Returning from a slip (of mind and body)

I was reminded once again how easy it is to let go of a habit.

Not because you're trying to change it, but because your routine changes.

My routines are the foundations of those habits I seek to promote. Time is precious. And mine, like most other people's, is limited. Which is why, if I want to do something, I have to find the time to do it in.

Which is where my diary comes in. If it's in the diary, the chances it will actually happen are far higher. And that's due to the simple fact that, for something to appear in the diary, it means that time has been allocated.

When our routines stop, no matter how briefly, significant change can result. Which may be good. Or, in the case of my yoga practice, less good... I find myself feeling stiffer: physically, and psychologically.

It is time to re-start, and re-acquaint with my mat. And the first step is to let go of any frustration associated with the fact that I broke a habit that has been helpful, choosing instead to focus on the benefits I will once again reap. Progress, not perfection. And, breathe!

Yoga is not about touching your toes;

it's about what you learn on the way down.

Judith Lasate

Comments

Table. Apple. Penny.

Whilst there were several places I might have been that morning, I wouldn't have been anywhere else. The practitioner from the Memory Service arrived promptly. I liked her instantly. Mum was nervous. I think I was a little, too. It's been a difficult year. "It's Friday, it's the fourteenth of December and I'm at home..." No problems there. CAMCOG, or the Cambridge Cognitive Examination is a thorough assessment tool used to assess the extent of extent of dementia, and to assess the level of cognitive impairment. The standardised measure assesses orientation, language, memory, praxis, attention, abstract thinking, perception and calculation. "Table. Apple. Penny." Three everyday items that were introduced at one point, and then referred to again later on. Again, Mum was able to recall each. I am reminded that the...

Glass half full? Glass half empty? Or perhaps the glass is broken

I am, constitutionally, a glass half empty gal. I will always first acknowledge what I don't have, what I have lost, and what it is that I am seeking. I tend to overlook my strengths, concentrating only on those bits of me that are underdeveloped or weak. I refer to myself as a realist, but in doing so compliment myself and insult those who genuinely are simply realistic. My modus operandi is to identify what's not working and acknowledge this before seeing more clearly what functions perfectly well. This has its place: I edit others' written work pretty well. My fastidious attention to detail serves me, and the author. Accuracy counts, for me and I have an excellent memory. I can remember a great many of my sessions with clients verbatim. Even this asset is something I can, and do, diminish the true value of, by concentrating on 'I should have said...' or 'why didn't.... occur to me during the session?' Earlier this we...

Joan Miro: Emotional Art

"Painting and poetry are like love; an exchange of blood, a passionate embrace, without restraint, without defence. The picture is born of an overflow of emotions and feelings." Miro, The Farm 'La Masia' (1921-22) I learnt a great deal about Miro on a recent visit to the Tate. I learnt a great deal about a lot more too. Miro wanted to discover the sources of human feeling. He described his method of creating poetry by way of painting, using a vocabulary of signs and symbols, metaphors and dream images to express definite themes he believed to be fundamental to human existence. The exhibition displays his sense of humor and lively wit. His chief concern was a social one; he wanted to get close to the great masses of humanity, and he was convinced that art can only truly appeal when it resonates with roots of lived experience. "Wherever you are, you find the sun, a blade of grass, the spirals of the dragonfly. Courage cons...

The Reward is the Journey

Search This Blog