Yoga, T'ai Chi Chih, the Tibetan Five (which is Yoga) and Just Hoping for Good Luck

My mom aged pretty damn gracefully on her cigarettes and gin. She was a fun to be with, had lots of energy as a grandma, and powered forward after a traumatic lung surgery in 1970-something to live a regular hard working life. Her second lung surgery in 2009 didn't go nearly as well. She finally quit smoking a year or so after she moved in with me in 2012 at the insistence of her vascular surgeon, but even so, it was a slippery slope the last couple of years.

My daughter C., thinks our family might carry the Ozzy Osborne gene. I've always enjoyed drinking (nowadays I drink a lot less) and only twice in my life have I every been sick or even the least bit hung over from partying. But I feel the need for a different approach as I prepare to get on Medicare at the end of this year. After my mysterious illness a year ago I got a bit more serious about my T'ai Chi Chih practice, added more yoga to my week, and at the end of November I began practicing the Tibetan Five at home. The popular lore surrounding the Five makes some big claims about the fountain of youth and while I don't expect to wake some morning with black hair and a 125 lb. physique, I do feel stronger and think that the opening of the upper body and the strengthening of it is a definitely a good thing for me. I've tried to do various iterations of a home yoga practice for years and never was very consistent, but there are lots of videos online for the Tibetan Five. Because of that, and who knows whatever other reasons, the practice has become part of my routine and after beginning with only 5 reps of each of the 5 moves a few months ago, I've been up to the full 21 reps of all 5 moves for the past week or so. 

I also really enjoy reading about yoga and what it has to say about the physical body. Here are a few lines from  Light on Yoga by B.K. S. Iyengar:

      "The yogi feels that to neglect or deny the needs of the body and to think of it as something not divine, is to neglect and deny the universal life of which it is a part. The needs of the body are the needs of the divine spirit which lives through the body. The yogi does not look heavenward to find God for he knows that He is within, being known as the Antaratma (the Inner Self). He feels the kingdom of God within and without and finds that heaven lies in himself."

I've been aware of the divine in the natural world around me for most of my life, but my body often felt like it was only meant to get me into trouble. (Catholic school.) Nowadays, I feel in my bones (what an appropriate expression that is!) how it is the body that tethers us to all that we love in this life on Earth. I feel profoundly the loss of those loved ones who are now longer tied to this life, and I know too that someday I will let go of the tether. Until then I want to remind myself with these daily practices that there is a divine spirit that lives within this body of mine. 

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Wednesday Morning Beach Report: Squishy Pink Aliens, Found Art, and People just build things...

There were dozens of these on the sand this morning. They seemed to be alive--pulsating a bit, shiny and fresh looking. I'd read some neighborhood chatter on the internet saying these things were jellyfish eggs, but the internet look-up that I did says they are salps. They can link together, according to National Geographic, and swim around looking amazing. According to the LA Times, they showed up at the south beaches a few months ago. I was careful not to step on any.

Now for some found art:

Degas Bronze Ballerina lets her hair down and buys some stilts

Room with a View

Healthcare, Selfcare, Taking Care of Business, etc.

Last Saturday's Sunset

Here's a pretty picture to distract you from the political madness. I'm sick to death of looking at pictures of men deciding the fate of women. This morning, looking at the news, I thought my head would explode just like Trump claims Obamacare is exploding. Or was that implode? I'm pretty sure he claimed both. I want ALL young women to consider politics as a career. Women have to take charge. If there were a headcount of all the women in this country who have NOT been raped, sexually assaulted, sexually harassed, suffered domestic abuse, or suffered economic inequality, would there be anyone to count?

Meanwhile, I've been taking care of business (taxes) and cooking ratatouille and making a salad from collard greens that a T'ai Chi Chih student gave me this morning.

And the best part? I'll be sharing all this goodness with friends while celebrating the demise of the Republican health care bill.

Spring

Poppies at Arroyo Verde Park in Ventura

My adult children and my grandchildren spent much of last week at my house. We climbed a hill to see these poppies. We went whale watching and saw at least 30 gray whales and several hundred dolphins. It is a glorious thing to survey the ocean around you and see dolphins in every direction. We kayaked; we walked on the beach and hunted sea glass, shells, and interesting rocks. We visited the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum and Planetarium. We ate out at a restaurant on the sand, had high tea on my patio on the newly refurbished teak furniture, and ate delicious food at my table. I can't think of a better lead-up to the first day of spring--all the love, conversation, and the sheer bounty of this life.

I know that spring can feel like a false promise, a let-down, a so-this-is-all-there-is, but not for me this year. Of course, perfection always eludes, but at this stage of the game I'm calling even that perfect enough.

Three of the tag-team kayakers. The other two were picked up by their mom and taken home for hot showers.

Even this bear looks happy.

Photos of sand castles in progress, in ruins, or perfect always make me happy

Happy Spring!