Thanksgiving Week -- Gratitude & Beyond

Last year, following yoga pal Abby's lead (find her at Perusals), I tried to blog a daily gratitude for the lead up to Thanksgiving.   We have plenty to be thankful for, why not think about it on a regular basis?   This year, I was more than abundant in the lead up for Thanksgiving.  My cup runneth over, so to speak.

I am grateful for so many things.  For work that sustains me.  For yoga that nourishes me. For my friends, family and colleagues who support me. 

Last year at this time, I got a bit of a shock.  And as a consequence there have been some massive changes to my family. Without sharing the details of the family drama, I will simply say that the elements I was able to handle with a grateful attitude were much easier generally. 

As a sort of attitude coping mechanism for the holiday season, I'm planning to shift my daily gratitude to the month after Thanksgiving, leading up to Christmas-- traditionally a hectic time of year.  Join me?

Balance & Pants

Pants? What pants?

Ah, you see, that's the thing.  Until recently, I had been working from home and teaching a lot of yoga.  (I'm still teaching a lot, but stay with me.)  As a consequence of this constantly moving, computer-juggling lifestyle, I have a more than healthy closet full of yoga clothes (a la OmGal's "Reasons Not to Do Yoga" post).  An occupational hazard of teaching a lot of hot yoga, is owning a lot of athletic, stretchy, comfy pants, so you're not rushing home to do laundry in between classes.

But, as you may have guessed, I'm not working from home any more.  Well, at least not exclusively.  I am now expected to rock a pair of dress slacks and a button down two or three days a week.  So instead of wearing yoga pants while I work, and yoga pants while I teach, (and while I practice too), I'm wearing a different sort of pants.

It's been so long since I've gone to an office on a regular basis that only a pair or two of appropriate pants from my old life still fit.  Regardless of the fact that the whole thing warrants a shopping trip (ah shucks), the point has more to do with balance.

I'm looking for balance in pants.  Though I'm much more at home in a pair of Groove Pants, I think there's something to be said for carrying the ease yoga has brought me through the professional setting, into a pair of sleek, black slacks.  I've stocked my closet with yoga clothes to achieve simplicity, and now, I'm hoping these new dress pants can feel much the same. 

Wish me luck.

The Consistency of Should

I really should practice yoga every day.  I really should write more, blog more, participate more.  In yoga, in social media, in pretty much every sector of my life (personally and professionally, and in all the places that overlaps), I've noticed that I should / could / ought to do more. 

When I think about it, I tell myself that consistency is the big challenge.  And it's something people often write about in reference to branding, blogging, and pretty much everything else.  So clearly this search for consistency is a human endeavor. 

But I'm pretty weary of the word should.  Should usually tells me something funny is going on.  Should usually indicates some sort of judgment call, some sort of negative judgment. 

When I say I should do this, be it practice yoga or write a blog post, what I'm really doing is judging myself for doing (or for the inclination to do) the opposite.  When I say they / he / she should do this, even if it's probably a good idea (like wearing a helmet while riding a bike), I'm usually judging the fact that the person or group of people is doing the opposite.  

Why is it that should seems to be the more reliable constant?