Yoga at Thorncraft & Grocery Cart Yoga

Posted on August 19, 2015 by shanathornton

Sometimes, I get the question, “so, why are you doing this yoga thing now?” It makes me laugh. I won’t go into the threads of yoga in my life and when they began and what they became at different times for me. Right now, yoga is becoming part of my publishing company’s journey, too. And, it’s fitting. Not only do I practice yoga, but so does Melissa Corliss DeLorenzo, one of the authors published by Thorncraft. In fact, Melissa wrote a blog in 2010 about how her children busted out their yoga moves in the grocery store for a public display of asana. While this blog is centered on NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), it’s the humor and overall zen quality of Melissa’s approach to mothering and accomplishing goals that captivated me (& caused me to laugh until I snorted). She has allowed me to publish it again here on my blog in a series about yoga and what we are working on for the future. Stay tuned and enjoy this hilarious story that most all mothers can relate to:

Grocery Zen with Children…yeah, right
By Melissa Corliss DeLorenzo
You know what’s one of my biggest challenges with NaNoWriMo? Finding time to go to the grocery store for the weekly shopping.   I remember when I was lying on the sonographer’s table and saw my twins in utero for the first time (BIG surprise), one of my first thoughts was how am I going to grocery shop with three little kids? But I figured it out: one baby in the car seat in the cart itself (yes, groceries piled around her), one in the baby carrier, my (then) two year old in the kiddy seat. As time went on, it morphed into one twin in the kiddy seat, the other in the carrier on my back and my little boy on foot. This arrangement worked beautifully for a long time.   Until recently.   The girls have decided they want to be neither on my back nor in the kiddy seat. So, I decided, fine, you can both go in the cart itself which prompted this facebook post once we returned home: Yes, I was THAT mother in the grocery store and my kids were THOSE kids. Everyone was probably relieved to see the extra big bottle of wine in the cart…   They have grown to be completely nuts in the grocery store. It used to be a piece of cake, but no more. Ella asked me recently if we were going grocery shopping. And I said, “I don’t think so, sweetie. Do you know why?” She said, “Cuz Ella and Lily don’t listen.” She’s right—they open packages of grape tomatoes in the aisles, they stomp on bags of flour, they toss things out of the cart, they pull labels off cans. And they think it is all hilarious. They yell as loud as possible and crack each other up. They try to jump out, too. And every shopper who walks by freaks out that they are imminently going to fall. I can sense them questioning my mothering skills. Something about the grocery store brings out the evil in my daughters. I’m sure everyone else thinks it’s quite comical, but I am the nut saying things like, “If you don’t stop crushing our food, you are going to lose the privilege of grocery shopping with Mommy!” While I am saying these crazy things, they are singing Ironman at the top of their lungs. (Thanks to husband for introducing Black Sabbath to my precious children…)

So, here’s the thing: I go out on Thursday nights alone. I go and write. There are times when I go and read or stare at nothing. I just like being alone while drinking my nice little latte without anyone touching me. Once, my husband jokingly said on my Thursday night, “You look nice,” (which meant, I think, oh you showered). “You going to meet some guy?” And I said, “No. The last thing I want is someone touching me or trying to talk to me.” This was when we were in the thick of two babies and a toddler, when the best personality trait a person could possess was the ability to hold it together when presented a broken cracker.   So, ever the optimist, and attempting to preserve the sanctity of my Thursday night writing time, I decided to try shopping with them again. This was the next facebook post:Remember that time I said I would never go grocery shopping with the kids again? Well, I mean it this time.

Getting to the point, I started using part of my Thursday nights to grocery shop, sans kids. But it’s NaNo time now and I cannot afford to utilize any of my precious Thursday nights for anything but writing. (See? This does have something to do with writing!) I was more determined than ever to make our grocery shopping together work. Damn it.

My new tactic: two carts! One for the kids, one for the food.

Here is the one with the food—peaceful and tranquil:  (You can imagine it with produce)
You saw the photo of the kids at the top of the page. That photo documents a semi-good moment in the shopping experience. Soon after, they were dumping water on the floor and doing Downward Facing Dog from the top of one side of the cart to the top of the other. All while chanting the words to “Five Little Monkeys” as loudly as possible. Then they commenced to freak out at the check-out when they realized that it was logistically impossible for them to place (throw) the food onto the belt from their cart. I defied the laws of physics and figured it out. I’m sure someone from MIT will be contacting me.

Long story short, I really mean it this time. But not on Thursday nights. I gotta write.

(Someone know a way to stretch the week one little hour longer?)

I still managed to stay mostly on track this week. A little behind but I will catch up this weekend!
How’s your NaNo project going?

Visit Melissa’s blog at http://www.melissacorlissdelorenzo.com
Melissa’s blog was first publishing at Her Circle Ezine for The Writer’s Life blog. http://www.hercircleezine.com

Instagram Yoga Challenges–10 epiphanies & why you should participate even if you’re a beginner

Posted on June 24, 2015 by shanathornton

1. Yoga challenges are a fun release & will deepen your yoga practice on your own terms:
Last year, I began participating in yoga challenges on Instagram. I started with a short one focused on meditative asanas (or postures). This allowed me to self reflect and slowly add longer, more rigorous challenges. Yoga challenges can be a one day thing (#HumpDayHearts is a Wednesday ongoing challenge), or last for a few days, a month, or even longer. You choose the challenges that fit your lifestyle and participate when you can. Many challenges will take place every month or every other month (the challenge #InspiredYogis in its 9th round is one example). They all vary depending on the theme or hosts.

2. To participate is about your self (winning or losing doesn’t matter):
As a trail runner, I’m usually focused on improvement, endurance, and the goal. For yoga, I did not expect to “win” a challenge, as that seemed like a paradox considering that yoga was the practice. Not a sport. Not a competitive game. Yoga is a practice that isn’t a practice session or composed of practice sessions designed for a performance in which one is judged or an opponent against someone else. I learned that getting into my breath and finding comfort was the “win.” I was moving my body beyond its comfort zone. Moreover, I did receive a prize for participating in challenges…several prizes and they kept coming from protein bars to custom yoga outfits. This was simply a surprise bonus. I also realized that hosts and sponsors don’t choose recipients for prizes based on how challenging a pose seems to be. To one person, a twist is difficult, while someone else struggles with arm balances. The hosts and sponsors simply choose based on inspiration, effort, and compassion.
Other challenges do not offer gifts or prizes. The point is personal growth and learning new ways of practicing an asana.

3. Yogis will give instructions & videos to help you (true teachers are encouraging & supportive):
Yoga challenges are another way of being physical, and the Instagram community of yogis are supportive, encouraging, and complimentary. Beyond that, they teach you how to practice by offering all kinds of variations, by discussing their personal growth from the beginning of their practice and by showing their fears are rooted in the body and its abilities. Participating in a challenge is sharing, giving, letting others in, and allowing a creative physical expression.

4. Yoga makes you face your fears and/or your pent-up emotions:
I’m regularly challenged to face fears, if I want, and for me that’s standing on my hands or trying pincha. Some of my IG friends have confessed their fears of backbends, specifically dropping back to catch yourself on your hands. Someone else was terrified of hurting her back in bakasana, or crow pose. I read a yogis emotional reaction to deep twists and how emotion erupted from him and he had no idea that he was even feeling emotional. He was anticipating a stretch, a workout, a practice of breathing and body alignment, but what he experienced was so much more. He realized his own mental block.

5. Yoga reveals any body-shame issues & allows you to create art with your body & your location:
I admire the way yogis laugh at themselves and their bodies–their butts in the air in downward facing dog and so many other asanas (try #OhthePlacesYoullCrow challenge for some Dr Suess-inspired fun) I laugh at myself trying to do a chinstand, and I’m just rolling around in the grass and eating weeds more than I am balanced on my chin.
I admire the way yogis find their niche of creative expression on Instagram. They create variations in not only the asanas and the approach to them, but also the way they take and edit the photos. The lines, the twists, the shadows and light on the human body in a place of balance, attunement to the asana and breath, going beyond to consider the space where the person is practicing yoga–all of that changes with each person’s different expression of the asana. The photos show yogis blending into landscapes, interrupting them, colliding with our own constructions in expressions of being and transformation at the same time. People becoming trees. Flying in an acroyoga bird in front of the sea. Reaching those toes out over the open space of a canyon, and perching like a bird with talons anchored into a rock, a bench, a mountain’s face. #WanderlustYourCity is a challenge that allows you to highlight the places that you love in your city and share those places with other yogis all over the world.

6. Combining art forms:
Already a basic yoga challenge asks you to combine yoga with photography to create an image. Beyond that, yoga challenges like #ArtMusicYogaLove offer musical inspiration for artistic yoga creations. You choose your own asanas and how you interpret the songs given by the hosts.

7. Yoga in relationships & friendships:
While the practice is personal, yoga is a gift to be shared. Experiencing it with others is joy. The challenges have encouraged me to practice yoga in public with family and friends with whom I’ve never practiced yoga.
The challenge #Twinnings has connected yogis who’ve never met in person but who wanted to create yoga art together and encourage one another.

8. Spiritual depth:
No matter what your religion or spiritual practice, if you want more depth and a place to discuss ideas, you can find that in the challenges as well. Many yogis discuss deepening their meditative practice or their core spiritual beliefs, and provide instructions on what has worked for them. These beliefs do not have to be Hindu, Buddhist, or Taoist. Instagram yogis have a variety of spiritual beliefs & practices. #MoreThanAsana is such a perfect challenge to experience spiritual depth, whether you share your journey on Instagram or use it in your practice privately.

9. Surprise yourself with progress:
Before you know what happened, you’ll be reaching your toes and flipping your grip, getting deeper and flying higher, if you allow yourself a daily practice with the IG Yoga Community. Yogis like to say “practice and all is coming,” and I know what they mean because I see the evidence in my life. Yoga benefits the body in so many ways. Many yogis share how an asana improves the body and the benefits of practicing a particular posture. For example, how inversions can aid in chronic headaches and mild depression, to name a few of the benefits.

10. Desire to give back to others:
I wanted so badly to participate in the challenges as a sponsor from the beginning, but I was timid about sharing my products. I’m not a yoga teacher, though I have been aware and had a practice for decades. Last year, I couldn’t imagine how yoga challenges would lead me to participate as a sponsor in the challenges and mail out my organic yoga-inspired t-shirts to yogis across the world, but that’s where my journey is now. I’m one of the sponsors (IG account: @shana_trailbalance) for #SummerofRenewal
The challenge is happening now on Instagram. Join some wonderful hosts and discover more about your body-mind connection. Have a good time creating art with your body and surroundings.

Yoga Trails among the Trees

Posted on September 11, 2014 by shanathornton

Yoga grabs at me in mid run. I cut across a field, kick off my shoes, and stand in eagle pose for as long as I want. At first, I teeter when trying to focus on a leaf in the river. I blame the river for flowing. For moving. How can I become still in a posture if I can’t focus on an inert wall in a house or yoga studio? I focus on the tree, and the leaves rustle, so I topple over.

Everything is moving, trembling under the surface, even if it holds a stagnant appearance. Tiny vibrations and changes are happening all the time. I plant my foot in the soil and feel the slight tremble. I don’t tell my foot to be still. I work with my body’s subtle, natural movements. My toes anchor to the soil, and I slightly, oh so slightly, waver constantly in the pose and breathe and forget I am moving and the river is flowing and the trees shake. I realize that there’s no way to stop the motion that’s constantly inside of living things, myself included. Sitting still most certainly feels bad to many people. Cells rattle.

I notice the turkey tracks in the dirt around me. The deer imprints her motion in the mud. She brings her babies, and I see the hoof prints all around me as I sun salutation and balance in half moon pose. I look up–the tree is growing and changing all the time, shifting, adjusting to the sun and soil and water. We only think the trees are still, but they aren’t. Life is moving in them, through them, not just around them, all the time.

I began a new practice with old habits in order to free myself. Trail running has been part of my routine for almost seven years. Yoga has been in my life, on the side, since I was in eighth grade. I would pick it up enough to learn a little more each time and then toss it aside without complete devotion. I didn’t stick it out, but it has never gone away, and I know more than the basics to the practice and way of life. Until last year, there were days when my practice was only a sun salutation. Most days, I tried crow until I popped my nose on the floor. I learned new ways to stand in tree pose. I became brave with a headstand and handstands against a wall.

Yoga and trail running give me glimpses of nature I would otherwise miss. Both of them allow me to enjoy movement and change. Not sticking with a specific program but truly flowing through my daily life offers the most creative freedom.

“Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.” –Antoine de Saint-Exupery, from The Little Prince

Going into the forest, into nature, has been fun for my family, especially my children. I learn more about stretching, meditating, breathing, laughing, and being from the children, when I follow along with their natural play, which includes all of those things. They choose their own places in the forest that seem even more enchanted once we finish. We look for shapes in the trees, the shadows, the filtering sunlight, the riverbank, and we try to imitate those forms with our yoga poses. My husband takes our photos on the trails he clears. Sometimes, the results are beautiful.

Other times, we simply have fun and fall over and laugh and enjoy being together.

Our changes opened a new way–like the trails we have been blazing this summer.

Some days, I see the turkey stretch and know it’s time for me to bend and flex. In the afternoons, the young deer race one another out of the trail heads and sprint across the fields. We share.

I go out every day to imprint the paths and pack down the new ones. At first, my line was soft and barely noticeable, but my daily devotion to the trails and my practice reveals the deep meaning of my intention. One step at a time. Back in the spring, my oldest daughter took the first steps by planting some seeds about a young adult book centered on nature and yoga. I’ll be sharing more details with you soon about the new projects evolving out of our new practice.

In my observations, the turkey have taught me a lot about yoga, too:

“Why they always make serious face in yoga? You make serious face like this, you scare away good energy. To meditate, only you must smile. Smile with face, smile with mind, and good energy will come to you and clean away dirty energy. Even smile in your liver. Practice tonight in hotel. Not to hurry, not to try too hard. Too serious, you make you sick. You can calling the good energy with a smile.” –Ketut Liyer, Balinese healer from Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Smiling when I practice close to the wild turkeys in my backyard–they stretch & sun salutation too.

Reverse warrior

shanathornton

writing about literary inspiration

Tag Archives: Yoga

Yoga at Thorncraft & Grocery Cart Yoga

Instagram Yoga Challenges–10 epiphanies & why you should participate even if you’re a beginner

Yoga Trails among the Trees