Sunday, March 23, 2008

Cleaning windows

I grew up with a friend who played the ukulele and one of my favorite songs was “when I’m cleaning windows” by George Formby.
Today I’ve had a perfect day cleaning my bedroom window; nobody gets to enjoy it but me. (I used to , only clean the windows when guests were coming, and sometimes only the windos they would see :)When I started my spiritual journey, I never thought this would be the result. I aimed for something in the “out-of-the-body” category. I’m not quite sure what exactly, but instead I find myself getting more and more into my body finding truth and ease there. If somebody told me I would get to like to clean windows or the kitchen floor, I would have walked away. I’m soo glad nobody told me anything. I guess that when the self don’t fill the whole space, it’s more interesting to be alone and doing things that don’t involve my mind so much is now more enjoyable. Sometime my mind tells the story of “Jenni – you’ve got to change, got to do more” even with my daily yoga practice. It’s got to be longer, more evolving or fix me somehow. But I stick to what’s working and for the first time it’s continuous. By sticking to it, I get to experience the changes in me, by not arguing and changing ever so often, I get to experience how fickle the mind is and how reliable my heart is. Beauty!
Tomorrow is the “to be new” yoga event. The place I teach has promised inversions, pranayama and a meditation. That will be a challenge! I’ve only got 2 hours.
The little (event-) seed that’s been growing says; that it will be about pranayama (regenerating-to be new-power of breath) and simple series to get to experience how we are new- with every breath we take.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Integrity

I think it was two years ago, when I first got to know Desikachar, I started to make a big deal about doing things in your own tempo, it grew into “doing things in the tempo of your own breath”. Now I see the fruits of this in my yogis, when I look at their bodies it's like looking at integrity. More and more trust in the moment and respect of one self. I feel it affect me. I need to respect our diversity, not lead, not change - just trust.
Something else is that I’ve fallen in love in the fact that I’m aloud to say “I don’t know” and “I was wrong” nothing is so liberating and filling me with innocents as these two statements (today).
So my classes have been about integrity and being whole this weekend. Sometimes I’m surprised that they do what I say! I forget that in this game we have different roles. I feel so privileged to learn from watching them work on the mat. Have you ever tried to look at someone’s feet and than said the wrong word, like; “lift your feet to the heart”, instead of the hand? I do that, and it just makes my day, I love what comes out, I love to laugh and so does my yogis. We just really enjoy ourselves.
Happy Easter holidays.
Namasté

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

humming bird

I’m so grateful for my strong back. It carries me safely (I am safe and protected) into the big backbends and I’m not a kid any longer. This morning I woke up with a weird feeling, a pain, in my body. I went to a yogaclass at a friends place (Hamsa) I usually don’t have much time to take classes, just give classes and minding my daily practice, but today I needed to fill up. It was nice, I tried to move on with my day afterwards, but my body stopped me; telling me to pay attention. So I did. It was summing, or humming filled with presence, life. Nothing should be altered or changed, just some stillness and experience of the moment.
We have made a new blog to this semesters course-project in “knowledge management” I’m so glad to work together with two students this semester, it’s a lot of fun and play.
My head is filled with ideas for the summer-retreat and also some ideas for the event about being new – Easter Monday.
Namasté
Jenni

Monday, March 03, 2008

thoughts on thoughts

I’m surrounded by thinkers, and I really get it. When I suddenly gets something it’s such an incredible ego boost.
Thinking, thinking, thinking, and somehow, no matter how bright those thoughts are, it’s still just thoughts. My thoughts can make me crazy; they can tell me that they are me! - That there’s nothing else. I really loved Descartes, with his “cogito ergo sum” but, yoga teaches me something else.
Thoughts, feelings are rising into a crest and breaking on the shore of the spirit.
It’s in the doing that I live, in my breath, my heartbeat, my limitations and possibilities. In the doing, no matter if its asanas, domestic work, studies. I can reverse all this and go the opposite way, but today I find serenity in the doing (and in the doing of non-action).
“It's IN THE DOING, IN THE DOING that we find
A certain way that we can live our lives
And OBTAIN some peace of mind” (Van Morrison)
Namasté Jenni

Sunday, March 02, 2008

I’m soo tired!

My whole back is like a lodge, just ,,, still.
This week classes have evolved around “Na ma ha” (to honour). So I guess I honour my human condition “tired” right now, by loving the feeling and not trying to force it away. Today I met with my colleagues, and I always get so much inspiration out of that, I get in contact with something inspiring inside me. We talked about how some movements we just do, and other we just dictate. For me one of the Tibetan sun salutations is a “do’er” while most other sun salutations I show once – at the most and than just dictate. Sunday’s class were filled up with yogis that have taken classes for a long time, so concentration was dense! We did four different headstands, I just love the effect of the headstands. Now, my tired but and I will drag us down into a car, and let my dear friend drive me around, while we listen to,, probably Van Morrison or some lovely music.
Music has meant a lot this week, I finally found energy again in music, it came to me in “And it stoned me”, it was like I was a fighting little puppy, and the music just rolled me over and suddenly my belly was up, I had surrendered and the fight was over. Nice.
Namasté jenni