9/28 Lunch. 2:30 p.m. with my Mom. India Palace. Chicken Shahi Korma (pieces of chicken, fresh paneer cheese, cashews and raisins in a cream curry sauce).
- Remained seated. Yes✓ No.
- Refrained from conversation while chewing. Yes. No ✓
- Refrained from external distractions. Yes✓ No.
- Waited until food was chewed before taking next bite. Yes✓ No.
- Refrained from putting more than two handfuls of food on my plate. Yes ✓ No
- Waited 3-5 min. to see if I wanted any more food. Satiated? Yes ✓ No
- Waited 2-6 hours before next meal. ✓
Comments: I did better today with this shared meal. My mother knew that I needed to take my time with my meal and we had a wonderful time talking about my yoga practice and what I have read so far of The World Peace Diet.
On that note: my meal did have chicken in it. I debated before I ordered -- I was thinking of just doing a vegetarian dish but then my mother mentioned she would like to have some more protein so I agreed to share an entree with chicken in it. I am not sure where it was sourced from but it was a wonderful meal. We savored several small platefuls. We ate our meal over the span of an hour and a half. We also shared pieces of paneer fried in chickpea batter; those were fun and interesting with mint chutney and tamarind sauce.
There were a few instances where I caught myself talking before I had completely finished my bite of food. We both laughed and commented on how silly it is that we feel rushed in this society to jump into talking and disregard etiquette. Thank goodness for good company and for the reminder to just take one more moment to enjoy the food, swallow and THEN continue into conversation. There should be no rush, even with excited conversation.
Daily Practice:
9/28 11:15 a.m. Highland Park. Restorative Yin. Instructor: Ryan.
From Dragon Pose (similar to low lunge/runner's lunge) to Sleeping Swan (alternatively called Pigeon pose in more active classes) we focused on a sequence that worked our hip/groin and quadriceps. With counter-poses like Deer, we had further opportunity to perform slight twists stretching our side bodies and relieving stress on our hip sockets by balancing the previous hip-opening asanas.
The pose I found most challenging today was Straddle. I used a bolster to relieve some of the pressure I was feeling in my hips and allowing myself to lean in to the stretch gently but I noticed a bit of resistance so did not attempt to deepen my stretch today. My hamstrings were very tight and uncomfortable. I spent several minutes trying to breathe into them specifically.
Daily Meditation:
9/28 Late evening (after 11:00 p.m.) -- arrived home late after wedding, wanted to finish worksheet/reading about Sun Salutation A. This is the second time I have tried an evening meditation. It is not the ideal time for me to meditate. I find my mind is too full of thoughts for the next day, organizing what needs to get done. Worried about not completing my reading for tomorrow (still have about 40 pages to go). Mind wanders to hip sockets, sore. Want to adjust/fidget. Mind wonders: "how many minutes to go?" Bring it back to breath. Impatient tonight. I hope when I wake tomorrow and practice meditation in the morning that my mind will be more clear. Hopefully I will be able to integrate an evening practice before bed in the coming days/weeks but today did not feel like a success. Mettā-meditation: Thankfulness for connection with others. Wanting others to feel the connection and gratitude that I have. Excited to share and learn more from others in the coming weeks. Well wishes for others deepening their yoga practice either knowingly or unknowingly.
Daily Gratitude:
9/28 I am so glad that I was able to share a meal with my Mother today. We met for lunch after a busy morning! I went to yoga and then got my oil changed. We ate around 2:30 p.m. -- so I am grateful for her patience in eating such a late meal. I was able to attend a wedding today and it was fun to see familiar faces and celebrate with people I haven't seen for 5-10 years. I did a lot of catching up with people, heard their stories and shared my current update of yoga teacher training (a great topic for conversation)! The service was short but I could tell the all involved were entirely there and full of joy for the union of this couple. The priest was enthusiastic for Denise and Russell as they begin their married life together and he told a lot of jokes. It was great to meet their daughter Lucy for the first time -- I thought it was incredibly sweet how she was involved in the ceremony and whether or not she remembers this day when she grows up, I know that her parents will treasure the fact that she was there with them. She totted down the aisle excitedly exclaiming, "Daddy!" and I could see the joy in Russell's eyes. It was sweet watching her dance at the reception too, she is all of two years old. I am glad that I was able to accomplish so much today and hope that my night is full of restful sleep so that I can bring my best self to practice tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment