James Walsh Yoga

Tuesday, August 19, 2025,  My practice has been more intermittent lately.  I've been getting up at my usual 4:15am every morning, but different types of workouts have been taking precedence in my mornings, and I've noticed that this, my yoga practice , has taken more of a backseat. My goal is to use certain days of the week as " yoga mornings " to re-incorporate my practice back into my daily schedule; nothing gives one mental and physical clarity the way a yoga practice does (not running , not weight-lifting ,....nothing).  Time to begin... Part II: Great practice.  I have a lot of physical stiffness to work through.  Happy, as always, that I began my day with prayer, meditation, and a practice.  Namaste

Thursday, July 24, 2025, Late to the mat.  Time to begin...  Part II: Late to get off the mat too.....refreshed and renewed, however, and happy to enter the world.  Namaste

Tuesday, July 8, 2025,  Learning how to detach from the world, and from "worldly things" is an important skill to have and, minimally, understand.  At it's heart, the phrase "of the world" to me always meant things that were highly man-made.....in 2025, that would predominately mean the little pocket computers we're all mildly addicted to, and the images that come from them.   Being "in" the world and always trying to not be "of" the world is a constant push/pull struggle that does require daily maintenance.  Time to begin today's practice.... Part II: On my mat having just come out of Savasana.   Not a bad practice this morning, but not a great one either.....physically strong but definitely "tightened" in certain areas......mentally a little "all over the place".  Ah well, ....the version of yourself that comes off the mat after practice is always superior to the version of yourself that got on the mat at the beg...

 Monday, June 23, 2025,  "Come As You Are" has been used by me as a post title before.  While I can't remember the specifics of why I may have posted with this title before, I would bet that I used the phrase "Come As You Are" due to feelings of being inadequate, ugly, not worthwhile, or generally indifferent to myself and my practice.  If you're feeling any of these things, practice anyway.   Time to begin today's practice... Part II: Having just come out of Savasana after a vert gentle "Yin" style practice, I'll say that, when one is feeling ugly, unlovable, inadequate, etc., all the more reason to hit your mat.  You'll come out of your prayer, meditation, and practice knowing that you are none of those things.  Time to bring this version of myself out into the world.  Namaste

 Friday, June 13, 2025, Has it really been since April since I've had a dedicated practice? Time to begin, right where I left off.....on my mat.  I've had breaks and hiatuses in practice before and I've learned a few things about getting back into the swing of thing....... Taking a break from something you do as a routine is actually a good thing.....I expect that I'll find and discover new and unique ways of moving and new and unique parts of me this morning that I may not have discovered or been aware of as easily in my day to day.  Ease into it but don't ease into it for too long- I'm going to see if I can do a 3 day run....that usually gets things back on track.....today's first practice will really just be about checking in on my body and mind and seeing where things are.  Time to begin... Part II: Great practice.  Physically strong, and mentally acute.   Time to enter the world.  Namaste

Thursday, April 3, 2025, Oh so bizzy.  Life makes one feel like there's "lots to do" all the time and, candidly, sometimes, there is  lots to do, and lots to manage.  How should one approach this? I know that, for me, taking exceptionally good care of my body during these busy periods is key (eating well, sleeping adequately, no drinking, etc.); those three keys right there set me up for more success when my "to-do" list seems too long.  Another element to ensuring that one's "to do" list can be well managed, is to pause from it all (very difficult sometimes), separate from it all ( incredibly difficult at times), and focus one's energy on slowing oneself down.  The yoga mat, paired with prayer and meditation, are the perfect key to this kingdom of "zooming out" to give one perspective and help strategize the best path for success in tackling the "bizzy to-do-list". In the vein, it's time to begin today's practice......

Tuesday, February 25, 2025, I've been feeling a tad "sludgy" for the past few days.  What does that mean?.....for me that means I've felt heavy, "stuck", and sloppy.  For me, this is almost always a sign that I've eaten junk that I shouldn't have.  My practice (and your practice) will help speed up and balance the process of elimination. Part II: Feeling way less sludgy after my practice.  Time to enter the world.  Namaste 

Tuesday, February 18, 2025, Time to begin... Part II: Great practice. Time to enter the world.  Namaste

Monday, February 17, 2025, Time to begin... Part II: Great practice.  Time to enter the world.  Namaste

Thursday, February 6, 2025, "Offer it up" is something I was always told to do when faced with something terrible or miserable.  Often, misery is unavoidable in one's life.  What do you do in your misery?  Offer it up.  Time to begin... Part II: Offering it up, difficult as that can be, remains the best path forward in troubling situations.  Namaste

Tuesday, February 4, 2025, On my mat at 5:24am.  Time to begin. Part II: No time to post.  Time to enter the world.  Namaste

Thursday, January 30, 2025, On my mat at the usual time 5:15am, and looking forward to today's practice.   The title of "Lost" doesn't mean I believe myself to be lost.  However, after spending an hour in my phone reviewing social media, it's easy to feel lost and it's easy to feel hopeless and it's easy to feel like the world is spinning out of control (for some reason, those behind social media want people to feel hopeless....a very telling desire on their part, if you ask me).  Even though I might feel a certain way, I can change how I feel (and so can you) but implementing a few simple practices in one's life....this yoga practice is one of those things that helps me feel "un-lost" again.  Time to begin... Part II: Writing this Part II update on my mat having just concluded my practice.  It's time to enter the day.  I am "feeling" much less lost.  Namaste

Tuesday, January 28, 2025, Late start.  Time to begin... Part II: Late start and late finish.  No time to post additional info.  Namaste

Thursday, December 19, 2024 Feelings and emotions (in general) are things that I advise anyone to be aware of, but to never let them control you (a feeling isn't real and an emotion isn't real either, despite what Pixar and Inside Out, etc. all have to say to us about emotions).   The emotion/feeling of being "good enough" can work for us and against us (some days we feel more than good enough and some days we don't); whether "good enough" is working for us or against us, it should still be observed, but never focused on much.  I woke up not feeling "very good" and or "good enough" and or blah blah blah...... I am happy that I'm on my mat, and beginning my practice as I know I will feel better afterwards.  Time to begin... Part II: As always, I write the initial post before my practice, and I write the Part II immediately after I've concluded my practice.   My perspective and outlook has changed so much from a few hours ago.  ...

Tuesday, December 17, 2024 I haven't practiced in a while and I have a theory that, with the other physical trainings I've been undertaking (for running, and other competitions), my body has stiffened up (especially the corset-like muscle groupings of my back/torso).  I believe this could be affecting my mental acuity.   Mind over matter is something we hear a lot but is the reverse ever true; does our physical body (the "matter"), ever get the upper hand over the mind?  I believe it can (unfortunately) and has and it is up to oneself to reverse and un-do this so that the mind is always in control over the body.  Enough chit-chat....time to begin... Part II: Writing this update post-practice.  I have a lot of things to work through physcially but, the mind is superior.  Always.  Namaste

 Monday, November 4, 2024,  A line from one of the latest Disney/Pixar films, " Inside Out 2"  is the title of today's post.  I'm not trying to drag Pixar and Disney into the dirt, but their overall approach to content over the past decade or so has led to multiple satires of their work (watch SouthPark's season opener "the pander-verse" to understand more).   The actual line from the "Inside Out 2" movie is, "... I've learned that all emotions, are good.." .  This really isn't true.  Contemporary approaches to emotions and mental health are heavily flawed (in my humble and untrained lay-man's opinion).  Are emotions good?.....Are all emotions good?  Absolutely not, and what a thing to say and suggest.    My say is that emotions (of any kind) are actually not good.  Emotions, above everything else, should be ignored and have minimal influence on one's thoughts and actions.  If eating a meal or drinking a glass of...

Wednesday, October 23, 2024,  Human Nature is something one hears a lot.  It can be a blanket response to anything a human does actually, and can also be dangerous to label our actions/words as " that's just human nature".   One could argue that, while all humans are bound into their physical bodies, are our bodily driven desires (food, breathing, sleep, etc.) "human nature" or are they "animal nature"?  Any animal craves the same things of abundant food, sleep, mating partners, etc., but are we, as humans, meant to bring ourselves beyond this bottom tier of Maslow's hierarchy of needs? Time to begin today's practice... Part II: Great practice, but it's time to enter the world (thinking about my flawed and imperfect human nature). 

Tuesday, August 20, 2024, Haven't hit the mat in awhile as other physical pursuits have been taking more of a "center stage".  Let's see if I can get back in the groove of things.... Part II: A soft gentle practice.  Time to enter the world.  Namaste

Wednesday, July 31, 2024, It's 5:23am, and it's time to begin... Part II: It's 7:23am (on the dot), and I'm done with today's practice.  Namaste