I did my second series poses for the first time in a long time at practice on Tuesday. My brain has not yet come back to front and center. I have accidentally deleted appointments, missed calls, forgot important events... I've been, in the sum of words, a total space cadet.

I got to thinking how the experience of second series really requires not only the time to practice but the time to actually process the effects. With the job I have, I don't have that kind of time. It's not that I lament this. I had a lifestyle that afforded me the opportunity of a 6 day a week practice and my body and my calmness shows the difference... but that's not life today and I've come to accept that, for right now, the grounding stability of yoga chikitsa actually makes sense.

In some ways, the body is speaking.

Listen.

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In practice, I am trying to jump through again. It's one of the things I let go of with the diminishment of my practice.

I decided this year that I wanted to celebrate the Solstice as I have since the year my son was born... celebrating the wheel of the year with some type of handmade gift. It's so much more important to me than buying something for the sake of spending money. I know that the majority of people in my life don't see this difference but it has always made sense to me and I wanted the kids to have this notion... that's it's more than what you "want" which makes this season special... no matter what you might believe. And that, the specialness, no matter which side of the religious arena you sit, is what is God.

So we made peppermint sticks dipped in white chocolate and rolled in dark sprinkles... and homemade Eucalyptus bath salts... tied with a bow. The kids did the making, I did all of the packaging. On Yule we're gonna paint ornaments.

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Today's Rumi:

We are all of one soul struggling along one path,
and all drunk with the same wine.

From among the two worlds we chose Love alone;
except for that Love there's nothing we adore.