Half Moon and a Church Pew

Today I am grateful for church services and yoga poses, both of which can help quiet and calm me.

I went to Palm Sunday services at our church yesterday with my family. As a child, I must admit that I dreaded Palm Sunday services because they were long. I have learned to enjoy the sitting, the listening, the setting I am in instead of wishing the time would pass faster. I guess some wisdom does come with age.

I mentioned yesterday that my friend Jenny practices and teaches yoga. She has taught me some exercises and there are a couple I use most days. One is a breathing exercise, the other is a stretching pose called Half Moon. This is the Bikram yoga Half Moon.

Between the breathing and the stretching, it is a good way to start my day. Together they open me up, clear out what clutter might remain from the previous day, and they allow me to be more receptive to the day ahead. Like any other habit, some days I feel them fully, some days I am more going through the motions.

When going through the motions requires some balance and movement, even if my mindset could be better, I am still getting the benefit of the movement. The same holds true of my gratitude journal. Some days the pen feels like an extension of the gratitude flowing from my soul. Other days it is just a pen on paper doing an obligatory ritual.

The good news is that I have far more days when the effort, exercise, and writing feel genuine. Far fewer when I am just "acting as if."

Thanks for the yoga lesson years ago Jenny. I picked up some useful material.

Today is indeed a new day. What will I do with it? What will you do with it?

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