My parents are coming to visit this weekend, and I'm so looking forward to that touch of where I've come from- my previous home.  I do feel committed to our life in the Inland Northwest, and I do feel as though there are bright spots on the horizon.  And I simultaneously feel like I miss where I have been and what I have known and what I have taken for granted.  I am grateful for the opportunity to give thanks and share time and reminisce whilst making new memories and expanding notions of home for my folks, and myself.

Here's to a wonderful weekend.  We kicked it off, as we have the last few weekends at Pacific Avenue Pizza in historic Browne's Addition, just up the road from our 'stead in Vinegar Flats, and I am so looking forward to this being a part of our weekly routine out here.  Thursday nights we can observe hockey games going on...not really, more tuning into the NFL's Thursday night game and enjoying $2 drafts and slices.  They have an old-timey pizza oven, where the pizza rolls through on a slooooow conveyor belt...sometimes falling, tragically.

We're lovin' it.  

This morning, Clementine and I took a drive.  We went North, crossed one of a multitude of local bridges over the Spokane River, wound our way through curves and altitude changes in Riverside State Park, then were in the middle of nowhere.  I ended up consulting a map we got on our ride into town during the move, but it was a reassuring feeling to see that I didn't really need it.  I knew what direction of town we were outside of- I just got a little scared not recognizing anything.  It gets pretty remote pretty quickly!  

I was looking for homesteads.  I always imagined we'd end up in a cabin on land, with countryside as far as the eye could see.  Making the drive this morning kind of felt like coming to peace with committing to the City of Spokane, and letting go of rural living.  Letting go in order to make room for ideas to come.  

Met a friend (my first actual Spokane friend!) for a walk in the woods today- specifically, Riverside State Park's Bowl and Pitcher Area.  Bowl and Pitcher are these giant rocks formations out of and around the Spokane River.  There's something called The Swinging Bridge that you take across the river and hiking trails from there.  Clem came along and never stopped pulling.  Perfect.

Finding a yoga that flows into my life and fosters more living-

that's been the big hurdle since I moved out here.  I was practicing daily at my beloved Vibe, in my beloved Bloomington, Indiana.  The teachers there were so inspiring, the classes were challenging, and I always left feeling a sense of accomplishment and excited about practicing more.  When I came out here to Spokane, I found several studios...but none of them had the same lure...or maybe I was afraid of the unknown?  I fell hook, line and sinker for the hottest and hardest- a Bikram class in a studio close by.  It was more than challenging, devoid of inspiration, and draining.  I left feeling weary and dreading when I was going to work additional sessions into my week.  I kept it up for about a month, then took a month off, tried to get back into it...and finally threw in the (drenched) towel.  The same studio offers Baptiste style classes, for the same 90 minute duration.  The classes are offered a little less regularly, but I am enjoying yoga once again!  I realized how much I missed the flow, and I see now what an integral part the voice of the teacher is to my practice.

Below are the basics of a Baptiste style class, but the instructor exercises agency and focuses your attention on the higher, larger, more divine aspects of yoga which keeps the energy in the room really powerful!

The Baron Baptiste Vinyasa Flow

*Note: sun salutations can be repeated 3-5 times. For each of the series starting at Balancing (Equanimity), 2-4 poses are taught for a 60-minute class.

Integration Series: Presence· Child’s pose

· Downward facing dog

· Rag doll

· Mountain pose

· 3 OMs

Sun Salutation A: Awakening

· Arms up

· Forward fold

· Halfway lift

· High plank

· Low plank or all the way to the ground

· Cobra or upward facing dog

· Downward dog

Sun Salutation B: Awakening· Chair 

· Forward fold

· Halfway lift

· High plank

· Low plank

· Updog

· Downdog

· Warrior I (right foot forward)

· Chaturanga

· Updog

· Downdog 

· Warrior I (left foot forward)

· Chaturanga

· Updog

· Downdog

· 3-Legged dog (right foot up)

· Flip dog

· Downdog

· 3-Legged dog (left foot up)

· Flip dog

· Downdog

· High plank, heels together

· Side plank (right side)

· High plank

· Side plank (left side)

· Vinyasa flow

Warrior Series: Vitality· Sun Salutation B

· Crescent lunge

· Revolving crescent lunge (twist)

· Warrior II

· Extended side angle (with half or full bind)

· Vinyasa

· (Repeat on other side)

· Chair twist

· Fingers to toes forward fold

· Palms to toes forward fold (Gorilla)

· Crow

Balancing Series: Equanimity

· Eagle

· Standing leg raise

· Airplane

· Half moon

· Dancer’s

· Tree

Triangle Series: Grounding

· Sun Salutation B (Warrior II)

· Triangle

· Proserita

· Pyramid

· Revolved triangle

Backbends: Igniting

· Locust

· Floor bow

· Upward facing dog

· Camel

· Bridge

· Wheel

Core: Stability· Scissor legs and 60/30 lift

· Abdominal twists (bicycle)

· Boat

Hip Openers: Opening

· Half pigeon

· Double pigeon

· Frog

· Supta baddha konasana

· Happy baby

Release

· Seated single leg extension

· Seated forward bend

· Table top

· Fish

Rejuvenation

· Shoulder stand (headstand or handstand optional)

· Plow

· Deaf man’s pose

· Fish

Final Rest

· Supine twist

· Butterfly

· Savasana

The other thing I have gotten really interested in are these sequencing visuals for different yoga practices.  Here's an example:

I think artistic renderings of these style posters would be really neat!  Collectively, the images remind me of my favorite movie:

Specifically, this:

If you don't know what I'm talking about, get on it!  It's worth it- wrench your heart every which way.

In other news, my morning looks like this:

and taking care of this lil' lady:

and a small kitchen fire due to an overused candle :/  All's well though- just a raised heart rate and a worried pup.  Our smoke alarms works! An authoritative woman says, "FIRE!" in between the beeps.  She's right!

Literally, moments after I posted my intention about this blog and my first blog entry, I came across this AMAZING TED TALK about exactly what I am trying to do as an adult connecting, retroactively, with my purest self.

Is the world, truly, unfolding as it should?

We drove West from Indiana- headed to Washington for my husband's new job.  We picked up the puppy he got me for my birthday in Sandpoint, Idaho- an hour and a half from our final destination.  It was a gorgeous beginning.

And now we're a few months in, and I'm wondering how I fit into the whole thing.  What will my vocation in this new place be?  It all gets very existential very quickly.  Do I have a purpose?  Within this context?  And then existentialism creeps into anxiety...do I fit here...will I feel at home at some point...am I doing alright?

So, I have decided to start exercising some of those feelings outwards- hoping to develop a habit of writing, thereby righting my course and getting a little closer to self-actualization and who I am meant to be.  It isn't supposed to sound so self-indulgent.  Rather, it's supposed to carry a tone of earnest self-discovery and thoughtfulness- I apologize for any unwanted by-products.  

And your role?  Read, comment, call me out, recommend books and movies and personal experiences that have moved you towards your true self.  No man is an island, and this girl can use all the community I can get.