James Walsh Yoga

Monday, July 31, 2023, Up at my usual 4:15am and on my mat at a slightly later than usual 5:29am. Time to begin... Part II: I'm writing this Part II on my mat having just completed my practice for the day.  The title of today's post was originally just one word; "Pointless".  After practicing, I changed it to the current title of "It's Pointless-and other lies we tell ourselves" because that's a bit closer to reality when one is feeling like something is pointless.  Fatigue, jaded-ness, malaise, and general disinterest are tricky little monsters that plop themselves down, and insist that there's no point in driving them out.  There is a point to driving our indifference as indifference is very often a depressing state to be in.  A physical practice (and physical movements in general), can help drive out the sludgey feeling of indifference.  Time to enter the world.  Namste

Thursday, July 27, 2023, For whatever reason, after Monday's practice, I began to "crash" the remainder of the day......throat started getting sore.....fatigue set in......and my personal favorite "general malaise" (another way of saying you feel unwell all-over in a general way), sets in.  This continued into Tuesday and yesterday (Wednesday).  I woke yesterday morning at 1:45am with a splitting headache (which never happens), and couldn't get back to bed for an hour or so. When this happens to my physical health, I have a few common-sense tactics that we all use to help myself recover quickly (rest, hydrate, eat-well, etc.). Today I woke at my usual 4:15am feeling well again. All that to say, it's 5:24am as I type this, and it's time to begin today's practice.... Part II: As always, the version that's coming off the mat at the end of practice is superior to the version that got on the mat at the beginning of practice.  Time to enter the wor...

Monday, July 24, 2023, After an enjoyable and yoga-less week and weekend, I'm back on my mat. We'll see what today's practice brings.  It's 5:20am, and it's time to begin... Part II: As always, the first update is before I practice, and Part II is written immediately after my practice is complete; usually about ~2 hours later.  I was stiff.  I was sore.  I was unfocused.  I was bloated. No matter how "uninspired" a practice can be, it always refines you into a better version of yourself.  For that, I'm grateful.  Time to enter the world.  Namaste

Friday, July 14, 2023, The title of today's post is from a show titled " Call the Midwife".  I've watched. few seasons of it but, in effect, it's a BBC program that takes place in post-WWII England.  The subject matter focuses around a group of Nuns and their assistants, and the women's healthcare they provided at the time.   The show is interesting and engaging for several reasons but, most interesting, is how the Nuns, who offered pre-natal healthcare to the women in their community, struggled at times.  In Europe, in the 1950s, having a child out of wedlock would have been something that society frowned on; the Nuns had to look past this, and offer their aid to anyone who needed it (wed or unwed).  One of the assistants (who was a secular nurse in training) mentioned to the lead Nun that, " helping women of this sort makes me uncomfortable".  The lead Nun, who was mindful, realistic, and wise, kindly advised this younger nurse-in-training that, ...

Thursday, July 13, 2023, Ever have a dream, or a series of dreams in a night, that were bad or just altogether unpleasant?  I'd say everyone probably has, myself included, and, depending on how odd/unpleasant the dream was, I know that one can wake up in an odd/unpleasant state. This happened to me this morning when I woke up; fresh from an odd dream.  Even though I'd had my dinner, right around 9:30pm last night, before bed, I enjoyed some delicacies from the fridge.....some leftover pretzel bites with some delicious cheese, a bowl of some ridiculous sugary cereal, and the last bit of an ice cream container that'd been in the freezer for a while. For me, eating foods, especially foods like this, right before bed, almost always leads to a disruptive night.   All this to say that, this morning when I woke I was feeling "crummy".....I was feeling "blue"......I was feeling "off". As I've said many times.....feelings are feelings are feelings.....

Monday, July 10, 2023, Hitting the mat at 5:48am (about 40 minutes behind schedule). Something is better than nothing, however.  Time to begin. Part II: Today's practice was good.  Not great.  Not terrible; but good.  Something is better than nothing.  It's 7:17am as I type this, and I need to get my rear-end in gear.  Namaste