A Word (and a Book) for Wednesday

 


ynecdoche: (pronounced si-nek-duh-kee) a part of speech in which a part is used for the whole, or the whole for a part

As in: Author of Poser: my life in twenty-three yoga poses, Claire Dederer, describing her escape from the house to practice yoga: "I left them food as though it were a piece of me. Synecdoche: a part representing the whole.  A sail representing a fleet.  A crown representing a king.  A chicken representing a mother."

I recently found this book while searching for books on yoga.  I quite enjoyed it, as evidenced by my reading it in 2 days.  Very poignant for a mother of babes just starting out in the world of yoga.

My 2014 goals include attending as many yoga classes as I can fit into my schedule.  I just feel too damn good afterwards to not.  While practicing yoga, I want to also learn more of its history and teachings.

Any yogic-friends have recommendations that aren't too incredibly heady?  I'm thinking maybe this or this.

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische.

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On Creating Space and Enjoying the "In-Betweens"

I took my first yoga class in quite a while recently, and as I always do after practicing yoga, I feel inspired to practice even more.  Amsa Yoga is my favorite spot in Columbia to practice, and Anne Miller is my kind of yogi.  For me, her classes have just the right balance of meditative reflection and bodily challenge.  I inevitably do some deep-thinking and feel all-spiritual and stuff, but also totally let go of my thoughts and focus on my body and nothing else, seemingly all at the same time.  It's amazing.  And it feels indulgent--a whole hour and a half to myself, focusing on myself only.  It feels indulgent, but I kinda think maybe it shouldn't.  Maybe I should be carving out these spaces of time for myself more often, and then I wouldn't feel like taking care of me is secondary or tertiary to other things.  And maybe eventually I wouldn't have to "carve out" time to practice yoga; I'd have to carve out time for other stuff, and the yoga would be non-negotiable.  Maybe someday...

Amsa Yoga studio, photo courtesy of their website

Anyway, the focus for the yoga class was creating space--in our lives and brains and our bodies--to accept and feel the "in-betweens."  The time and space between the beginning of something and the end of it.  As humans we have schedules, and demands placed upon us, and deadlines, and essentially just lots and lots of beginnings and endings.  Our days begin at roughly the same time each day, we have kid drop-offs, and meetings with distinct start and end times, and mealtimes, and on and on.  But, do we stop enough to enjoy and be present in the "in-betweens?"  I mean, essentially, the "in-betweens" is the meat of what we do and how we define ourselves, and life, right?

That was my takeaway from my yoga practice today, thank you Anne; create the space in my head and heart and body to enjoy the "in-betweens" and be in the present.  Yoga is powerful stuff; (ha! transcendent proclamation, right? You can quote me on that).

And I love that you're supposed to call it "practicing yoga" as opposed to "doing yoga."  The term practicing invites you to make mistakes and be forgiving of yourself and keep learning and doing, all while knowing perfection is not the goal.  That is my kind of activity.

**Disclaimer- I am in NO WAY an authority on yoga; this is just what it means to me :)

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A Dose of Truth & Cool

Truth: "Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic."
~Oscar Wilde (quoted in my yoga class this morning by instructor, Anne Miller)

Been thinking about that one all day.

image via here

Cool: heard this past weekend on NPR's Weekend Edition: Michael Hearst's new CD, Songs for Unusual Creatures. 

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Back to the Mat

I went back to yoga class today.  After almost 3 months of not going.

After a rough early pregnancy, including lots of puking.  After the anguish of a miscarriage and loss of a precious baby-life at 14 weeks.  After the death of another loved one last week.

After so much grief, it felt good to come back to the mat.

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