Cold Moon - December 2020

Long night moon.

Shortbread moon!

The last full moon of the decade.

The moon is full December 29, 10:28 pm

Christmas Bird Count

Caroline mentioned her Christmas bird count was coming up and Rob and I asked whether we could participate this year in the Uxbridge tally. Hurray! The answer was yes.

We met up with the field coordinator for our map and scouted our assigned territory the week beforehand. A list of commonly sighted species was shared, and we refreshed our memories with the Audubon Field Guide for the differences between purple finch and house finch; downy woodpecker and hairy; raven and crow. We picked up the binoculars from the  boat so we'd have a second pair. We printed the sheets so we could record the sightings. I was looking forward to this outing with anticipation, eager to try something new after months of isolation.

On the day, we set the alarm for the first time in months so we would arrive at the Goodwood Community Centre for 8 a.m. and then proceeded with the count, driving slowly along Concession 3 and Wagg Road. Pulling over to observe some of the feeders, which definitely attracted a good array. 

Bird counting is a skill and takes time to properly develop. We focused on trees and likely missed hawks overhead. I imagined as soon as we left a sight, an owl or some expurgated species would make an appearance that we would miss. Wings would flap that would make it challenging to i.d. markings. Birds wouldn't oblige us by sitting still so we could check out the shape of their beaks. And what about that flock overhead? The flight pattern of gently swooping on air... what were those songbirds?

We met up afterward at Anina's restaurant to compare tallies. In all, Rob and I contributed our count of about 80 of the individuals and eleven different species over the three hour window. Not bad for beginners! 

I thought I saw a Cedar Waxwing but the organizer said it was more likely Bohemian and so recorded as CW, which means not a confirmed sighting. Rob thought they were Snow Buntings. Eventually Rob and I agreed to disagree by saying it was possible we were looking at two different birds in nearby trees.

Northern shrike

We did get lucky right off the bat and saw two northern shrikes right at the start of our route. We played the shrike call several times through the 3 hours but weren't lucky enough to repeat the sighting.

Overall a very fun outing! Andy says he will send us a list of good birding spots we can check out for future adventures. 

This list is the most common species seen on the annual count (over 50% ).

2020 Christmas Eve

12+ courses!

Just the four of us this year, but I did want it to be extra special, for so many reasons.

Planning was part of the enjoyment and preparation was key if the night itself was to be as much fun for me as my family. I prepared as  much as I could ahead of time, and made a promise to myself to enlist help at the earliest inkling. I've attended dinners where hosts slave in the kitchen and there is an air of resentment... who wants an angry meal on Christmas Eve?

I designed a menu of courses for elegance and simplicity and high impact and am so pleased with how everything turned out! 

2020 Christmas Eve Menu

• Absinthe served at the fountain.
• Amuse bouche of blushing pickled eggs with capers, garnished with parmesan crisps and served on Chinese soup spoons
• H'ordeurves of endive with candied walnut & gorgonzola, garnished with pomegranate seeds, arranged in a circular burst as a flower
• Beet soup, garnished with lemon zest, kefir yoghurt and tarragon; served in white bowls to be sipped from antique silver soup spoons
• Salad of greens with heirloom tomatoes and golden beets, drizzled with balsamic vinegar
• Appetizer mezze of pea spread with smoked feta, served with onion flatbread crisps
• Scallops, pan seared and dotted with black garlic jelly and served with lemon wedges
• Chicken (brined) and wrapped in prosciutto, served with cranberry and kiwi relish
• Palate cleanser of lemon sorbet and prosecco
• Beef sirloin, with farro and cauliflower
• Cheese course: guinness cheddar / chevre / iberico with rosemary / gorgonzola / Langrese AOC (Champagne region), with jellies and nuts and dried fruit
• Dessert, beautiful tarts from McKewan's patisserie
• Mignardise, of a single chocolate truffle
• Digestiv / pousse cafe / liqueur

Festive water was on the table, in a clear jug with free floating lime circles and pomegranate seeds; a swirl of colour. 

To keep wine pairing simple I stuck with a progression of sparkling white / pinot gris / pinot noir / liqueur, rather than picking something specific for each course.

Things went mostly according to plan, with a few small hiccups. Timing was impeccable until we got to the palate cleanser when the sorbet was so frozen solid we couldn't spoon it out. So we skipped ahead to the beef, which wasn't quite done yet and had to be returned to the oven for a quick broil. We lost the rhythm then, and just didn't have the appetite for the cheese course, so saved it for another day and went straight to dessert!

Savoured ahead of time in anticipation, enjoyed in the present, and preserved as a memory. The perfect holiday meal.

Sad news today that will take awhile to absorb. I was happy to be a member of the community for many years, and the teachers, classes and sadhanas  have been truly life changing. The impact of the centre lives on. The physical building will close, but the spirit will live on.

YCT Permanently Closing

It is with deep sorrow that we announce, as of today, Wednesday December 23, 2020, Yoga Centre Toronto is permanently closing. Many businesses have been at the mercy of this global pandemic for nine months and counting, and this decision was necessary as YCT now faces insolvency.

First and foremost, thank you to Marlene. You have enriched countless lives with your vast knowledge. YCT was known as the epicentre of Iyengar teaching in Toronto and that would not have been possible without you.

Thank you to all the YCT teachers. Your commitment to the centre and work to spread the joy and practice of Iyengar yoga will always be forever remembered and appreciated. 

To our community: thank you to all our dedicated students for supporting YCT over the years and throughout the pandemic. You are the unsung heroes. In a world where there are a myriad of choices regarding health and wellness, you chose YCT and for that, we are incredibly grateful. Obviously, this is not the outcome we were all striving for and we thank all of you for encouragement and patience.

Moving forward, know that this should not be the end of Iyengar yoga for you. While this pandemic has brought many challenges, it has also opened doors to continue your practice in ways we never were able to before. The opportunities for virtual teachings across the globe are vast and inspiring and we encourage you to take advantage of them. To assist, we have included contact information of YCT teachers that will continue to provide classes privately.

The YCT community enriched lives, pushed boundaries, wrestled with tough decisions, fought for victories and overcame setbacks. This is not a failure and it is not an ending. As we now close our doors, we are thankful and celebrate the journey that was so rewarding. As we turn this page, we look forward to the future and what it has in store for all of us.

“Yoga is a light, which once lit, will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter the flame.” B.K.S. Iyengar

Winter Solstice 2020

Like so many events and festivities, this year I celebrated the Solstice virtually with friends. Instead of circling around a fire, we sat around our glowing screens.

Joining me to mark the shortest day were Irene, Wendy, Laura, Nicki, Grace, and Chris.

We enjoyed our food and then toasted the season, lifting our spirits. There was ouzo, Roku gin, Matcha gin fizz, sherry, Irish cream liqueur...

And poetry!! Illuminating, sad, brooding, humorous. 

I came across the poem the Shortest Day by Susan Cooper and was delighted by the illustrations of Carson Ellis for the children's book of the same name. It so magically catches the essence of darkening days and the importance of carolling and feasting and giving thanks. This year, so important.

All the illustrations in this post are from that book. Laura shared the illustrator Carson Ellis is married to Colin Meloy, the lead singer of one of her favourite bands, The Decemberists. Enjoying their songs as I put together this post.

Poems follow.........

The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper

And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, reveling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us—listen!
All the long echoes, sing the same delight,
This Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And now so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome, Yule!

_____________

from Laura....

To Know the Dark, by Wendell Berry

To go in the dark with a light is to know the light
To know the dark, go dark
Go without sight, and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
And is travelled by dark feet and dark wings

____________

from Nicki

Good Bones, by Maggie Smith

Life is short, though I keep this from my children.
Life is short, and I’ve shortened mine
in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways,
a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways
I’ll keep from my children. The world is at least
fifty percent terrible, and that’s a conservative
estimate, though I keep this from my children.
For every bird there is a stone thrown at a bird.
For every loved child, a child broken, bagged,
sunk in a lake. Life is short and the world
is at least half terrible, and for every kind
stranger, there is one who would break you,
though I keep this from my children. I am trying
to sell them the world. Any decent realtor,
walking you through a real shithole, chirps on
about good bones: This place could be beautiful,
right? You could make this place beautiful.

... more on the poem and its 

origin

___________

from Irene...

Vapour Trails by Richard Searsbrook 

1

Follow the scent

of cherry-blossom-incense

over terraced fields

with ankles caked in muck

eat rice, drink pungent tea

from cupped hands, outstretched arms

follow a trail of bone-white dust

where the blossoms scent grows stronger

than memory

than imagination

through the arched gateway

believe that you hear

every voice of China

singing through the silent haze

inhale the sweet summoning mist

inhale and hold

within arms' reach

a girl in golden robes

you know that you love her

even before she turns around

with an incense-burning lantern

held in her small hands

_____________

from Wendy.....

Lovely Hand, by Anonymous

Last night I held a lovely hand,
It was so small and neat,
I thought my heart with joy would burst
So wild was every beat.

No other hand unto my heart
Could greater pleasure bring
Than the one so dear I held last night.
Four Aces and a King

________________

from Grace

Ode to a Cat, by Pablo Neruda

El gato, sólo el gato apareció completo y orgulloso: nació completamente terminado, camina solo y sabe lo que quiere.
no hai unidad como él, no tienen la luna ni la flor tal contextura: es una sola cosa como el sol o el topacio ,
y la elástica línea en su contorno firme y sutil es como la línea de la proa de una nave.
Sus ojos amarillos dejaron una sola ranura para echar las monedas de la noche.

The cat, only the cat turned out finished, and proud:
Born in a state of total completion, it sticks to itself and knows exactly what it wants.
Nothing hangs together quite like a cat: neither flowers nor the moon have such consistency.
It's a thing by itself, like the sun or a topaz, and the elastic curve of its back, which is both subtle and confident, is like the curve of a sailing ship's prow.
The cat's yellow eyes are the only slot for depositing the coins of night.

... Pablo Neruda : Ode To The Cat

_______________________

from Chris, some lines from 

Tam O'Shanter by Robert Burns

But pleasures are like poppies spread:
You seize the flower, its bloom is shed;
Or like the snow fall on the river,
A moment white - then melts forever,
Or like the Aurora Borealis rays,
That move before you can point to their place;
Or like the rainbow’s lovely form,
Vanishing amid the storm.
No man can tether time or tide,
The hour approaches Tom must ride:
That hour, of night’s black arch - the key-stone,
That dreary hour he mounts his beast in
And such a night he takes to the road in
As never a poor sinner had been out in.

...the complete version 

Giddy-up

Well!

I just put in my applications for bridging to retirement. 

Incredible!

Even though the likelihood of these being approved is slim to none, I feel a real sense of lightness and being unburdened.

Wow!

Not needing to work for a paycheck anymore and being able to plan my days around what I truly enjoy. I have no shortage of interests and pursuits to fill my days. 

Exciting!

I hope that the bridging goes through, but even if it doesn't I have to think about the actual date that will be my last official day at work.

Freedom in 2021! 

"Often when you think you're at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else." –Fred Rogers

"For many, retirement is a time for personal growth, which becomes the path to greater freedom." –Robert Delamontague

"Retirement is the only time in your life when time no longer equals money." –Unknown

"Retire from your job, but never retire your mind." –Unknown

"Retirement is wonderful. It's doing nothing without worrying about getting caught at it." –Gene Perret

"I enjoy waking up and not having to go to work. So I do it three or four times a day." –Gene Perret

"Retirement: It's nice to get out of the rat race, but you have to learn to get along with less cheese." –Gene Perret

"When men reach their sixties and retire, they go to pieces. Women go right on cooking." –Gail Sheehy

"There are some who start their retirement long before they stop working." –Robert Half

"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want." –Bill Waterson

"Retirement isn’t the end of the road, but just a turn in the road." –Unknown

Abhi online

Abhijata Iyengar taught online for 4 days to honour the 102nd years birth anniversary (14 December) of Yogacharya BKS Iyengar (December 11 - 14). This was a welcome mini-intensive, as morning sessions were each two hours long.

Since it isn't possible to get direct feedback on how you are doing the asana in such popular sessions, there is actually all the more incentive to look within.

Am I pushing myself enough / too much?

What is my alignment?

How can I do this pose for my shoulder? My elbow? My hip?

How can I do this pose for my mind?

To help illustrate poses she had several 'models' that were demonstrating in the spotlight, sometimes with modifications.  A familiar body was Raya, who I was able to take in-person classes with at Yoga Centre Toronto, in previous years. He looked well.

This didn't feel like a presentation to a crowd, yet  the number of people in the sessions was 500 - 900 people, depending on the day. It is interesting that there can be a sense of such strong connection. I think it probably helps the production value is not too slick, and to observe the challenges they are facing trying to make their broadcasts around the world, struggling with Zoom as so many of us do.

I may never actually get to Pune, but I did get to see the facility where BKS taught and practised for so many years. (Previous sessions offered by Abhi and Preshant were in smaller spaces.)

Hoping there are more sessions to come in the future!

 

NO! If, ands or buts

Definitely I am fortunate, having secure employment during these times that provides not only income but a sense of purpose. Connections to friends and family. I do count my blessings and express gratitude daily. Still, Covid has been tough. No ifs ands or buts about it.

I haven't heard that expression for awhile. I know NO is meant to say ifs ands and buts aren't allowed, but it is often healthy to shift our thinking and look at situations in different ways. I've even heard musings that we'll all look back on these times and grow nostaligic.

Right now though. Ugh. NO!!! Lockdown again. 

Toronto moved into another lockdown November 23 of at least 28 days, taking us to to at least December 21. 

Really????!!! 8.5 months of social isolation and now back into the grey zone that limits personal contact to the immediate household and public gatherings to just 10. Only essential businesses remain open. The restrictions are devastating to many. 

I allowed myself to wallow for more than a few days as I don't want to pretend everything is fine and Covid is just a minor inconvenience. Denial can actually be a great coping strategy sometimes but right now I am choosing to discipline myself to start looking again for silver linings. 

SHIFT 

AND Yes, so much of the situation sucks BUT it's not all bad AND some  changes have resulted that would be good to keep in my life ahead.

Build that resiliency. Nurture post traumatic growth.

These last 8.5 months have been trying in many ways and I can't wait for many aspects to come to an end. BUT the situation has also shifted priorities AND  there are things I've embraced that I want to continue doing when this whole mess is over.

A deeper appreciation for family and friends. Not just when we are together, but wondering what they are up to and wishing them well.

Virtual connections don't replace in-person human interaction, but they are better than none. Now I enjoy weekly family Zoom calls with my siblings, yoga sessions with teachers all over the world, and online music collaborations. Masterclasses and free online classes from Harvard. Virtual uke jams. Working from home.

No commute! I haven't had to use an alarm clock in more than 8 months; I just wake wake up naturally. The time saved amounts to 2-3 hours every work day, not spent sniffing armpits on the subway or waiting for buses. Not having to endure this daily torture may be the best outcome of the pandemic for me. How did I put up with it for so many years?

Slow food. No need to focus on meals that come together in 30 minutes or less. Stews, roasted vegetables, sour dough... no need to rush. A slower pace in general.

Day trips Since taking the boat out of the water, we've taken day trips to Hamilton's Albion Falls, Collective Arts Brewery, and Fergus' covered bridge... there's still lots more to explore within an easy drive. Social distancing but not totally locked down.

Home improvements I'm not sure we would have taken on so many home improvement projects these months if we hadn't been homebound. I am appreciating all the comforts of home and views of my back garden. Of course, it isn't lost on me that we are trying to control what we can inside our home environment to make up for all that we can't control that's going on outside. The improvements we've made will be enjoyed for years to come.

Local walks have helped me appreciate my neighbourhood more, with it's easy access to trails and paths into Taylor Creek park. Lots of homes en route have cute Little Libraries on front lawns, so I have found  a way to deal with the overflow on my bookshelves. So many tidy front lawns and a few inspiring pollinator gardens. Neighbours and kindred spirits out and about and walking along the sidewalks and pathways. People nodding and smiling to each other, after all, we're in this together.

...............

Snow Moon - November Full Moon 2020

"This month's full moon occurs on Monday, Nov. 30 at 4:30 a.m. EDT (9:30 UTC), but the moon will appear full the night before and after its peak to the casual stargazer." Well, I guess that casual stargazer includes me. Here is the moon on the 28th, peeking through bare branches into my living room from across the street at just 5 pm.

I picked up this Moon Magick book in 2000 and came across it this month as I was purging my bookshelves. It was nestled behind another row of paperbacks, along with its myth and magic, crafts and recipes, rituals and spells. I liked it for the long list of goddesses it names. November alone: Einheriar (Norse), Isis (Egyptian), Nicnevin (Scotland), Parvati-Devi (Hindu), Mawu (African creatress) and Hertsui No Kami (goddess of the kitchen range in Japan). 

Trouble is, as I google Hertsui No Kami now it seems she is not on any wiki lists, so this is definitely not an authoritative source but more of a curiosity sparker.

For November, one of the rituals suggested is a festival of the kitchen. It says, honour your household cook by taking him/her out for dinner. Well, I have given myself a treat of a full-bodied glass of porter aged in a bourbon casket, served alongside slices of a nice strong blue cheese from B.C. Dark, bittersweet ale and a pungent pale cheese laced with inky blue magick. Light and dark, sweet and bitter. Quite celestial.

Home Office

Every 'before' photo was at one time an after photo. The latest after photo is on the right, above.

The old fridge here has become a combination standing desk and filing cabinet. I like the honey-toned wood and history of the old wooden box, even if it is a bit squat.

Crown moulding! A finishing touch I've wanted for more than a decade. Does it make a difference? Yes, I think so.

The room was painted probably 4 or 5 years ago, and I did love its rich deep colour. When we were updating this time around I almost chose a colour called 'Starry Night,' a deep plum that would play on Van Gogh's almond blossoms, in name at least.

I decided on sunlit yellow hues, warm and welcoming. Although I read somewhere that painting walls a bright yellow can make people irritable, these are more golden. So far I am very much enjoying the ambience.

Finally unboxed the books, and heavily edited. One hundred or so paperbacks are going to the Prison for Women. I wonder if they will accept My Sister the Serial Killer? It's there, alongside Thoreau and Virginia Wolf. I also have a box of hardbacks to distribute in neighbourhood little library boxes (the prisons won't accept hardcovers as they are too often turned into weapons).

Just two of my grandfather's paintings, rather than a wall. The intention is to rotate rather than overwhelm.

Loving the new home office. Easy commute and very comfortable. I have placed a foot massager under my desk and a neck massager on the book shelf. Creature comforts!

First snow

 What a difference a day can make, in a garden and in a life.

The white astors with their yellow centres are cheering the view November 20th. 

First snowfall November 21, 2020.

November 20 

November 21

November garden

November 8th there were still gorgeous colours and leaves on the trees, but by the 20th branches were laid bare by a windstorm and a melancholy blue sky filled the background. We can see the backs of our neighbours now and watch their habits at night... which means of course, they can see what we're up to as well. Time to get some blinds in the bathroom.

Temperatures from zero to 10 degrees, it's hard to predict the weather.

Things were so busy I didn't get around to planting new bulbs or transplanting this year, just emptied the pots and did a cover/smother operation on the ravine to make way for new plantings in the Spring.

The red chair sits lonely in the corner.

Chartreuse coral bells belie the season.

November 8

October was all that and more

Extremely busy = (fulltime work) + (2 book club meetings + 4 Heliconian lectures + weekly yoga + bi-weekly Scarboro Uke Jam + weekly card game + weekly family Zoom ) +  (month-long weekend yoga sessions with Preshant + saying 'yes' to a virtual musical collaboration) + Thanksgiving + weekend get togethers with family and friends 

Busy, yes, but also seasonal changes. Sailing season at its end. Putting the garden to bed. Swapping out my wardrobe for warm and woolly.

Things that were planned for the future were suddenly crystalizing or happening sooner than expected. 

• New/old job and abrupt work return to my home position
• Total realization that I was ready, willing, and able to retire in under a year
• Multiple projects for home renovations wrapping up

Although not something I'd planned to do at the start of the month, before month's end I found myself on the Board of Directors as Vice Commodore at BPYC. The position was going unfilled and I do love this community, so when a few people encouraged me to take it on, I thought it was about time to step up.

It seems many of my friends were announcing some big changes of their own, too. Selling their houses to leave the city, celebrating their kids getting engaged, orchestrating buy-outs and early retirements at work, taking on pet ownership for the first time... 

Although in some ways during this pandemic it has often felt life is on hold, that's just so far from true. As Robert Frost said, "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."

Mindbending with Preshant

Being able to take online yoga classes during these times of Covid has been a godsend. 

There have been the classes close to home, with Marlene, Niren, Jocelyn, Stephanie and Jane. There have also been classes with Iyengar teachers in India: Zubin, Abhi, and now Prashant. He is the son of BKS Iyengar, brother to Gita, and head of the Institute in Pune.

Many students worldwide travel to Pune for the privilege of studying with the Iyengars and their senior teachers, however as many classes have moved online, these too have become easier to access.

I'd been looking forward to Preshant Iyengar's classes, originally scheduled in September/October, however he caught Covid and the sesssions were suspended indefinitely. Thankfully Prashant recovered quickly from the illness and sessions were soon rescheduled. 

I overheard someone from YCT grumble about Prashant's classes. Practitioners either click with his unique style.... or don't.  For these online classes, more than 400 students were signed up, so Prashant definitely does have his fans. Although a bit of a philosophic rambler, he encourages practitioners to experience the poses in new ways as he explores poses from different perspectives. 

Just as in meditation, I found my mind wandering as it went exploring, off on a tangent of its own and then back again to listen to Prashant. There was ample opportunity to feel and experience the points being made. 

Prashant shared that his father did not practise asana for 80 years, he explored asana; many asana were no longer available to him after 60 years or age, or 70 etc. The aim is not for perfect alignment or perfect asana.

Class was taught to all physical levels of capability including those with debilitating conditions who had to modify the poses to supine only. Still, the yoga could be done.

...

Weekend One: We studied 4 poses: adho mukha savasana (downward dog), trikonasana (triangle), Utthita Parsvakonasana (side angle), and Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (bridge). Doing each with focus on the inhale, on the exhale, on the mind, on alignment, eyes open, eyes closed. He talked about "three sides of a coin" and how focusing on one while using the others to support can totally change the experience. He spoke of how inserting a pause into a sentence can change the entire meaning of a sentence, and so too, a pause in the pose can change its purpose. Using the poses, rather than doing the poses. The next day we focused on triangle pose, and he spoke about bringing your 'right mind,' not necessarily the full mind, to the practise. Strengthening will to choose the view. 

Weekend Two: we did triangle pose for more than an hour, back and forth on each side for extended minutes, to experience the different states of activate, activated, activating.... from those three sides of the coin: body, breath, and mind. Prashant said he has a hashtag #prashantsteachingisconfusing but he doesn't mind. I almost burst out laughing by myself in the room as it resembled my passing thoughts. I didn't find them confusing per se, but would think a statement overly simple before falling into its depth. Like photography, the depth of perception that alters focus on the subject. As in other subjects, context is everything.

Because of yoga having three dimensions of body, mind and breath some practitioners may emphasize asana as for body; meditation for the mind; pranayama for breath. This may help to understand how one can be dominant in practice, but in reality all three are needed to work together in each discipline.

Weekend Three: Poses were more demanding, with deep backbends, sirsana, sarvangasana & ended with supported forward bend. 

Experiences demonstrated that any asana can be done with a focus on a different aspect; sirsasana can become legasana or abdomasana or shoulderasana or breathasana or mindasana... Where you place mind the rest will follow, so do not try to place everything in dogmatic fashion but focus on one area or aspect and other parts of body often fall into place... don't try to master all or you may become the master of none

To explore: - In poses try to continue lengthening/deepening each exhalation.

Weekend Four: Pranayama. 

Prashant spoke about how poses have different breaths and we observed breath in different positions and would then return to sitting to concentrate on how to bring that breath... for example take  forward bending asana where you can feel the breath in the back and then sit upright and try to replicate.

Breath is a profound instrument. Sample valoma ah ah ah ah ee ee ee ee /ah ee ah ee ee ah ee ah. With this approach there are 335 variances of prana in any position using sounds of vowels and consonants. In his book, Pranayama: A Classical and Traditional Approach Prashant outlines more. This is a very complex subject which much has been written, taking four kriyas and five prana viyus and applying in different combinations and multiple ways.

For now I am content to explore just four modules using the placement of a bolster:  horizontal under buttocks, then waist, then torso and then vertical under spine. Observe the involuntary breathe for awhile before gently voluntary exhale; then voluntaray inhale. Do not force or be aggressive. 

To explore: valoma breath in asana.

Blue Moon on All Hallows

Awakened to a bright, moonlit morning at 6am. Silver circle in the sky. The man in the moon peeking through the skylight, casting shadows. An early start to sly mischief on the Blue Moon of All Hallows.

  the moon is officially full at 10:49 am

Homebodies

We've been spending a lot of time at home due to Covid, and appreciating all the more any enhancements we're making to our living space. Generally, the home improvement business is booming and it's hard to find and book contractors for smaller jobs like ours. 

Our projects started in the spring, but with various mix-ups and contractor availability, final deliveries and installations are being made this week. Phase Two of our reno will be almost complete, except for painting in the home office and main floor hallway. No changes to footprint, just some door and window upgrades, new hardwood floors, resurfacing lumpy walls in the home office, and upgrading storage for our music/art/yoga loft studio.

Lots of progress happened this week but it's not quite done, not quite yet.

Monday: The last of the carpets was cleaned and delivered after a lengthy delay... not sure if it was forgotten in some factory corner, but now the dining room rug looks like new. The close pile and pattern have held up well for 25+ years. Gleaming hardwood under the table was quite nice but so is having the rug back in its place. A repair caused about 7" to be removed from width, which actually fits in more nicely with the room. 

Tuesday-Friday: Home office mural and skim coat done! Originally this was to be tearing out the old plasterboard and installing insulation, which would also get rid of the visible folds and indentations in the wall. When I heard the old window frames would also need to be replaced, I modified the scope to a good skim coat with wallpaper overtop instead. Wallpaper led to murals, and the mural led to Van Gogh's Almond Blossoms. The vibrant colours are energizing, and a unique background for all those virtual meetings. More to do before the home office is complete, including final painting, getting the books back in their shelves, and finding a comfy reading chair and lamp. Very happy with the way the mural turned out.

Wednesday: Wall unit installed upstairs in 'loft' after picturing the transition back in May. The install will need a few touchups, including longer side doors next to the rad and replacing a cracked shelf. They'll be back in two weeks. I'm already finding the doors a bit of a pain when it comes to accessing my yoga gear, but this is a definite improvement as far as organizing space and increasing storage. 

Friday: The third wrong door was delivered today, so not installed, because when it finally arrived it had the wrong glass. I think the contractor was hoping we'd take it anyway, but we specifically ordered that pattern because it reminded us of Frank Lloyd Wright. Although not quite right, quite yet, this new front door is one of my favourite improvements because it lets in so much more light and totally opens up the space in our tiny foyer. After a few months wait, the first door that was delivered was the wrong panel design, and we had to wait 4 more weeks for the next door. When it finally arrived, it opened on the wrong side but we had it installed anyway. We've lived the righthand opening for awhile but the proper welcome will provide guests to a view of the living room instead of the radiator wall. Hopefully the right door (with the lefthand opening) will be delivered and done before the cold sets in, but we'll have to wait to see when the factory can deliver. 

Putting everything back in place is an opportunity to get better organized!