Daffodils

Spring is here!  The daffodils are in full bloom and the robins are singing their song, and it feels good.  In the deep of winter Beverly and I made an agreement to get fit and implement health goals.  It’s been three months, and now as Spring rises to meet us, it is a good time to reevaluate and redefine what’s real and what needs to change.  Instead of getting “fit”, it’s really about staying healthy and feeling good.  This process has been about sustainability.  How do we create lasting change in our lives that promotes wellness?  Baby steps…….

I’ve decided I don’t want to have my body fat analyzed again.  I started at a healthy point, and honestly I don’t want to spend the money.  It was a great place to start because it let me know that I was right where I wanted to be.  My metabolism is spot on, and my cardiac fitness is above average.  I’m happy with that.  I’d rather put the funds towards more yoga classes!  In the end it’s how I feel about myself.   I’m feeling stronger all the time, and I’m starting to hold and get into new yoga poses I was unable to before.  Woohoo!  It feels so awesome.  Working with Tsipora at Silver Falls Yoga has been a great help, I highly recommend her classes.  

Reflecting back over the past three months I see the moments when I was down and the moments when I was up.  That’s the beauty of waking up to life, it’s full of expansion and contraction, birth and death, light and dark.  The sun is returning after the long winter, and now it’s a time to plant seeds and nourish them.  I’m contemplating what seeds I want to sprout.  I will continue deepening my yoga practice, and lately this is including the study of mantra.  In April, I start a 9 month yoga intensive with Sianna Sherman at Yoga Union in Portland, OR.  I’m looking forward to the opportunity to deepen my study and continuing to open my heart to living life fully in each moment.  What seeds are you planting in your life?  What do you want to see grow and flourish?  This is a great time to reflect on intentions set at the beginning of the New Year and reevaluate what’s true for you.  Is there something you need to recommit to?  Enhance?  Let go of?  What would create the best soil to plant the seeds for abundance and vitality in your life? 

I have some Qi Gong seeds I'm working on right now as well, but I will save that for another post.  

I just got a book in the mail about other people on the GAPS diet and their stories.  I'm looking forward to reading it, and I will share any inspirations I find.  I fell off the GAPS wagon around my birthday, but I'm finding my way back.  At least I fell off with a chocolate cake a friend made, and some nice red wine!  It was heavenly cacao cake, gluten free and beets for the sugar, WOW!!  We have to indulge every now and again, especially on food that is not only delicious but "mostly" healthy.  I've been gluten free for some time now due to celiac disease, and the more I heal my body the more vibrant I am.  Feeling the difference in my body when I make positive food choices is worth every moment spent in the kitchen making lunches, dinners, snacks, and breakfasts.  I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but it's worth it to know what's in my food.  Thankfully, my husband also loves to cook. 

Beverly will also be posting a blog this week about her struggles and strengths.  I’m looking forward to reading it.  I have invited a few people to be guest bloggers, so hopefully they will join in the fun as well. 

This picture is from my birthday celebration in February on the Oregon coast.  My husband, Tyson, and our dog, Trillium, had a magical few days watching waves roll in and crash against the land.  It was quite a gift to spend my birthday with the ocean and my sweet family.  Happy Spring everyone, may your light continue to shine shine shine into this wonderful world.