Rainbow Dreams and Art Blog

Although the weather is still quite hot, the summer is coming to an end, and with that comes the ending of fun summer activities, and also some beginnings, such as the start of another school year. No matter how I want some things (such as summer) to stay the same; change is inevitable.

I feel these changes lately, in my own breathing, as I suffer through another hay fever season. It certainly is better than in years past, but it is worse on the days that I allow stress to come in. That is when I really notice how much life’s daily stresses can affect my breathing if I allow it. So many changes have taken place in the past few weeks as the summer draws to a close. I realized that I need to do more yoga and restorative work to help get me through these transitions peacefully. I have felt great sadness at some losses and great joy at happy moments such as my parents’ 50th anniversary, and other exciting news. Staying calm and centered has been a challenge with all the ups and downs. At times, my breathing has felt a bit strained when I was upset, and at other times it even felt as though my heart hurt when I shed a tear, as if that tear could take my breath away. Other days I feel like I am being stretched in a thousand different directions…

“The diaphragm, according to yogic science, is the seat of the intelligence of the heart, and the window to the soul. During stressful situations, however, when you inhale and exhale, the diaphragm becomes too taut to alter its shape. Yogic exercises address this problem by developing elasticity in the diaphragm, so that, when stretched, it can handle any amount of stress, whether intellectual, emotional, or physical.

The practice of asanas and pranayama helps integrate the body, breath, mind, and intellect. Slow, effortless exhalation during the practice of asana brings serenity to the body cells, relaxes the facial muscles, and releases all tension from the organs of perception, the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin…”  B.K.S. Iyengar

After years of practice I begin to notice how yoga is helps me stretch myself with getting tighter and more stressed. I am only now just beginning to allow the exhalation to teach me about serenity. I still find myself succumbing to the stress at times, however, I have tools to let go of it again and as the muscles of my diaphragm soften, so does the stress begin to melt away.

It’s a good thing too, because I have two seniors in high school this year, my last year of being a home school mom. Here it is, the first day of September, and I am ready to face the challenges and rewards of my final home school year. Time to EXHALE….

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The theme for this summer, for me anyway, seems to be school. When the school year was coming to a close, I calmed myself with the thoughts of a summer “off” and maybe some time to relax and not think much about school. However, that is not the reality this summer, at least not for this home school mom.
I am now looking ahead to my daughters’ senior year in high school…preparing a graduation portfolio, completing our reading list, compiling our volunteer hours, and preparing my curriculum for this, the final year.  Nothing can be left to chance and all requirements must be met. This is the year I thought I was waiting for, but, in many ways it will offer some new challenges.
My son also has a summer school theme going on, getting help with math and English this summer. My daughters also spent the last two weeks brushing up on grammar skills. There is just no escaping it, and there is SO much to learn.   

Even I will spend some time in summer school of sorts. I am really looking forward to it! I get to do something new and different this summer, which I am sure will come with it’s own unique rewards and challenges…Camp Phoenix.

I love this YMCA Camp Phoenix mission statement:

Camp Phoenix strengthens the bond between families and learning through
individualized attention, exciting hands-on activities which embrace all styles of learning, and by providing positive life experiences in a non-exclusive, caring, multicultural atmosphere.

I could not be more excited about bringing my Storytime Yoga skills to YMCA Camp Phoenix!

Tags: Kids' Yoga, Storytime Yoga, Yoga // Add Comment »

The theme for this summer, for me anyway, seems to be school. When the school year was coming to a close, I calmed myself with the thoughts of a summer “off” and maybe some time to relax and not think much about school. However, that is not the reality this summer, at least not for this home school mom.
I am now looking ahead to my daughters’ senior year in high school…preparing a graduation portfolio, completing our reading list, compiling our volunteer hours, and preparing my curriculum for this, the final year.  Nothing can be left to chance and all requirements must be met. This is the year I thought I was waiting for, but, in many ways it will offer some new challenges.
My son also has a summer school theme going on, getting help with math and English this summer. My daughters also spent the last two weeks brushing up on grammar skills. There is just no escaping it, and there is SO much to learn.   

Even I will spend some time in summer school of sorts. I am really looking forward to it! I get to do something new and different this summer, which I am sure will come with it’s own unique rewards and challenges…Camp Phoenix.

I love this YMCA Camp Phoenix mission statement:

Camp Phoenix strengthens the bond between families and learning through
individualized attention, exciting hands-on activities which embrace all styles of learning, and by providing positive life experiences in a non-exclusive, caring, multicultural atmosphere.

I could not be more excited about bringing my Storytime Yoga skills to YMCA Camp Phoenix!

Tags: Kids' Yoga, Storytime Yoga, Yoga // Add Comment »

A week has already passed since I had this experience; however, I believe I will recall it fondly and often for a long time to come. Spring is now upon us, and while the first day of the new season is here, the earth still looks a little brown, muddy and in some places devoid of life.  The death and rebirth is a process. Just today, we saw the final remains of a huge snow pile, in the Target parking lot!

A week ago, I was feeling kind of down. Some unfortunate things had happened that brought me so much disappointment, and it was hard to face that certain aspects of my life, or things that I had know and loved, were gone from my life.  I didn’t know if I would ever get to enjoy those things again. My daughter’s knee injury seemed more serious than I’d originally thought.  That same day, I discovered that my sister’s much-loved cat had to be put to sleep. I felt so sad about the death and loss, that I was in tears as I was driving my son to our YMCA.

Just then, I looked to my left and there in the pastures near the Y, were the sheep I always look forward to seeing.  All at once I saw the newborn lambs frolicking in the pasture! They were leaping, kicking up their heels, and thoroughly thrilled with life and the sunny day! I could not have imagined anything more joyful and beautiful if I had dreamed it up myself.  I felt myself smiling and feeling so grateful for life and the rebirth that spring brings.  There will always be winter, deaths, loss. pain and disappointment. However, the lambs frolicking reminded me how much is new and beautiful in life, and even death doesn’t diminish it.  I just had to open my eyes to see, and it was there in front of me in all it’s beauty and enthusiasm. Thank you little lambs, you were just what I needed!

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