Mental & Material Clutter

WHOA! Nothing is more humbling and insightful than lugging all of your belongings up four flights of stairs. That's right, we are finally moved. I am currently sitting in a pile of boxes and stuff in what will one day (hopefully, soon) be our office. I can't believe how much crap I have! Who knew that this silly yogi, who sometimes brags that "there is no sentiment in objects besides the sentiments we attach to them," would have so many silly possessions. I'm actually a little embarrassed, particularly because of all the petty arguments I had with my partner Craig about my wanting to keep this, that, and the other thing for whatever reason. Clutter is so personal...

We did get rid of a lot of stuff before the move, but clearly we have a lot more to do. My friend Tracey Mackenzie, who is a wonderful feng shui specialist, interior designer, and professional organizer offered me some help, which has been useful. I thought I'd share some of her clutter reducing tips, in case anyone else out there is suffering from the pack-rat syndrome.

1- Don't attempt clutter control alone. Seriously, we all need an outside person (not spouse) to point out how ridiculous your arguments are for keeping five old cellphones "just in case".

2- Create sections or bins for "Keep", "Giveaway", "Recycle", or in the rare case, "Toss", if the other sections really don't apply.

3- Here's the kicker: You get five seconds to decide which bin each of your items go in. (Any hesitation is a sign of weakness and will likely result in a forced giveaway.)

4- If there are items that serve no real purpose other than to evoke memories, Tracey's advice is to take a picture of object of sentiment value and send it on its merry way to the next clutter-bug or hoarder.  I had to do this with a several home made crafts given to me by my younger students over the years. Taking a photo of each gift made the parting less bitter.

5- Get rid of whatever you are not keeping for sure right away or you may change your mind and keep that old Easter bunny basket, which is currently staring me down across the room.

6- Tracey's last words of wisdom: "If you get rid of the old, you make room for the new."

Good luck, my friends. Please post any other clutter management or organizational suggestions you might have. Goodness knows, I need it!




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Day 94 - getting advice + a four hour practice

At this time in two weeks, I will be done. I will have finished my 108 days of 108 sun salutations and my 32 hour practice will be complete. It's hard to imagine, so I don't bother trying. I'm just doing what I've done before: simply focusing on one breath and one posture at a time.

Today, I did my first planned out four hour practice without a break. It was really nice. I loved being able to linger in certain poses and really take my time. It felt luxurious. The first hour I did pranayama, mudras (hand positions), mantras, and opening postures. Next, Miranda joined me and we spent two hours going slowly through the 90 surya namaskar that remained for the day. Then, in the last hour I did the seated sequence of the Ashtanga primary without vinyasa. I ended with a six minute savasana.

As I mentioned, I'm planning on breaking up the 32 hour practice in segments of four hours or so with a 20 minute break in between. I will outline what I want to do for each four hour practice, but I'm open to modifying it according to how I feel. After all, it wouldn't be yoga if I was just forcing myself into poses simply because they are on my list. I really want to explore the subtleties of different postures and see what I can learn from doing a focused practice for so long.

This evening I met with Len Blum, co-director of United Yoga Montreal and a highly respected teacher. I had asked if he would help me plan out the eight four-hour practices. He agreed, but first he wanted to question my motivations... and my sanity. He said I seem mentally prepared for this challenge and that he was happy that I am interested in exploring the practice and delving into different areas of it rather than just plowing through a bunch of asanas for the sake of it. Len suggested that an outline is good, but that I shouldn't be too committed to it in case things come up along the way and I need to change the plan. I reassured him that I am fine with this. He also offered to be the yoga teacher on duty during what will likely be the toughest part, midnight to 8:00am. I am so grateful for this offering, as I know having someone there to help me through the night will make a big difference.

On that note, I'm going to go to bed and rest. I need to take advantage of early bedtimes for the next couple of weeks.

Please send along your suggestions. I am taking all feedback into consideration.

Day 80 - Around the Sun in 80 days...

My mind has been a bit shifty today. It's been bouncing from one idea to the next and I've had some trouble focusing. I suppose this is related to my continued efforts to reorganize my apartment and by extension, my life. I'm not entirely finished going through everything, so many places in the house have piles that still need sorting and boxes that need a home. I feel a little disoriented, but I'm plodding along. Today, I managed to repair a few things that needed gluing and I finished renegotiating the space in my dressing room/yoga space, which feels great.

While I was cleaning, I was thinking about how far along I am in my quest. I can't believe it's been 80 days of 108 sun salutations. Tomorrow will be the 3/4 milestone. This project will be done before I know it and I have a lot of mix feelings about that. Part of me is looking forward to the 108th day, but another part is going to miss this routine. After all, these sun salutations, these photos and this blog are such a big part of my life. It often feels like this, along with teaching and managing the studio, is all I do. At times it's a bit isolating, but I know this will change soon.

Today's 108 was also a little scattered throughout the day. My shoulder is feeling much better, but I am still practicing slowly and leaving out chaturanga every few sun sals to give myself a break. It also helps to rest in between sets and to try to keep a clear focus.

Lately, my focus is on cultivating greater abundance in my life, which is also why I've been spending so much time clearing out my home and office and getting rid of things that aren't helping me go further. Of course part of this is physical junk, but the other aspect, which is more important is to clear out stagnant mental energy as well. To help me through the psychological mine field, I created a mantra to help me stay connected to my intention. During surya namaskar and as often as I remember throughout the day, I repeat these simple words: "I am channeling more abundance into my life to enhance my health, wealth and happiness."

(in case you didn't see Sunday's photo, here's the before picture:)

PS... People have already started asking me what I'm going to do on August 2nd & 3rd, my two last days. At the moment, my ideas are still percolating, but I'm running low on the energy needed to plan events, which is why I haven't been promoting any new community classes lately. I want to continue offering 108 or 54 practices at other studios in July, but at this point, I'm spread a little too thin. Do you have any suggestions?

Day 79 - Cleaning therapy

As discussed yesterday, lately I've been in the mood to organize things probably because Craig moved in and we now have all of his stuff piled into the apartment. I can't stand clutter. It's distracting and confusing. I never know where anything is. Now, people who know me well may find these comments pretty ironic, because I have a reputation for being a little messy, but I'm trying to change. I want to be more organized and one thing's for sure, I don't like being surrounded by useless junk, so I'm continuing the process of purging things I don't want. Today, got rid of two bags of clothing, some books and appliances that need fixing. It feels great.

When I am not falling asleep at the keyboard I will write out some un-cluttering suggestions for you based on Feng Shui and Vastu principles that will hopefully inspire you to do the dame.

As for my 108 today, I did them scattered throughout the day and in air conditioning... It is so hot and humid, I had students texting me throughout the day stating that if I was going to teach outside this evening they were going to stay home.

PS It's supposed to be hot all week. Hope you remembered the cooling breath I taught you about a month ago!