James Walsh Yoga

  Wednesday, July 7, 2021, Who knows if David Attenborough actually said the quote at left......who knows if it's even true that ants in a jar will live peacefully among each other until the jar is shaken........what I do know is that, true or not, the analogy resonated with me enough to screenshot the phrase, and use it.  The "jar" is your mind/heart/soul......the "shaker" is, almost always the "news" (T.V., Social Media, Apps, Emails, Screens-of-all-kinds, etc.).   The "news" does not want you to feel at peace....not even for a second.   The "news" does not want you to feel secure and stable....not even for a second.   Just yesterday I, personally, scanned through some "news headlines" on a popular news platform via my phone, and was immediately smacked across my face with, " ....could the new COVID strain put the world back into lockdown?!?!?........the next economic crash could be just around the corner!!!!..........

Tuesday, June 15, 2021, A routine keeps you stable when other areas of the world (that are out of your control) seem unstable.  Children crave routines and structure and, if you ask me (and no one on planet Earth has asked me), adults crave routines and structure as well.  I write all of this to hype myself up to get onto my mat and practice, as I don't feel like doing either of those things....that routine, however, brings stability and consistency to one's life and stability and consistency help to bring peace in our heads and our hearts Time to begin....

Friday, June 11, 2021, " Be strong, be kind, and be beautiful ", is, from what I've heard, a Korean proverb (who knows if that's accurate or not), but the phrase resonated with me when I heard it years ago, and it's stuck with me.  As I've written many times before, we're all physically nothing more than intelligent, and evolved, apes living in our evolved ape bodies and thinking with our evolved ape brains.  We're bound into it, and we're constrained by it; and we always will be, until the day we die. Since we are all encased in our evolved ape bodies/minds, we have to live alongside that ugliness, and everything that comes with it. Much of the ugliness, however, lives inside our heads and can become over complicated through confusion, overthinking, and other deficiencies.   Can this evolved ape ever be beautiful?  Beautiful, not in the physical sense, but beautiful in the control that's achieved over the ape-body and the ape-mind.  Yes, that ...

Wednesday, June 9, 2021,  There is no question that we're in charge of 99.99% of what happens to us, but does"luck" and "good fortune" come from our own behavior, or do luck and good fortune occur to everyone, in relatively equal amounts, throughout a person's life? In other words, does a persistent/constant attitude keep you going (through "good-luck" and "bad-luck"), until good fortune comes organically and naturally, or are some people "lucky".   My perspective, that no one on this planet of Earth asked for, is that every living, breathing human will have relatively equal amounts of good opportunity and bad circumstances come their way and the response and reaction to the situation is what matters.  Is one defeated after an unfortunate turn of events or does one immediately begin to consider how to mitigate and minimize the damage? You've heard it many times, in many phrases; " your perspective is your reality"....

Tuesday, June 8, 2021,  Today's title is a classic, and timeless phrase that we've all heard a million times; " you are what you eat". In the physical sense, this phrase is completely true, in that the food you eat will have an effect on your body (for better or for worse).  However, we "eat" with our eyes, brains, hearts, and souls too and, if we "eat" and consume the wrong thing....it will begin to negatively effect us.   Each morning, before I begin my practice, I spend an hour enjoying coffee and contemplation (#strangerthings).  While I was spending my coffee hour this morning scrolling through my phone, I found myself on a once-favorite app of mine which was intended to be a fun place to share memes, funny pictures, and gifs, etc.  This app, unfortunately, has become a sewer of unhappiness and discontent (most acutely in the past few years).   I mention this app, because, while I still occasionally visit it to steal a funny meme or gif, I ma...

Thursday, June 3, 2021,  When I'm feeling down, and blue, I ask myself, " hold up.....check yourself....how much social media have you been consuming?.....have you been consuming images of "influencers" living influential lives, and doing influential things, and sitting around soaking up each others influence?".....#meangirlz The answer, very often, is "yes, I have".  Like everyone else who's reading this, I live in the same swamp of the modern world; that swamp has some dry and pleasant oasis in it, and it has some overcrowded, noisy, pig-pens as well.  While we're in the swamp, we're equipped with your phone; your phone is going to show you people who are better looking than you, having more fun than you, living a life that you could only hope to achieve, while they surf, drink White Claws, and party.  Don't know how you got to be so lame....but ya did *stares in mirror*.  As the title suggests, you may have already made a connection ...

Thursday, May 20, 2021,  When I wake up un-inspired, my post title is typically the day of the week + the word "yoga"; as is the case today.  Nothing interesting, inspirational, or thought provoking to say this morning.....but it's time to begin.  Namaste

Tuesday, May 18, 2021,  "You will continue to suffer if you have an emotional reaction to everything that is said to you"- Bruce Lee There's an enormous emphasis on emotions in our current world.  Emotions are natural, but they change with the wind.  However, we're told to get in touch with them, stay in touch with them, allow them to do what they want and what they will, let them flow, *insert generic syrupy new-age phrase*.   We are rarely told, however, to control our emotions, to get them in line, to ensure we remain master over them, and they remain diminutive and obedient to us.  Learning that skill makes you powerful in the sense that it makes you the master of your emotions, your reactions, and, therefore,  your "reality".  Don't let the chickens just run around in their pen.......ensure that, whenever you clap your hands and give a command, the chickens obey.  Otherwise, you'll be constantly chasing your tail. Namaste

Tuesday, May 3, 2021 Part I,  Today's title is a direct line from the show " Rick & Morty " and I weave  Rick & Morty  into my yoga practice any chance I get.  #pickle-rick Being in the world, and not "of" the world is, first, a pretty "meta" thing to contemplate and, second, a daily maintenance chore that, if skipped, even for a day, begins to regress immediately.  In effect, I can say that, through a dedicated practice, you will gain the ability to view certain things differently; certain things that you once put value in become meaningless (ever looked back through your music collection from highschool/gradeschool at the "celebrities" you were obsessed with and wonder what was actually wrong with you?......asking for a friend).  Similar to that comparison, I would say that a practice begins to "burn away" some of fog and confusion that the world puts one in.  That fog and confusion very often comes from the entertainment ...

Friday, April 23, 2021,  Why does one douse certain foods in Sriracha when one knows it's going to upset one's stomach.  Why does one pop another White Claw when you  know you're already getting contrary, and you've had enough.......Why does one procrastinate?......Why is one lazy?.........Why is one selfish, angry, *fill in the blank*. I write, very often, about the act of practicing yoga, and bringing you closer to the realization, and acceptance, of our human imperfection.  This is good, humbling, and natural to be aware of.  As stated earlier this week, " we're evolved-apes encased in a meat-suit".  We will, therefore, always live alongside our own ugliness, and imperfection; don't think that a yoga practice will keep you above it...it will not.  It can however help you discern between choices in your life that are good, and choices that are ugly.  Even then, one will never get it right 100% of the time.  Why do I do that?..........becaus...

Wednesday, April 21, 2021,  Yoga could be practiced and studied for a lifetime, and one would only begin to scratch the surface; a practice is continually expanding, continually evolving the practitioner, and continually refining.  Personally, a practice of 10+ years has yielded imperfect physical poses (Asanas), imperfect breathing techniques (Pranayama), and inconsistent meditation abilities from a disobedient mind that will wander off as soon as I sit it down.   You make peace with your imperfections, however and, through your practice, you begin to extinguish the frustrations that come from noticing your own imperfection.  No, I do not give up saying, " I'll never be able to do XYZ, so why even bother * opens Dorito bag*" .   I do, however, have a more humble nature from the acceptance of imperfection.  This acceptance helps you understand at least a sliver more of truth; continue to practice and, sliver-by-sliver, one begins to accept, and un...

Tuesday, April 20, 2021,  Since day lights savings time (nearly a month ago), I've never fully adjusted to my usual 4:15am wake up call.  Having practiced my routine for many years, I know that I go in quarterly spurts of " I don't feel like it" *hits snooze button on phone alarm*.  I don't think anything catastrophic occurs when one says, " I don't feel like it" , and doesn't follow through with their routine; however, I'll say that, without a quick course correction, one can slowly begin to form a new habit.  Breaking a new habit, can be more difficult.  With some variance, I have been waking up at 4:15am for the past few weeks or so and, even after I've had my hour of coffee and contemplation, I can sense that I don't "feel" like hitting my mat, and going through my morning practice.  I'm on the couch in a lovely warm robe and a lovely warm blanket on top of that; I don't feel like getting up, preparing my mat, ch...

Tuesday, April 13, 2021,  On the mat at the usual 5:15am with nothing interesting to say. 

Monday, April 12, 2021, Starting off the week on the right foot, up at 4:15am and on my mat at 5:15am........with nothing interesting to say.  Time to begin...

Thursday, April 8, 2021 Third time this week getting up at the usual 4:15am for an hour of coffee and contemplation before hitting my mat.  Nothing inspirational for today's post (and that's perfectly ok), as routine maintenance is a part of every hobby, pursuit, relationship, etc.   Delighted, as always, to have made the effort to practice this morning, as it sets one up for the best day possible.  Namaste

Wednesday, April 7, 2021, Part I On my mat at 5:23am after an hour of coffee and contemplation.  Time to begin.  Part II Writing post-practice.  This is the second morning I've gotten up at my usual 4:15am and practiced.  I'll say that the brief hiatus from my mat wasn't good but, coming back after a period of non-physcial yoga practice does allow you to re-evaluate your body, mechanics, and how you approached asanas/physical postures.  Time to shower up and enter the world.  Namaste

Tuesday, April 6, 2021, The word "impertinent" isn't used much but, as a human, I believe we're all driven to feel a natural impertinence about ourselves at times.  " Aren't I grand.......those silly people who aren't like me.......I'm so lucky to have the answers"; thoughts like this will inevitably flit through a person's head at times.  To counteract this, one of the gifts your mat, and a consistent practice, can give to you is clarity and a humble nature.  One is not grand....bow to everyone.  

Monday, March 8, 2021,  What a spooky title for a yoga blog that focuses on peace, clarity, and personal growth.  Don't let that spooky title fool you, however, it's a line from the Gita (the Hindu Bible), and was supposably uttered by Dr. Oppenheimer (co-creator of the atomic bomb) upon seeing the first detonation of his new weapon (and realizing that nuclear weaponry was, in fact, possible and the potential implications this would have on the world).  Dr. Oppenheimer may, or may not, have uttered this while watching the first nuclear explosion, but the original line was uttered in the Gita by the Hindu god, Vishnu.  The line, and its meaning, could be interpreted many ways, but a constant thread of death and rebirth are present in the religions of the world.  We're meant to shed the old, imperfect, and unsuitable versions of ourselves daily, and call ourselves to a higher standard than the one we naturally gravitate towards (lazy, gluttonous, etc.).  In t...

Monday, March 1, 2021 If you've ever been camping, you'll know that there's nothing   more frustrating than trying to start a fire that doesn't want to start. Getting a fire lit, after a period of being dormant, is uphill.  This holds true for a literal fire around a campsite, and the figurative fire, and drive, of a yoga practice.  As far as the physical side of yoga (Asana), even with a consistent practice, taking two days of rest on a weekend, can set you back a bit physically (as can the tin of butter cookies one eats while binge watching The Crown on Netflix).  You come back to your mat on Monday morning, as I am now, and question the value of the whole things...." why am I even doing this.....". "Embers" are leftover from the previous night's fire, however.  So the fire starting tools are there (both in the literal fire and in the figurative fire).  With the starting tools/embers there, what's needed most often is patience with yourself...

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.