James Walsh Yoga

Tuesday, May 23, 2023, I talk a lot about "feelings" on this blog and, more specifically, how feelings are just that....feelings, and that, altogether, feelings should almost always be ignored.  This idea of "ignoring one's feelings" flies in the face of the 2023 world but, as I've learned, one can almost always bet that doing the opposite of what the world wants you to do, is more than likely the appropriate answer to life.  I woke at my usual 4:15am this morning.  After my usual hour of coffee and contemplation, I didn't "feel" like getting on my mat.  I'm on it anyway.  I don't "feel" very energized, holy, yogic, spiritual, strong, etc......... I don't "feel" that way.   Knowing what I've learned though years on my mat I know that I'll "feel" very different at the end of practice.  Time to begin... Part II: As always, my feelings are very different after a practice.  The version that gets off...

Friday, May 19, 2023, I woke at my usual 4:15am this morning but, it's 5:40pm now (when I'm supposed to be starting practice at 5:15am at the latest), so I'll be brief..... This morning's delay was caused by Social Media.........I was caught on a fairly humorous meme page, where, all one had to do, was continue scrolling down/up and fresh, consistently funny memes, were popping up.  Delighted as I was, I saw the time, and ignored it saying...." I'll practice in a bit" .  Fun as it is to allow one to be sucked into one's phone, it can pull you in a little deeper than one intended. Time to begin.... Part II: I'm on my mat, having just come out of Savasana.   Today's practice was a little "heart-less" and "soul-less", but that's ok....you're not going to catch fire every day, and every time you hit your mat.   The version that gets off the mat at the end of practice is always superior to the version that go onto the mat...

Wednesday, May 17, 2023, It's 5:21am, and I'm on my mat. Time to begin... Part II: On my mat, having just come out of Savasana. I'm still struggling with something.....it's hard to identify at times but there's things bouncing around that I need to figure out.   Time on my mat helps. The version that gets off the mat at the end of one's practice is always superior to the version of oneself that got on the mat at the beginning of practice.  Namaste

Tuesday, May 16, 2023, Forgiveness is most difficult when it comes to oneself.   It's 5:35am, and I'm about 15 minutes behind schedule, so I'll keep this brief, but forgiving oneself (for transgressions large and small) should be a daily thing.....it helps keep the cogs moving.  Time to begin... Part II: Post practice, on my mat, having just come out of Savasana.  A nice physically strong practice this morning.  Emotionally, I feel like I dredged up some odd feelings this morning; some of them negative, and some of them positive.  Offering up one's emotions (good and bad) is a good way to get rid of them.   Time to enter the world.  Namaste

Tuesday, May 9, 2023, Up at the usual 4:15am. On the mat on time at 5:16am. Nothing profound to say.  Time to begin... Part II: Went through my entire series and, for the second time in a week, finished with three full backbends....keeping with the theme of building momentum.  It's 7:14am as I type this, and it's time to enter the world.  Namaste

Wednesday, May 3, 2023, If you'd like to see a charming, heart-warming, and extremely well done film, go and see "Marcele the Shell". Introduced to me by a friend who enjoys film as much as I do, Marcele the Shell is a G rated style of film, that still manages to deal with very adult/non-sugary topics (like death and re-birth). Without going into detail, one of the most emotional parts of the film is narrated by one fo the main characters slowly reciting a short poem called, "The Trees" by Philip Larkin. Watch the film for the full effect but, now that Spring is here, I've found a line from the poem popping into my head frequently: "...Last year is dead, they seem to say, begin afresh, afresh, afresh..." The simplicity of the message is death/re-birth of nature in Springtime.  That message of death/re-birth is powerful, however, as a person goes through many cycles of death/re-birth (even throughout the short course of one day). In that vein of dea...