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I hate to admit it, but it’s been weeks since I’ve practiced yoga. Somewhere between packing, moving, half-way unpacking, moving for real, being in this state of continual unpacking while we slowly accumulate furniture, light fixtures, and basic home needs like silverware, writing for FRWD, writing for boulder.me, working with Lijit, writing for Examiner.com, and doing jumping jacks about how excited I am to start MORE projects, I just haven’t made it to classes like I’d like to.

But there’s something about yoga and my own personal practice, that has completely infiltrated my spirit, even when I’m not physically in classes.  Yoga is, after all, much more than the asana practice, and my yoga is starting to beautifully blanket my life.

The hike

My roommate and I went on our second hike since we both moved here to Boulder, CO within the last month. Our first hike was a stroll, really. It was in the 40’s outside, and we were walking a well-tread trail along the side of a foothill in North Boulder. Easy peezy.

Ash picked up a hiking guide and we sat down last week to plot our next hiking adventure. I’d been on a trail in Chautauqua before, so we tossed that idea around, but eventually settled on what the guide described as an “easy-to-moderate” hike, 7.6 miles, and an altitude gain of 1220 feet (Walker Ranch Loop, 8 miles west of Chautauqua via Baseline Road/Flagstaff, if you’re keeping track).

Keep in mind we’re rookies, and even now I still don’t know if 7.6 miles is impressive (though my exhausted calves will tell you it is), makes us look like wusses, and what exactly that altitude gain actually means. I mean, I get that it’s how much higher up we ended up from where we started, but you’re talking to two girls from sea level who are suddenly learning to breathe again at 5,400 feet – an extra 1,200 feet means absolutely nothing to me at this point.

Kind of when I first moved to the Twin Cities and everyone talked about going “up north” for the weekend. WEREN’T WE ALREADY UP NORTH? To this Tennessee [via Alabama] girl, we were.

And to this “I’m from sea level” girl, when you’re already 5,400 feet above sea level, what’s another 1,220 feet?

I soon found out.

We nailed the first 4-5 miles. There were some steeper climbs, and since the temperature in the mountains was hovering between 30-34 degrees (yes Ma, we wore layers), there were some places where ice and snow hadn’t completely melted.

This was fine for the most part, until just past mile five and were faced with steep, iced-over steps all switch-back-like on one side of the mountain. Down. Then up. Then level. Then an ice-covered dirt road going up again. Then down a little. Then up some more. Then up a LOT more.

Needless to say, this became a bit of a challenge. We’re somewhat fit ladies (or at least we were at sea level), but we’re rookie hikers and we’re absolutely new to this altitude.

Where the yoga came in

I surprised myself at one point, when “you can so do this, just take your time” thoughts were replaced instead by, “Identify where your foot meets the earth. Recognize your center of balance and where your weight is shifted. Decide where your weight should be. Now, move. With intention.

This was all dialogue that evolved from the time I spent in Yoga Teacher Training this past fall. First, it was about feeling my foundation and shift of balance. Then the fatigued muscles set in, and I started telling myself to “breathe into areas of tension,” which is also something I learned to teach. Breath is life, after all, and recognizing muscle groups that were sore and tight and then consciously taking in deep breaths with those areas in mind… well, it totally worked.  It kept me moving forward, moving up, and when we reached the top?

TOTALLY WORTH IT (see picture above, courtesy of Ashley’s camera phone).

We just about skipped our way through the last mile we were so excited to have accomplished six miles of mountain and to have seen the views we did – we were over eight miles into the mountains, so when we reached viewpoints, we were SURROUNDED.

Talk about perspective

This just goes right back to my point about the power that we have with our thoughts, be it in the people and situations we attract, seeing the best in challenging situations, and now?  Hiking to the top of a mountain.

And… now I want to do it again.  But maybe not seven miles this time.  Maybe just four or so.

{ 33 comments }

See the World

by doniree on February 5, 2010

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It’s arguable I’m one of those rose-colored glasses people. It’s painfully obvious I’m not a glass half-empty person, but a GRAB-A-TOWEL!-MY-CUP-RUNNETH-OVER! person.

A history lesson

I’ve dealt with some random anxiety issues, off and on, for the last few years.  I blogged about it on an old blog (post was imported and now lives on this blog).  They started in college when I decided I wanted to hide from everything that meant I had to know what I was doing after graduation.

Seemingly everyone: So what do you plan to DO with that psych degree?
Me: dfafjdkjadfljafja. Panic.

I made the decision to actually talk to someone about unexplained panic attacks and what felt like the start of a general disconnection from my world. I learned a few things about myself, about how to cope with anxiety, and how I see the world.

When I told the doc that I was having a hard time identifying and understanding someone who was just “SO black and white” when I saw the world in gray, she stopped me and said:

No. You see the world in COLOR.

Those words have stuck with me like few others ever have for so long, and have molded the way I not only see things, but approach everything.

A larger-scale worldview

Over the course of the last few years, that “life in color” idea has expanded. I’ve learned to deal with other forms of anxiety: I hate flying, but I’ll be damned if I stop traveling; I’m afraid of danger out in the world and mean people, but I’m never going to be a homebody, hermit type to avoid them.

I’ve learned that a lot of these fears can be controlled, or at least managed, through the power of thought. I can choose to fear the unknown.  I can choose to let fear and worry take up the space between thoughts and plans in my mind. And when I do that, I find myself anxious. I find myself worrying about things that haven’t happened yet, and attracting the very things I fear.

When I instead choose to fill my thoughts and feelings with love, joy, and kindness, I find that that is what I attract in my life. That’s not to say I’m naive and will run around sketchy parts of towns in the middle of the night. I’m a positive thinker, but I’m not reckless.

It’s true that bad things happen, that not everyone has been surrounded by experiences that mirror unicorns and rainbows and pots of gold. I get that. I’ve lived through my own challenges and my own fears.  But I do know, and I do believe at my very core that while there are exceptions and this can’t be a blanket statement… I do trust the good in people. I trust that it exists more than it doesn’t.  I trust easily.  Always have. Sometimes, sure, I have been let down, but the times I haven’t? Far outweigh the times I have, additionally inspiring some of the most enriching relationships I have ever known.

Call me naive, call me crazy. But I’ll call you friend until you prove me wrong.

How do you see the world?

Are people basically good? Flawed? Am I naive?  How long does it take you to trust someone? Do the things you’re afraid of stop you from doing the things you love?

{ 96 comments }

2 Legit [Lijit] 2 Quit (hey…hey…)

February 3, 2010
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Remember how I thrive on being busy? Well, I just added the icing to the cake that is my life lately.
Last week, I accepted the Publisher Services Manager position at Lijit Networks here in Boulder.  Yesterday was my first day.
It felt like the evolution of what started as an introduction and networking opportunity back in [...]

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Where You'll Find Me

January 28, 2010

I thrive on being busy, and I’m learning how to balance this love of doing with things like eating, sleeping, being a girlfriend, calling my mother, paying my bills, working out, and not getting lost in Boulder.  I’m a bit amazed at how quickly I found such incredible things to be a part of here [...]

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Skooled, the conversation

January 27, 2010

So, yesterday I guest posted at SkoolofLIfe.com.  Today, Srinivas Rao posted the audio from our chat back in December.  In it, I talk a little about a lot of things:

Leaving a comfortable corporate job to pursue some personal passions
The relationships I’ve found and grown through 20-Something Bloggers
Using the comments section as place for conversation
Building community
The [...]

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Skooled

January 26, 2010
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Shortly after Matt Cheuvront featured me on Life Without Pants‘ 10 Blogs to Follow in 2010 list (back in December), Srini Rao reached out to me wanting to talk about that feature, my experiences through blogging, what I’m doing with my life, and then feature that and {d.com} in his Emerging Bloggers podcasts and guest [...]

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Soul, Karma, Spirit – We're All Beings

January 22, 2010
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A little over a week ago, LiLu emailed a handful of bloggers about this idea she had to send some smiles and prayers to our [blog] friend, Brandy.  Over the course of “production” and organization, Laurie put together a donation page with the Multiple Myeloma Research Fund.  We launched the video and campaign at 12n [...]

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Love Harder

January 20, 2010
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I’m continually blown away by the power of the Internet and these online communities we create, support, and become actively involved in.

In an effort to show love and support for brandy, to spread awareness about Multiple Myeloma, and to completely embarrass* ourselves in front of all of our readers, 46 bloggers from across the United [...]

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Adjust Cook Times in Higher Altitudes

January 13, 2010
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I’ve been in Colorado for almost four days and I’ve learned a few things already, most importantly – how to figure out where the hell I am at any given moment.
I’m in the North Denver Suburban area until Ashley gets here in February and we move up to Boulder, and I’m fortunate enough to [...]

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Omaha Star

January 11, 2010
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I had a neat little moment on a flight once.  I was 14, was flying back from Honolulu to Los Angeles after a trip to Hawaii with my family, and realized that flying over water was making me a little nervous.  It just seemed so huge and unending, and everything in me longed to be [...]

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