James Walsh Yoga

Thursday, January 28, 2021 (Part I)  No pre-practice wisdom/arrogance/piety to impart; time to begin. 

Monday, January 25, 2021 (Part I),  This morning is a rainy morning, and a Monday, and I'm feeling energized and purposeful on my mat.  It's 5:21am as I type this, and it's time to begin....

Friday, January 22, 2021 (Part I),  Time on your mat will help one discern what is, and should be, important in one's life.  When you have identified what is important, use the time on your mat to align your mind, heart, body/soul, to the important areas of your life.  Your work, family, health, and relationships are important.  Yes, like anything, they will all go away one day; your health will decline, your relationships will end, you'll retire from work, and (after many years, God willing...), your family members, and you, will all pass.   Keeping that in perspective can help you see the un- important, and trivial, nature of the majority of the things that your phone, tv, and computer try to keep you interested in.  Stay aligned, and use the time on your mat as a tool to help you.   Time to begin....

Thursday, January 21, 2021 (Part I),  Focus on the world, and you can become ugly.  Focus away from the world, and you will become (or stay) beautiful).   " what sort of hippie nonsense is that" - Everyone who reads this blog....probably Everyone has to live in, and alongside, ugly, fake, and unimportant worldly things.  Much of this ugly and fake nonsense is pushed to us from the entertainment industry, and the "news".   Personally, my time on my mat brings clarity, meaning, and beauty to my life and turns my head and my interest, away from things in the world.  No, I don't mean that I stroll around peppering conversations with it ; " I'll have the bacon turkey club please...oh, I also practice yoga every morning,"  .  However, before anything else, the time on one's mat, whether it be an active prayer/meditation sequence, the physical warmup, or the physical poses/Asanas themselves, is all a beautiful prayerful experience that brings ...

Tuesday, January 19, 2021 (Part I),  Always be humble and kind.  In life, and in practice, I believe this means to always remind yourself that you are inferior to everyone and everything, and are certainly inferior to God.  Keeping a humble mindset, where you bow to everyone, keeps you balanced and, in no way, truly diminishes any skills you've worked for, and currently possess.  It's 5:29am as I type this, and I've been up for an hour+....it's time to begin....

Wednesday, January 13, 2021 (Part I), There's a preoccupation with being busy.  " Oh my goodness....I'm just so bizzy.......you just wouldn't believe how bizzy I am......the bizziness of my life is unreal.....let's take 2+ hours to talk about how bizzy we both are so we can do comparisons to each other's bizziness, to see who is truly the King/Queen of a bizzy schedule...." Having too much to do is a "crown" that people wear for some reason.  When we're moving at this pace, it becomes more and more difficult to give love and accept love.  Love, in this term, comes in the unromantic forms of kindness, gentleness, and understanding.   A yoga practice will help provide clarity in your life as to what is worth dedicating your time to, and what can be culled out of your life to refine the areas that you want, and should, give focus to; primarily, your family, and yourself.  

Tuesday, January 12, 2021 (Part I),  It's 5:13am as I type this, and I'll be starting my warm-up sequence soon; no long insightful reflections on yoga tis morning.  

Monday, January 11, 2021 (Part I) Technology provides wonderful opportunities to stay connected with each other, share pictures of distant loved ones, and share ideas (like the best ways to create a flawless latticed pie top...# pinterest-4-lyfe).  However, the price we pay by allowing this technology into our lives (usually through our phones), is that we can now access the "thoughts of the world" in a moment.   The "thoughts of the world" are generally reflected in a warped and disingenuous way, through our "news".    The quote in today's post resonated with me, and seems to be particularly appropriate for today's world (though is always appropriate....no matter what age we live in whether it's 2021....1921......or 1951).  Don't expect the "news" to portray our world in a peaceful, cohesive, or otherwise collaborative light.....where's the entertainment in that?....that wouldn't keep us consuming, would it?  Yes, there i...

Thursday, January 7, 2021, Whenever I'm feeling blue, down, or depressed, I remind myself of a few things: No matter what anyone says, any-news-outlet says, any social media post says....everything is going to be fine. News is not real.  No, I don't mean that things aren't happening around the world; rather, I mean that the news is as real as hot-dogs are beef .  News has had so much garbage, fillers, additions, omissions, etc. added to it by the time it hits you, that it's barely even a sliver of the truth anymore.  Be aware of how much "news" (and hot-dogs) you consume....both will make you sick (in your head, and your heart). Zoom out.  The age you're living in is no different than the age your Parents, Grandparents, Great-Grandparents, etc., lived in.  It has its ups and downs...its positive attributes and negative attributes...the "news" strives to frighten you into thinking, "this has never been seen before...so unprecedented...etc....

Wednesday, January 6, 2021, (Part I),  Chapter 6.  The 6th time in the past week that I've gone to my mat to re-open what solidified.   By solidify, I refer to the loss of mobility, decreased range of motion, and general flexibility loss that creeps in if one's practice is neglected.  The latter part of December was a real kiss-off to normal, healthy habits of proper/balanced diet, yoga, and other habits that make a person whole, happy, and peaceful.  With tins of butter cookies laying around the house, and more tins of that 3-in-1 popcorn stuff laying around, it was 2+ weeks of generalized sloth, and gluttony.  #notsorry I am shocked at the loss of mobility, however, and believe some of that crept in from runs and other "work outs" I would execute (other than my usual yoga practice) that led to a tightening, and stiffening of joints and muscles.   No runnings, no weight lifting, no physical challenges of any kind until I'm satisfied with my ...

Tuesday, January 5, 2021 (Part I),  Getting back to normal feels good.  Getting a routine established/re-established feels good.  Knowing what's coming next, feels good.  Children, adults, human-beings in general, crave, and thrive, on routines. No matter what sort of distorted, warped garbage Hollywood tries to sell you, it's generally not calming, healthy, or otherwise peaceful, to " just let yourself go, man.... ".  Don't forget, Hollywood is the same place that's telling you to love yourself just as you are, while simultaneously spraying you with images of people who are better looking than you are, wealthier than you, but can't seem to keep their lives together for some reason.   Never solidify......that'll be on my tombstone at this rate.  It's 5:31am as I type this, and it's time to begin... 

Monday, January 4, 2021 (Part I), "Never solidifying" should be the theme for 2021.  I reiterate it today as I'm still breaking through, and loosening up some of the deeper stiffness and inflexibility that I allowed in over the holidays (#Christmaslover4lyfe).  It's 5:38am as I type this, and it's time to begin...

Thursday, December 31, 2020 (Part I),  The final day of 2020 and the third day in a small practice rebuild.  Remnants of Christmas, and the foods that go right along with it, are everywhere, and being continually munched on throughout the day.  Days are laid back, and lazy.   Because of this, breaking up some of the tightness, stiffness, and inflexibility that has set in is slow; however, I've dealt with worse and know that daily upkeep is more valuable than a once-a-week-blitz. I despise the sugary "reflections" that people make at year's end but, in that same vein, I'll say that 2020 brought challenges, as every year does; 2021 will bring additional challenges, as will every subsequent year one is alive on Earth.  Don't ever hang your head for long...ever.  If you can't lift your head with your neck, lift it up with your hands...if you can't lift your head with your hands, have a friend lift it for you....if your friends can't lift it, prop it up...

Tuesday, December 29, 2020 (Part I), For a myriad of reasons, yesterday was the first time I hit my mat in several weeks.  Why?....general feelings of being under the weather, jogging more (which makes me feel like I've met some sort of "quota" for the day and, therefore, don't need to hit my mat), waking up later and later each morning (as late as 6:00am-6:30am which is a stark departure from my normally scheduled 4:15am). Before one knows it, a new habit is formed, and one is getting up later and later.   Today marks the second day on my mat.  Yesterday's practice was good, but was more "exploratory" than anything.  " Will this leg move the way I want it to or will I have to ease into things a bit more.....will my back fold the way I'm used to or will that tin of butter cookies I ate for my dinner last night prevent me from bending the way I'm used to", .....the usual issues.  Today's practice will be equally gentle and "expl...

Monday, December 28, 2020 (Part I), When I say "Never Solidify", I speak primarily about solidifying physically with muscle tightening, joint contracting, and a general loss of suppleness and flexibility. Like anything else, a yoga practice will atrophy if not routinely built up, evolved and executed.  I say to "never solidify" in the literal, and physical sense, but the same principle can apply to your non physical parts (your mind, your heart, your soul).  A mind and heart will solidify, " this is correct, and that is not.....this is so, and that is not so....they are wrong, and I am right", your soul will solidify as well, if you cut it off from prayer and meditation.   Due to a more robust running/jogging routine, which is great for heart/lung health, but tightens up one's body, today's practice will be gentle.  I'm going to spend more than the usual "5 breath hold" in each pose, and allow my body to roll around on my mat before b...

Wednesday, December 2, 2020 (Part I),  I've made reference to "Pickle Rick" before.  Stolen from an episode of the brilliantly crafted animated series, "Rick & Morty".  The genius/mad-scientist Grandpa (Rick) arbitrarily turns himself into a pickle to avoid going to family therapy.  While he gets out of going to the family therapy session, a series of mishaps occur to him while he's an inert pickle, and Rick has to figure out a way to save himself.  Rick ultimately ends up on the therapist's couch (still in pickle form) with his family, where he explains why he doesn't hold therapy, or therapists, in any high esteem.  The therapist replies, explaining that, due to Rick's brilliance, he would be bored senseless by therapy, as it's maintenance...it's work....it's not fun....and, as the therapist explains to Rick, there's no way to do it so wrong, that you might die; maintenance is not an adventure. I can't say how often I f...

Friday, November 27 2020 (Part I), Yesterday was Thanksgiving 2020.  Like all good parties, a Thanksgiving gathering (whether it be large or small), will contain food and drinks.   Gravy on everything.....champagne popped at 11:00am.....dinner rolls....some sort of icebox cake that has a layer of sliceable chocolate with another layer of, what appears to be, whipping cream with Kahlua in it......the whole schmear.... It feels great to enjoy a day like this.  Zero responsibilities, nothing to do but cook and eat and relax.  However, afterwards, it's important to work hard, after playing hard.  Friday, November 27, 2020 (Part II),  A deep, strong, and strenuous practice.   No time to post a secondary update.   Until tomorrow. Namaste

Wednesday, November 25, 2020  A pyre is the large pile of wood (or other burnable material) where cremations traditionally took place.  Before modern methods of burial and cremation, a large stack of wood was built and remains were placed in, or under, the pyre.   Fire is a common theme used in cleansing, purifying, and death/rebirth.  You can create a "fire" by heating your body, and focusing your mind; the physical heating of one's body becomes cleansing; your mental focus becomes the pyre.  When thoughts and emotions that don't serve you flit through your consciences, place them on the pyre and offer them up.  You can select, isolate, and focus on individual emotions and thoughts, and burn through them.   Stressing out?......put it on the pyre Unhappy about how things are going?....put your unhappiness on the pyre Fearful about something you can't control or just feeling a sense of doom for no apparent reason?....put it on the pyre Allow y...

Thursday, November 19, 2020 (Part I),  The above title is a line from an excellent film called, " The Curse of The Golden Flower".  The analogy made to a yoga practice is that the time spent on your mat, can balance and re-adjust your perspective on yourself, and the value/non-value you bring to the world.   Facing your own insignificance, and non-value, is a bitter and humbling medicine at times.  Humility is a gift that can come from your practice, and your mat.  Humility, is a clarifying value, and clarifying mindset, to maintain.  If what many of us believe is true, and the planet, solar system, galaxy, interstellar cluster, quadrant, and known universe were  created by a conscience, omnipotent, being,....what do my actions, that occur on my little planet, in my little solar system, in my little galaxy, in my little cluster and quadrant, mean to that being?  They mean nothing.  This goes double if there isn't a conscience, omnipotent bein...

Wednesday, November 11, 2020 (Part I),  A good (but not great), movie called " Party Monster " is where today's title comes from.  Based on the life of James Clark, Party Monster details some of the uglier sides of substance abuse and night club life (think Studio 54 , in that there's a seductive and glamorous side to this lifestyle, but it comes at the price of your physical, and mental, health).  Taking place in the late 1980's, Party Monster has a memorable scene where, in full night club swing, a throng of people are enjoying a song that details out the age they're living in.  The lyrics specifically mention that: ..." We are living in the age, in which the pursuit of all values other than, money, success, fame, glamour, has either been discredited, or destroyed"... Golly....how could you argue that (and that was people in the 1980's saying that!).  In 2020, the focus of the world has not changed, and the world remains obsessed with money, s...