Sunday, November 14, 2021

Not grey inside this mandala / Gratitude


Still not true colors but good enough until I can have this series professionally scanned.

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1.  Full set up.
2.  Before adding quilt and comforter.
3.  Basic set up.




I'm grateful to have been moved to take a single series of yoga classes in 1970 while R was in Vietnam.  When I was 27, I began taking weekly classes at the first yoga school in Bellingham and continued classes along with a home practice  until I was in my late 30s and physical limitations became a deterrent to taking classes but did not keep me from continuing my own home practice and refraining from poses that weren't appropriate for my body.  When I was in my 40s, I took classes from different yoga schools that had opened in Bellingham, including classes in restorative yoga, continuing my early morning home practice.  

During the early years of my blog, I continued a vigorous home yoga practice, finding myself able to do poses that I had not been able to do as a younger woman.  The years of yoga practice had strengthened my upper body and given me a sense of confidence in my body that had been missing from my years prior to discovering yoga.  In my 60s, I began letting go of poses that had the potential for causing injuries and those which clearly put stress on my strong but aging body.

Now that I am in my early 70s, I have had to let go of more and more poses due to a low back that has been susceptible to injury since I was in my 30s.   I've lost some of my height and can no longer do backbends without causing a flare of low back pain.  And yet, I am able to do a fairly vigorous yoga practice that combines a basic series of sitting, standing, balancing, stretching, bending, inverted and reclining poses that I have done since I was in my 20s along with restorative yoga poses.

Here's a pose I can no longer do because it hurts my knees.  I was unable to do this pose at all until I was in my 50s.


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There's something to be said for letting go to make space for something new.

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Mandala #37:  Woman Moved By Gratitude

4 comments:

37paddington said...

Wise words about both letting go and pressing on. Thank you.

Tara said...

Yes, as my body has changed I've moved to different kinds of yoga. Pre-pandemic I did chair yoga with a group of my neighbors. Still a good work out.

Grateful for what we can do, eh?

Anonymous said...

I love that you are still working out. That is so inspiring to me. I don't do yoga, but I do stretching exercises everyday. It helps with my lower back issues. Now I have to figure out what to do with my poor arthritic neck. These aging bodies are so interesting.
I love seeing your artwork, am. Thank you for that. I took a closer look at the top photo and loved seeing the horse-eye-bird.

Joared said...

Wisely you kept up your yoga and now you'll be just as wise to tailor your moves to what is best for your body presently. I took a yoga class when I was pregnant with my second child and was amazed at how restful yet invigorating I felt afterward. I wish I had kept up yoga exercises, adding some additional appropriate ones.