The clouds are still out but this picture was taken at some point recently. I was out for a walk trying to get some steps after sitting. The sitting is good because it gives me a chance to not have to be physically active. But then you still have to walk and be out, so you need to have both in order to stay more balanced.

That’s another thing I like about the yoga. I still can hardly stand saying (typing) the word, but the way I describe it is like with exercise we talk about the importance of moving our bodies. Our bodies need movement to keep our lymphatic fluid flowing, our muscles active, our joints from becoming too rusty and stiff.

I had heard before about intentional movement. What I had not heard before was anything about intentional stilling. There is benefit to having your body stop in way that does not involve being unconscious in bed or watching tv or some other passive bodily state where our mind is not also tuned into the moment.

It’s where the mind and the body catch back up with themselves and are given the chance to come back together. If I could lead my own sessions I would do it where everyone had their own space on a mat. I would also want to have men in class. In yoga classes when I used to go you hardly ever saw men there.

It was harder for them. Women would be holding the positions just fine but the one man in the room would be sweating buckets and shaking trying to hold himself up in the twists. These weren’t men who were out of shape. It might have been different if it were men who’d been practicing yoga for longer.

I would want to be able to touch people. There is debate whether or not touch is a good thing or a bad thing. Some say touch is good because it allows for corrective experiences in a safe environment for those who have had bad experiences with physical touch, such as assault or other forms of abuse.

One reason you would touch a person would be to adjust a position. If someone’s hips were sagging or someone’s arms were slightly out of alignment, you would gently adjust the person’s body or body part. The anti-touch people say it is actually more healing for people to not have the pressure of having to do it “right”.

I would not use gloves like I did, I think, too much as a nurse. I wouldn’t necessarily need to correct their positions but would want any of the energies between us to flow. You can touch a person and energy passes from you to them and from them to you. If you hold it long enough, in theory, things become balanced.