Deep listening

When I say that I am not “strict” in a cleanse, what I mean is that I don’t tell myself I “can’t” have anything. Or that I “have” to do things a certain way. Instead I become really sensitive and notice the effects of my choices. And let myself resonate with what I gain by not eating the whole block of cheese just because I want it, rather than that I can’t. Because I can eat it, I’m just choosing not to, for now. And seeing what that is like. For now.
It is an interesting freedom to feel desire and not have to react. As the tantric adage says – nothing is forbidden, nothing is advised. However we act has consequences…it is up to us to discern through time and practice which way we choose to go in any circumstance. And that may vary according to the situation.
❤

Spring Cleanse

I’ve been feeling it coming on gradually and now it appears it is here, the spontaneous spring cleanse. I have been eating a pretty steady diet of gluten-free bread toasted cheese and avocado sandwiches at home and fully glutenized mini pizzas after snowboarding at the mountain for awhile now, as I have been so busy and they are freaking delicious, and balancing it out with a pretty heavy dose of caffeine to get me through seasonal lethargy. The tide is turning (weather is shifting, lift service is done at the mountain) and I’m ready to trade my warm winter weight for the sensitivity of the internal spring cleanse.

I don’t tend to start out strict, for me a cleanse is not about adapting a regime and sticking to it, but answering the awakening call of springtime. It is intuitive rather than forced. Deep listening. And I adapt as I go. Who knows, I could make another toasted cheese tonight 🙂

Currently I’m making carrot beet juice and putting the grounds on a mixed green salad with avocado and lemon, after eating a bunch of steamed broccoli and drinking hot water with a splash of apple cider vinegar, while a cauliflower roasts in the oven. Often I like a pureed food cleanse. I’m feeling drawn to warm soups.

Share your favorite spring cleaning rituals! Let’s inspire each other.

Ooo and I’m going to add some fresh chives to the salad…

catalyst

For me, snowboarding is physical yoga practice, asana ~ moving meditation, becoming comfortable and articulate in my body and in relation with the physical world. As I ride I gradually tune in to the subtleties of my movement, awakening presence in my entire body. I don’t have to try so much anymore, it just starts to happen. The movement becomes efficient, somewhat effortless. Grounded in my body, I become aware not only of my body, but with my body ~ my movement responding to the contours of the mountain, the crisp scent of the air and the temperature on my skin, the sounds of my board against the texture of the snow and the wind all around me. Everything becomes more vibrant. There’s nowhere to go and nothing else to do but to be right here, completely open to the moment. It refreshes me, brings me back to center.
I used to get pretty sad at the end of the season, as I thought I depended on this activity to do all this for me. Without it I would feel flat, empty, dull…or so I feared. Through time I realize that these activities that have the potential to revitalize us and bring us spontaneously into the moment remind us that this is possible. We don’t have to become attached to the catalyst, there are many ways to do it. Breathe in, feel yourself in your entire body. Hear the sounds. Right now.
I will miss you, my beloved mountain, my mermaid~tail serpentine snow dance. Another season has come and is passing and I have again learned so much from you.
Until the next time we meet dear friend, the love I tap into when I’m with you lives inside of me.
(yeah, yeah I know kinda sappy. And I mean it  🙂 )
❤

eclipsing

Lying in my bed as the moonlight pours in through the window…

charcoal smudged grayscale sky
rubbed soft by delicate fingertips caressing
transparent dome of midnight heavens
accentuating gradual contour and volume
layers of bands of dissipating rogue clouds
wandering out way past their bedtime
swaddling close and intermittently revealing
the haloed glow of scarlet tinged moonlight
liquid luminescent mirrored reflection
of the blazing star that is king of our universe
coyly assured of his place as the sun
playing hide and seek on the other side of the earth