Journey to the Heart

Ahhhhhhh yoga saved my life again today. =)

Just when I thought I hit the wall and was going to have to break the rules and lay down for awhile, I plugged in a Yoga to the People online class and just took out all my exhaustion and anxiety on my mat. The classes are all 60 minutes in length (I did number one today but have tried them all) but when the class was over, I kept my practice up for an extra 15 minutes or so doing my own sequence of three full wheels (10 breathes each), headstand, shoulderstand, plow pose and finally savasana and some seated meditation listening to my “relaxing music”. This was the cd that Kishan played all last weekend during my yoga workshop and now that I have downloaded it from itunes, I’m hooked. I don’t have any other music like this at all, but its so relaxing and just makes me want to stretch in downward facing dog.

After yoga I felt like a new person. My mom and I were talking the other day and we both wondered how in the world we survived without it! It is such a saving grace. For dinner I made some simple malsoor dal and had it with half a whole grain naan and a salad made with arugula, tomato and blue cheese with Annie’s woodstock dressing on top.

Malsoor Dal

Serves 2

1/2 cup dry red lentils

1 3/4 cup water

1/4 cup minced onion

1/2 cup diced tomatoes (I used a canned kind)

1/8th tsp turmeric

1/4th tsp garam masala

1 tsp sea salt

1/4th tsp powdered ginger

pinch hot pepper flakes

In a large pot, combine all ingredients except for garam masala and turmeric. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat, add the remaining spices, and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the lentils have soaked up all the liquid. Serve with hot naan bread or basmati rice on the side.

And you know it——warm rice pudding with cinnamon for dessert:

Tonight I’m taking a different approach to falling asleep. I am not going to even get in my bed until 7:30 and then read for 1 hour before turning off my lights. Last night I was so focused on having to get to bed asap and then I couldn’t fall asleep because I just dwelled on it to the point of a panic attack. Since I have had less than 8 hours sleep combined in the past two nights, I SHOULD be more than ready tonight. If not, I guess I’ll just catch up on my sleep tomorrow night since I don’t work Friday, Saturday or Sunday due to graduation.

I hope everyone has a lovely humpnight and I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon!

Here’s a quote from my little daily meditation book I read. I thought it was very fitting—

“Be sensitive to the changes both subtle and dramatic around you—-and in you. Give yourself time and freedom to adapt to these changes and figure out what they mean to you. Give yourself time to catch up. Be gentle with yourself. Listen to your needs. Let yourself adapt to the changes that are right for you.”

Its from “Journey to the Heart” by Melody Beattie. I LOVE this little book. I ordered it off amazon a couple years ago when I had a yoga instructor quote from it and the quote was just so beautiful and touching that I knew I needed the book myself. For some reason, her writing is such a comfort to me and I look forward to reading a passage written by her every night before bed. I highly recommend it!