Lines

Last week we were fortunate enough to be vacationing in Disneyland, and were also fortunate enough that it wasn't too busy and the lineups were pretty short (we walked right onto many rides).  One ride that wasn't very short was the lineup for the new Radiator Springs Racers ride.  I had been watching crowd trackers and knew that the lineup for that ride is typically 2-3 hours, so when we arrived at the park and saw that it was "only" 90 minutes, we jumped into line (much to Matthew's chagrin).  It actually only would have taken about 75 minutes but there was a breakdown, so that slowed things down a bit.  However, we were fortunate - a guy I talked to later in the trip had been waiting 70 minutes in line one day, the ride broke down, and the whole crowd had to leave the lineup - I think Matthew would have had a major meltdown if that would have happened to us.

I've seen many complaints about the lines in Disneyland - in the summer it seems like 45 minutes is a short one.  However, we need to get a little perspective....we're waiting in lines for rides people!  We have the money to enter the park in the first place (getting pretty pricey, let me tell you), money to spend $50 on lunch, money to spend $3.75 on a measley churro (essentially a long mini donut).  We should be thankful that we have the opportunity to wait in such a line!

Last night was a very busy night at the Mustard Seed - the wind chill was brutal and it's getting towards the end of the month, so people are running out of money.  When I arrived at 7 the place was packed and there were people waiting to get in - some people would have waited at least an hour just to get food.  When dinner was over and coffee was served, it was a half hour wait to get something from the coffee bar, and when we served leftovers, the line just grew longer.

I reflected on the long line as I stood behind the coffee bar frantically trying to serve everyone (luckily I had some help from one of my buddies from the community).  I can't imagine waiting that long with a grumbling stomach and a tired body, let alone waiting in the cold.  An then I thought of the children in Rwanda who walked for six miles and stood in line for food....because they didn't know when they would eat next.

We should be thankful for every line were are blessed to be standing in.

Hot Yoga

I wasn't really planning on making the jump from warm to hot yoga so soon, but Elizabeth went home with a friend from church today, and rather than picking her up in Leduc at 4 and returning to Leduc at 8 for warm yoga, I decided to save some gas and take a hot class at 3 and pick Elizabeth up right after.

The room wasn't too hot - I didn't feel that it was much hotter than the warm room.  However, not realizing that Sandra was the teacher, when she came into the class, I thought, "Oh no."  Sandra is a crazy fitness instructor after my own heart - the first class of hers that I took (aptly named "Grunt and Groan"), I almost left the room because I thought I was going to puke (I didn't).  Of course, I came back for more torture the week after.

Sandra's yoga classes are not much better - very quick transitions, lots of planks, chaterungas (I'm sure that's spelled wrong), and even deep squats.  I wore a headband and there was still sweat dripping down my face, and my arms and legs were slippery with sweat.  However, after it was over, I realized what a good workout it had been, and hadn't been hard on my body like other "good workouts" tend to be.

So, the Crazy Sandra Hot Yoga class has just become another piece of my toolkit - a way to stay in shape that can be sustained over the long term (rather than my usual "go way to hard for a few months and then burn out").  It feels good to treat my body well rather than the abuse I have given it over the last many years - and as I get older, I sure can feel the effects of those years of abuse....and now I am trying to reverse those effects.

And an even better side effect....I'll sleep like a baby tonight!

I Said No!

I am fortunate that I love the career I have chosen to support my family.  I get to work with numbers all day, I get to meet with great people, and I get to give lots of free advice.  I'm a CA, and anyone who knows anything about accounting knows that this time of year gets stupidly busy.

Even though I love what I do, I've had a nagging feeling, or maybe a nagging from the Holy Spirit, that God has bigger plans for me in His kingdom, and while accounting is great to pay the bills, it's not serving His Purpose.  Of course, I'm still waiting for the dream in which I am hanging out with Jesus and he tells me, "Jo, your Purpose is......." - somehow I don't think that's going to happen.  What I do know is that every time I have accepted a new client in the past few months, a little voice says, "Do you really need another client?  Don't you have enough?  Where do I fit in if you become consumed with work?"  It seems as if there is a neverending supply of people out there who need accountants, and I was starting to worry that if I didn't start saying no to people, that I was going to become one of those accountants that I always complain about - accountants who don't have time to give great service, accountants who lose track of who their clients are, accountants who don't seem to care. 

I was also worried that work was going to start consuming my life again, like it did when I worked in the city, and I sure didn't want to relive that nightmare!

But last night, I received a phone call from someone who needed their taxes done, and without thinking, I just said, "Unfortunately, I've taken on all of the clients I can this year."  There!  Done!  No lightning bolts shot down from the sky, the house didn't rumble and shake, my head didn't explode, I just said no, and that's it.

I felt a little guilty afterwards, but then, driving to pick up Elizabeth from gymnastics, the message become loud and clear:  You will now have enough time for Me.  You will now have enough time for your Mission.  I have put certain people in your path to show you how much you can care.  Time to get to work.

I have lived too long in a life where work has defined me, where a new client feeds my ego (they want ME!), where work makes me feel important.  I still love what I do, but I do it to pay the bills, and there is so much more to be done. 

Wow God, you sure work in amazing ways!

Improvement

Since I'll probably (hopefully) look back at my yoga progress with chuckles, I thought I should comment on the improvement I noticed in my second Warm Yin Yoga class.  Last week our first pose was a wide-legged child's pose, knees apart towards the outsides of the mat, leaning forward with forehead down and arms stretched out.  I couldn't last the entire pose without bringing my knees together - it was to much for my hips to be in that wide pose for that long.

However, this past Sunday I managed to stay down in child's pose for the duration!  Near the end I had to employ some breathing techniques (thanks Joyce!), but I made it.  Joyce (my yoga instructor) also commented this morning that she can see my hips opening a bit....yay - I love to see progress!

Interestingly, since Joyce has been receiving complaints about her Yin poses, she didn't do any this morning, and I felt out of sorts for the entire hour.  There must be something about Yin that grounds me for the day....I'll have to look into that.  I've ordered a book on Yin - should go well with my Essential Ayurveda book.  Speaking of which, it's from that book that I found the best advice ever:

Do less
Be more

Warm Yoga

Everyone who knows me would agree that I am not a person who should be put in a hot climate.  I get fidgety, irritable, and downright cranky.  When friends are discussing their plans to go to Mexico or Cuba for a winter getaway, I just dream about going to the mountains and walking around in the crisp, cool air.  It should come as no surprise that this new craze known as "hot yoga" scares the bejeebers out of me! 

However, as is usual in my life, logic always triumphs over fear.  I am currently taking two yoga classes a week here in town, and long for the day when my body doesn't feel broken down.  My trainer told me the tales of her hot yoga experience, and while the thought of moving around in a room heated to 38-40 degrees is not my idea of a good time.....EVER, I thought that maybe the "warm yoga" (a mere 32-34 degrees) might be okay.  So my friend and I headed down the highway to a Sunday night Warm Yin Yoga class.

If I could sum it up in one word.....AMAZING.

And in a few words.....why didn't I start doing this years ago?

Our instructor had a voice like maple syrup - flowing, dreamy, calming.  Her postures were simple, yet effective, and very gentle.  The air was hot, but I found it comforting, almost like being wrapped in a warm blanket.  At the end, as everyone else was leaving, I just lay there, enjoying the silence and the heat.  The class went by too fast and I can't wait until the next one.

I came home so relaxed and slept very well.  I awoke at 5:15 feeling great and rolled out of bed for an am bootcamp-ish class.  If Jo from two years ago visited Jo today in a time machine, she would not believe what I am about to say.

I think I prefer the yoga class.

Yin Yoga

I am not a huge fan of yoga, but I am logical enough to know that there are huge benefits, especially for an aging body.  I am therefore taking two yoga classes a week, and last night was introduced to Yin Yoga.

Gak.

I don't know much about Yin Yoga, other than it is good for facsia and connective tissue, poses are held for a long time, and oh yes, one more thing.

IT HURTS.  A LOT.

I am writing this account in the hopes that I can look back on it in a year and chuckle, but I sure wasn't chuckling last night.  To start with, I couldn't even get my feet into the right position, the instructor had to come over and help me, so with her help I was able to get my legs in a contorted position.  Then she was expecting me to sit back.  My butt cheeks were supposed to be touching the floor.  I think the entire volume of the World Book Encyclopedia could have fit between my butt and the floor.  So she put yoga blocks underneath so I could somewhat sit.  Then she told me to lean forward.

I looked at her like she was crazy, and showed her that I wasn't able to lean forward.  She then pulled out a huge bolster that I had to rest my head on.  The whole time I was supposed to breathe, but I spent my time cursing my poor flexibility.  I felt like a big loser with my blocks and bolster while everyone else in the class was leaner forward, and yes, with butt cheeks on the floor.  Getting out of the position wasn't much easier.  And to top it all off my hips hurt when I woke up this morning.

However, I am determined that this Yin stuff will get easier each time I do it, and off I go tomorrow morning to try it again.  We'll see if it seems to be any better.

Somehow I doubt it will.

A.J.

AJ is a regular fixture at The Mustard Seed; he's a slight man, in his 50s, and is of middle eastern descent (his real name is long and somewhat unpronouncable, so AJ does the job just as well).  When I first met him, he always greeted me with a smile, saying, "God bless you" or "Thank you for looking after us."  He's told me a few snippets of his history - homelessness, drug addiction, a common story in the inner city, but he has had a home for the past eight years and is drug free, and he is not afraid to share that he owes everything to God.

What an example AJ is!

On Friday, not my usual night, but I felt like going downtown anyway, and I had a chance to speak to AJ behind the coffee bar - he was volunteering for the night.  He told me that he had a heart attack a number of years ago and was in God's presence, but he was sent back to Earth, and now feels that it is his job to tell everyone about our Lord.  He confessed that he has never learned how to read or write, but that all of his Biblical knowledge comes from the Holy Spirit.  I was amazed, because AJ can speak Truth as well as any literate church-goer that I've ever met. 

He then went on to explain how spiritually dead The Mustard Seed is, and how no one speaks of God, but he does, to anyone who will listen.  He doesn't do it to show off or appear knowledgeable - he does it because he truly believes God sent him back to spread the Good News.  It made me think of my actions when I am downtown - yes, I help, yes, I'm a "good person", but am I intentionally creating disciples?  Not really.  I can talk about God to those who ask, but that's not very often - it's those who don't ask who probably need to hear about God the most.

Yes, the church may be spiritually dead, but it only takes a bit of effort to bring God back into His house.  I'm going to follow the lead of a former drug addict, a former homeless man, a child of God, and spread the Word to those who need it most. 

We can't wait for a near death experience to decide that we need to spread the Word - time is of the essence.