Abundance on a Saturday

Someone's front yard flower garden

On the morning walk with the ladies, I saw this abundant garden and had to stop for a quick picture. And I do mean quick, because the pace of these Saturday morning walks is on the fast side (like around 4 miles an hour) and I'm always struggling to keep up. Every once in awhile Cindy (our leader) will stop long enough to let the stragglers catch up; I really try not to be one of them, so it gave me the chance to snap these flowers. Although I'll never be able to keep up with the fastest walkers, I am determined to be in the middle of the pack, at least.

It was cloudy to start, but it has now become mostly sunny out there, and I'm filled with satisfaction at having my walk done and a whole day of enjoyment ahead. Yesterday I finished the book I was reading, A Tale for the Time Being, and I was actually bereft because it was done. Although I struggled to get into the book, by the time I finished Part I, the characters and story had come alive for me. That link is to a New York Times book review that will tell you about it.

Many people I've talked to weren't able to get into the book, and I understand why. But if you do read it all the way through, I don't see how you could fail to fall in love with it. But that's just me. I guess you either love it or hate it.

Laifong, my new yoga teacher

A couple of people have asked me what the difference is between gentle yoga and Level I, so I looked up the class descriptions at Yoga Northwest. Here's the description of their gentle yoga:

GENTLE YOGA/BACKCARE is for people with back, neck, knee or shoulder problems, are plus-sized, elderly, or weak and need a slow paced class.
GENTLE YOGA II is for students who have “graduated” from the gentle yoga/backcare class, but still need gentle exercises due to old injuries or physical restrictions.

And Level I might not give me the chance to put my leg behind my head (Laifong teaches more advanced classes, too, obviously) but this level is designed to provide a balanced program of flexibility, core strength, postural alignment, breathing, relaxation and awareness. This coming semester I will take one Gentle II class and Laifong's Level I. Maybe I'll regain the flexibility I had when I was younger. It's amazing what the body can do, even when it's got some mileage on it!
:-)