is relates not only to food, but also to thoughts, ideas and knowledge. Are you a student, trying to learn? An artist, brainstorming? Trying to master a new language or instrument? Solving a perplexing problem? This is <i>agni</i> at work.</div>
232. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
233. <br /></div>
234. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
235. Anything we bring into our body goes through a process of transformation. Then, it may become a part of us, such as a healthy food or a new idea. It may also be eliminated, like un-utilized food, ideas or knowledge. That healthy veggie stew you ate for dinner? Of course you want those super-vitamins transforming into your vibrant cells and tissues. That great quote from the Gita that your instructor offered in class? With healthy <i>agni</i>, you can digest it in a way that might open your mind to a new dimension.</div>
236. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
237. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbDjdfbInKtKuHHKirRBH18Yy-AND_eUhyphenhyphenA2zpL4zg-7MCinv4ONw6zoDjwvyUKKgttU93KrQJWscI6hd4h7QughmVwlD0nkq4_G8XqBbA3hHWxij75sNb3oF974EajfhUoUXxjLDnjx8S/s1600/Ayurveda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbDjdfbInKtKuHHKirRBH18Yy-AND_eUhyphenhyphenA2zpL4zg-7MCinv4ONw6zoDjwvyUKKgttU93KrQJWscI6hd4h7QughmVwlD0nkq4_G8XqBbA3hHWxij75sNb3oF974EajfhUoUXxjLDnjx8S/s320/Ayurveda.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="214" /></a></div>
238. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
239. Ayurveda looks at qualities, and the qualities of <i>agni</i> include:</div>
240. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
241. <b>Hot</b></div>
242. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
243. <b>Light</b></div>
244. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
245. <b>Dry</b></div>
246. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
247. <b>Subtle</b></div>
248. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
249. <b>Flowing</b></div>
250. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
251. <b>Sharp</b></div>
252. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
253. <b>Penetrating</b></div>
254. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
255. <b>Clear</b></div>
256. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
257. <br /></div>
258. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
259. Kind of like fire...or an engaged, active, focused mind, perhaps?</div>
260. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
261. <br /></div>
262. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
263. <b>So, if we want our digestion strong so we feel physically and mentally nourished, strong, active and sharp, we need to cultivate healthy <i>agni</i>.</b></div>
264. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
265. <br /></div>
266. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
267. The last blog looked at the characteristics of poor <i>agni</i>; bloat, lethargy, heaviness (mental or weight), etc. You certainly know if these apply to you, but you may not have thought of it in terms of poor digestion. <b>Let's do an experiment. </b>If you suspect your <i>agni</i> needs a little stoking, try to incorporate several of the following steps for the next couple of weeks, and observe the effects.</div>
268. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
269. <br /></div>
270. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
271. <b>Eat three meals at the about the same time each day.</b> Allow 3 hours between meals to rekindle <i>agni</i>. "Foraging", or eating smaller amounts frequently, depletes <i>agni</i>. It takes three hours to fully digest a meal and let the system rest a bit.</div>
272. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
273. <br /></div>
274. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
275. <b>Eat your biggest meal at noon.</b> <i>Agni</i> is strongest at this point.</div>
276. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
277. <br /></div>
278. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
279. <b>Eat until you are 3/4 full.</b> Overeating suffocates <i>agni</i>. Feed your fire an appropriate amount of quality food.</div>
280. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
281. <br /></div>
282. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
283. <b>Do not partake in long fasts.</b> You need to feed your digestive fire fuel to keep it burning. Fasting starves <i>agni</i>.</div>
284. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
285. <br /></div>
286. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
287. <b>However, you can rest <i>agni</i> by skipping an occasional meal.</b> The most appropriate meal to skip to rest digestion is dinner.</div>
288. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
289. <br /></div>
290. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
291. <b>Eat cooked, nourishing food.</b> Cooking food initiates the first digestive stop. Digesting raw food may be fine if <i>agni </i>is strong, but will be asking too much from depleted <i>agni</i>. And, of course, good quality food will best regulate the digestive fire.</div>
292. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
293. <br /></div>
294. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
295. <b>Focus, chew and breath. </b>Chew completely. This is the first step of digestion. Try not to read or watch TV. Avoid agitation; stress depletes <i>agni</i>.</div>
296. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
297. <br /></div>
298. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
299. <b>Avoid cold foods and drinks.</b> Take the ice out of your drinks at dinner. Small sips only...you wouldn't douse a fire with water and expect it to burn, would you? Drink plenty of water, sure, just not when you're eating.</div>
300. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
301. <br /></div>
302. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
303. <b>Increase heat through movement.</b> Stimulating exercise; jogging, walking, biking, vinyasa yoga create body heat, enkindling <i>agni</i>.</div>
304. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
305. <br /></div>
306. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
307. <b>Make meals tasty with herbs.</b> Lots of herbs are known for cultivating <i>agni</i>. <b>Ginger, cumin, turmeric, cardamom, asafoetida, pepper, and more</b> add flavor variety to food. This makes it more satisfying, and stimulates digestion.</div>
308. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
309. <br /></div>
310. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
311. <b>Yoga.</b> The full body movements, core work and twists in a yoga class target the organs of digestion. Yoga also has techniques, such as Kappalabhati and Bastrika pranayama, and agni sara that sound complicated, but are not that tough to learn, and easy to bring into your day. Ask your instructor about teaching these in class so you can learn with guidance, and practice at home.</div>
312. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
313. <br /></div>
314. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
315. This is quite a punch list. Some of these changes may require effort, so don't try to implement too many at once. But, as you experiment, observe, and add more, notice the results. Do you feel lighter? More energized? Even tempered? Mentally focused? Less cravings? This is the result of healthy<i> agni</i>.</div>
316. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
317. <br /></div>
318. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
319. <i>If you'd like to learn more about </i>agni, ama<i>, Ayurveda, as well as some of the herbs, foods, yoga techniques and routines that complement strong digestion, consider our workshop </i><b>Cultivating Healthy Digestion with Ayurveda</b><i>. I'll be presenting it this Wednesday from 1:00 - 2:30pm. <a href="http://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ws.asp?studioid=6047&stype=-8">Register here. </a></i></div>
320. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
321. <br /></div>
322. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
323. <br /></div>
324. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
325. <br /></div>
326. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
327. <br /></div>
328. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
329. <br /></div>
330. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
331. <br /></div>
332. </content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/833969959273582279/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2012/11/keeping-strong-and-sharp-with-agni.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/833969959273582279'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/833969959273582279'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2012/11/keeping-strong-and-sharp-with-agni.html' title='Keeping Strong and Sharp with Agni'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbDjdfbInKtKuHHKirRBH18Yy-AND_eUhyphenhyphenA2zpL4zg-7MCinv4ONw6zoDjwvyUKKgttU93KrQJWscI6hd4h7QughmVwlD0nkq4_G8XqBbA3hHWxij75sNb3oF974EajfhUoUXxjLDnjx8S/s72-c/Ayurveda.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-4250703076400833629</id><published>2012-07-16T08:41:00.060-07:00</published><updated>2012-07-16T09:13:05.666-07:00</updated><title type='text'>A ho-hum practice leads to a new passion</title><content type='html'>&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Times, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif;&quot;&gt;I just discovered something new to love, brought to me in an unusual way by my yoga practice.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
333. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
334. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Saturday night my daughter and I arrived to our farmhouse late. The house had been baking in 90 degree weather all week. It didn't seem the wall AC unit would cool down the bedrooms in time for any sort of happy sleep, so we decided to suck it up and just opened the windows.</span><br />
335. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
336. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I grabbed my mat and headed outside for what I thought would be an amazing practice under the stars. We have an expansive yard (a couple of acres) so I found a spot in the open, and laid my mat down.</span><br />
337. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
338. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I like practicing in dimmer light, but by this time it was pretty black out, and I found my balance to be off. And, although I have seen the encrusted starry country sky many times before, this time I found it really distracting. I just wanted to lie on my back and stare up. I couldn't concentrate.</span><br />
339. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
340. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
341. </span>
342. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, I left my mat where it was, went inside and grabbed a beach towel, sleeping bags and my daughter. That night we slept under the stars.</span><br />
343. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
344. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
345. </span>
346. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I had wanted to do this for a while, but something kept me from it: too much trouble to set up? bugs? Fear that something would eat me? Who knows. However, I lived to tell about it, and even have some revelations:</span><br />
347. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
348. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>There are no bugs later at night.</b> Apparently, even bugs get tired and go to sleep. They do at my farm and my farm is pretty much a Woodstock for bugs.</span><br />
349. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
350. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The stars are better than TV.</b>  I even saw a huge shooting star, with an amazing tail that glowed before fading away.</span><br />
351. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
352. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Sleeping outside, you don't miss any cool animal sounds.</b> Coyote, bullfrogs, owls. There's a party going on at night, and it's much more pleasant to fall asleep to than the one the neighbors teenagers had last week.</span><br />
353. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
354. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Wake up to entertainment.</b> In the morning, the birds are pretty darn interesting. I love lying for a bit upon waking up, and sleeping outside gave me the perfect excuse, watching birds socializing and showing off right above my head.</span><br />
355. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
356. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
357. </span>
358. &lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Times, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif;&quot;&gt;If you ever have the urge to grab your mat and head for the forest preserve, your backyard, anywhere outdoors, don&#39;t pass it up. Instead, pick it up, lay it out, and move and breath outdoors. &lt;b&gt;Have you ever had an amazing experience practicing in an unusual place? did it lead to new insights? Please, post a comment below. I&#39;d really love to hear about it. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/4250703076400833629/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2012/07/ho-hum-practice-leads-to-unusual.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/4250703076400833629'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/4250703076400833629'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2012/07/ho-hum-practice-leads-to-unusual.html' title='A ho-hum practice leads to a new passion'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-4615031674444820226</id><published>2011-12-13T16:52:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-12-13T16:53:23.302-08:00</updated><title type='text'>What Your Tongue is Telling You</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ATD0TlRTc_M/TufxqgpfbKI/AAAAAAAAAEA/QNB-9YDaQUQ/s1600/cow+tongue.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ATD0TlRTc_M/TufxqgpfbKI/AAAAAAAAAEA/QNB-9YDaQUQ/s320/cow+tongue.jpg&quot; width=&quot;213&quot; /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Times, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: small;&quot;&gt;Over the past couple of blogs I’ve discussed digestion, &lt;i&gt;ama&lt;/i&gt; (that toxic goo that is a byproduct of poor digestion,) and appetite. Perhaps you are beginning to suspect that your digestion isn’t buzzing along as well as you’d like. Maybe you feel a little fatigued, bloating, and irregular. Maybe you are wondering: &quot;Could I have &lt;i&gt;ama&lt;/i&gt;?&quot;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Times, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Times, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: small;&quot;&gt;There’s one efficient way to tell. Tomorrow morning, immediately after hopping out of bed, shuffle over to the mirror and stick out your tongue. Look hard. What is that? A thick white coating? Especially at the back of the tongue? Take the edge of a stainless steel spoon and scrape. Is your reaction “Ewww!” Yep. That’s &lt;i&gt;ama&lt;/i&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Times, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 14.0px &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Times, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: small;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Times, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: small;&quot;&gt;If that isn’t enough to get you bounding out of bed tomorrow morning, think about this. As I outlined in my November blog, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Ayurveda believes much disease begins in the digestive system. The toxic product of poorly digested food, &lt;i&gt;ama&lt;/i&gt;, is sort of like an undesirable neighbor. It coats our digestive system and then travels our body searching for a home, settling in our bodies weakest tissues. Our lifestyle and/or heredity can determine what these weak tissues are; heart, lungs, skin, joints. Once &lt;i&gt;ama &lt;/i&gt;settles in, disease is soon to follow.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 14.0px &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Times, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 14.0px &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Times, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif; font-size: small;&quot;&gt;Achy joints, dull skin and eyes, bad breath and a sluggish mind are further indicators of &lt;i&gt;ama&lt;/i&gt;. If you suspect the presence of &lt;i&gt;ama&lt;/i&gt;, check out my blog “Tips to Keep the Digestive System Perking”. Then, take a few extra steps:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 14.0px &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Times, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 14.0px &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Times, &#39;Times New Roman&#39;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Brush your teeth and scrape your tongue immediately upon awakening&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
359. <li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Avoid old, processed, artificial and fast food</b></span></li>
360. <li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Avoid cold, icy foods and drinks</b></span></li>
361. <li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Make lunch the largest meal of the day, when digestion is strongest</b></span></li>
362. <li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Eat light foods in large quantities, heavy foods in light quantities</b></span></li>
363. <li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Skip a meal occasionally to let your digestion rekindle</b></span></li>
364. <li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Fill a thermos with very warm water and sip throughout the day</b></span></li>
365. </ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">These are good tips even if your tongue is squeaky-clean in morning. Why ruin a good thing? If you enjoy good digestion and your body is a clean machine, keep it that way. And if not, a few extra steps can have you enjoying good digestion, better energy, and vibrant health.</span></div><br />
366. <br />
367. <div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
368. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/4615031674444820226/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/12/what-your-tongue-is-telling-you.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/4615031674444820226'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/4615031674444820226'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/12/what-your-tongue-is-telling-you.html' title='What Your Tongue is Telling You'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ATD0TlRTc_M/TufxqgpfbKI/AAAAAAAAAEA/QNB-9YDaQUQ/s72-c/cow+tongue.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-6079041222583267192</id><published>2011-12-02T07:37:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-12-02T07:37:25.868-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Tips to Keep the Digestive System Perking</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;0&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; class=&quot;tr-caption-container&quot; style=&quot;float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;&quot;&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;
369. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vZKvjhtlhzA/TtjwT0MKMNI/AAAAAAAAAD4/ZRK_04trArQ/s1600/Lemon+and+ginger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vZKvjhtlhzA/TtjwT0MKMNI/AAAAAAAAAD4/ZRK_04trArQ/s200/Lemon+and+ginger.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
370. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lime juice and ginger<br />
371. stimulate digestion. Herbs<br />
372. make certain foods more<br />
373. digestible.</td></tr>
374. </tbody></table>Good digestion, according to Ayurveda, is the #1 way to keep <i>ama</i> at bay. Ama is undigested food, a gooey substance that takes up residence in the weak tissues of the body, leading to disease in those tissues. How to keep the digestive fires burning bright?</div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><b>Eat when hungry.</b> Develop a good appetite. If you never feel hungry, perhaps you are eating too often. Or, maybe you need to enhance your appetite with exercise. And remember, appetite and cravings are not the same thing! One comes from the belly, and the other from the mind. When a sense of hunger strikes, close your eyes and assess; do you feel content in the body, but anxious or bored in your mind? Or, is this truly hunger in the belly?</div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><b>Give your digestion a little rest between meals</b> to build appetite and allow digestion of previous meal to complete. Leave a little space in your belly from time to time. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><b>Chew completely.</b> Chewing is the first step to digestion, and the more food is broken down at this stage, the more able your system is to utilize it.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><b>Avoid cold drinks with meals.</b> The digestive process is a heating process. The digestive juices work better warm and undiluted. Take sips of room temperature water with meals. Give up the icy drink habit and see if you feel less tired and bloated after a meal.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><b>Stop eating <i>before</i> feeling 100% full </b></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><b>Eat in a calm environment, and only when calm</b> (stress affects digestion). Yes, having a family, I have an occasional laugh with this also. At least, take a slow, gratitude breath before diving in.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><b>Use ginger as an appetite stimulant. </b>Simmer a few slices in water to ingest<b> </b>as a tea. Or, make 1/8 in. thick slices, and eat with a little sea salt and lime. Also, soak 1/8 in. think slices in fresh lime juice for a few hours. Strain, and sweeten juice with a little honey to taste. Take a shot. Also, you can eat a slice or two of the ginger. Try these appetite stimulants 30 - 60 minutes before a meal to jump start the process.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;"><b>Spices to use in cooking for digestion</b>: cumin, coriander, fennel, turmeric, ginger, black pepper. Add these to a dish while cooking, the heat releases their digestive enhancing properties. These can be especially helpful to add to foods you find difficult to digest, like dairy, meat, or other heavy foods. But, they are delicious in vegetable and egg dishes.<br />
375. <br />
376. &lt;b&gt;And, yoga sure can help.&lt;/b&gt; Yoga can help increase appetite, especially a more vigorous practice. Standing poses help draw energy down, enhancing the downward flow of, umm, energy. And twisting poses tone and stimulate the digestive system.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;Despite our best efforts, our digestion might cough and sputter occasionally, leading to the dreaded &lt;i&gt;ama&lt;/i&gt; condition. Next week we&#39;ll look at this nasty substance to learn how to tell if we have it, and how to eliminate it before it settles in for a long stay.&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/6079041222583267192/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/12/tips-to-keep-digestive-system-perking.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/6079041222583267192'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/6079041222583267192'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/12/tips-to-keep-digestive-system-perking.html' title='Tips to Keep the Digestive System Perking'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vZKvjhtlhzA/TtjwT0MKMNI/AAAAAAAAAD4/ZRK_04trArQ/s72-c/Lemon+and+ginger.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-3238205685270863682</id><published>2011-11-21T09:57:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-11-21T09:57:01.595-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Keeping the Digestive Fire Burning</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;font: 14.0px &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 14.0px &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bGgP7GVeIOU/TsqQR-iNCaI/AAAAAAAAADw/pHNz8b-bwfQ/s1600/campfire+photo.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bGgP7GVeIOU/TsqQR-iNCaI/AAAAAAAAADw/pHNz8b-bwfQ/s320/campfire+photo.jpg&quot; width=&quot;212&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 14.0px &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;Yep, it’s getting colder outside.&amp;nbsp; But have you noticed any changes inside? The cold and dryness outside means we need to create our own heat inside, and within ourselves. In Ayurveda, the inner heat that transforms our thoughts, perceptions and, yes, food, is called &lt;i&gt;agni&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 14.0px &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 14.0px &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;Strong, healthy &lt;i&gt;agni&lt;/i&gt; means food is broken down and utilized efficiently. Hand-in-hand with strong digestion is strong elimination (you know what I mean). Ideally, what we take in as food is broken down, absorbed, assimilated, and the balance eliminated.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 14.0px &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 14.0px &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;But what if our &lt;i&gt;agni&lt;/i&gt; is poor and our digestion and elimination is sluggish? During the colder, less active time of year, this may be an issue. Sure, we may feel a little uncomfortable, but is it really important?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 14.0px &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 14.0px &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;Yes. According to the ancient health science of Ayurveda, much, if not most, of disease begins in the digestive system. The toxic product of poorly digested food, &lt;i&gt;ama&lt;/i&gt;, is sort of like an undesirable neighbor. It originates in our digestive system and then travels our body searching for a home, eventually settling in the areas not strong enough to keep it out: our bodies weakest tissues. Our lifestyle and/or heredity can determine what these weak tissues are. Heart, lungs, skin, joints...&lt;i&gt;ama&lt;/i&gt; will find a hangout where there is a vacancy shingle. And once it settles in, there goes the neighborhood; disease is soon to follow.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 14.0px &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 14.0px &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;Many of us aren’t really in-tune with our inner workings. Our digestive system may have the pizzaz and gusto of a snail and we wouldn’t notice. But clearly, we want to keep the neighborhood safe and happy...so it’s worth getting a little sensitive to what’s going on. What are the tell-tail signs of poor digestion?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 14.0px &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
377. </span></div><div style="font: 14.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div><ul><li><b>Lack of appetite</b></li>
378. <li><b>Over-fullness after eating</b></li>
379. <li><b>Tiredness after eating</b></li>
380. <li><b>Bloating and/or gas</b></li>
381. <li><b>Irregular (less than once a day) bowel movements</b></li>
382. <li><b>Small, hard or otherwise constipated BMs</b></li>
383. </ul><br />
384. <div style="font: 14.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br />
385. </span></div><div style="font: 14.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Any of these sound uncomfortably familiar? Check in next week. I’ll list some Ayurvedic and yogic remedies to help stoke agni and keep the digestion burning strongly.</span></div><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br />
386. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/3238205685270863682/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/11/keeping-digestive-fire-burning.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/3238205685270863682'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/3238205685270863682'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/11/keeping-digestive-fire-burning.html' title='Keeping the Digestive Fire Burning'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bGgP7GVeIOU/TsqQR-iNCaI/AAAAAAAAADw/pHNz8b-bwfQ/s72-c/campfire+photo.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-1598023593594212</id><published>2011-10-24T13:07:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-10-24T13:07:21.462-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Quick Squash with Yummy Herbs</title><content type='html'>&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;0&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; class=&quot;tr-caption-container&quot; style=&quot;float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;&quot;&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;
387. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sTcGlmOi53U/TqXEhjKF89I/AAAAAAAAADk/_h7AEVmDdno/s1600/CSA+Octsm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sTcGlmOi53U/TqXEhjKF89I/AAAAAAAAADk/_h7AEVmDdno/s200/CSA+Octsm.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
388. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of our beautiful CSA shares<br />
389. </td></tr>
390. </tbody></table>One of the things I love about being part of the Focus Yoga CSA is that it forces me to figure out what to do with a kohlrabi, or that weird, green Japanese pumpkin Randy snuck in my box, not once, but three times. And, I never enjoyed typical acorn squash recipes, either. Squash is so sweet, adding butter and brown sugar sent me into a puckered-lip sugar rush.<br />
391. <br />
392. So, now that I've discovered savory Ayurvedic herbs and cooking, squash has taken on a whole new appeal. In this recipe, the cumin and coriander stimulate digestion, and the cumin also relieves congestion. Turmeric is an Ayurvedic powerhouse; it not only improves digestion, but reduces inflammation (think achy joints), strengthens the immunity, and even adds luster to the skin!<br />
393. <br />
394. Plus, I think my simple recipe for acorn squash below qualifies as fast food. Throw one in the oven just for yourself if the kids prefer a pizza. If nobody is around to share the second half, enjoy it for lunch the next day, as I just did!<br />
395. <br />
396. <b>Acorn Squash Delish!</b><br />
397. <br />
398. One acorn squash, halved and seeded<br />
399. 1/2 to one onion, depending on your taste, sliced thin<br />
400. butter or ghee<br />
401. 1/2 t. cumin<br />
402. 1/2 t. coriander<br />
403. 1/2 t. turmeric<br />
404. 1/4 - 1/2 t. salt<br />
405. Saute the onion in the butter or ghee till soft. Sprinkle the spices over the cut squash halves. Fill cavity with onions. Bake at 325 until soft, about 30 - 40 minutes. Easy!!<br />
406. <br />
407. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
408. &lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/1598023593594212/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/10/quick-squash-with-yummy-herbs.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/1598023593594212'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/1598023593594212'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/10/quick-squash-with-yummy-herbs.html' title='Quick Squash with Yummy Herbs'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sTcGlmOi53U/TqXEhjKF89I/AAAAAAAAADk/_h7AEVmDdno/s72-c/CSA+Octsm.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-3222941102955482998</id><published>2011-09-28T10:55:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-09-28T11:28:59.964-07:00</updated><title type='text'>An Ayurvedic Massage for the Mind</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;After a 14 hour drive to PA last Thursday, three days of training, and a similar drive ahead of me, I decided to indulge in an Ayurvedia massage and Shirodhara treatment. While massage is pretty mainstream nowadays (for good reason!), Shirodhara is less familiar.&amp;nbsp; Shirodhara is it’s own experience, but following a massage, it makes the experience complete. It is a massage for the brain.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;0&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; class=&quot;tr-caption-container&quot; style=&quot;float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;&quot;&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;
409. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sHRdeAhrXTU/ToNcb-tuHII/AAAAAAAAADg/oDGk9dJbR88/s1600/Shirodhara2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sHRdeAhrXTU/ToNcb-tuHII/AAAAAAAAADg/oDGk9dJbR88/s320/Shirodhara2.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
410. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is not me. But, the treatment looks<br />
411. like this.</td></tr>
412. </tbody></table><div style="font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I had an amazing, vatta-balancing massage and ended on my back. Neema (my intuitive Ayurvedic therapist, and co-student at my training this weekend) covered my eyes with cotton. My head tipped slightly back, she positioned a pot of warm oil several inches above my forehead, the spigot aimed at the hairline. With a word to ready me, she opened the spigot, and warm oil began to flow, touching down, then flowing toward the back of my head and into a pan.</span></div><div style="font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br />
413. <span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">While the oil was warm, and only touching one spot, my whole body sprang into alertness. After a few breaths it calmed, and after a bit, Neema slowly moved the stream to first contact the center of my forehead. Then she sat quietly by my head.</span></div><div style="font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I’d like to say that I immediately went into a deep state of bliss, but that wouldn’t be true.  Although I’ve had this treatment once or twice before, it’s still fairly new, and my mind stayed active for awhile. “What should I be thinking about? Should I be more relaxed? Should I be meditating right now? If I leave right after lunch, I’ll get home about....2:00am?  What <i>is</i> for lunch?  Is Neema meditating? How big is this pot of oil?”</span></div><div style="font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Thankfully, it was a big pot. Gradually, my mind slowed to match my heavily relaxed body, and all the sensation, all the focus and energy, gradually </span>gathered<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> at the tiny point where the oil met my forehead.</span></div><div style="font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">That spot, the center of the forehead, or third eye, was abuzz. I think I have a pretty active third eye (judging by the way people are looking at me sometimes I think it must be glowing), so it jumped to the ready for this treatment. The rest melted away, and all the hype was right in that one spot.</span></div><div style="font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">After a good 30 minutes, the oil drained. As the last drops touched down and the stream ended, I felt a literal sucking sensation, from the ends of my hands and feet, right to that third eye and out. I’m a great visualizer, so I envisioned that all my bad habits, limitations and samskaras were being sucked right out of me. I’m sure that was true, as now I find I am perfect in every way. Hmmm.</span></div><div style="font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Neema took some time to massage the oil into my scalp, wipe away the excess, and sent me off into a steam room for a final cooking. After 20 minutes I emerged, exfoliated and showered, ready for a sattvic lunch and a 14 hour drive. Which, amazingly, ended up being only 12 hours. I’m certain it was my newly-honed mental focus that allowed me to cut through any traffic and obstacles and get me safely home, in bed, by 1:00am. </span></div><div style="font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
414. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;If you&#39;d like to know more about Shirodhara, here is an i&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.massagemag.com/spa/treatment/shirodhara.php&quot;&gt;nteresting link&lt;/a&gt;. &amp;nbsp;And, if you think you&#39;d like to try it, there are practitioners closer than Pennsylvania. One,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://monicayearwood.com/&quot;&gt;Monica Yearwood&lt;/a&gt;, an Ayurvedic therapist that has presented at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.focusyogastudio.com/&quot;&gt;Focus Yoga&lt;/a&gt;, practices in Chicago.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/3222941102955482998/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/09/ayurvedic-massage-for-mind.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/3222941102955482998'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/3222941102955482998'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/09/ayurvedic-massage-for-mind.html' title='An Ayurvedic Massage for the Mind'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sHRdeAhrXTU/ToNcb-tuHII/AAAAAAAAADg/oDGk9dJbR88/s72-c/Shirodhara2.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-171726475246539859</id><published>2011-09-06T14:58:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-09-06T15:00:04.924-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Aparigraha and Bugs</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;This weekend found us at our farm with another family. They also have two girls, the oldest of which is in the same grade and school as our oldest. The mother informed me of some homework the girls had in science; they were to find three bugs, pop them in a jar with a cotton ball soaked in nail-polish remover, and then stick them with a pin onto a foam diorama, making a display of the bugs depicting them in a “natural habitat.”&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;The other mom and I are good friends, and kindred spirits in following a spiritual path. It didn’t take much discussion to discover we were both a little torn. The idea of the girls tossing a living thing into a stinky jar to asphyxiate it didn’t settle right, even if it was “just” a bug.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;But, let’s be honest. I’ve thoughtlessly smashed quite a number of bugs in my day. Wasn’t it a little hypocritical to suddenly take the high road now? And...we were at the farm, probably the best location in the world to find bugs, both indoors and out. Finding three bugs each would be the easiest homework they’d have all year.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;That much was true...within minutes they had two bugs each, and without even leaving the dining room. Given that the critters were in “our” space, it just didn’t feel that evil to plop them in the jar.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Wanting the girls to also find some bugs in nature, I led them outdoors to the tall grass around the ponds. We crawled around, and suddenly came upon a crowd of crickets. We grabbed up several, quickly surpassing the required three bugs, and viola! Mission accomplished.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;But, hanging around the pond in the sunshine felt so good that we took our time heading back to the house with our bugs, and that’s when it happened. In the very tall grass right next to the pond, I saw him.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“Eva! Look at this!”&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;This was it...our triple A+, eye-popping, celebrity-ensuring, cherry on the cupcake find. The most gorgeous spider in the world. An inch and a half from the tip of one long, thin black leg to the next, with a very large, bulbous black body highlighted in bright, lemon yellow spots. Spread out in the center of a huge web woven in the grass. Amazing.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“I want it!!” Eva said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NTsIKqtLZ1M/TmaW1neygwI/AAAAAAAAADY/3VI1l4D-dhU/s1600/spider.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;212&quot; src=&quot;http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NTsIKqtLZ1M/TmaW1neygwI/AAAAAAAAADY/3VI1l4D-dhU/s320/spider.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“It’s wonderful!” I said. “You’d get an A for sure!”&lt;br /&gt;
415. </span><br />
416. <span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
417. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Then, my friend spoke up. “But Eva, you already have your three bugs. He’s so beautiful. Don’t you think we should just leave him?”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Silence. Damn. Damn. I knew she was right. But, he was so gorgeous. Wouldn’t that be the insect to bring into school!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“But I want him!” Eva said again. She came forward with her jar. “He is so cool!”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“Eva, I think she’s right,” I said. “We already have all the bugs we need. Why don’t we leave him here?”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Eva countered, I did also, and after a couple of rounds we sat there, just looking at him, so still in his web.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“Maybe he’s dead,” I mused. “If he’s dead, then it would be okay to take him.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“Yeah!” Eva said. “He’s so still! I bet he’s dead.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;We moved forward with a little stick. As we got closer, we both saw a leg move. Damn.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;We sat there a little longer, debating this spider’s life vs. my daughter’s potential coup. Then it happened. Quick as a flash, instead of a spider sitting alone in it’s net, there was a spider holding a bit, fat fly.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“Did you see that?!” I cried. “He just caught a fly!”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“Cool!” Eva said. It sat very still, but, having read &lt;i&gt;Charlotte’s Web&lt;/i&gt; several times, I believe that at that moment, it was slowly sucking the blood out of the fly.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;The plot thickened. Since the blood-sucking spider clearly wasn’t following ahimsa (non-violence), did that maybe let us off the hook? After witnessing this viscous display, maybe it was okay to let it have it’s last meal, then toss it into the stinky jar?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Fat chance. I knew killing for survival and killing for an A were not the same thing. But, Eva clearly wanted the spider, so I had to try another line of logic. Eva had told me once that she liked the philosophy of Taoism.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Now, other than every so often reading a few pages of the Tao Te Ching, I know nothing about the concepts of Taoism. Maybe Lao Tsu’s home was lined with little bugs, impaled with stick pins onto painted replicas of “natural habitats.” But, I really doubted it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“Eva, don’t you think that Taoism frowns on killing that beautiful spider?” I asked.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“Mom!” she rolled her eyes. “That’s not what Taoism is about!”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“What’s it about?”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“It’s about loving and appreciating nature and animals and stuff!”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“Well, doesn’t loving and appreciating this spider mean not killing it and sticking it with a pin?”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“No, it doesn’t.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;We both knew that neither one of us knew enough about Taoism to score any points. But, there was one thing I did know.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“Eva, sometimes following the high road on our spiritual journey means making difficult decisions.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“What’s ‘the high road’ mean?”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“It means doing the right thing, even if we don’t get the A, or impress other people. It’s following our spiritual principles, even if that means giving up something we really want.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Just then, in a flash, there was another flurry of action. Suddenly the fly was completely wrapped in white.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“Ooooh!” we both said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;We sat quietly for a minute longer, watching the spider finish the process of creating his meal. “You know,” I said. “If you had killed the spider, we would have never seen this.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“I know,” Eva agreed.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;I looked at the big, beautiful spider, in the sunlight, enjoying a meal in the high grass on the banks of the pond. That would be the coolest thing in the world to bring to school. And the saddest.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“Eva, do whatever you want to do. I have to go in to make lunch,” I said as I got up.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;I went inside and as I worked I looked out the window at Eva still sitting in the grass, watching the spider. A couple minutes later she came inside.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“Did you get it?” her friend asked her.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;“No,” she said. “If it was already dead, I would have taken it. But, I didn’t want to kill it.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Now, I wish I confidently led her in the morally right direction, but truthfully, a part of me wanted her to plop that spider in the jar. It would have been amazing to share. The farm has so many truly beautiful bugs; dragonflies, beetles, grasshoppers. We could have created a kick-butt diorama. That spider would have been so impressive.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;It was a little unnerving. After all, if I was truthfully following the “spiritual path,” with the “spiritual principles” that I held up so righteously to Eva, I wouldn’t have thought for one minute of harming that spider, right? If I were really successful with my practice, wouldn’t the greed of wanting to impress, at the expense of a life, have never existed? Is practicing aparigraha (non-greed) not feeling greedy...or feeling greed but not following through?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;The answer is, aparigraha means not feeling greed. It’s the feeling as well as the action. Clearly, we made the right decision for us. However, I needed to talk both Eva, and myself, into it. My friend never had a moment’s hesitation about what was right, and I admire her for it. Perhaps as I continue practicing, I will flow into such clarity.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;But, I also have no doubts that if this day had happened 10 years ago, that spider would be stuck onto foamcore right now. There has been progress.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;We will find ourselves struggling with decisions, and hopefully make the right choices, many times. Each small decision can be a small triumph in our practice. “Practice” does not mean perfect. It means needing to think, over and over, until it becomes second nature. And, if we need to consider or even struggle with each decision, instead of automatically doing the right thing, so be it for now. Over time the rough edges of effort will smooth into ease, and there will be no choices. We won’t need to think.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/171726475246539859/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/09/aparigraha-and-bugs.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/171726475246539859'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/171726475246539859'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/09/aparigraha-and-bugs.html' title='Aparigraha and Bugs'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NTsIKqtLZ1M/TmaW1neygwI/AAAAAAAAADY/3VI1l4D-dhU/s72-c/spider.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-3576405253535896922</id><published>2011-08-08T15:50:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-08-08T15:55:55.567-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Tapas and Pulling Weeds</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;This morning I finally went to my backyard to pull weeds from the vegetable garden. It really isn’t a vegetable garden anymore, as I’ve &amp;nbsp;let it go this year. My focus has been in other directions, and the garden had become a jungle. Weeds were, and I’m not kidding, at least 4 feet high. I feel empathy for the neighbors who have been watching it get to this state over the past couple of months, as I certainly haven’t.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v6C24i1TJIg/TkBnsx1yAoI/AAAAAAAAADQ/52o7uTnkPsg/s1600/pulling+weeds.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;211&quot; src=&quot;http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v6C24i1TJIg/TkBnsx1yAoI/AAAAAAAAADQ/52o7uTnkPsg/s320/pulling+weeds.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Anyway, it didn’t get like this overnight, and it was going to take some hot, sweaty, and itchy work to find what few plants I have still growing between the weeds. As I started pulling, I was trying to find some sort of lesson in the mess (cause I do that).&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Finding the lesson really was fairly easy. Most of us have aspirations of living in a healthy, balanced way. At some point we make a plan, and begin to follow it. &lt;i&gt;This is my garden at the beginning of the summer, weeded, mulched, with seeds planted.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;We do well for a while, then, something happens. Perhaps we’ve eliminated coffee (I raise my hand) and have a particularly tough day. We treat ourselves to a cup. (I raise my hand.) &lt;i&gt;A few weeds pop up in the garden, and nobody is looking.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;That cup tastes so good. The next time we feel a little sluggish or cranky, we think about that cup of coffee again. &amp;nbsp;&lt;i&gt;The weeds begin to gain height and strength, and several more begin to take root.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;But once we’ve opened the door of opportunity a little bit, these habits get a toe hold in and slowly, when our back is turned, inch the door open wider. While an occasional treat of anything is generally fine, it’s when the occasional becomes habitual that we lose ground. &lt;i&gt;Soon the weeds become a ground cover...where is the garden?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Our best intentions often go this way. We sincerely want a healthy life (&lt;i&gt;clean garden&lt;/i&gt;) and know how to create it. What is missing?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;In yoga we call the missing ingredient &quot;tapas&quot;. The translation from Sanskrit is “heat”. In yoga is it used to describe the focused effort and self-discipline of the yogi on the spiritual path. But the connection to heat is very important.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;First, it is important to remember that nowhere in any yogic texts is it implied that the practice of yoga is easy. In fact, the very difficulty, the very effort, creates a sort of friction. The friction is created between our cravings and goals, our desires and the higher path, our attachments and our inner knowledge. When we are working with a deep desire or attachment, and trying to follow the right path, that friction we feel creates heat. That is the heat of tapas.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eac6renmrTE/TkBn92f0c_I/AAAAAAAAADU/6G3kl-lJEE0/s1600/Vegetable+garden.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;152&quot; src=&quot;http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eac6renmrTE/TkBn92f0c_I/AAAAAAAAADU/6G3kl-lJEE0/s200/Vegetable+garden.jpg&quot; width=&quot;200&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Heat creates transformation. Heat transforms our food, allows us to change the shape of metal, and rejuvenates landscapes (think forest fires as a natural occurrence). The heat created by our efforts is what transforms us.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Given this, we should not feel discouraged when we have trouble in creating change in our lives. We should allow ourselves to feel the effort, the discomfort. Back off and give in, and the heat of transformation dissipates.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
418. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;Tapas is a good thing. It needs to be created and cultivated, &lt;i&gt;like my garden&lt;/i&gt;. It needs to maintained through constant applied effort, &lt;i&gt;like regular weeding&lt;/i&gt;. With regular effort, the weeds may pop through from time to time, but will never again take over the original plan,&lt;i&gt; a clean, productive garden&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;I created a little heat this morning bringing the mayhem back in order. In retrospect, perhaps the heat of a blowtorch would have been useful. Sigh.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/3576405253535896922/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/08/tapas-and-pulling-weeds.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/3576405253535896922'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/3576405253535896922'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/08/tapas-and-pulling-weeds.html' title='Tapas and Pulling Weeds'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v6C24i1TJIg/TkBnsx1yAoI/AAAAAAAAADQ/52o7uTnkPsg/s72-c/pulling+weeds.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-1518245508280482213</id><published>2011-07-25T08:49:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-07-25T08:49:03.971-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Studying at the Ashram</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pPlRDDPFAgM/Ti2N_JW_UvI/AAAAAAAAADA/N2QdaeviSbA/s1600/HI+waterfall.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; src=&quot;http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pPlRDDPFAgM/Ti2N_JW_UvI/AAAAAAAAADA/N2QdaeviSbA/s200/HI+waterfall.jpg&quot; width=&quot;150&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;While in the strictest sense, the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, Pennsylvania may not fulfill the strict definition of &quot;ashram&quot; (a Hindu religious retreat), many of the visitors, teachers and residents here refer to HI as &quot;the ashram&quot;. It is a spiritually charged community of learning for students of all religions, backgrounds and experiences, and I feel fortunate to have the opportunity and ability to drive 14 hours into the rolling Pocono Mountains to spend several days studying yoga and Ayurveda here.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;HI is housed in a sprawling, brick building that used to be a seminary. Long halls are lined with small, simple rooms for guests. The spareness is so refreshing, coming from a home with a clutter table in the kitchen, books strewn about, all the messiness of an active family.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;I’ve arrived on the hottest weekend of the year; of several years, actually. There is no air conditioning, except in the coffee/tea shop (yes, there is a coffee shop, and it’s a pretty hopping place). Each room has a fan, but the heat becomes oppressive in the rooms at night. I spoke with a woman this morning who suffered an anxiety attack in the stuffiness and almost packed up and left in the middle of the night. Luckily, the heat is more bearable today.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bHMakmmq3s8/Ti2OIyEkAqI/AAAAAAAAADE/HEogMByEpuA/s1600/HI+hill.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;150&quot; src=&quot;http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bHMakmmq3s8/Ti2OIyEkAqI/AAAAAAAAADE/HEogMByEpuA/s200/HI+hill.jpg&quot; width=&quot;200&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;This particular ashram is located on abut 400 acres of beautiful fields and woods. On the property is an old dairy barn that now houses an herbal lab, an art/production studio (Hi publishes many books and publications, including &lt;i&gt;Yoga International&lt;/i&gt;), and a warehouse. There is an organic vegetable garden as well as an herb garden, where medicinal herbs are grown. There are several houses where residents and families live.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;In July, even in the heat, the outdoors here is energizing, full of Prana. Coming from the flatness of Illinois, one of my highlights was hiking through the woods to the waterfall. It was the most enjoyable cardiovascular thing I have done in a long time. While it takes great physical effort to walk the path on such a steep incline and decline (think staircase steep), the mental effort is practically nil; just put one foot in front of the other. No need to work harder; the incline gives you the effort.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;Sattva is a quality of peaceful, balanced energy. It is focused. It is conducive to a healthy body and mind, and creates the optimal quality for meditation. The entire 400 acres, the space inside and out, is sattvic in quality.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8C5mhlytgf0/Ti2OQmaVuBI/AAAAAAAAADI/RNZbFVhjogk/s1600/HI+herb+garden.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; src=&quot;http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8C5mhlytgf0/Ti2OQmaVuBI/AAAAAAAAADI/RNZbFVhjogk/s200/HI+herb+garden.jpg&quot; width=&quot;150&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;The food is vegetarian, much from the gardens, very simple, chanted over by the cook staff, and designed to be sattvic as well. Oatmeal and fruit for breakfast (maybe my favorite, tofu scramble, yum!), rice, beans, vegetables for lunch and dinner, with non-heating spices. Salads and fruit. I have heard some comments that it’s a little repetitious.&amp;nbsp; I won’t really argue. But, I’m never left hungry, and have no cravings, (except for a chai tea from the cafe, which is delicious). I feel satisfied.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;One can be as social, or non-social, as you’d like; there is no judgement. There are hours of observed silence, and a table observing silence in the dining room. After evening classes and prayers, things become amazingly quiet.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;I am here for a training; Yoga Ayurveda Specialist. Although we meet morning, afternoon, and evening for class, there are spaces of time. The 7 1/2 hours of learning does not encroach on that. Naturally, having meals prepared, and no real work other than to learn makes that easier.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;Today, we participated in a Vedic fire ceremony, an offering to the transformative powers of fire, dedicated to the healing of our planet. Sandra Anderson began the chant as eight participants sat around the burning pit, (the rest of the group farther back awaiting their turn,) and at her cue tossed gifts of “food” into the fire. We rotated in at intervals. I listened to her chant on and on in sanskrit. There seemed to be no repetition in lines, and I was amazed she could memorize so much. As I rotated in closer to the pit, I saw she had a binder with pages in front of her. I thought “Well, that explains it!” and this made sense until I was just about to take my turn. I was close enough to see that the entire text was in the sanskrit alphabet, beautiful to look at, but as legible to my eye as a decorative wallpaper border. Sandy chanted for about an hour from this text.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hnOMSiZk8uY/Ti2OY6WwrbI/AAAAAAAAADM/kvmjD1oreyk/s1600/HI+barn.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;150&quot; src=&quot;http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hnOMSiZk8uY/Ti2OY6WwrbI/AAAAAAAAADM/kvmjD1oreyk/s200/HI+barn.jpg&quot; width=&quot;200&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;It’s so easy to feel balanced and healthy in mind and body in this environment. There is none of the opulence and luxury you may find in a spa. Your feet feel firmly grounded in the earth. You feel cared for, but never pampered. The temptation to give into, well, temptation, just isn’t there; as a spiritual seeker you are supported on all levels.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;I have visited here twice so far and each time feel the unloading of stresses, self-judgement, and mind-clutter that a good yoga class will provide, except on a prolonged and larger scale. And, of course, when I leave tomorrow, I will be heading back to many of the stresses, judgements and clutter that provide the challenges that we, as householder yogis, struggle with. The ashram teaches us skills then sends us home to practice, and maybe share these skills in the larger world. I have 14 hours on the road to look forward to, to integrate and revisit the ideas my teachers have been so generous to share. Then the work begins.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/1518245508280482213/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/07/studying-at-ashram.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/1518245508280482213'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/1518245508280482213'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/07/studying-at-ashram.html' title='Studying at the Ashram'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pPlRDDPFAgM/Ti2N_JW_UvI/AAAAAAAAADA/N2QdaeviSbA/s72-c/HI+waterfall.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-1677687532610889797</id><published>2011-07-18T09:24:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-07-18T09:24:01.023-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Creating the Yoga Habit: one Focus Yoga student’s 30-day challenge</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Samskaras are basically habits. The idea is this: once we begin a behavior, and repeat it over time, a groove begins to form in our psyche, much like a trickle of water running down the face of a rock. Naturally, as the groove appears, the water will continue to flow down that same path, because it’s much easier than breaking out of that path. And, of course, the groove continues to deepen.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;That is a samskara. Samskaras can be positive or negative. We can probably all list some of our negative samskaras. A sugary dessert after every meal, a cocktail upon arriving home after work each day, even snapping at others when irritable or reacting with anger to setbacks; these are negative samskaras.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Now, I know it’s hard to begin to flow out of these well-worn grooves. Sometimes it’s easiest to focus instead of creating new grooves, new paths in which you can begin to flow.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Last month, one of our students at Focus Yoga, Mary Parra, informed me that she was giving herself a 30-day challenge: coming to yoga class each day for 30 days. Since this is such a powerful time of year for creating better habits (longer, warmer days give us more opportunities to exercise, and more fresh, healthy food is available to clean up our diets), I thought I’d check out how well she did and share!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
419. &lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wROdC5MR9C0/TgHbfXv4zVI/AAAAAAAAACE/xUbHc4ltjLI/s1600/Mary+Parra.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; src=&quot;http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wROdC5MR9C0/TgHbfXv4zVI/AAAAAAAAACE/xUbHc4ltjLI/s200/Mary+Parra.jpg&quot; width=&quot;160&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Judi: What inspired you to create a 30 day challenge for yourself?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Mary: I started coming to the studio in April with a 10-day pass. Once I used it up in May, I bought a 30 day unlimited pass, and decided to challenge myself to take class every day for 30 days in order to really get my money’s worth. I also felt like I needed a deeper immersion into my yoga practice. I work in real estate, which is very stressful, and I feel my heart has really hardened through this business.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;J: Did your challenge help you feel better mentally?&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;M: I hadn’t really been consistent in my practice up to that point, and I started feeling better quickly. As the days went by, I stopped reacting negatively to things, I started feeling calmer and more relaxed.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;I began dedicating myself to being happy where I am. This was an idea I picked up in class. Because of my business right now, I feel like everything is a struggle. I’m working on just being happy in the moment I’m in.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;As the 30 days went by, I also stopped having my daily glass of wine. My body just told me not to drink. Sometimes after a stressful day at work I used to say, “I’m going home to have a glass of wine,” and I would. Now, I have no desire.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;J: How do you feel physically?&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;M: I haven’t met my goals yet physically; I’m still struggling to get into the poses. But, I’m working on relaxing and really focusing on alignment. I had a very sore ankle at one point, and by bringing attention to proper alignment, it just went away.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;However, I definitely feel stronger, especially my legs. My shoulders were tight, and now they are much looser. And, I’ve had some recent classes where I’ve really felt that “mind/body” connection.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;J: Did you have any challenges in making it to the studio each day for 30 days?&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;M: Sometimes work could get in the way. Toward the end of my 30 days, I had one day where I had to be in Orland for work, and just couldn’t make it into class. That motivated me to begin to develop a home practice. I bought some recommended books and began to read them. Now, in addition to coming to the studio most days, I try to devote some time at home to meditation, and a few poses, even just 15 minutes. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;J: Did you ever feel like you were neglecting other things in your life as you made more time for yoga?&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;M: Never. I’m very disciplined. In my life I’ve always been willing to follow through on the things I like and that benefit me. If after the 30 days, I didn’t like the practice, I would have stopped. But I’m still coming and practicing.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;J: We’re glad you love it! Just what is it that makes you passionate about yoga?&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;M: I love the being in that mental flow, that “zone”. I was training for a marathon last year, and I like that being in that zone when I run. But, I think the benefits are better for me in yoga. Running makes me tighter. Yoga is much less stress on my body. I listen carefully to how the instructor cues things, and I’m finding I can get into the poses just by listening to the words now. That really helps me stay in the flow.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;J: So even though your “challenge” is completed, I still see you at the studio all the time!&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;M: I used to practice at a gym, but I like the relaxed, soothing atmosphere at the studio. There are no mirrors to distract me.&amp;nbsp; And, I’ve taken class with most of the instructors, and I like them all!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Okay, yes I included that last quote as a shameless plug for Focus Yoga! But, creating new habits is easiest if they are pleasant and enjoyable, and finding recourses, such as a great teacher, environment or friends to support you can make the challenge of digging those new “grooves” easier.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Congrats to Mary and to everyone who has worked hard to develop new, healthy lifestyle habits!&amp;nbsp; I totally understand what a challenge it is. But, I know for certain: yoga is a powerful tool for transforming, for creating a vibrant, healthy life.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12px Helvetica; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/1677687532610889797/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/06/creating-yoga-habit-one-focus-yoga.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/1677687532610889797'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/1677687532610889797'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/06/creating-yoga-habit-one-focus-yoga.html' title='Creating the Yoga Habit: one Focus Yoga student’s 30-day challenge'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wROdC5MR9C0/TgHbfXv4zVI/AAAAAAAAACE/xUbHc4ltjLI/s72-c/Mary+Parra.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-1547805992090121094</id><published>2011-07-11T11:14:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-07-11T11:19:24.849-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Breaking up with Joe</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xnRXtrTWKuo/Ths9N74xHwI/AAAAAAAAACc/-07TCnIeCyc/s1600/coffee+lover+sm.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;196&quot; src=&quot;http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xnRXtrTWKuo/Ths9N74xHwI/AAAAAAAAACc/-07TCnIeCyc/s200/coffee+lover+sm.jpg&quot; width=&quot;200&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Now, I’m not a coffee addict. Of course not. Let’s just say I adore coffee. I take my affection for coffee back to when my two girls were very young. They were challenging and energetic, and it was such a peaceful break to be in the car, pick up a carry-out latte, and drive about peacefully while they were safely strapped in their car seats in the back...all of us content at once. Pretty rare in those days.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Now that they are older, a fresh poured mug with half-and-half (not two-percent! Ick!) still makes me sigh with contentment. Even though those first few lattes after childbirth gave me a pleasant little caffeine kick, I never viewed the caffeine as the real draw. It didn’t seem to affect me much. Caffeine jitters were for amateurs. I could down a pot at night and sleep peacefully right afterward.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;But, although I always said that I’d rather give up any vice, any pleasure than give up my coffee, I began to get the sense that coffee was getting in the way of pleasure. On a mental level, I found myself really needed that cup of joe to be able to focus on my work. Just about every activity, driving, chatting with friends, writing, was better with a cup of coffee in hand.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;And, physically, I began to suspect that my diet, while not bad by typical American standards, but be just a tad too acidic. While not all of these things are on my frequent menu, items such as wheat flour, sugar, meat, alcohol, processed foods and, yes, coffee, leave an acidic residue in the body. This lowers our overall body ph. Many typical items fall onto the acidic list, and if consumed regularly can leave us vulnerable to headaches, lethargy, frequent infections, joint and muscle pain, skin and digestive conditions, anxiety, and more.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;I didn’t have most of these symptoms, so why was I concerned? I had some neck tension that was beginning to lead to periodic headaches. I had tension in my upper back. I frequently had restless legs, some joint pain, and every so often, leg cramps.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;I’m not a doctor, but it just felt like an imbalance in my chemistry. I ordered some ph strips online. These can test either saliva or urine. I took several tests to be certain, but over and over, I fell into the “acidic” and sometimes the “highly acidic” category.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Well. That was the final step to convincing me. I had been trying to cut back on coffee, but I felt like a total coffee detox was in order.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;So while I was ready to enter the race, what finally got me out of the gate was a chance visit to a small health food store.. There, on the shelves, was a can of a product called Cafix. A blend of barley, chicory, and fig, it describes itself as a “hot beverage”, and a substitute for coffee.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;I had read about chicory. Chicory is a tall plant with deep roots, and while many parts of it are edible and used as an herb, the roots have frequently been roasted and used as a substitute for coffee when coffee was scarce. It is added frequently to coffee blends (think New Orleans style coffee).&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;I picked up a can and began my coffee “detox”. Cafix was just fine. It tasted like instant coffee to me. It has a heavier, thicker feel, perhaps a bit more bitter. A shake of cinnamon and some milk softened it and it hit the spot fine in the morning.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;But while the mind was content with my solution, the body of course did not agree. The first day was fine. The second I began to get headachy, with flu-like symptoms. I had a cup of coffee. After that, when the headaches began, I popped an aspirin. I wasn’t trying to be a hero, after all, just coffee free. The next few days the muscle and bones aches began. I took another aspirin. When I awoke in the middle of the night with low back pain so bad I couldn’t sleep, I took a couple more.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;After about a week, the symptoms went away.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;It has been about a month now since my daily coffee habit ended. I am not saying never to a cup of coffee, but I never want to “love” it so much (not addicted, remember) that I need to go through those symptoms again if I don’t have it. I want it to be &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;&quot;&gt;my&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt; choice when to enjoy a steaming cup.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;And, remember that my ph was the motivation for this detox to begin with. And in the a month of watching my diet closer and cutting out coffee, I am still acidic. I had a couple lovely moments where I tested in the “optimal” range, and I practically did a dance and taped the strips to the bathroom mirror for all to admire. But, the next day I was testing acidic again. Darn.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;So, I am still working on it. But, in my mind, a big step has been made. I think my daily wake-up beverage will be my cup of chicory. In addition to replacing nasty acidic coffee, knocking back some chicory is believed to have benefits, from cleansing the blood, to improving liver health. I’ll raise my mug to that.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/1547805992090121094/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/07/breaking-up-with-joe.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/1547805992090121094'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/1547805992090121094'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/07/breaking-up-with-joe.html' title='Breaking up with Joe'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xnRXtrTWKuo/Ths9N74xHwI/AAAAAAAAACc/-07TCnIeCyc/s72-c/coffee+lover+sm.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-5116559321791820945</id><published>2011-07-01T07:25:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-07-01T07:27:29.814-07:00</updated><title type='text'>The Maggie Mind</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;Yesterday was our first horse show of the year. It was a long one, had its ups and downs, and for a while, mostly downs. As I dragged myself toward bed last night, a thought occurred to me and from now on whenever my mind can’t be quieted, or it heads down paths I don’t prefer, I’m going to call it my “Maggie Mind.”&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;For the past several years we have owned a big, black Tennessee Walker named Mack. Mack is mature, and last year calmly and patiently led my two girls, Eva and Sylvia, through their first season of 4-H fairs and horse shows.&amp;nbsp; But, volleying one horse between two girls was tough, so this year when I had an opportunity to borrow a second horse for my daughter Sylvia, I took it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lBioKWY67n0/Tg3U7fneYjI/AAAAAAAAACU/EneCvvEAFFA/s1600/Maggie.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lBioKWY67n0/Tg3U7fneYjI/AAAAAAAAACU/EneCvvEAFFA/s320/Maggie.jpg&quot; width=&quot;239&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Maggie is also mature, and while she matches Mack’s quick stride and long gaits, she is a very different horse. Maggie is gentle, but insecure. She enjoys her work, but she needs something to attach to help her through uncomfortable situations.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;In the pasture, that security blanket is the leader horse. Horses run in herds, and&amp;nbsp; in a herd there is one horse in charge. The other horses understand this, and are comfortable with it. They feel secure. Maggie has been happy to let Mack be her leader.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;However, in the saddle, the rider should become the leader. Remember, horses want to know someone is in charge. A good rider helps them feel secure as they go into new situations.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;After a handful of rides this spring, we had an opportunity to enter a small, casual local show. While we knew Sylvia and Maggie were still getting to know one another, we decided to enter for experience.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Any concerns I had were justified right from the start. The first class was a pattern each horse and rider performs solo. Maggie could not let Mack and Eva out of her sight. She pawed and hopped whenever they were separated.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;In the next class, Mack and Maggie were able to be together in the ring, and Maggie took full advantage. She glued herself to Mack. Sylvia didn’t have the courage to separate Maggie from Mack. Although they looked like siamese twins, they performed fairly well.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Things went downhill from there. Maggie’s quick lope became way too fast in the next class, earned her the label “runaway horse” and she and Sylvia were unceremoniously (but kindly) ejected from the ring. The next class required the horses to perform a short solo pattern, and Maggie just couldn’t keep her mind on her work unless she was right next to Mack. She misbehaved through that class as well.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Watching my daughter bravely struggle in the ring, I hatched a plan. We’d scratch the next class, and I’d take Maggie out for a little ride, a little talk. My exhausted daughter gladly handed me the reins as she exited the ring.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;I lengthened the stirrups and took a deep breath. I was nervous knowing what I’d have to do and what Maggie’s reaction would be, but I was also a little mad. And, a little “mad” can be good. Not reactive, impatient anger, but more like the “oh for heaven’s sake, Maggie!” type of anger that lets us know enough is enough, and it’s time for change.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;As anticipated, Maggie resisted leaving Mack’s side. We put on a little show as we worked our way up the drive away from the ring. I turned Maggie in the direction we were to go, she resisted. I firmly turned her nose back, she reared and backed up. I drew her into a tight circle a few times to get her attention and tried again. She’d give in that time, only to challenge me again later. And again, and again.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;I spent a good 40 minutes riding Maggie around the ranch, patiently going through the same process over and over. I praised her when she did well, quickly corrected her to keep her on course the moment she challenged my leadership. And then, something gave. It was as though suddenly, she was satisfied. I could be her leader. She could function without Mack. She became calm and willing.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Our uncontrolled mind is very much like our friend Maggie. It is insecure, latching onto things to keep it occupied, to make it feel busy and safe. Sometimes it even runs away with us. But, the direction may not be the way we, as meditators and yoga practitioners, want to go.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Sometimes the uncontrolled “Maggie” mind defaults to habitual thought patterns, or “samskaras” that are unhealthy. Worrying, complaining, ruminating, and judging all are easy activities for our minds, but they do not head us down the correct path.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;The controlled mind is the horseman. It needs to firmly direct the Maggie mind, correcting it, keeping her nose directed down the proper road. In meditation, the moment the uncontrolled mind begins to take over, the meditator exercises and strengthens the controlled mind, encouraging the mind as a whole to stay on a smooth, quiet path.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;In horsemanship the rider needs to be strong, and in yoga and meditation our work is to strengthen our mind control. As an older rider, I have more experience, and have developed patience and gentler hand as well. My daughter, at 10, is still learning these things. Most of us are new to our meditation practice, and our Maggie mind is strong. But we can be patient and firm as we strengthen our riding skills, or controlled mind.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OGIx2G6LQqk/Tg3Yl9ZBG2I/AAAAAAAAACY/VxcpdnPygf0/s1600/Maggie+and+Mack.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; src=&quot;http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OGIx2G6LQqk/Tg3Yl9ZBG2I/AAAAAAAAACY/VxcpdnPygf0/s200/Maggie+and+Mack.jpg&quot; width=&quot;165&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;We can evoke this image as we meditate. Focusing on the breath; picture the breath as your path. As your mind begins to wander, imagine it as a horse choosing another direction, the way it is comfortable and secure. Evoke your firm and patient “horseman” to draw your mind back to the breath, the path. Be kind, your mind is unsure, and may be nervous of this quietness. Be patient, as it will take practice for your controlled mind to begin to strengthen.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Although Maggie still presented challenges as the show continued, Sylvia’s experience improved and she began to have fun. Maggie sometimes turned left when Sylvia cued her right, but Sylvia patiently brought her back to the right path. The high point was the crepe paper game, a team event where two horses and riders rode side-by-side around the arena holding a short length of crepe paper between them, closely and synchronized so the paper would not rip. Yes, not surprisingly, my girls and their horses finally won their ribbon.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/5116559321791820945/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/07/maggie-mind.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/5116559321791820945'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/5116559321791820945'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/07/maggie-mind.html' title='The Maggie Mind'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lBioKWY67n0/Tg3U7fneYjI/AAAAAAAAACU/EneCvvEAFFA/s72-c/Maggie.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-393767148255699230</id><published>2011-06-06T12:29:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2011-06-06T12:29:58.556-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Abundance</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;The change of season and change of routine left me feeling depleted by the end of this past week. Summer, my favorite season, stretches ahead, yet I was feeling cranky and stretched way too thin.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;No rhythm has yet to arrive in the new days. The sun rises so much earlier now, and the days have lengthened. But instead of feeling more organized and calm with this gift of longer days, I feel chaotic and overwhelmed.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Suddenly, I feel more pressure. I think about my promises to add in a run, practice yoga outdoors, eat lighter fresher meals. I think about them as I plant my garden, mow the rapidly growing lawn, and organize summer schedules. As I pack up the last cold-weather clothing, sort and clean the light summer garb. As I clean winter grimy windows, porch furniture, and the Weber.&amp;nbsp; As I try to adapt my thinking, cooking, and shopping list to new, seasonal foods.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Transformation is hard. Effort must be applied. Even a transformation you’ve looked forward to, like moving into a lush, prana-filled late spring/early summer, can take effort. There is so much I want to do to take advantage of this wonderful season, to take advantage of the strong energy to create real change.&amp;nbsp; I know the change I want. But really, what is the change I need?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jLidYbeIA44/Te0qfGkCkXI/AAAAAAAAACA/zwpyxjDvKCI/s1600/gardening+1.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jLidYbeIA44/Te0qfGkCkXI/AAAAAAAAACA/zwpyxjDvKCI/s320/gardening+1.jpg&quot; width=&quot;239&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;After spending a morning in my garden my perspective becomes a little healthier. Digging long rows for beans and corn, I ran into plenty of fat worms and bugs. A whole other world, oblivious to me and my to-do lists and goals, exists beneath my feet. Witnessing this world brings some perspective to my all-important ego. Maybe my plans and goals for the season are not so important. Maybe I need to take a deep breath and let the new season flow into my life at a slower pace.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Patience is required for transformation. My goals for the season and for my life are like the seeds I’m planting in my garden. It will be days, even a couple of weeks, before these seeds I’ve planted germinate and seedlings planted really take off. It will be weeks before this flat, hay-mulched square of land begins to take on color, and a couple of months before I really harvest anything. I need to give all these things, from my new routines to my seeds, the proper time. Then there will be abundance.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/393767148255699230/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/06/abundance.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/393767148255699230'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/393767148255699230'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/06/abundance.html' title='Abundance'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jLidYbeIA44/Te0qfGkCkXI/AAAAAAAAACA/zwpyxjDvKCI/s72-c/gardening+1.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8042412438199864316.post-2440642896440449417</id><published>2011-04-26T15:42:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-04-26T15:44:15.474-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Creating Prana</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
420. &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D8c7zlPkHp0/TbdJ9qY1wMI/AAAAAAAAAAM/8PKXGOovI3I/s1600/teen+yoga.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;301&quot; src=&quot;http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D8c7zlPkHp0/TbdJ9qY1wMI/AAAAAAAAAAM/8PKXGOovI3I/s320/teen+yoga.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Prana is the “life force” that flows through our body. It is what animates the bones, muscles, skin, nerves, tissues and cells of the body, making it an energetic organism. As long as we are alive, we have Prana, but this Prana can be strong and flowing freely, weak and/or obstructed, or strong but uncontained or misdirected.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Below are ways to increase Prana, and keep it functioning optimally.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;● Breathe. Breathing is our bodies main method of absorbing Prana. We inhale and exhale thousands of times a day, but most of us are aware of very few if any of those breaths. As a consequence, breaths are shallow, utilizing little of our lung capacity. Practicing very simple pranayama, or yogic breathing techniques will enable us to take more nourishing, meaningful breaths.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;● Practice yoga. You knew I’d fit that in sooner or later, so I’ll make it sooner. Practice poses that open the heart and ribs, increasing lung capacity. Backbends, side bends, shoulder openers are wonderful for drawing energy in. Be conscious of proper alignment to help Prana flow unobstructed through the body. Poor alignment creates blockages, and therefore tension.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Any physical activity that increases respiration helps increase Prana. However, the intensity level must be appropriate. Your exercise should leave you feeling fresh and energized, not depleted. After a run, workout or yoga class, you should have enough energy to perform one-half of the same workout again.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;● Get outside. Nature, sun, fresh air all increase energy. Any connection we can find with&amp;nbsp; nature feeds our original source of Prana. You can combine physical activity with outdoors (taking your yoga mat outside can be ideal), or just rest on your back finding shapes in the clouds. The key is connecting with the natural environment. Strip-mall walking does not count.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;● Eat thoughtfully. Are you eating a food out of habit? as a reaction to stress or boredom? or for nourishment and energy? Notice your energy level and mental state while eating a specific food, immediately after, and then again an hour or so later.&amp;nbsp; Begin to reshape your cravings, cultivating a taste for foods that make you feel alert, clear-headed and energized.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;It takes energy to ingest and digest your food. Is the nutrient quality of your food greater than the energy it takes to digest it? Or, will you be operating on a negative return for your energetic investment?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;Stick to foods that have a short, legible ingredient list. Cooking from scratch with simple ingredients is best. Each processing step that takes a food away from its natural roots removes Prana.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;And, realize guilt is a Prana zapper. Enjoy an occasional treat. But overall, enjoy a healthy diet that makes you feel empowered, not guilty.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;● Surround yourself with beauty. We draw Prana in through the nose and mouth, but also the eyes, ears and senses. Listen to beautiful, uplifting music. Create beauty in your environment, and see the beauty that is already there. Enjoy entertainment that nourishes you. Enjoy the company of friends that stimulate and inspire. These are all conscious choices we can make to increase our life energy.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;These tips may all be common sense, but they deserve to be noted and revisited frequently. Daily life as householders depletes our Prana, and we need to take the time to replenish on a regular basis.&amp;nbsp; This is not something that takes extra time; it simply means making decisions that feed us, not deplete us. We do have choices. Choose energy.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;letter-spacing: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/feeds/2440642896440449417/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/04/creating-prana.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/2440642896440449417'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8042412438199864316/posts/default/2440642896440449417'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://judiharvin.blogspot.com/2011/04/creating-prana.html' title='Creating Prana'/><author><name>Judi Harvin</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12134017375554182481</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1GrHWIURw4/T-Kuk7SO-tI/AAAAAAAAAFs/7XIEhSQJvKc/s220/_MG_0195.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D8c7zlPkHp0/TbdJ9qY1wMI/AAAAAAAAAAM/8PKXGOovI3I/s72-c/teen+yoga.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>

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