Yesterday we began a journey toward weight loss at the doctor’s office where I work during the day. Thirty-five people dared the doorway of our office to step onto our biggest loser scale. Young and old. Men and women. They all signed their names to a new community. A community of people seeking the same thing: weight loss. We had lots of resources to give them, that would help them reach their goals. And a money incentive was a big part of it too. Continue Reading…
Have you ever felt drunk? Or so exhausted, you fall asleep while talking to someone? You walk around in a white haze, focusing. Focusing until your head aches and screams for sleep. Do you know what it is like when your body is deficient of vitamins? Your brain does not work right. You open your mouth to speak and your brain fails to do its part, your confidence coils up inside yourself and you long for sleep: the only thing to rescue you from the sadness. Continue Reading…
Let us venture into this conversation. Can Christians do yoga? I really want to know what you think. Even though you know where my opinion lands, let us examine some of the issues. Pastor Mark Driscoll wrote one of the best essays I’ve read against Christian yoga. I love Pastor Mark! He is a great pastor and speaker. I even have a leopard gecko named after him. Yet, I do not share all of his opinions. His blog about Christian yoga very accurately sets forth the history and origin of yoga and its spiritual implications. Read Continue Reading…
Music is the nourishment of life. I always know when I am becoming deficient because I start to become tired and withdrawn. There is nothing like a good song to enrich my heart and set it to singing. Music not only lifts my mood and helps me pass the time but it motivates me in my daily workout. A good playlist is a must when sticking with the discipline of exercise. And different styles are good for different exercises. For instance, when I am doing a cardiovascular exercise, an upbeat playlist is appropriate. And when I am doing yoga, a gentle yet driving pace is needed. Continue Reading…
Right now, I am devouring a bag of potato chips. I am alone. My husband is outside, so I can gorge myself in silence, free from judgement. Mmmmm
This is something I do not allow often, in fact I never buy potato chips but it ended up in my house, leftovers from a party. And I am discovering an addiction. Oh. The crunch. The salt. The texture of sweet oil along with the flavors of potato and sour cream. It is a love affair. Addictions can attach themselves to anything. Whether we consider them large or small, whether we consider them at all, they worm their way into our hearts and control our will. Continue Reading…
What is courage? Mostly, I relate courage to what I see in the movies but feeling that kind of courage in my real life is non existent. In terms of the extreme drama of cinema, I most certainly do not carry a gun and shoot bad guys. No one kidnaps my loved-ones or threatens to frame me and put me in jail. Nothing to that intensity asks of my courage. Continue Reading…
Last week I alluded to my frustrations with the Westernized versions of Eastern philosophies. Last week it was in regard to the marketing world of yoga accessories. This week, my frustrations were further fueled when entering a tea store. A tea store laced with figures of Buddha and Eastern Religion, so overpriced and shiny. The clerks, wearing their fake smiles, and feeding us lines to try to get us to buy more. So skilled in their sales techniques were they that we had to listen closely in order to get out with only what we intended to buy. Never before have I used so many “No thank yous” at a register. And I began to recall the history of the Buddha. Wasn’t he about a life of poverty and freedom from attachments? This place wreaked of contradiction. Continue Reading…
I’ve seen all kinds of yoga mats. I myself own four. Here are some of my personal opinions on yoga mats. First, there is a difference between an exercise mat and a yoga mat. You can do yoga on both. Hey you can do yoga on anything, but as far as what is the best with grip and stability for your poses, a yoga mat is best. Something that is thinner is usually best for grip. I own a thick, bulky one that is very comfortable for my feet but does not help me much with balance. You need a firm foundation to plant your hands and feet. Continue Reading…
There are times when sadness and anxiety can invade your brain and cloud your reason. As a woman, I admit, there are times when I plummet into a state of emotional confusion and despair. When I was younger, I reveled in it. Anyone else relate to this thinking? I enjoyed wallowing in sadness and self pity. It was almost pleasurable to experience despair, as sadistic as that sounds. But as I grew older and got married, I realized I now had to be a grown up. Continue Reading…
Sitting in a circle of people. The room is dark. Our minds are ready. There are seven chakras in the body and we breathe our way through a meditation that opens them. I have to admit, the sounds are perceived to be demonic, the audible chanting noises that they make as they concentrate on different chakras. I sit and retreat into myself as the others continue. I don’t understand the process. It seems a foreign and unnatural. And I write it off as against my religion. Continue Reading…
