SeaHeart

I'm sitting out on the back deck while I write this, still in meditation pose on my yoga mat after my morning yoga practice. I'm vibrant, my heart chakra great and open. The birds keep coming to the bird feeders around the deck, peering down at me, possibly chuckling in their own language. "Humans get themselves into all sorts of strange, pretzel-y shapes when that sort of music plays," I imagine they're saying to one another before they grab a mouthful of seeds and fly away.

Butterflies keep coming to say hello. When I was meditating earlier, I had to keep my eyes open, staring up at the sky, because the blue was so brilliant and so beautiful, I couldn't shut it out. Butterflies kept flying over my head, and the sunshine was cresting over the edge of the house, and it was this purely resounding moment of all-is-right-with-the-world.

I have a lot of work to do today on my novel, but all of the thoughts melted away. It's windy, and if you breathe in deeply, you can smell the cool blue from the Great Lakes, carried in by the persistent breezes. These are rare days when you can smell the lakes, and it's such an adventurous smell. Like, if you breathed it in enough, you might go on a quest because you had to, because your heart asked you to.

Or, you know...write about one.

<3

I've been doing yoga since I was twelve (TWELVE. I was a crazy child.), and ever since then, I've been trying to get a daily yoga practice going in my life. I'll do it for three months, then stop one day, and I'm back to my sporadic few times a week.

I'm a little obsessed with Yoga Journal--it's the only magazine I read front cover to back cover, every single month, and they have this *wonderful* thing starting on Monday, called the 21 Day Challenge--from their site:

Have you ever tried to start a home practice but couldn't stick with it? Well, we have the solution! In our 21-Day Yoga Challenge, which starts on Jan. 10, you'll receive all the help you need to create a home yoga practice that works for your life. No matter how much time you have or how you feel on any given day, it's still possible to practice yoga and reap the benefits.

How does it work? Each day, we'll present original videos of yoga sequences. There are 15-minute videos for morning and night; 30-minute videos to help refine your poses, work your core, and develop strength; and a super fun 45-minute flow sequence that'll have you moving all around your mat and getting a great workout in the process. By the end of the challenge, you'll have an arsenal of practices at your disposal to use whenever and however you want.

You'll also be able to listen to mediation and pranayama exercises, thanks to our friends at Sounds True. And you can blog about your experience on our Challenge Chat page. Finally, our Challenge newsletter will give you a little nudge each day, with background information about that day's video sequence, practice tips, and healthy and delicious recipes from Vegetarian Times.

How do you join in? Just sign up here with your email address, and on Jan. 10 you'll receive your first newsletter and a link to the first video and the 21-Day Yoga Challenge website. That's it! It's free and it's just for you.

What are you waiting for? Take the challenge!

Whether you're a beginner who has never said an "om," or you've studied with the major yoginis, this sounds like it'll be fabulous and fun, and holy heavens, it might actually get me to everyday and keep me there. I don't want to pin my hopes on it, but why the heck not~ ;D That's my yoga of hopefulness right there!

I wanted to mention it here to see if anyone else would like to do the challenge with me~! I don't consider yoga an exercise (though it does have awesome healthy benefits!), but a spiritual practice...if you've always wanted to, there's no better time than the present~ Also, I'd love a few people to do it with and share our happy findings~

Who thinks they might like to try it? :) <3

EVEN THE KITTIES LIKE YOGA:

image by Greenland♥Canada♥