I ordered two new sandbags.
Chad (my husband) found out they come empty.
He bought a 50-lb. bag of sand.
Frozen solid bag of sand.
Became wet sand.
Gave it a week to thaw/dry in the bag.
Didn't work.
Wanted to use sandbags.
Tried the wet sand.
Didn't work really well.
Chad's idea: bake the sand.
Turns out that in about 30 minutes...
6 lbs. of sand per cookie sheet...
Two cookie sheets at a time...
300 degrees in the convection oven...
Cool for a few hours...
and now we have enough dry sand for one sandbag.
The sand for the second one is currently baking.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
The Healing Power of Yoga
When I began yoga in 1997, it was at the onset of a serious illness. Although I'm now in recovery, I continue to find the healing power of yoga during almost every practice. Over the years, I have read piles of books on both my disease and yoga, underlining excerpts I found meaningful and relevant. Today, I share the readings while I teach and found that although I originally saved them for my personal journey, they relate to others' journeys as well.
I've included a handful of them below.
Enjoy them. Heal from them. Share them.
"That's why the process can take years and years and years because it's just giving yourself the opportunity to try different things and allowing yourself to fail and allowing yourself to just keep on plugging. That's all you can do." - From Sensing the Self
"I believe that only one person in a thousand knows the trick of really living in the present. Most of us spend 59 minutes an hour living in the past, with regret for lost joys, or shame for things badly done (both utterly useless and weakening) - or in a future which we either long for or dread. Yet the past is gone beyond prayer and every minute you spend in vain effort to anticipate the future is a moment lost. There is only one world, the world pressing against you at this minute - here and now. The only way to live is by accepting each minute as an unrepeatable miracle. Which is exactly what it is - a miracle and unrepeatable." - Storm Jamseon
"I am no spiritualist and I grew up without religion, but that ropy fiber that runs through the center of me that holds fast even when the self has been stripped away from it: anyone who lives through this knows that it is never as simple as complicated chemistry." From The Noonday Demon
"Time passes. There is nothing we humans can do to hinder or promote that process. It will pass. No joy or pain will last either. It too will pass. So relax, just be here. Experience this time fully. If it is painful, know that it won't always be so. If it is joyful, savor it. File it in a handy spot in your heart so that you will be able to find it again." - Gruffle Clough
I've included a handful of them below.
Enjoy them. Heal from them. Share them.
"That's why the process can take years and years and years because it's just giving yourself the opportunity to try different things and allowing yourself to fail and allowing yourself to just keep on plugging. That's all you can do." - From Sensing the Self
"I believe that only one person in a thousand knows the trick of really living in the present. Most of us spend 59 minutes an hour living in the past, with regret for lost joys, or shame for things badly done (both utterly useless and weakening) - or in a future which we either long for or dread. Yet the past is gone beyond prayer and every minute you spend in vain effort to anticipate the future is a moment lost. There is only one world, the world pressing against you at this minute - here and now. The only way to live is by accepting each minute as an unrepeatable miracle. Which is exactly what it is - a miracle and unrepeatable." - Storm Jamseon
"I am no spiritualist and I grew up without religion, but that ropy fiber that runs through the center of me that holds fast even when the self has been stripped away from it: anyone who lives through this knows that it is never as simple as complicated chemistry." From The Noonday Demon
"Time passes. There is nothing we humans can do to hinder or promote that process. It will pass. No joy or pain will last either. It too will pass. So relax, just be here. Experience this time fully. If it is painful, know that it won't always be so. If it is joyful, savor it. File it in a handy spot in your heart so that you will be able to find it again." - Gruffle Clough
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Yoga Nidra
Recently I have started practicing Yoga Nidra (Nidra=Sleep). In Yoga Nidra, you bring your consciousness between wakefulness and sleep through a systematic guided relaxation. It is an aspect of pratyahara, and eventually leads to Samadhi. Every source I have looked at says something a little different, but 30 minutes of Yoga Nidra is equivalent to approximately 2 hours of ordinary sleep! There are three kinds of tension that we accumulate; Muscular, Emotional, and Mental. Yoga nidra helps to release these tensions and cultivates peace within ourselves which we can then radiate out.
In the book I have on Yoga Nidra there is a table with the “States of Consciousness” on it…
1. Awake > Conscious mind > Sensory awareness, external knowledge
2. Yoga nidra > Superconscious mind > deep relaxation, visionary states
3. Dreaming sleep > Subconscioius mind > release of emotions
4. Deep sleep > Unconscious mind > Awakening of instincts
Om,
c
In the book I have on Yoga Nidra there is a table with the “States of Consciousness” on it…
1. Awake > Conscious mind > Sensory awareness, external knowledge
2. Yoga nidra > Superconscious mind > deep relaxation, visionary states
3. Dreaming sleep > Subconscioius mind > release of emotions
4. Deep sleep > Unconscious mind > Awakening of instincts
Om,
c
Returning
The holidays have pulled me from regular things. Practice included. So (and I don't know why) I'm afraid something won't be right when I return. Tonight, after work, I will recall this story as I settle onto my mat.
A father was rightfully proud of his daughters progress on the paino. He asked a well known composer, with whom he was acquainted, to listen to the girl play. The composer listened and when the girl finished the father asked, "Isn't she wonderful?" After a pause the composer observed, "She has amazing technique; I have never heard anyone play such a simple piece with such great difficulty."
Mike
A father was rightfully proud of his daughters progress on the paino. He asked a well known composer, with whom he was acquainted, to listen to the girl play. The composer listened and when the girl finished the father asked, "Isn't she wonderful?" After a pause the composer observed, "She has amazing technique; I have never heard anyone play such a simple piece with such great difficulty."
Mike
Drishtis
Drishti - point of gaze or focus
Nasagrai - tip of the nose
Ajna Chakra - between the eyebrows
Nabi Chakra - the navel
Hastagrai - the hand
Padhayoragrai - the toes
Parsva Drishti - far to the right
Parsva Drishti - far to the left
Angusta Ma Dyai - the thumbs
Urdhva or Antara Drishti - up to the sky
Atma Drishti - keep your gaze on God / all you see is divine
Nasagrai - tip of the nose
Ajna Chakra - between the eyebrows
Nabi Chakra - the navel
Hastagrai - the hand
Padhayoragrai - the toes
Parsva Drishti - far to the right
Parsva Drishti - far to the left
Angusta Ma Dyai - the thumbs
Urdhva or Antara Drishti - up to the sky
Atma Drishti - keep your gaze on God / all you see is divine
Friday, January 8, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
new year resolution
for the holiday my mother gave me a journal -
on the first page she wrote...
"this is a gratitude journal for you. whenever you make an entry, write down the date and then list a few things that you are grateful for. one day, you will look back over your journal and you will see just how blessed life has been."
this is my new year's resolution.
taking a few minutes at the end of each day
looking back and seeing how wonderful it was,
and writing five things i am grateful for.
for example,
an entry for today:
i am grateful for triple A coming and starting my car after 3 days in the cold snow :)
XO, ashley
on the first page she wrote...
"this is a gratitude journal for you. whenever you make an entry, write down the date and then list a few things that you are grateful for. one day, you will look back over your journal and you will see just how blessed life has been."
this is my new year's resolution.
taking a few minutes at the end of each day
looking back and seeing how wonderful it was,
and writing five things i am grateful for.
for example,
an entry for today:
i am grateful for triple A coming and starting my car after 3 days in the cold snow :)
XO, ashley
Sabian 2010
Sabian's New Year's resolution is to feed the squirrels in our back yard an apple every Sunday.
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