So I had a little case of the grumps on Wednesday and then I didn't write my Thursday post on Thursday but I did do my relaxation practice. I am still on track for completing the 40 day practice. As a matter of fact, I am half way there. Yea!
I had started Richard Miller's yoga nidra practice again -the one that comes with his book, The Meditative Heart of Yoga. For some reason it is doubled up on my ipod so I listened to track 1 and 2 twice and track 3 once on Wednesday. I continued this practice on Thursday, listening to track 3 (once) track 4 (twice) and track 5 (once) - about 30 minutes. The interesting thing about having these tracks doubled up is that when I listen the 2nd time I can absorb more of what he is saying.
My every day life has had a reintroduction of one of my favorite activities this week: walking. It has been very warm in Minnesota this week (well, warm for us - highs in the upper forties) and Dave and I have been able to take the dog for long walks on the lakewalk. I forget how much I miss this until we can do it again. We start taking short, neighborhood walks when it gets too cold for the dog to handle a long walk or when it gets too salty on the sidewalks and roads. Her feet get burned by the salt. I have developed I lift kit for her so we can at least go for some distance but the cold gets to her pretty quick in the winter.
Petra's lift kit: I made a custom, double-breasted,
wool felt coat for her and then added the bow-shaped handle
for lifting and carrying over the salty roads.
Anyway, taking long walks really helps both me and Dave clear our minds and solve problems. It also gives us a lot of time to talk. We end up talking about all sorts of things but since we own our own business we do often talk business strategy and ideas. This might not sound relaxing, but it is. Getting that long paced walking rhythm frees your mind, especially compared to the mincing, please-don't-let-me-fall steps we normally take while winter walking. It's cold again today but the sidewalks and roads are melted out, dry, and fairly salt free. I think we can go to the lake again even though the wind gusts are up to 50 mph. It will be an adventure.