happiness moment of the day. After a very long day and A LOT of work on the part of my husband, Dottie and Ella arrived safely in Calgary from Virginia. All is right with the world
Happy dog
Angry cat
Tag Archives: cats
An Ayurvedic Consultation
Nourish, Vitality, Excitement, Desire
Those are my new life-loving words.
Today I had an Ayurvedic consultation with Asrael from Ananda Ayurveda. She’s the same lady who teaches my Healing Light Yoga Therapy classes and it has been so uplifting for my soul to have had her come into my life.
~ As a side note, as soon as I got on my Google Hangout chat with her my cat Ella came running from the other side of the house to stick her head in the computer and see “the yoga lady”. Ella spends a lot of time hanging out with me during classes and I guess was excited to see what was going to happen today.~
It was amazing. I wish I’d done this sooner, but I’m thankful I did it now. It was good to know that a lot of the things I’ve been feeling about what’s going on with me were in fact steps in the right direction. To find out that what I’m learning and trying to apply is actually working was pretty heart warming.
Of course there is a lot I don’t know and so to have her start to fill in some of the blank spaces fills me with gratitude. It was so wonderful to have someone sit down and walk through where I’m at and how I’m doing physically, spiritually, and energetically. To have someone hold my hand and help guide me down the path that I feel like I’ve been walking blindfolded and trying to peek out the corners feels like a weight being lifted off my shoulders (and my lower back and hips).
I now have better ideas on how to ground and nourish my self. How to regain my center of balance and power up that strength.
Interestingly, one of the things she suggested I do is to start Morning Pages which I did years ago after going to a course led by Julia Cameron at Kripalu. I did them faithfully for about 2 years, when I loved doing them and when I hated doing them. Then as I really got into those dark night of the soul times I quit doing them because they made me angry and upset. Ironically had I kept doing them I probably could have worked a lot of that junk out because that is the point of having all those feelings in morning pages. But, I couldn’t deal with that then. So now here I am…. back to Morning Pages. Great…. (it is great. It will be a good thing, it just won’t always feel like a good thing)
That was my happiness moment. I highly recommend doing it if you are able. It’s a wonderful way to be able to discover more healthful ways to live life. And think…. soon I will be able to give guidance similar to this to other people! It’s life-changing!
My other, naughtier, yummier, less Ayurvedic happiness moment came later when we went out for supper and I had this big old piece of chocolate cake for dessert. Oh, yummmmmm!!!!
Churna time and a day of bliss
I finally got to making my kapha churna. I’ve mentioned it the past couple of days when I posted recipes for saag and for kitchari.
A churna is a mixture of different dry herbs and spices and is used frequently in Ayurvedic cooking. Ayurvedic churnas combine all six of the ayurvedic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. While it enhances the flavour of a dish, each one of the spices has it’s own medicinal properties. They can be sprinkled onto or cooked into any dish, however for better absorption they can be sauteed in ghee before being added to the dish.
Here are the ingredients for a kapha churna (from Eat, Taste, Heal)
Ingredients:
- 1 tbl. fenugreek seeds
- 2 tbl. whole coriander seeds
- 1 tbl. ground ginger
- 1 tbl. whole cumin seeds
- 1 tbl. ground turmeric
- 1 tbl. ground cinnamom
- 1 tsp. ground clove
- ½ tsp. cayenne pepper or chili powder
Preparation:
1. Put all ingredients in an electric grinder or spice mill and grind them.
2. Store in airtight container such as a glass jar.
Don’t the spices look pretty? Jenna stood over the plate and smelled and smelled and said how wonderful they were.
Put them in a coffee/spice grinder and grind until fine
Place the churna in an airtight glass container.
Enjoy!!
My moment of happiness on day 42 of the 44 days was more like a full day of happiness. I was trying to figure out what the best part of the day was, but honestly this entire day has been one of happiness. I’ve noticed that as I’ve spent these past 42 days really focusing on happy things that more and more happiness is coming into my life.
This is how the morning started
When there is a sunrise or a sunset that is this fabulous I always imagine God dancing around like an excited 4 year old saying “look what I did!! Look!! Isn’t it beautiful? Look!! Stop and pay attention!!!”
So I did. I sat with my cup of tea and watched the sunrise with the dog and the cat ignoring each other on either side of me. As the rays moved on, Ella and I went and played our game of fetch. The colours from the sunrise were still coming in the window and they lit her up. She looked so pretty.
I didn’t have to teach children’s chapel so I got to sit in through the entire service which was led by the kids. It was a joyful service.
Jacob and I took a church selfie. Is this ok to do? Probably not.
I ran into friend I haven’t seen in a few months. After losing a child late in pregnancy she and her husband have a wonderful, beautiful adopted son. Joy! Joy! Joy!
We drove to the Co op after church and we could see buds (buds!!! Spring!!!) on the trees.
I had a nap. An awesome, blissful, middle of the day nap (Jenna was at a sleepover last night and I had to check my phone 10,000,000 times at night to make sure she hadn’t called as she sometimes does). It’s 7:15 and it’s still light out! I love daylight savings time! Sunday FundayGood Vibrations
The case I’m working on right now in my Ayurveda course is dealing with colds and flus – a good topic for this time of year. I believe this is the first year in a long time that the kids and I are going into spring season strong, well rested, and in general good health. If we can avoid being knocked flat by the seasonal illnesses that’s a blessed thing.
In Ayurveda there’s more emphasis put on the host body (me or you) vs. the bacteria, virus, or illness. That is to say that if you have a strong and healthy body there is no place for the virus to take root and grow. It needs a fertile ground in which to plant root and flourish. The reasoning is that if your body is healthy and in balance these dis-eases will not be able to stay.
Western medicine looks at illnesses as something external that attacks the body. In reality we live with millions of bacteria and viruses surrounding us. Not everyone who is exposed to someone who is sick gets sick themselves. It is not the pathogen so much as the state of the host that makes the difference. These viruses, pathogens, bacteria, won’t have a place to take hold in the body if the ground is not fertile. It needs ama (toxins) in order to take hold and grow.
Something else that either prevents or encourages the chances of us being ill is the energetic vibration that we are on. Everything comes from the field of consciousness – humans, plants, animals, bacteria, viruses… That bacteria or virus is a physical form of a nonphysical energy just the same way that we are here in a physical vehicle (our body) for our nonphysical selves. The vibration of these viruses is on a lower emotional field, and in order to resonate with it we must also be on this lower field. The field that they resonate on is the same frequency of fear. Being full of fear can open to the energy of the virus and harmonize with it, allowing it to take root and multiply. When our vibration is high and we don’t identify with the vibration of fear, we are better protected against getting flus and colds.
Think of all the hype that comes out every year about the cold and flu. Every year it’s the worst year yet for being sick. The media throws out scare tactics – we must be afraid of getting sick. Go stock up on medicine, get flu shots (sometimes there is value to these, but not for everyone), be afraid of getting sick. Everything except make sure your body is healthy so that viruses can’t take root and flourish.
I personally can attest that when my vibrational frequency is low I get sick. When I’m happy and healthy and on a higher emotional frequency I don’t get sick. The Law of Attraction follows the same beliefs as Ayurveda – what you concentrate and put your focus on you attract. Think about being sick all the time and you will be sick. Think about being strong and healthy and you push yourself up onto a healthier frequency.
For me, releasing black clouds of doom (mine and other people’s) has put me in a healthier place than I’ve been in years. I can feel my emotional vibrations getting happier and stronger, and I can see my health getting stronger.
I have two happiness moments today for day 32 of the 44 days of happiness. The kids were off school for snow (again) today. I was sitting cross-legged in my chair in my bedroom getting my iPad ready to do my healing light yoga therapy class (there are recordings from the Saturday class we can do during the week if we choose – I’m loving this class). I was hunched over focusing on getting to the right spot in the video when Ella jumped up on the chair beside me. She glared at me and meeeooowwwwed, then jumped up onto the top of the chair. Well, she landed with such force she flipped the entire chair over leaving me stuck on the ground wrapped in the chair much like a turtle flipped on it’s back. I was lying there yelling for help – however when help arrived it was in the form of Jacob laughing so hard he was unable to do anything. Finally I was able to roll myself out of my mess. Because of course as soon as the chair flipped, Ella was out of there. She ran into Jenna’s room and pretended she knew nothing about what was going on.
The second moment came this afternoon when I was driving to the library to pick up Jacob. I was winding down the backside of the mountain and came around the corner to see a boy about 12-14 out shoveling snow. What was fantastic was that he was using the shovel as a dance partner. He was jigging all around, twisting and turning with the shovel. It was such a happy, glorious sight. So wonderful to see someone “dancing like no one was watching”. Made me smile for a long time.
Somersaults and Bellyflops
Poor Ella had to spend most of the day yesterday in hiding. You see, there was a stranger in the house and she does not like strangers. I was ok with this stranger as in reality she is the lady who helps clean my house and keep some kind of order to the chaos. The issue for Ella (because she is as introverted as the kids and I are) is that she had to spend the entire day hiding in my closet in order to stay “safe”. This of course meant that she didn’t get to play fetch. So, we had to play double time today. Play, play, play all morning long. I was stretched out on my mat trying to undo some of the kinks and she’d throw the mouse into my hand, whack me on the head with it, or just put it beside me and howl. I was actually in a deeply relaxed pose following my recording of the healing light yoga therapy class from last weekend, and I’d have to pat my hand around and find the damn mouse for her (I kid, I love playing with her).
When I was done and sitting up, I threw the mouse out of the room so it went down the hall. She ran after it, grabbed in in her front paws and did an complete somersault over the mouse, landing on her back with her feet up in the air. she still had a hold of the mouse so she lay there on her back throwing the mouse up and down in the air playing with it.
When she finally brought it back I threw it and it went part way down the stairs. She bellyflopped down the first two stairs before landing sideways on the third one and on top of the mouse. Lay there for a bit all protective and proud of her kill before heading back to show me what she’d found.
Her happy face is my happy moment on day 31 of the 44 days of happiness.
To add to my happiness moments, I’m on the elliptical and jenna sent me this text:
She’s got so much love and happiness in her. I’m so blessed
Since happiness is my thing right now – I came across this quote earlier today. I can keep looking and looking in certain places, but if happiness is not there it may not be found. The thing that made me lose my happiness is not the thing that is going to find my happiness. Externally I mean. Fortunately I believe that my little ray of happiness has always been shining inside me, it was just buried under a bunch of crap for a while. Getting rid of that crap helps. Once I started making a conscious effort to look for happiness it was amazing how many places it’s just there hanging out (like all of them).
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Yoga Cat
Our cat Ella has a very strict rule that she likes to be “close but no touching”. She likes to be in our space, but as with any decent cat, she lives life on her terms. So, with the exception of Jacob, her rule is that she will be close to us, but please don’t try and cuddle, pick up or generally touch her. Jacob (whom I might add does absolutely nothing to help look after her) is allowed to carry her upside down, over his shoulder, like a baby, and about any other way you can imagine. She crawls into bed with him and curls right up into his armpit purring away while he talks to her. If Jenna or I even try and pick her up she meow-screams and tries to wriggle away as if her life depends on it. By the way, this is why I also have to have a dog. Otherwise my self esteem would be completely shot.
The only time she changes this “close but no touching” rule with me is when I do yoga. As soon as I roll out the mat she comes running from wherever she is and is all over me. Sometimes she even drives me so bananas I’ve tried locking her out of my room. This does not end well for me as she lies on the other side of the door with her paw sticking underneath it while she meows mournfully until I give up and let her in. I always start with some forward bends. So as soon as I stand and stretch up into mountain pose before bending down, Ella runs and lays at my feet on her back with her belly exposed. She does this because she loves having a belly scratch. Every time I bend down I have to stay in that stretch and give her a good old belly rub. This lasts about 5 minutes.
Then I go on to table position and she jumps onto my back. She stays there while I do cat/cow pose and goes along for the ride when I go back into child’s pose. Sometimes she even stays on after that while I go up into downward dog, climbing up onto my butt to sit for a while before jumping off. At this point she usually buggers off for a while, leaving me alone to do the rest of my poses. Until I get to the last one, which is the reclining double leg twist. I have my arms out to the sides at this point and she comes and lays in a similar pose to me with her head on my right hand and purrs while I scratch her face.
When I’m done my yoga I do 20 minutes of meditation. My back’s been a bit yucky so I’ve been meditating lying down with my legs up on a chair. Ella comes and either sits on my chest, staring at me while purring (this doesn’t last long – it starts to hurt) or she wraps herself around my head and purrs the entire time.
Then, I’m done. She knows it. And we immediately return to our regular routine of “close but no touching”.
Scratch my belly, minion.
My moment of happiness on day 26 of my 44 days came with Ella this morning. Every morning we play fetch (seriously) with her toy mouse while I eat my breakfast and have my tea. Sometimes she likes to hide her mouse in my slippers if I’ve taken them off. This morning she came over to me with her mouse and she was playing with it when I looked away for a few seconds. She started meowing and pawing at my slipper and then looking up at me – very clearly telling me the mouse was in there. I felt around inside and got nothing. She still insisted it was in there. I picked up both slippers, shook them around – nothing came out. I put them back down in front of her and told her that the mouse was gone. She continued looking at me with her big eyes, insisting it was in the slipper.
Suddenly she leapt straight up in the air about 2 feet. As she went up, her body circled so her legs all met in her middle. I watched as she grabbed with all 4 legs the mouse that she’d been hiding under her belly the whole time. She ended up taking it in her front paws, throwing it, and then chasing it when she landed. Little sneak! She totally did it on purpose just to mess with me. I swear she was cat-laughing when she was done.
A sunbeam nap
Naps are the best thing in the world. I feel so happy when I am able to get one. And a sunbeam nap is the best kind of nap of all. This is one of the great life lessons I have learned from having cats (although my dog is also fond of the sunbeam nap). If there’s a sunbeam shining into the house you can bet that at least one of my pets is lying directly in that beam happily snoring away.
According to classic Ayurveda you are supposed to avoid naps during the day. When I first started studying Ayurveda I found this very difficult because while I understood the intention behind this rule, I was exhausted and taking a nap made me feel like a decent human again. It didn’t even make me want to stay up later, I could still go to sleep at my regular time. In fact, one of the best things I did for myself was read the first chapter of The Happiness Project where she talked about her decision to get a good night’s sleep. For the last two years I have been pretty fierce about being in bed, 10 toes up by 9:00 and lights out by 9:30. I usually get up around 5:00, although sometimes sleep in until 6:30 (or every once in a while later). According to Ayurveda you should sleep between the hours of 10:00pm and 6:00am.
I was struggling with how I was going to make this work. How do I follow these guidelines and not nap during the day when I feel so drained and tired, but feel so much better when I can get in a little cat-nap during the day? Fortunately during one of my early classes my instructor explained that our culture is so chronically sleep deprived that we generally fall into one of the exceptions given whereby it actually is recommended that we take a nap. Thank Goodness.
As I’m (finally) getting some of my reserves back, regaining some strength in my physical body and in my soul I am finding I don’t crave the nap every afternoon the way I used to. Before I used to sit down at 1:00 and have a cup of Earl Grey or something of the sort (usually also accompanied by a sugar craving) to jolt myself awake enough to get through the rest of the day. After I stopped drinking caffeine, I discovered that if I gave myself that 20-30 minute time to just lie down and close my eyes it did a better, more effective job of pushing my re-start button.
Today however, was a nap day. We got home from church, had lunch and then the three of us each bolted upstairs. This was followed by the sound of three doors slamming shut and words like “don’t come talk to me unless the house is on fire or you’re dying” before all of us lay down for a little while. I opened my blinds and discovered that a bright, happy sunbeam was shining in on my bed. I lay down in the middle of said sunbeam, closed my eyes, and drifted off for a little while. Ok, today may have been a long while. But, I feel awesome for having done it. All three of us are in such better moods.
Today, my 7th day of 44 days of happiness is the joy in an afternoon sunbeam nap.
Let’s play fetch!
This should be a blog about my dog and I playing fetch. But, no, the fetch player in our house is the cat Ella. And a very demanding fetch player she is at that! Every morning starting around 5:30 I hear mew, mew, meow, meeeooowwwwww, scratch, scratch, bang, bang on my bedroom door. I don’t really have to worry about my alarm not going off now that I have Ella there to wake me up. When I open the door I am generally met by her big eyes looking up at me and a little line of her toy mice set up at the door.
I grab one and hop back in bed and spend the next few minutes lying there doing my morning readings and throwing her mouse across the room for her to “fetch” back to me.
Then I have breakfast and then go sit in my chair in my room and for the next 20 minutes before the kids get up she and I play fetch.
Today, on the 5th of my 44 days of happiness my happiness moment was brought by Ella. Not just because playing fetch with a cat is fun, but because she makes me stop whatever I’m doing and just focus on playing with her and having fun. Full attention, no distraction, living in the moment fun.
