James Walsh Yoga

Friday, February 19, 2021, When you distance yourself from something, or abstain from something, for a long enough period of time, it appears all the more shocking and jarring when you finally see it, or experience it again.  The inverse of this occurs as well; stay immersed in something for a long enough period of time, and you become accustomed to it, and accept it as normal.    

Tuesday, February 16, 2021 Part I, Practiced without posting a few times last week, as my sleep schedule was getting wonky for some reason.  Back into the swing of things, and up at the usual 4:15am this morning for 1 hour of coffee and contemplation before beginning.

Tuesday, February 9, 2021 Find joy in the monotony of life.  Find joy in the mundane nature of daily tasks, chores, and maintenance.  How does one find this joy, excitement, etc.  My subjective opinion, that no one on planet Earth asked for, is that you need to constantly "calibrate the needle" to ensure you stay balanced (a daily practice will assist with this).  A balanced person sees challenges and disappointments, and views them with clarity.  A balanced person sees joy, fun, and opportunity in everything they do.   

Monday, February 8, 2021,  Suffered a slight injury to my left shoulder on Friday by pushing myself into an overly deep backbend.  For me, these kinds of injuries don't occur immediately, in that there's no " oh my goodness *collapses to the ground*, my shoulder!"; it's way less dramatic.  The "injury" or "tenderness" occurs after the practice when you reach for your 5lb laptop and, while extending your arm and applying weight to it, something "catches" or "pulls" in the shoulder that just got the workout, and a level 7-8 pain flare up occurs while your arm goes "dead" for a few seconds.  Waaaaay less dramatic, and leaves you sullen and pouting (like after biting your tongue), as you feel foolish for inflicted this pain on yourself.  All this to say, it's 5:26am, and I've been up for an hour enjoying my coffee and contemplation #strangerthings , and it's time to begin.....

Thursday, February 4, 2021, It's an old saying but, whenever one is dealt a blow or disappointment, whenever one feels tired or defeated, one should rest, not quit. 

On the mat, later than usual at 5:54am; time to begin. 

Monday, February 1, 2021 Nothing inspirational.  5:12am, and it's time to begin.

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...