Day 56 - A good day

Today was a good and productive day.

I woke up feeling quite rested after a much needed 10 hour sleep. My neighbours organized a garage sale and we decided to participate last minute. It felt great to clean out closets and boxes and drawers I rarely open. This was a necessary cleanse and purge, because Craig is officially moving in at the end of the month and will need space for his stuff.

We've lived temporarily together before, like when Craig's apartment had bedbugs last year and when he got back from photographing at the Olympics this winter. But this is different. Now we will share one address. I'm a (recovering) commitment-a-phobe, so normally, I'd be anxious, but I'm not. I'm actually pretty excited. Anyway, I digress.

We made $32.50 at today's garage sale, peddling vintage jewelery, old textbooks, curtains and few other odds and ends. We were pleased, although I'm not sure if $32.50 for a whole day of selling is a good use of time. Regardless, I was happy hanging around the house and chatting with passerbys. At one point, I did some sun salutations on sidewalk for fun, and I think it helped our sales, because we made $18 just while I was practicing!

Tonight, I was at Lululemon Fairview for a community practice of 54 surya namaskar by candle light. It was sweet. The people who came were lovely. I only knew a few of them, but several approached me after and said they regularly read my blog, which is pretty cool, because from this end, it's hard to tell how many people actually follow my posts.



Oh, and regarding my shoulder/clavicle pain I mentioned yesterday, thanks for the suggestions and offerings of massage and reiki. I really appreciate it and will definiately take you up on the offer.

Day 40 - How much is that yogini in the window?

It's a strange feeling to practice knowing people are watching you. You start wondering if you are entertaining enough and questions come up like, "Should I throw in the splits now just for wow factor ?"

Today, I did my 108 in the storefront window of Lululemon Ste Catherine St, which is located on perhaps the busiest block in the downtown core. Throughout my whole practice, people were stopping on the sidewalk just to stare. I've done many yoga demonstrations like this before and I used to be self-conscious. Now, I'm so much more at ease. I can focus easily, despite all the distractions and I totally have fun with the experience. Kids press their faces against the window and are all surprised, when I smile and wave to them. Adults are the same. But the funny thing about adults is that they stand two feet away from my downward dog and talk about me as though I can't hear them. They rarely say anything negative, but when I respond their semi-rhetorical questions like, "What is she doing?" or "What kind of yoga is that?", they are often more surprised than the kids.

I think people believe that when you practice yoga or meditate, you go into a trance whereby you block out your environment and don't hear or see what's going on around you. Well, it's not like that at all, at least not for me. In my experience, the deeper the practice of yoga or meditation, the more I hear, see, feel and smell. The difference is I'm just not bothered by or overly engaged with my surroundings. It's as if all of a sudden I become omnipresent and it's very cool.

The only thing I continuously try to keep in check is how my ego responds to all the attention of practicing in front of people. Sometimes I do get into those aforementioned questions. Sometimes I want to show off. But honestly, I mostly get those feelings when I want to demonstrate how cool yoga is and not necessarily how cool I, Yasmin-in-window, am.

Regardless, I had fun today. The staff is very nice and several of my friends and colleges recognized me sweating behind the glass and came in to say hello.

** FYI Tomorrow is a 54 Sun Salutation community practice from 2pm to 4pm at Studio Bliss, 3841 St Laurent, corner Pine. Come join me.

And there's still time to sponsor me for the CNIB Great Canadian Yoga Stretch that ends Saturday. Here's the link to my sponsorship page: http://bit.ly/amEge5

OH YEAH! There was a nice article written about my campaign in the Suburban newspaper. Check it out: http://www.thesuburbannews.ca/content/en/4046

Surya Namaskar Recipe: Day 40 - The Prasarita B Salute