Ahimsa/Love practices of their own accord

I generally have a pretty solid Mysore practice schedule: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and sometimes Friday too. Things have sort of fallen apart in the past few days though. To say last week was rough on me is an understatement, chiropractic school really took its toll. Last Wednesday we did knee palpations on each other and after school I went to practice as usual. Unfortunately, all that poking around in the joint space showed up as I reached Marichyasana B. My knees were not feeling it, sharp pains in the front of the knee. I was not about to just take savasana then, but I did skip the rest of the Padmasana-like asanas in my practice and only took one breath in Bakasana. A super long savasana was necessitated and ice later that night too. I took the rest of the week off as a preventative measure as things were still a little tweaky. As Jill always reminds, practice in a way that lets you practice tomorrow. Saturday I intended to return to the studio, but three tests, two in super tough anatomy completely drained my energy reserves and I slept through the 6:00 alarm well into practice time. Today I was ready to get back on track, healed and rested. Much to my dismay, ahimsa reared her head again today. I traveled to school mat and clothes in hand looking forward to a fresh start this week until my wonderful boyfriend needed help. My sweetie just got a new job working as an assistant gardener in the West Hills, but he seriously needs rain gear. He had ordered a waterproof suit to pick up on Saturday, but it hadn't arrived. Last week was sunny and so was today, but the showers return to the rain forest tomorrow. Today the store called him and announced that his suit had arrived! Unfortunately they close at 6 and there was no way for him to get it. In an act of love, I gave up practice this day too in order to keep my boy dry and healthy tomorrow. I picked the suit up after school instead of heading to the studio. Pray that nothing stops me from getting to yoga club tomorrow, no rough palpations on Wednesday, and all in all practice is back on track!

Surprising sources of Local Food in Portland

Since I've relocated to Portland, I still don't feel quite yet like this is my home, I've found two unlikely places for local food...and it got me to wondering why we DIDN'T have this in Philly? Surprising local food source #1: The school cafeteria That's right, the cafeteria at Western States Chiropractic College serves healthy, mostly local foods. This makes catching the 6:22 AM bus daily a little easier when the tupperware for my lunch isn't clean. Oh, and the food is fantastic, I'd pay a lot more for it. Matt, the cafeteria guy has real talent. His food is simple, but really good. It reminds me of things I would cook at home. He could open up a restaurant and I'd rather eat there any day than the over-hyped restaurant in my neighborhood. Surprising local food source #2: Burgerville Burgerville is a fast food restaurant that serves local food! They serve all local ingredients. (Local as in NW, but still pretty awesome for fast food.) I went once, they had three different vegetarian burgers, some fish burgers, and beef burgers. I think chicken too. According to their signs it seems that they also change their menu with the seasons. Although this makes me feel a little better about a quick burger and fries, the food must be pretty salty because it left me craving water like mad the rest of the day. Oh well, what do you expect from fast food? I hope that these examples can inspire others in other cities and cafeterias to make a change...all things are possible!

Long time no blog

It has been a VERY long time since I posted, nearly a month! This is mainly to do with my trying to keep my head above water in chiropractic school here in Portland. Now a quick update with a promise of a 'real' post this weekend. Practice: I love Mysore practice. There is something so comforting about the self-dictated rhythm. Mondays are my long lecture days (7:30-4:30 in a chair in a dark room) and then I head to the studio. Every Monday I feel sick and stagnant but I force myself to stay on the bus past my home stop to the studio with the promise that if the 2 block walk doesn't make me feel better I can go home instead. This bribe gets me to the door, where I always need to go in just to use the bathroom I tell myself. Once I walk near the door of the studio however something about the energy inside draws me and I change and go practice. Those days are always long practices as my energy starts out low and my pace is slow. Wednesdays I'm there too, but it's much easier. Saturday mornings are my favorite. The studio is flooded with light instead of dimly lit and freshly awakened I'm breathing and moving much faster. My energy is up and I practice harder. These signs however are not how I tell if I've had a good practice or not. I have always known a good practice by it's savasana. This point continues, a good savasana is restful and deeply connected. But most of all the mind chatter is silent and content to rest along with the body. That incessant mind chatter! This is another reason my morning practice is best. After school all my mind does is run! I get lost in the breath and sequence because stuff keeps cluttering my mind other than practice! Food: I continue to search out local food and have some nice things to say about Portland, but for now, suffice it to say that my FIRST CSA shipment arrived today from Hood River Organics and I'm hungry so I'm going to go open it up!